Cheshire Select Board Launches Police Chief Search, Ends Merger Talks with Lanesborough

CHESHIRE — March 5, 2026 — Cheshire Select Board ends police merger talks and launches search for a standalone chief. The four-member board — Chair Sean McGrath, Vice Chair Jason Levesque, Michelle Francisconi, and Ron DeAngelis — reached consensus Thursday to notify Lanesborough that regionalization discussions would not continue, with members citing a projected cost increase of more than 100 percent as fiscally unworkable. Town Administrator Jennifer Morris will post a volunteer interest form for a police chief search committee, with any hire targeted for a July 1, 2026 start pending town meeting budget approval. The board also accepted a $770,518 construction contract for the West Mountain Road Bridge with CD Davenport of Greenfield after the Massachusetts Department of Transportation added $270,000 in grant funding, and voted 4-0 to authorize regional special response team tactical training in the shuttered older section of the community house pending air quality testing. The Historical Commission received unanimous approval to open a dedicated town revenue account for Stafford Hill Monument restoration, tied to a tentative September 19 event with the Sons of the American Revolution marking the nation's 250th anniversary.