Hatfield Select Board Directs Redesign of Kaplonk Parking Plan Before Final Vote

HATFIELD -- November 25, 2019, Hatfield Select Board reaches consensus on redesigned Kaplonk senior housing parking plan, deferring a formal vote. The board directed engineering firm Tighe & Bond to revise a schematic plan for six new parking spaces at the Kaplonk elderly housing complex on School Street, pulling the spaces closer together with a central pedestrian sidewalk after the town's fire chief warned the existing lot already lacks fire lanes and is too tight for ladder trucks. Housing Authority Executive Director Brenna Duquette said roughly 30 of 42 current residents have vehicles but only 22 on-site spaces exist, forcing tenants to cross Street to Town Hall overflow parking. A Planning Board member present argued successfully against a previously floated alternative of 11 angled Main Street spaces, citing a zoning bylaw barring vehicles from backing onto a main way. The Housing Authority is contributing approximately $40,000 of its own funds alongside state grant money, and members warned the funding could be redirected to another town if the project stalls.