Hampden Select Board Approves Dispatch Deal Extension, Defers Fire Station and Old Town House Votes

HAMPDEN -- June 15, 2026, Hampden Select Board approves dispatch deal extension, defers decisions on fire station design and Old Town House future. The board voted unanimously June 15 to extend its intermunicipal emergency dispatch agreement with Wilbraham and Belchertown through fiscal year 2027 at the same funding level, and appointed Ed Salerno to fill a Board of Assessors vacancy left by the resignation of long-term member Norm Charest. The meeting's longest deliberations centered on the Old Town House Committee's six competing proposals for the aging Main Street building, which costs an estimated $40,000 to $50,000 annually to maintain; committee member Paul argued a private sale-and-lease-back arrangement could cut construction costs by 10 to 20 percent by avoiding prevailing-wage requirements, while committee member Joe urged a broader public-private partnership across an overlay district from the transfer station to Main Street. The board eliminated the option to demolish the building and build a park but set no binding direction on the remaining options, telling the committee it needs a warrant-ready recommendation by early September for an October town meeting. The separately funded $8.3 million fire station project also hit a snag, with the board asking its architect to return with cost comparisons between a five-bay design that encroaches on the Old Town House parcel and a scaled-back four-bay version within the existing property line.