By KENNEDY GRIFFIN
(Deerfield, MA) National Grid has recently joined the lawsuit regarding the status of Steam Mill Road in Deerfield as a public or private way. The issue has been taken to Land Court following a complaint from Deerfield residents in November of 2021 to determine if the road is a public way that must be maintained by the town, as it has been for at least 20 years.
The complaint came after a vote from the Deerfield Selectboard to discontinue maintenance beyond 34 Steam Mill Road on September 22nd, 2021. This was to bring the town into compliance with its 1952 town layout the town had voted to accept which showed Steam Mill Road as a private way beyond #34 in the Franklin County Register of Deeds. There are “five or six existing properties” south of the current end of the public way on Steam Mill Road, including the Billings’ residence who filed the complaint.
National Grid joined the conversation as they rely on access to their transmission lines by way of Steam Mill Road and have used it for more than a century. As part of the complaint filed by National Grid, they included documentation to show Steam Mill Road is a public way in its entirety in a report compiled by Land Surveyor Emily Holmberg. National Grid maintains that they have established rights to access the road, even if it is determined to be a private way.
The addition of National Grid to the lawsuit has extended the discovery period in the lawsuit until March 6th, 2023 when a status conference will be held.