Southwick AgCom Votes Unanimously to Back Tilcon Land Donation for Dog Park

Other Committee · Meeting of March 11, 2026

Southwick Agricultural Commission votes to support proposed Tilcon land donation for a solar-powered dog park. The commission voted unanimously at its March 11 meeting to send a letter backing a roughly 30-acre parcel that Tilcon is considering donating to the town at the end of Sam West Road, with a proposed solar-powered dog park as the end use. Chair Zach Barnett noted two complications flagged by Select Board member Doug Moglin in the local paper: Tilcon's existing excavation permit will require a new permit once digging stops, and two flanking industrial-park roads — Sam West and Hudson — have never been connected as long planned.

Members said those issues were not theirs to resolve and dispatched the letter unanimously. The meeting also featured a report from a regional EMDAR roundtable in Northampton, where Barnett said he was quickly humbled after mentioning the commission's $2,700 annual budget: "Somebody immediately says, oh yeah, how about zero." Commission member Jessica Parker outlined plans to collaborate with Powder Mill School science teacher Shannon Nomowitz on repairing a disused greenhouse, at an estimated material cost of a few hundred dollars, with a possible fundraiser tied to the Southwick 250th anniversary parade this summer.

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Source: the Other Committee meeting of March 11, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.