Grant to assess Reid Cleaners site
At the Selectboard’s session this week, Town Manager Jennifer Tabakin credited State Rep. William “Smitty” Pignatelli (D-Lenox) for helping Great Barrington get a $91,000 grant through the Berkshire Brownfields Program that will underwrite an environmental assessment of the former Reid Cleaners site on Main Street next to the Post Office. The site is a prime location for redevelopment, but potential buyers have avoided it due to the likelihood of extensive contamination of percholates, remnants of dry cleaning chemicals. As a result, the property has been “stuck in limbo,” Tabakin said. The grant, she added, will help potential buyers make decisions. If the property sells, the grant and all other fees will be reimbursed.
The Berkshire Brownfields Program is the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission’s (BRPC) regional program. “Our consultant prepared a scope and budget that was used in the funding request to MassDevelopment,” said Melissa Provencher, Senior Planner and Brownfields Program Coordinator. “The site is eligible for additional funds through our program…” should more money be needed, she added. Provencher also said their program, “which includes a Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund…could provide a loan for cleanup to a prospective buyer. The BRPC will support the Town in their endeavors related to this site, including securing a Licensed Site Professional to conduct the assessment work.”
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Technology Committee appointment
A Simon’s Rock College of Bard IT Administrator was appointed to the Technology Committee and as a town delegate to Wired West’s Board of Directors. Stephen Bohrer, who also has a computer science degree from Princeton, joined the committee, created to bring broadband service to Western Massachusetts. Wired West is a municipal cooperative for the purpose of bringing broadband to every home and business in Western Massachusetts.
Simon’s Rock is “very interested in having fast speed to serve the college,” Tabakin said, and they are “taking the lead.” The school has its own broadband link. There is a greater need for rural areas to have faster service, Tabakin said, adding that she would like to “pull others together so Great Barrington can be on the cutting edge.” The technology committee is presently a committee of one.
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Berkshire Hills Regional School District agreement talks
Selectboard Chair Deborah Phillips announced a meeting between the selectboards of the three towns constituting the Berkshire Hills Regional School District — Great Barrington, Stockbridge and West Stockbridge — in the Stockbridge town offices on Wednesday, November 19 at 4 p.m. The school district has hired a consultant to talk to the boards about the district agreement, Phillips said, adding that it was an “informational meeting” only, not a “discussion of what the future plans are.” It will be an exploration of “what we have, what we need to change, what we can change, what the options are and what the process is,” Phillips said.
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Mark Pruhenski heading for Whately
Great Barrington Board of Health Director/Agent Mark Pruhenski has been hired as Town Administrator in Whately, which is in Franklin County, near Northampton.
Pruhenski also worked for Great Barrington in various other capacities such as Special Projects Manager and Animal Control Officer/Inspector.
“I’ve really enjoyed working in Great Barrington — where I was born and raised — but the opportunity to take on a management position such as this is a great opportunity and more in line with my education and my career goals,” Pruhenski wrote in an email.
“I’m very happy for him professionally,” Tabakin said. “We are losing a very valuable player in Great Barrington, who served many, many years.”
Pruhenski started his new position November 10 and Tabakin said she was “very focused on making sure we have coverage.”
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Foreclosed Properties auction
The town owns 14 foreclosed lots, which Tabakin recommended be put up for auction. The town has owned the structure-less lots for “many years” since they were foreclosed on. The Town Manager would not speculate on whether the lots were “buildable,” but she wants to get these lots “back on the tax rolls.” Treasurer/Collector Sandy Larkin is custodian and will manage the auction with Tabakin, to be held by auctioneer Sullivan & Sullivan January 30. Special counsel has been hired. The town, noted Tabakin, has never auctioned properties before, a common practice elsewhere. Selectboard member Sean Stanton said of the auction, “it doesn’t hurt to try…it’s a great first step.”
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Hampshire Council of Governments
Tabakin said she has begun the process of working with “40 other towns to aggregate electricity in a bulk rate to residents and businesses,” through Northampton-based Hampshire Council of Governments, which among other services organizes municipal utilities purchasing. Tabakin said the process had been started a while ago, but it was taking a long time due to “bureaucratic and cumbersome” paperwork.
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Wastewater treatment plant update
Department of Public Works Director Josephy Sokul said Phase 1 of the wastewater plant upgrade is in progress and slated for completion in October 2015. The Phase 1 upgrade is $3.8 million project funded by a state revolving fund at a 2 percent loan to the town, Sokul said by phone interview. The last upgrade was more than 20 years ago, Sokul added. “We’re going in three or four phases, putting a new roof on the [wastewater] plant and new electrical service,” Sokul said. “This is the base work that will help us keep going and build on it.”
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Real Time weather updates through WeatherBug
With a weather station is now atop the Fire Station roof, Great Barrington has “real time” monitoring of weather conditions. Previously, Great Barrington’s weather data came from the skies of Albany, N.Y., and Taunton, Mass. National Grid donated the weather station, a small antennae requiring only “light housekeeping” by the Town, said outgoing Board of Health Director Mark Pruhenski, who worked on the project. Pruhenski said the station will help determine storm response, school and hospital closings, among other benefits.
The data is run through WeatherBug and the National Weather Service. Anyone can access WeatherBug – the app is available online and for smartphones.
