GREENFIELD — With “urgent” work needed on its historic barn, Just Roots farm invited local, state and federal stakeholders for a visit on Friday morning to take a look at the failing structure and to discuss potential funding streams.

The farm has identified two separate projects, with both requiring different levels of urgency. Just Roots Executive Director Laura Fisher said a side barn is in danger of failing while the main area of the barn, where the farm’s main operations take place, also needs long-term investments to ensure it is “healthy and safe for our staff and for the communities that we serve.”

Among those in attendance Friday were U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern and his staff, state Rep. Susannah Whipps, Franklin County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jessye Deane, and Greenfield Community and Economic Development Director Amy Cahillane, as well Just Roots staff and a representative from the board of directors.

Fisher said in August the farm’s staff noticed the raised portion of the barn was “not in good shape” and its interior soon “deteriorated very rapidly” over the subsequent months due to July’s “incredible” amounts of precipitation and powderpost beetles, which feed on wood. Architect Rachel Keenan Roberts said the supports holding the barn have shifted “15 to 20 degrees” in recent months and heavy snowfall could cause major issues.

“We’re looking at hundreds of thousands of dollars because not only did we discover the powderpost beetle damage in [the side] barn, it’s also in the main barn where we’re doing our work,” Fisher said. “At first we were challenged by what we’re dealing with, but now we’re seeing it as a really good opportunity and a chance for us to really refine the space.”

In regard to the side barn, Just Roots board of directors member Alden Booth said they have three major priorities for the upcoming months: take down the side barn, stabilize the retaining wall, and seal the wall joining the main and side barns.

The farm’s community supported agriculture (CSA) program provides about 500 shares and welcomes hundreds of community members each week during the summer to collect those shares and participate in pick-your-own programs. Just Roots also delivers food around the state and works on food access programs year-round.

Just Roots is in a sort of a unique situation, as the city of Greenfield owns the land and the farm operates on the property through a 30-year lease, which McGovern said has its pros and cons.

“That’s a good thing on one hand and it makes it more complicated on the other hand in terms of getting access to certain pots of money, but we need to work this out and I’m confident we’ll have a good working relationship with the new mayor,” McGovern said. “There’s an urgency, as you can tell based on the condition of the facility here, so we need to move quickly. The value of this visit is I think I appreciate the urgency more than ever.”

Since it is a city-owned property, one possibility McGovern floated was using American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money to at least fund the immediate repairs, which would involve tearing down the failing portion of the barn and patching up the retaining wall, if it holds. For the future, long-term investments, state and federal grants may be an option, as well as reaching out to philanthropic foundations.

Fisher said “there’s a good opportunity for the city to really step in and help take leadership” in regard to the barn, to which Cahillane emphasized the city is willing to work with Just Roots. The city has $1.5 million in ARPA funding left to allocate, according to Communications Director Matt Conway.

“I’m going to go back and have a conversation with the mayor,” Cahillane said. “I’m here because the city wants to work with you.”

McGovern also said he and his staff are planning to set up a meeting between him, Just Roots, the city and other stakeholders, which will get everyone on the same page and hopefully lead to a solution.

The city, Fisher noted, has been extremely receptive in working with Just Roots, but the major hurdle in the partnership right now is allowing the new mayoral administration to settle into office, as Friday marked one month since Mayor Ginny Desorgher took the reins.

“I understand that ... they are a new administration and we’ve sort of thrown this snowball at them in their first few weeks in office,” Fisher said, adding that a meeting “would go a long way in getting all of the stakeholders in the same room. … It’s not just us and it’s not just the city; there needs to be community engagement.”

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@ recorder.com or 413-930-4081.