Deerfield Selectboard Clears Stillwater Bridge Agreements, Defers Senior Center Decision

DEERFIELD -- June 1, 2026, Deerfield Selectboard unanimously re-approved Stillwater Bridge easements and a MassDOT traffic agreement, then split over a looming deadline on the regional senior center. The board voted 3-0 twice, on an updated grant of temporary easements to Great River Hydro LLC and on a traffic control agreement with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, after town counsel confirmed existing bylaws covered the traffic pact. Discussion then shifted to the South County Senior Center, where board member Tim Hilche argued the town should submit a notice of intent to withdraw from its intermunicipal agreement before June 30 to preserve flexibility, noting that Deerfield had been asked to absorb close to $200,000 annually in rent under a failed Sunderland proposal, roughly $1 million over five years and more than the entire cost of running the program in FY26. "I don't want to wait past July and then be stuck for two years," Hilche said. Member Blake Gilmore called a separation notice "a colossal mistake" that would damage regional partnerships. The board took no vote on the senior center, agreeing instead to return to the question at meetings on June 10 and June 24, the only two sessions remaining before the June 30 IMA deadline.