Tri-Town Boards Move to Reform Ambulance Subcommittee Before June Contract Expiration

Town Meeting · Meeting of January 28, 2026

BRIMFIELD -- Tri-Town selectmen tackle ambulance contract deadline, food pantry funding crisis, and regional service expansion. The Brimfield, Holland, and Wales boards met jointly January 28 to address an Action Ambulance contract expiring June 30, with a Tri-Town subcommittee, including Brimfield's already-appointed representative Simonell and a yet-to-be-named Holland member, tasked with leading negotiations and deciding whether to rebid, extend, or draft a new deal. Anne Davidson, Executive Director of the Wales Community Pantry, told the boards that the loss of the organization's Community Development Block Grant leaves it with no government funding after May 31, threatening food access for 250 families a month and two senior centers across the three towns.

Community development planner Joe Hugobian of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission outlined a challenging path for the FY26 CDBG application, due April 21, noting Wales's HUD needs score has dropped to 6 out of 10 and Holland's to just 3, with recapture fund balances now standing at roughly $50,051 for Brimfield, $2,646.55 for Holland, and $65,078 for Wales. A Wales selectman sharply rebuked PVPC Director Kimberly Robinson for failing to deliver on a year-old commitment to correct how shared expenditures are coded, calling the arrangement one where the commission "exists to represent us, not the other way around."

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Source: the Town Meeting meeting of January 28, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.