Sheffield Select Board Approves Utility Poles, Tree Removals, and Housing Rehab Funding

SHEFFIELD — February 17, 2026 — Sheffield Select Board approves utility poles, 68-tree removal, and $950,000 housing grant application in busy February session. The board voted unanimously on all eight formal actions at its February 17 meeting, including approval of six new National Grid utility poles along Kelsey Road to clear the path for a MassDOT culvert replacement project, and authorization of removal or trimming of 68 shade trees — roughly 85 to 90 percent of them emerald ash borer-damaged ash — along Bowwell, Foley, Kelsey, Salisbury, and Curtis roads. The board held a public hearing on a $950,000 Community Development Block Grant application for housing rehabilitation, expected to assist roughly 11 low- to moderate-income Sheffield homeowners with forgivable loans of up to $70,000. It voted to send a formal protest letter to the Berkshire Regional Transit Authority before a March 4 vote on eliminating Route 921, the Great Barrington-to-Pittsfield express bus, with BRTA board representative Renee warning that cancellations and proposed cuts leave South County "in a situation where we don't have any dependable BRTA service." The board also appointed Rick Paul as the town's new recycling coordinator and endorsed a draft ADU zoning amendment for Planning Board public hearing.