The Planning Board held an information meeting in mid-September to report on what Sandisfield residents wanted to see in their town as learned from the survey the Board conducted over the summer and fall.

Responders to the survey totaled 126, representing about 100 two-person households and 26 or so singles. Full-time residents made up 83 of the responses.

The Board hoped to hear from more at the information meeting at Old Town Hall, but only about 25 residents turned out, despite the fact that the Board supplied three huge excellent deep-dish pizzas and cold drinks. The Board is working with the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC), which provided the statistics and percentages from the survey. Board member Dominic Konstam presented a series of slides outlining the survey results, with occasional comments by Chairman Jeff Bye quoting verbatim from some of the surveys. The other Board members also took part in the presentation: Barbara Cormier, Lisa Leavcnworth, and Calvin Rodman.

To the survey question "why are you in Sandisfield?" responses ranged from natural beauty, the quiet, the rural peace and quiet, and neighbors.

To the question "have you considered leaving Sandisfield" a few responders said, no resources, warmer climate, better opportunities elsewhere, and too expensive. One said the Town is "over populated." Others sought a more rural environment.

When Jeff reported the results of the meeting to the Select Board, he said, "The Board will meet in October. We'll bring back to the Select Board what we decide we need to focus on."

He reported that people are very interested in full-time emergency services, even if it raised taxes. He said, "Sixty-five percent of the responders said yes to that."

People are also interested in bringing back the notion of village centers to facilitate potential small businesses in Town. Sixty-three percent said yes.

Responders were uniformly in support of new development, but somehow without changing the character of the Town. There was some support, though not a lot, for changing the Town's more restrictive bylaws to either permit or encourage small businesses to locate here.

The Board will publish a revised Sandisfield Master Plan in 2026. The Board acknowledged the Town's earlier Master Plan, which was developed after hard work by a different team of residents in 2015-16. (That original Master Plan can be accessed at Sandisfieldma.gov.MasterPlan.)

Member Barbara Cormier said, "We're still open for ideas. Communicate with us. Talk to us. Every idea is worth talking about. This Board wants to make changes, not simply talk about them."