Category Archives: Hawley News

THE MASSACHUSETTS OFFICE OF HOUSING AND ECONOMIC Development has awarded the Town of Hawley $466,900 for the rebuilding of Route 8A, focusing on the intersection with Pudding Hollow Road. According to an article in the October 19 Greenfield Recorder, Hawley is “. . . among  eight rural communities that will recieve $7.3 million worth of road and bridge fixes through the MassWorks grant program.”

The other seven towns included in this rural grant group are:
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HAWLEY STATE ELECTION – TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2018

Hawley will be holding the State Election on Tuesday, November 6, 2018 from 7 am to 8 pm at the Town Office, 8 Pudding Hollow Road in Hawley.

Absentee ballots are now available. Please come by on Wednesdays from 9 to 12 or during regular office hours to fill out an application for an absentee ballot. The application file is also available on our town website. Click HERE.

Early Voting is now closed.

Hawley Town Clerk Pamela Shrimpton can be reached at 413-339-5518 (Office) or 413-339-4091 (Home), or email townclerk@townofhawley.com.

Thanks and see you on Election Day!

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A TREE FALLS in such a way that it straddles Town/Resident property lines? A new Tree Removal policy, adopted by the Hawley Selectboard at its October 2 meeting, spells out the options.

This policy, which is aimed at clarifying rather than changing existing practices, addresses the following:

► Who gets to use the tree?
► Requesting Town’s help for tree disposal;
► Highway Department/Tree Warden considerations; and,
► Policy limitations.

This one-page .pdf file can be downloaded HERE.

THE TOWN OF HAWLEY SELECTBOARD ADOPTED a new tree tapping policy at its Tuesday, September 18 meeting. The purpose of the policy is to set standards and definitions regarding the tapping of trees on Town-owned land.  Included in the policy are:

<> A definition of “Tapping”;
<> What constitutes Town-owned land for this purpose;
<> Annual authorization needed; and,
<> Policy exceptions.

Download a .pdf copy of the Tree Tapping Policy HERE.

FRCOG’s COOPERATIVE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE (CPHS) and the Mohawk Area Public Health Commission (MAPHCO) are offering a series of eight free flu clinics at various Franklin County locations during October and early November. Hi-dose vaccinations for seniors and Flu mist for children will be available.

For a list of the times, dates and locations of the clinics, click HERE.
Call Lisa White, R.N. Public Health Nurse, at 413-665-1400 ext. 114 if you have questions.

MASSACHUSETTS STATE PRIMARY ELECTION RESULTS in the Tuesday, September 4, election at the Hawley Town Office. Town Clerk Pamela Shrimpton reports there was a 30% overall voter turnout. To view the tallies, click on the links, below:

THE HAWLEY BOARD OF SLECTMEN ENACTED a new, local advertising policy at their August 21 meeting. The policy defines the conditions under which local Hawley businesses can post business cards or small fliers advertising their goods and services at the Town Office. The items addressed in the policy include: 

• Definitions of “Hawley Business”
• Right to Advertise
• Printed Materials Requirements
• Placement of Printed Materials
• Flyers for Bulletin Board Events Display

Click HERE for a copy of the policy.  

MEMBERS OF THE HAWLEY COMMUNICATIONS Committee received ample proof over the past three weeks that Broadband – or, more precisely, construction of a high-speed, fixed wireless network for Hawley, Savoy, Monroe and Florida – is alive, well and gaining momentum.

This recent surge in activity began with the receipt of a series of documents from Carolyn Kirk, Deputy Director of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development (EOHED). These documents consisted of a draft Action Plan, along with lists of vendor resources that could help the Towns with project management, administrative and legal issues.

The surge culminated in a highly successful workshop with Town participants and representatives from the funding agencies as well as WiValley/Otelco.

This workshop was requested by Ms. Kirk, and was held under the auspices of the Communications Committee at the Hawley Town Office on Thursday, July 26. This meeting was well-attended by MBI and EOHED officials, including Peter Larkin, MBI Chair, Bill Ennen, MBI/EOHED Liaison for Western Massachusetts, staff members Cornell Robinson and Sherif Barakat, and OEHED’s General Counsel, Michael Baldino.  

The Communications Committee meeting was opened by Chairman Lark Thwing, who then turned it over to Ms. Kirk. She and her staff devoted a good bit of time to explaining the Action Plan, and developing a “punch list” of items that would need to be completed to keep the project moving forward.  Those items include:
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SOME ENTERPRISING SOUL SHOULD RESEARCH whether Ripley’s Believe It or Not has a category for short meetings. Who knows? There might even be a prize.

Take Tuesday (6/19) evening’s Special Town Meeting, for example.  While it took several hours of planning and organization to put it together, the actual meeting itself ran for 4^1/2 Minutes — all articles were passed unanimously. And that even included a little discussion.

A new world speed record, perhaps?

A SPECIAL TOWN MEETING HAS BEEN SET for Tuesday, June 19 at 7:00 PM. Its purpose is to address several budget items, some of which were inadvertently omitted from the Annual Town Meeting warrant, and others that have come to fruition after that meeting was held.

Here’s a synopsis of the items to be addressed:

◊ $3,000 for FY19 Emergency Medical Services Expenses;
◊ $3,500 for accrued sick pay;
◊ $200 for website hosting and domain registration expenses;
◊ An amount to be determined to cover engineering expenses for Route 8a repair; and,
◊ An amount to be determined to cover engineering expenses for the ◊ replacement of a culvert under Route 8a near Sears Road.

Download the meeting warrant HERE. Download a more detailed explanation HERE.