GREAT BARRINGTON — Town officials are increasingly frustrated at the unwillingness of members of the Great Barrington Fairgrounds board of directors to respond to the town manager’s inquiries regarding a possible sale of the property to the town of Great Barrington.
In late January, selectboard member Bill Cooke suggested the town explore the possibility of purchasing the neglected fairgrounds in the southern end of town and using the property as a public space. After a discussion, the board directed Town Manager Mark Pruhenski to contact members of the board of directors of the nonprofit that owns the property.
“I was asked several weeks ago to reach out to the fairgrounds to discuss a potential town purchase and I just wanted to report that, despite our attempts, we have been unsuccessful,” Pruhenski told the board Monday. “So, the owners and at least one board member are aware that we would like to engage in a conversation, so at this point we are just standing by waiting to get a response.”
See video below of Monday’s Great Barrington Select Board meeting. Fast forward to 4:25 to see the discussion of the fairgrounds:
This raised eyebrows among some members of the board who felt snubbed by the lack of responsiveness. Board member Leigh Davis said she was “a bit concerned” that, despite repeated efforts, board members, including president Bart Elsbach, are “not willing to even speak to the town.”
“You’re right … and let me, as politely as I can, say this: it’s disrespectful for the board and the owners to not meet with the town manager and the assistant town manager,” selectboard chair Steve Bannon added, referring to Pruhenski and Chris Rembold. “Even if they’re not interested in selling to us for whatever reason — but an hour of their time should be the least that they provide to a town where they own a substantial piece of land.”
The Elsbachs, who live in Sheffield, have a checkered history with the town of Great Barrington. After acquiring the property eight years ago, Elsbach and his wife Janet went through a regulatory battle with the town as they sought and ultimately received special permits for the site to be designated a community center and to begin repairs and upgrades to the former fairgrounds. The permit process was protracted, complicated as it was by the fact that the derelict property was located in a floodplain.
Since receiving the approvals in 2014, the fairground has hosted a variety of modest events, including an animal-free circus and a community garden program. There is also a solar-power array on the property, but a larger ,more lucrative long-term tenant has eluded the Elsbachs and little redevelopment has occurred over the years.
For the 2014 season, the fairgrounds hosted the Saturday morning Great Barrington Farmers Market, but frustrated market officials moved the operation back downtown the following year after a dispute over a parking fee the Elsbachs unexpectedly began charging market-goers.
“They were willing to make a deal with a potential race track but they’re not willing to speak to the town?” Davis asked rhetorically.
It was a reference to the fact that, in 2019, Sterling Suffolk Racecourse had reached a lease agreement with the Elsbachs to bring thoroughbred racing back to the fairgrounds in the months of September and October, with the goal of starting in 2020. That proposal was stalled — perhaps fatally — by local opposition.
Davis was a major opponent of the proposal and traveled to Boston in an effort to convince the state legislature to approve a so-called home-rule petition that would require a ballot vote by town residents if any entity wanted to run a horse-racing operation, as was done previously for decades at the Great Barrington Fairgrounds.
Bart Elsbach was also arrested by Great Barrington police in 2015 and charged with vandalizing and defacing equipment owned by Joe Wilkinson Excavating. As chairman of the Sheffield Zoning Board of Appeals, Elsbach was a vocal opponent of the Dollar General store on Route 7, where Wilkinson’s crew had prepared the site for construction. Elsbach was given six months probation for the tagging incident.
At Monday’s meeting, Davis called on members of the public to examine the fairgrounds website and look at the list of members of the board of directors. In addition to the Elsbachs, there is Great Barrington Bagel Company owner Bob Climo, New York attorney Paul Zuydhoek, designer Noelle Lamuniere of Falls Village, Connecticut, interior designer Jess Cooney, and Great Barrington real estate agent Deborah Levinson. Click here to see the fairgrounds IRS 990 form for 2019, the most recent year available.
“Note that it is a nonprofit that does not pay taxes to the town,” Davis continued. “What have they contributed to the town since they formed this nonprofit?”
Bart Elsbach declined an Edge request for an interview, but said in an email that he had “heard something about the town painting us in a bad light.” Elsbach added that, “I think we will release a statement in the coming days.”
Pruhenski said he would continue his attempts to contact the Elsbachs and would provide an update at the selectboard’s next meeting.
