The services offered range from crisis intervention and economic stabilization to mobility monitoring, housing counseling, adult education, referrals and collaborative services.
Building inspector Ed May attributes the increased revenue and inspection work to a wave of commercial investment and construction in Great Barrington, along with some high-end homes in the area.
The rickety-looking bridge has long been the subject of complaints and concerns of nearby residents and passersby who have questioned its structural integrity and the appropriateness of allowing large vehicles such as dump trucks and semi-tractor trailers to rumble over its pockmarked decking.
The project, which will include both new construction and reuse of the mill, would add retail and office space, restaurants, a health club and pool open to the public, and in excess of 100 units of housing.
Among the projects that would receive support from the CPA are elderly housing at Bostwick Gardens, Lake Mansfield improvements, Great Barrington Historical Society, Great Barrington Land Conservancy, Town Hall repair, an elevator for Rubin Mill building in Housatonic, Berkshire Natural Resources Council and the Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
One cannot swing a cat in town lately without hitting a controversy: Michelle Loubert complained that using CPA funds to finance repair of the historic Unitarian Universalist Meeting House in Housatonic violated separation of church and state.
