Hatfield Select Board Rescinds COVID Emergency, Promotes Officer, Grants Inn License

HATFIELD -- June 15, 2021, Hatfield Select Board rescinds pandemic emergency declaration and approves police promotion, liquor license, and four staff contracts. The board voted unanimously Tuesday to end the town's COVID-19 state of emergency, originally declared March 16, 2020, in step with the expiration of the governor's statewide order. Chair Luke Longstreeth praised Town Administrator Marlene Michonsky, Police Chief Mike Dekoshak, Fire Chief Bob Flaherty, and Board of Health's Carrie Flaherty, among others, for steering the town through the pandemic; going forward, COVID matters will fall to the Board of Health. The board also unanimously promoted Sergeant Clint Phillips to lieutenant, granted a new on-premise liquor license to Old Mill Enterprises LLC at 87 School Street, approved three-year employment contracts for Michonsky, Dekoshak, Flaherty, and Building Inspector Kyle Scott, and signed a $9,000-cap legal services agreement with Attorney William Solomon for Comcast cable license renewal negotiations on a contract generating roughly $60,000 per year. In the meeting's most contested action, the board approved an order of taking for Route 5 water and sewer project easements over the on-the-record objection of an attorney representing abutter Miss Berry of 34-36 West Street, who said her client has not ruled out a 200-voter special town meeting petition.