Greenfield Recorder – Ashfield voters to consider spending requests for 9/11 infrastructure, tennis court rehabilitation

ASHFIELD — Voters are invited to gather at City Hall Monday at 7 p.m. to consider three special town meeting warrant articles regarding 911 infrastructure in schools and a tennis court rehabilitation project.

Items 2 and 3 request $6,812 and $2,591 to upgrade telephone systems at Sanderson Academy and Mohawk Trail Regional School, respectively, to support “enhanced 911 emergency communications,” the warrant states. These spending requests follow a state mandate to upgrade 911 systems in public schools.

“The new system will now be able to accurately locate the location of the building where the call originates, among other features,” the warrant’s explanation reads.

These two articles of the mandate require a majority vote and were proposed by the school committee.

Section 1 calls for the transfer of $20,000 from the Grant Stabilization Fund to the park’s tennis court rehabilitation account. The warrant explains that the city received $100,000 to replace the tennis courts and $58,900 was taken from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to cover the balance of the replacement.

However, the mandate states that project bids “were higher than anticipated,” meaning more money must be allocated to move the project forward. The mandate states that the Grant Stabilization Fund was created from federal grants and that the project will be able to proceed at no cost to taxpayers.

To view the full mandate of the special town meeting, visit tinyurl.com/AshfieldJuly15.

Erin-Leigh Hoffman can be reached at [email protected] or 413-930-4231.