Belchertown Select Board Approves Housing Trust Bylaw, Ratifies Two Department Heads

BELCHERTOWN -- April 6, 2026, Belchertown Select Board approves Housing Trust Bylaw, ratifies two department heads, and advances May 11 town meeting warrants. The board voted 3-0-1 on April 6 to approve a Housing Trust Bylaw drafted by the MVP 2.0 team, with Chair Lesa Lessard Pearson abstaining due to her role on the drafting group; the bylaw restricts the trust to preserving existing owner-occupied housing and bars use of tax revenue. Dustin Ruby was ratified as Veterans' Agent and Zachary Bombard as Director of Assessments, both 4-0-0. An opioid-funds application from sober home Honest Beginnings was tabled after Member Jonathan Ritter flagged a potential conflict of interest in one of three contractor bids and raised egress concerns about adding beds in a basement space, with the board requesting building-inspector and fire-department sign-off before any vote. The Collins Center for Public Management presented a human-services review recommending Belchertown expand its grants position to include data analytics and explore leading a regional recreation collaboration with Granby, Palmer, and Ware, though Lessard Pearson cautioned against adding duties to a grants manager hired fewer than six months ago. The board also endorsed a union MOU distributing 25 percent of anticipated health-insurance savings as a one-time premium reduction, as required under Massachusetts General Law, after the Hampshire County Group Insurance Trust reported $2.2 million in CVS rebates in March, well above the $400,000 budgeted.