Great Barrington — From plastic water bottles to marijuana shops to new development projects to the departure of several high-profile public officials, 2018 has provided enough Great Barrington news to keep journalists busy and observers of town politics highly amused. Those reports also signal that the community dubbed best small town in America by Smithsonian Magazine continues to be a place in transition.
January
The year really began on New Year’s Eve 2017 when the iconic Barrington House was flooded by a sprinkler malfunction, “sending merchants and apartment dwellers scurrying out into the near-zero temperatures and causing businesses to close for hours on a holiday weekend during the important après ski hours,” The Edge wrote.
A few days later, The Edge learned that the Barrington Plaza, which had seen the shuttering of its Kmart several months earlier, was acquired for $16.1 million by a Connecticut real estate investment firm. Thankfully, it’s not empty. Marshalls and Tractor Supply filled the void and will share that space.
Plans were finalized for a townwide celebration to honor legendary civil rights leader and native son W.E.B. Du Bois. Ironically, Rev. Martin Luther King was honored in town on his birthday, even as South County residents reacted with righteous indignation after President Donald Trump’s vulgar remarks about immigrants coming from “shithole countries.”
Great Barrington Selectboard Chairman Sean Stanton announced he would not run for re-election after 10 years on the board and leaving a legacy of accomplishments and some regrets. Meanwhile, Stanton’s alma mater, Monument Mountain Regional High School, achieved AP honor roll designation from the College Board.
February
Speaking of the Berkshire Hills Regional School District, after the district avoided a huge budget increase because of rising health insurance premiums, it still had to envision a $1 million increase in assessments for tax-weary Great Barrington.
South County environmental activists first floated the idea of a ban on the sale of plastic water bottles in Great Barrington. Meanwhile, South County educators interviewed by The Edge expressed strong disapproval of Trump’s suggestion that teachers be armed in the wake of the mass murder of 17 students in a Florida high school.
Later that month, Fiber Connect of the Berkshires announced it would wire the downtown core, much to the relief of the businesses that had craved affordable gigabit broadband connections. That project became a reality earlier this month when the company finally began the process of installing equipment to feed businesses and apartments, with the goal of lighting up new customers after the new year.
March
Longtime Berkshire District Attorney David Capeless abruptly announced his resignation, having cut a deal with Gov. Charlie Baker to appoint Capeless’ chief deputy to serve the remainder of his term, thus allowing Paul Caccaviello to run as an incumbent. That spawned a three-way race for the Democratic nomination this fall between Caccaviello and two attorneys with Great Barrington ties: Judy Knight and Andrea Harrington.
Yet another public figure announced he was calling it quits. After 37 years as a community veterinarian, the beloved Ron Majdalany hung up his stethoscope, though he continues on the zoning board of appeals, on which he has served for 31 years.
A lively and unusual race for selectboard developed, with five candidates running for three seats. Meanwhile, the town considered a ban on the sale of so-called flushable wipes and school district residents learned that Amy Rex, who had only been on the job for a few months as the new principal at Monument, was a finalist for a superintendency in Vermont.
She took the job, prompting a second search in as many years. Rex’s departure came on the heels of Muddy Brook Regional Elementary School Principal Mary Berle’s announcement the previous month that she would be leaving the district in June for a job at the Norman Rockwell Museum.
Attorney Kate McCormick announced she would run for register of deeds, after her father, the legendary Ed McCormick, was essentially forced into retirement. A few weeks later, the younger McCormick bailed on her candidacy, opting instead to remain at the Great Barrington law firm that bears the family name, McCormick Murtagh & Marcus.
At the end of the month, The Edge broke the news that wealthy investor and Trump administration Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross had purchased a home on Seekonk Cross Road in Great Barrington for $3.2 million. Needless to say, in deep blue Berkshire County, this did not exactly go over well.
April
Serious discussions began about what to do with the aging high school on Stockbridge Road, budget-cutting discussion in Great Barrington targeted the town’s libraries and the much-anticipated 47 Railroad Street mixed-use project neared completion.
May
As expected, there was heavy pushback from merchants and others against the proposed ban on the sale of plastic water bottles. That measure, along with new zoning regulations on cannabis facilities—the result of a power struggle dubbed the “marijuana wars“—were among the items on the warrant for that month’s annual town meeting.
Both passed. The discussion at town meeting leading to the plastic water bottle vote featured Monument students and was astounding to watch, leading to The Edge headline: “In a matter of minutes, plastic water bottle ban rode a giant wave.”
Two more high-profile personnel decisions were announced, as Lenox superintendent Timothy Lee was hired as the new principal of Muddy Brook Regional Elementary School and town manager Jennifer Tabakin announced that she would not seek to have her contract renewed when it expires in July 2019.
In the annual town elections, incumbent selectman Bill Cooke was re-elected as newcomer Kate Burke, 32, won Stanton’s open seat, signalling a generational and diversity departure away from the white middle-aged men who make up the rest of the board.
Longtime finance committee member Walter “Buddy” Atwood III was defeated by Michelle Loubert in his re-election bid. With the exception of two years when he was on the board of selectmen, Atwood had served on the finance committee since 1995 and was one of the last remaining Republican elected officials in the town.
