MONTAGUE — State Sen. Jo Comerford and state Rep. Natalie Blais met with the Selectboard on Monday to discuss a range of legislative priorities and concerns, such as regionalization of services, rural school challenges and economic development projects that would benefit Montague.

Town Administrator Walter Ramsey started the discussion by focusing on ambulance regionalization, saying the town is looking at models similar to what is used by Northfield EMS, which has inter-municipal agreements with Bernardston, Gill and Erving for services. He mentioned the Selectboard authorized a District Local Technical Assistance application to the Franklin Regional Council of Governments that listed exploring the feasibility of EMS regionalization as a top priority for DLTA funding.

Selectboard Chair Richard Kuklewicz mentioned that a “comprehensive look” at ambulances will be important moving forward as calls for service have increased, and costs for equipment and resources are expensive for towns to manage. The Turners Falls Fire Department and the Montague Center Fire Department handle EMS services for the five villages.

Comerford, D-Northampton, mentioned that she and Blais, D-Deerfield, are already involved in an ambulance regionalization effort involving Shutesbury, Leverett, Wendell and New Salem, and that Montague officials are asking “many of the same questions” that are coming up in the neighboring regionalization effort.

School regionalization was another element of the discussion, with Vice Chair Matt Lord saying progress is being made by the Six Town Regionalization Planning Board on a draft agreement and transition plan for a new district made up of students from the Pioneer Valley Regional School District and the Gill-Montague Regional School District.

Additionally, the subject of transportation costs for students attending schools outside of Gill-Montague was discussed, along with how rural schools are impacted by outdated formulas for Chapter 70 aid and municipal contributions to school districts.

Ramsey shared how a Montague student is attending Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School in Northampton with a $200 daily transportation cost. He said it’s a big cost that sticks out in the town budget. Voters urged the town to bring it to the legislators’ attention during a Feb. 12 Special Town Meeting.

“If there is anything that can be done to support those, either through reimbursing the town for transportation costs or fixing how it is represented in the budgets, that would be helpful,” he said.

After Kuklewicz mentioned his concerns around student performance being impacted by how districts are funded through state aid, Comerford mentioned that Chapter 70 and municipal contribution formulas are structured in ways that don’t benefit western Massachusetts communities, and are impacting communities in eastern Massachusetts as well.

Notably, Gill-Montague received the minimum increase in aid through Chapter 70 for fiscal year 2026 due to a foundational enrollment decline. The Chapter 70 allotment is expected to increase by $68,700 over FY25’s numbers.

Both Comerford and Blais recommended ways that the town can voice its concerns by providing testimony about its experiences with rural school aid. Blais recommended writing a letter to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means. Comerford serves as Senate vice chair of the committee.

The final portion of the meeting was dedicated to an update from Ramsey on economic development projects in Montague, such as the redevelopment of the former Farren Care Center site, the former Strathmore mill complex demolition project, and the White Bridge and Fifth Street Bridge replacement projects being overseen by the state Department of Transportation.

Ramsey explained the process of rezoning the former Farren Care Center site for mixed use and a pre-development study are underway thanks to state funding. Once more progress is made, Comerford suggested state officials conduct a site visit so they can gauge the interest for development in town.

At the end of the discussion, the legislators, Selectboard members and Ramsey expressed appreciation for the mutual understanding of priorities, with Ramsey saying Comerford and Blais are “already on the ball” when it comes to supporting legislation that helps the town make progress on its goals.

“I think all the challenges you’re hearing from all your communities,” Kuklewicz said to the legislators about the discussion points. “They are, I’m sure, a common theme. So we appreciate your advocacy on all those fronts.”

Erin-Leigh Hoffman can be reached at ehoffman@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.