Hatfield Select Board Makes Day After Thanksgiving a Permanent Paid Holiday

HATFIELD — October 25, 2022 — West Street residents confronted the Hatfield Select Board over two years of broken promises on a Route 5 water and sewer project funded by a $2 million MassWorks grant and $1.6 million in town borrowing. Engineer Mike Karmasin of CEI told the board that final paving on the north side of West Street had begun that day after weeks of delays, but that a 1,500-foot gap in the sewer line would remain uninstalled until at least mid-April 2023 due to difficult groundwater conditions. Dennis Ruthier, 32 West Street, challenged the safety of a pump station sited within six feet of two major gas lines at his property's entrance, and said he had never received an easement payment; the board directed engineers and DPW to hold an on-site meeting with utility representatives. Craig Stevens, 33 West Street, told the board the contractor had "lied to us over and over and over again." The board also voted unanimously to make the day after Thanksgiving a permanent paid holiday for all eligible town employees, formalizing a benefit that had been granted informally for years.