Medfield Select Board Approves Bell Forge Loan Consent, $88,392 Cybersecurity Grant

MEDFIELD -- June 30, 2026, Medfield Select Board approved a $2.5 million bridge loan consent for Bell Forge and accepted an $88,392 state cybersecurity grant at its June 30 meeting. Bell Forge representative Gene Mineo told the board the Nonprofit Finance Fund loan is needed immediately to keep the project's federal historic tax credit investor and construction contractor in place while pledged repayment funds arrive, warning that delay would cause the contractor to "demobilize." The cybersecurity grant, awarded to only 19 Massachusetts municipalities or school districts in the program's first year, will fund server replacement, redundant data center capacity, and anti-phishing training for town and school staff. The board's longest discussion centered on a group of residents requesting formal Pride Month recognition; resident Sarah Zatoli cited Trevor Project data showing one in two transgender youth seriously contemplate suicide annually and called for mandatory anti-bias training for town employees. Select Board member Gus Murphy acknowledged he had underweighted the value of visible symbols after reading posts from LGBTQ community members following controversial remarks at the prior meeting, but no vote was taken; the group was asked to return with a formal proposal targeting 2027.