Select Board Backs $61,611 for School Opioid Prevention Effort

Select Board · Meeting of September 8, 2026

Belchertown Select Board splits over $1 million grant for the vacant Tadgell building. Town Manager Steve told members the MVP 2.0 design grant cannot be redirected elsewhere and does not force the town to keep the property, but one member said the project's roughly $25 million to $29 million renovation cost made it "a real hard sell" and urged a sale instead. The board took no vote and asked for written state clarification on repayment risk before signing paperwork.

Members did vote 5-0 to send $61,611.36 in opioid settlement funds to Belchertown Public Schools' drug-free communities program, heard that a $1.35 million federal grant for Sports Haven Mobile Home Community water and septic work has grown into a $3.8 million effort still facing a roughly $1.2 million shortfall, and nominated Lisa Lazar-Pearson as the board's representative to the new MVP Housing Trust.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 3,856 words

Source: the Select Board meeting of September 8, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.