Deerfield Finance Committee rejects climate energy code, splits on fossil fuel pledge

DEERFIELD — October 15, 2025 — Deerfield's Finance Committee unanimously backed Stillwater Bridge access articles but rejected the specialized energy code and deadlocked on a fossil fuel pledge ahead of the October 29 town meeting. The six-member committee voted 6-0 to recommend Articles 8 and 9, which extinguish a dormant 1950s stone dike easement and authorize the Select Board to negotiate river-parcel access with the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, and voted 6-0 to recommend Article 10, authorizing temporary construction easements for a $1.5 million Elm Street Complete Streets project funded by state grants. On the three Climate Leader citizen petitions, the committee voted 0-5-1 against recommending the specialized energy code (Article 14), citing drafting errors that appeared to extend the code beyond new construction, voted 6-0 to recommend the zero emission vehicle first policy (Article 15), and tied 3-3 on the nonbinding municipal fossil fuel pledge (Article 16), leaving it without a committee endorsement. Petitioner Emily Gaylord argued the package unlocks more than $1 million in state grants from a fund with roughly $52.8 million remaining, but member Mark Brennan said flatly, "I don't support mandating electrification of everything."