Hadley Finance Committee Seeks Role in September Hotel Zoning Talks

HADLEY -- August 20, 2025, Hadley Finance Committee flags declining rooms-tax revenue and demands zoning enforcement as Route 9 hotels shift uses. The committee, chaired by Amy Biden, heard that rooms-tax receipts peaked at $1.1 million in fiscal year 2024 and fell by roughly $25,000 in fiscal year 2025, a decline members tied to two Route 9 properties, the former Howard Johnson's and the Econolodge, converting away from hotel use. Member Shardul Parmar, himself a Hadley hotel operator, explained that the town receives a single lump-sum occupancy-tax payment from the state and cannot identify individual-property revenue trends. Biden described learning through the Ambulance Oversight Committee that public safety units are responding to calls at affected properties "daily." Member Paul Benjamin said zoning enforcement "is not fair to the people who follow the rules." The committee voted unanimously to approve five sets of prior meeting minutes with one correction, a 4-1-0 vote in the August 6 minutes was fixed to 5-0-0 on support for a $300,000 capital maintenance override, and Biden confirmed she has already requested that the Finance Committee be included in a September 3 joint Select Board and Planning Board session on the Howard Johnson's property.