Great Barrington — At their regular meeting on Monday, November 3, the Selectboard reviewed a list of priorities for the town with new Town Manager Liz Hartsgrove, who stepped into that position earlier that day.
The board has previously discussed a list of priorities with its former town manager, including infrastructure, public health and safety, sustainability, environmental conservation, municipal service, and economic development.
Topping the list of high-priority projects has been Housatonic Water Works. “I think we’ve always had Housatonic Water Works as the highest priority on all of our lists since we started this with [former Town Manager Mark Pruhenski],” said Selectboard Chair Steve Bannon. “That hasn’t changed. The only thing I would add is that we have received money from the state to help residents, and we have upped it to $600 per household.”
According to Bannon, the town still has $170,000 in its HWW customer reimbursement fund, with about a year remaining to spend the those funds. He suggested that the town consider upping reimbursements to $1,200 per household and that the Selectboard continue to review the situation with HWW in executive sessions, including the possibility of the town acquiring the long-troubled company. “I think the number one priority [for the town] is to provide clean and safe drinking water to the citizens of Housatonic,” he said. “And if it is through acquisition, so be it. If there is a better way, that’s terrific.”
Selectboard member Eric Gabriel agreed with Bannon. “I do think it’s also about making sure people are aware of the funds that we have and getting it into their hands as easy as possible for filtration purposes and whatever it takes to upgrade their system so they’re not suffering from brown water, smelly water, discolored water, and unsafe water,” Gabriel said.
The Berkshire Edge reported earlier this week that, while seeking Department of Public Utilities approval for loans to help pay for a manganese treatment plant, HWW Treasurer James Mercer told the department that the manganese situation “is not a health concern.”
Gabriel added that communication from the company has also been a continuing issue. “There is a lack of messaging from the company when there is flushing going on, or the town finding out after the fact that they shut the water off to the town because of breaks in the [water] main,” he said. “We have a Code Red system that is available to notify people in these occurrences, and we need to make sure that, when the flushing happens, and when there is a break in one of the mains or a fire hydrant line, that the company notifies the staff so that the Code Red alert goes out so people aren’t caught in the shower, or doing laundry when a surge of horrible water comes through their house.”
“A few weeks ago, they performed flushing without telling the town, so we weren’t able to put it out under a Code Red [alert],” said Selectboard member Ben Elliott [Disclaimer: Elliott is a contributing columnist for The Berkshire Edge]. “They did it on the days that they had not actually advertised. It took people by surprise, and I heard about things where people doing laundry had it completely ruined. Maintaining a relationship with the company and making sure that there is an expectation that information is provided to the town [is important] because what they think is an acceptable amount of communication often isn’t.”
Bannon said the next priority for the town should be infrastructure, which includes bridges, sidewalks, and buildings. “[Department of Public Works Superintendent Joe Aberdale] was coming quarterly and giving us updates, but we kind of let that slip,” he said. “I think Joe is working on things, and we need to let people know what those are. One of the ways we found out at these [board] meetings is for him to talk about bridges, sidewalks, and grants. The press picked up on that, so that was very helpful.”
Gabriel said residents have frequently asked him “why one sidewalk is paved and the other sidewalks are cement.” He suggested the town have a policy in place to explain why different materials are used in sidewalk projects.
Selectboard member Philip Orenstein added that there should be a standard in order for residents to recommend locations for new sidewalks in town.
Bannon said that another high priority for the town is to repair its elevators in Town Hall. “If we’re going to have public and open meetings here, it has to be handicapped accessible,” he said.
Going down the list presented at the meeting, other priorities cited by the board include updates to the Housatonic Community Center, supporting a project to renovate the Ramsdell Library, and completing an ambulance service study.
