Hatfield Select Board Commits $409,728 in ARPA Funds to Infrastructure and Safety

HATFIELD -- January 11, 2022, Hatfield Select Board approves $409,728 in federal recovery funds while fire chief warns of staffing crisis. The board voted unanimously Tuesday to allocate the funds across a range of projects including a $125,000 Maple Street generator, a $100,000 Route 5 water main reimbursement, $60,000 for a filtration plant logic controller, $55,000 in DPW fuel tanks, and smaller amounts for fire department life packs, air purifiers, and ambulance supplies, roughly half of the town's $971,000 total American Rescue Plan Act allotment. Town Accountant Lori told the board a new U.S. Treasury ruling issued the prior week allows municipalities to treat their entire ARPA allocation as lost revenue, effectively freeing the funds from most eligibility restrictions. Fire Chief Bob briefed the Finance and Capital Improvement Planning committees on a 27 percent increase in EMS calls from 2020 to 2021, saying he personally responded to 22 of the department's first 26 calls in 2022, with weekend paramedic coverage estimated at just under $72,000 per year to address. The board also approved a $1,800 Town Hall balcony structural assessment and directed the Open Space Committee to re-bid a $320,000 pavilion project that drew only one contractor when it went to bid last June.