HATFIELD — Hatfield Fire Department will remain mostly a 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. operation, with call members handling overnight emergency fire and medical service, after voters rejected the nearly $500,000 needed to support around-the-clock, full-time coverage at annual Town Meeting Tuesday.

With only about five minutes of discussion, around 200 residents gathered inside Smith Academy’s gymnasium, turned down by voice vote the $488,200 in Fire Department spending. That spending will also be on the town election ballot as a Proposition 2½ tax-cap override May 20. Should the measure pass at the ballot box, town officials have said a special Town Meeting could be called for a reconsideration.

The only question from a resident centered on whether similar appropriations would be needed each year to fund the department.

Finance Committee Chairman Sean Barry explained that the money would mean a new base built into the budget, with the only question how to cover the costs of a lease for living quarters and a long-term plan for where personnel stays overnight.

Residents, though, quickly passed a $15.52 million budget that preserves town and school services, including the current fire department staffing model in which no overnight service is guaranteed.

Fire Chief Robert Flaherty wrote a memo explaining that since 2020, nearly a quarter of all calls, or about 75 a year, are not responded to due to lack of staffing, and “there will be no overnight ambulance coverage and minimal fire coverage daily.”

The around-the-clock service and the current service are two of four options outlined in a 2023 consultant’s report, with the other options being linking up with either South County EMS or Northampton Fire Rescue for ambulance service.

While the tax-cap override failed Town Meeting, voters did pass the $3.37 million Proposition 2½ debt-exclusion override that will also be on the ballot. This would replace the roof at the elementary school for $1.67 million, install new boilers at the school for $600,000 and use $484,789 to pave parking lots at Smith Academy and $474,392 to pave parking lots at elementary school. If passed, would add $165 to the annual tax bill for a $450,000 home.

School Committee Chairwoman Christy Boudreau explained that the schools have invested $250,000 in roof and boiler repairs in recent years. This project will also make the roof suitable for solar panels, she said.

If that fails to achieve a majority, a backup article prioritizes the roof and boilers at the elementary school and do borrowing within the town’s levy limit, though Barry said it’s uncertain how the $2.27 million in borrowing would be paid back and whether cuts in the operating budget would need to be made.

A few spending articles generated discussion, such as the $76,000 in free cash to replace carpets at Smith Academy classrooms.

Boudreau said it’s important to maintain a welcoming environment to the school system that depends on school choice. “It’s not an exaggeration, they are 45-year-old carpets,” Boudreau said.

Superintendent Conor Driscoll explained that 49% of students enrolled in the system are from out of town.

While most free cash passed, spending defeated was $140,000 to upgrade a Department of Public Works building on Elm Court. Highway Superintendent Garrett Barry said the money would be used for concrete floors and insulation so the building can be used for vehicle storage.

Bill Belden of Pantry Road, though, said it only cost $94,000 to put the building up. “It just seems this is a waste,” he said.

“Let’s not waste any more money on this,” said Jeff Zgrdonik of Main Street

Another $85,000 for a police cruiser also elicited discussion, but was approved by a 125-39 vote. There were also concerns voiced about lease to purchase arrangements for other vehicles and whether $138,000 for a boom mower should be part of this equipment.

Day Pond debate

Voters also approved spending $91,700 in Community Preservation Act to restore and rehab Day Pond — the site next to Smith Academy where once a year fishing derbies have taken place for many years — but some residents raised concerned about the expense.

Brian Nicholas, who has coordinated the work, explained that the project, which will get more use from the pond, is expensive due to involvement of the Department of Environmental Protection and the Army Corps of Engineers.

Lori Picard of Linseed Road said it’s been a special place for generations of residents, but Adam Sullivan, a member of the School Committee, called the pond a puddle. “It’s a fishing pond one day per year,” Sullivan said.

Select Board member Ed Jaworski said the spending is the final piece of approval to restore pond and has been a long time in coming.

The meeting began with a tribute to former veterans service officer Gerry Clark, who died in 2022, and Select Board Chairwoman Diana Szynal said is still “sorely missed.”

The report was dedicated to Marlene Michonski, the town administrator who retired at the end of 2024 and brought “expertise, leadership and dedication,” Szynal said, working in Hatfield for 18 of her 35 years in municipal service.

Michonski was present to accept. “It truly means a lot to me,” Michonski said, adding she would enjoy some of the meeting from the gym’s bleachers where non-residents sit.

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