Select Board Names RDI Preferred Housing Developer
Select Board · Meeting of September 9, 2026
Deerfield Select Board designates RDI preferred developer for 34-unit senior housing project. The board voted 3-0 to authorize Town Counsel Lisa Mead and Town Administrator Christopher Dunn to negotiate a land disposition agreement with Rural Development Incorporated for the long-vacant St. James Church site at 83-85 North Main Street, over objections from neighbors including Holly and Peter Lankowski, who warned the town's $420,000 land purchase could balloon toward $1.9 million in added costs.
RDI's proposal price was $1. Mead told the board "none of it strikes me as being unusual" about the developer's financing and timeline. Separately, the board approved a $30,000 Franklin Regional Council of Governments contract for a hazard mitigation plan update, appointed Samantha Zish as full-time paramedic, and adopted a facilities use policy, with fees waived for nonprofit groups, for the town's 1821 meeting house.
In the full story:
- Who Was There
- Organizations And Documents Referenced
- The complete report — 3,501 words
Source: the Select Board meeting of September 9, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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