Deerfield Awards $37,082 AV Contract for New 1888 Building Meeting Room

DEERFIELD -- March 4, 2026, Deerfield Selectboard awards $37,082 audiovisual contract and pushes for federal wastewater funding. Meeting Wednesday, the board unanimously approved a contract with Valley Communications for screens, microphones, and a control system in the new meeting room of the historic 1888 building, selecting the firm as the lowest responsive bidder under MGL Chapter 30B. The board also voted 3-0 to authorize a letter of support for a federal community project funding application for the town's broken wastewater effluent pipe, with a congressional filing deadline of March 6. Town officials disclosed two cost scenarios for broader wastewater treatment plant upgrades: $9.7 million for a single project or $13.2 million for a phased approach. A transfer station solicitation policy establishing two designated areas, informally called "the penalty box", for civic and political groups was continued to March 18 pending a free-speech review by Town Counsel. The board tabled the reappointment of David Budd Driver as cultural resource officer after Member Blake Gilmore noted Driver no longer lives in Deerfield and questioned whether the position had ever been publicly advertised.