After the swearing in of new officials, discord marked Steve Bannon’s appointment as chair of the new Great Barrington Selectboard, as officials pondered the complexities of another try at naming a school after the controversial Du Bois and the library trustees endorsed the concept of hosting a statue of him on the front lawn of the Mason Library.
We learned that Suffolk Downs wanted to lease the Great Barrington Fair Ground for thoroughbred horse racing, but a change in state law is necessary and the legislature has yet to act.
Supporters of a movement to repeal that plastic water bottle ban were successful in getting the measure before a special town meeting. Meanwhile, the difficulty in finding qualified help for downtown merchants found a voice in The Edge.
June
Great Barrington learned that the proliferation of recreational pot shops, while perhaps undesirable on some level, could result in significant cash to town coffers. Texas educator Doug Wine was appointed Monument principal, as uncertainty over possible district consolidations clouded planning for a new Monument building.
A proposal to revive the empty Housatonic School was in search of money and tenants. On the other side of town, library trustees listened to veterans protesting the proposed Du Bois statue. The Edge also published a popular report on the downtown economy titled “‘Below the radar and above the shops'”: Great Barrington’s upstairs economy.”
July
Edge readers also learned that the so-called Flying Church would likely host a recreational pot shop, while a proposal to build an apartment complex on Manville Street caused a stir and prompted a lawsuit against the town. Meanwhile, the empty Housie Market was bought by the man who heads the library board of trustees.
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., in the midst of a re-election bid, made a campaign appearance at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center. The otherwise positive event was marred by an altercation between a man waiting in line to get into the theater and Shiva Ayyadurai, one of Warren’s opponents for the Senate seat. The man was later fined and ordered to undergo an “anger management program.”
August
At the special town meeting called to consider repealing the plastic water bottle ban, residents voted instead to sustain it but opted not to have the town purchase the controversial Gary J. O’Brien property on Roger Road. In order to settle a zoning dispute that had angered neighbors, the town had reached an agreement with O’Brien to buy the property for nearly $300,000.
In Housatonic, the state issued a “unilateral administrative order” against the tiny water company serving the village that has been beset with chlorination problems and brown water. Elsewhere in the village, the Ramsdell Library announced plans for a major renovation.
September
In the Democratic primary for Berkshire district attorney, Andrea Harrington, who used to practice law in Great Barrington, won in a squeaker. Harrington went on to win in the general election, despite a write-in candidacy from Cacciaviello, whom she had vanquished in the primary.
The Edge published an extensive report on second homeowners that attracted wide attention. It was headlined “Second-class citizens no longer: Berkshire second-home owners eye greater involvement, voting rights.”
On the transportation front, town residents learned that the state planned to install a roundabout at the intersection of routes 7 and 23 near the police station. Not everyone was thrilled with the idea. And the Division Street bridge had its rating downgraded by the state, which has now deemed it “structurally deficient.” Back at Monument, a student who wore a Confederate flag prompted a great deal of soul searching both inside the school and beyond.
October
A decision in state land court gave a victory to Gary J. O’Brien and dealt a setback to the town and neighbors who object to his heavy trucking activities. And speaking of town government, town manager Jennifer Tabakin announced that the offices formerly located in the Castle Street firehouse would relocate to Town Hall, bringing to a close a sad chapter in the saga of that troubled building sold by the town in 2014 to a retired upstate New York banker.
New winter parking regulations in town were announced. Over on Bridge Street, the vaunted Powerhouse Square development, which will include a new home for the Berkshire Food Co-op, moved to its next phase.
As the town hired a consultant to lead the search for Tabakin’s replacement, Berkshire Hills Regional School Committee member Bill Fields of Great Barrington called for a referendum on a possible merger with the Southern Berkshire Regional School District.
The town of Great Barrington held a celebration in the Mahaiwe of its new state-recognized cultural district. And up on Stockbridge Road, Theory Wellness, Berkshire County’s first medical marijuana dispensary, received a provisional license to sell recreational marijuana, as well.
November
In a heartwarming gesture, Great Barrington barber Jake Hunker offered free haircuts, coffee and donuts to veterans on Veterans Day. At roughly the same time, a consultant released a 130-page report that detailed the challenges facing the Great Barrington Fire Department.
Operators of local cable access channels in South County reacted with outrage to new FCC rules that could drastically cut their funding. It was revealed that vaping is an epidemic in southern Berkshire schools.
Despite vehement objections from several package store owners, the selectboard voted to award additional liquor licenses to two prominent downtown retailers. And on the western edge of town, strong concerns were raised about a possible proposal to construct a 6-megawatt solar power installation on the grounds of the Egremont Country Club.
December
A noisy selectboard hearing was held to consider removing controversial housing authority member Karen Smith from her post. Smith was later the object of an apparently inaccurate complaint about her behavior from the library board of trustees chairman.
Meanwhile, someone filed a complaint with the State Ethics Commission against two Great Barrington selectmen for their role in voting for the aforementioned liquor licenses. Stay tuned for more developments on that story.
