Stockbridge — Although Select Board member Jorja Marsden took the third empty seat on the dais for the first time during last week’s session, she did not look like a newbie.
Marsden added comments towards the end of the agenda, citing items she would like the group to take on during her special term that followed the June 10 resignation of former Select Board member Patrick White. She won the town’s August 26 special election over candidate Charlotte “Sally” Underwood-Miller with about 72 percent of the votes cast.
At the September 4 meeting, Marsden commented that she desired to see upcoming agendas include a consideration of the fate of a town PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) committee…that has dwindled to only two members as well as funding possibilities for the Community Preservation Committee and digitizing town records. She also suggested a discussion on investigating an increase in the number of Select Board members from three individuals to five, possibly through a committee. “We don’t need to do all this in the next meeting or two, but those are just some topics that I have been thinking about that we should be discussing,” she said during the meeting. “And there could be more in the future.”
Minacci beat Marsden to the punch about a future agenda listing to add a public comment segment to Select Board meetings. The issue arose when residents packed the group’s meeting room following the resignation of Highway Superintendent Hugh Page, with some stating they wanted to address the Select Board during its open session regarding that action but could not without a public comment segment.
Minacci proposed adding a public comment section to the agenda “now that we’re fully complete,” with its final board member seated.
“I definitely would like to have that for discussion,” said Marsden, who also took the same position on adding a public comment segment when she responded to a candidate forum question before the election.
The public comment discussion item is slated to be listed on the Select Board’s September 18 meeting agenda.
Both Minacci and Select Board member Ernest “Chuck” Cardillo commented favorably on “hav[ing] a full board.”
Status of capital improvement projects
According to Town Administrator Michael Canales, projects awarded in the May 19 Town Meeting “[are] either in progress, or some are nearing completion or have been completed.”
Although renovation efforts for the Chime Tower “are moving along” in anticipation of being completed before winter, Canales said, work on the second Averic Road bridge is taking a little longer due to a change in the engineering company assigned to the project and the need for an updated technical review.
For the smaller projects, Canales’ overview reflected that Town Hall roof repairs are set to be completed before winter and the new pickleball courts will be finished this week. A 40-yard dumpster has been delivered to the town’s transfer station; research is continuing for the Revolutionary War memorial that will include the names of Stockbridge Munsee tribal members as well as the Stockbridge Munsee Mohican Nation flag; and new voting clickers have been ordered. Residents can look for radar signs to be installed on Massachusetts Route 183 at Train Hill Road as those signs have been received, and a new flagpole is scheduled to be delivered this month for installation at Town Hall.
For updates to town vehicles, a hybrid police cruiser and a hybrid truck for the Water and Sewer Department have been ordered. Roof work on the cemetery mausoleum has begun, and portions of sidewalk connections on Church Street are finished.
Stockbridge to mark its 250th anniversary
Through Council on Aging Director Katie Szwyd, planning for Stockbridge’s 250th anniversary celebration is underway.
Marsden suggested representatives of the various groups working on the project combine their efforts into one committee—Norman Rockwell, Chesterwood, Naumkeag, Stockbridge Library—so the program “can encompass the whole town.” “We have a lot of history here, and I think it would be great if we could all collaborate,” she said.
A committee to coordinate the anniversary program is being formed, and those interested can contact the Select Board or Canales.
