HATFIELD — A new veterans’s services officer, with help from the Central Hampshire Veterans Services, will be providing assistance to military veterans in Hatfield.

The Select Board on Tuesday approved a plan that will bring resident Joseph Letourneau, who spent 30 years on active duty, on as the town’s part-time veterans agent.

The appointment to the $3,000-per-year job follows the death of veterans agent Gerry Clark last month. Clark served in the role since 2015.

But with concern about the learning curve related to the job, the training that will be needed and the potential of long hours and inadequate compensation, the Select Board agreed to enter into a contract, initially through April, with the Northampton-based regional veterans agency.

Three options were presented to the board, including the application from Letourneau. The others were a proposal from Central Hampshire, led by Steve Connor, at a cost of $14,700 per year, and a proposal from Upper Pioneer Valley Veterans Services in Greenfield, led by Christopher Demars, at a cost of $9,000 per year.

“My interest is Hatfield and the residents of Hatfield,” Letourneau said.

Letourneau said it would be better for Hatfield veterans to have a dedicated office in town. Clark had worked from an office near the Senior Center at Memorial Town Hall.

Select Board member Ed Jaworski said the current caseload is eight veterans, but that the agent will also have to meet families for burials and process paperwork and applications.

“Personally, I like the idea of having someone in town to deal with town veterans,” Jaworski said.

Board Chairwoman Diana Szynal, too, said having a resident do the job appeared to be the right decision, though she noted that the town had been “spoiled” by Clark’s work over the years.

But Connor said the job can be a complicated one, and that a goal is to get veterans onto state benefits and then move them to federal benefits. He serves veterans in Northampton, Amherst, Chesterfield, Cummington, Pelham and Williamsburg.

Demars said should Hatfield join his organization, a vote would have to be taken to accept the town. Its members are mostly in Franklin County, including Deerfield, Sunderland, Whately, Leverett and Shutesbury, but also includes Plainfield in Hampshire County.

Other board business

In other business, the Select Board approved the transfer of a liquor license to Selina Fournier, who is taking over the Mill River Tavern, at 2-4 Prospect Court, from Old Mill Inn owners Justin Killeen and Bill Wooldridge.

The tavern will be unchanged from what it has been over the past year as it transitioned from Double B’s.

Fournier said she grew up around Hatfield and has run dining commons at the University of Massachusetts and has hospitality experience in Connecticut.

The brick oven specialty pizza will remain on the tavern’s menu, she said.

“We’re calling it the chapter two, if it all gets approved,” Fournier said.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.]]>