Sandisfield Select Board approves hunting permissions, cemetery plot transfer policy

SANDISFIELD — December 8, 2025 — Sandisfield Select Board unanimously approved four new policies covering cemetery plot transfers, hunting on town land, mail delivery, and surplus DPW equipment at its December 8 meeting. The cemetery addendum establishes a $25 deed-transfer fee for privately sold burial plots and bars the town from buying them back, after Cemetery Committee Chair Lynn drafted the policy in response to a buyback request. The board voted to retain authority to grant written hunting permits for town-owned land, rejecting a proposal by member Carl to ban hunting on town property altogether in favor of the town's abundant state-land access. New DPW Chief Derrick Boomhower successfully pulled two stainless-steel sanders from a surplus auction where they had been listed at roughly $300 each, arguing the equipment could be converted for gas-motor use at a cost of $1,000 to $2,000 — far below replacement cost. Town Administrator James Freedman reported Sandisfield is eligible to recoup approximately $242,777 in unspent broadband charter funds, with a revised repayment schedule set to begin July 1, 2026, cutting the repayment period from 12 years to about four. Fire Chief Mike Grillo reported that crews saved two structures at a recent New Hartford Road barn fire, arriving on scene in six minutes and fifty seconds, and that firefighters will be honored with unit citations at a graduation reception Sunday at Station 2.