Deerfield Finance Committee approves $14,200 in reserve transfers, debates senior center move

DEERFIELD -- July 14, 2025, Deerfield Finance Committee approves two reserve transfers and hears pitch for a new South County Senior Center home. The committee voted 3-0-1 to transfer $1,200 to the Zoning Board of Appeals for a postage overrun, then approved a $13,000 general insurance transfer 4-0-0 after outgoing Finance Director Beth Brown explained rising premiums tied to the Bloody Brook Monument damage and a backdated adjustment following a $22 million wastewater plant upgrade, leaving roughly $75,300 in the reserve fund. Brown then walked members through a proposal to relocate the South County Senior Center to a former Warner Brothers building on Route 116 in Sunderland at a rough estimate of $10,000 per month all-in, noting Deerfield currently pays 50 percent of the center's costs and the move would increase the senior center's share of Deerfield's annual budget by approximately 50 percent beginning in FY27. No vote was taken on the relocation, but members flagged a substandard elevator as a potential "non-starter" and member John Paresky argued a present-value estimate of $425,000 over four years of rent should first be weighed against renovating a town-owned building. Brown also confirmed the Selectboard has selected a finalist for her replacement and that salary negotiations are underway.