Southwick Select Board Reorganizes, Sets Transfer Station Fees and Hires Police Officer

SOUTHWICK -- June 1, 2026, Southwick Select Board reorganizes, hires a police officer, and raises transfer station sticker fees to $195. The board elected Doug Moglin as chair, Russ Anderson as vice chair, and Joe Deedy as clerk in its first meeting following the spring town election, then voted 3-0 to appoint Matthew Knowlton, a six-year Northampton Police Department veteran and Southwick resident, to fill a patrol vacancy created by a retirement. Public Works Director Rich Bozak presented transfer station financials showing a deficit approaching $500,000 on the tax rate in fiscal year 2026, up from roughly $350,000 the prior year, driven in part by a loss of more than 800 sticker sales as residents shift to curbside pickup; the board raised the regular sticker price from $185 to $195 and the senior rate from $105 to $110, deferring a proposal to restrict pro-rated sticker eligibility to new residents only. The board also approved a three-year solid waste contract with K&W Materials, signed off on the Ed Holcomb Road reconstruction project, approved a $75-per-month social media agreement for the Economic Development Commission with Little Dog Social Media, and extended the intermunicipal dispatch agreement with Westfield. Formal approval of a pickleball courts contract with Master Landscaping was carried to the June 9 meeting pending Town Counsel review.