It was standing-room only as dozens of angry residents of the Housatonic section of Great Barrington, including a former selectman, vented their feelings about the committee's consideration of funding a proposal from the town affordable housing trust to acquire land for housing.
In the spirit of reflection and self-examination, herein lies The Edge's second annual Great Barrington year in review. It includes some select stories from other South County towns as well, along with embedded links to Edge stories for more information.
On several occasions during the hearing, Great Barrington Selectboard Chairman Steve Bannon rapped his gavel and warned hecklers that they would be removed from the room if they persisted.
The Community Development Corporation of South Berkshire can finally proceed with its plan to build an affordable housing complex at 100 Bridge Street after receiving the go-ahead from the selectboard.
A Proposition 2½ override also passed by a margin of 692-402. The measure will allow the town to raise the tax levy enough to address building improvements to the former Housatonic School, Housatonic fire station, police station and Town Hall.
"I have no idea how this election will turn out. I put signs up this weekend. I asked some people to put up signs and they said no. They liked everybody."
-- Great Barrington Selectboard Chair Steve Bannon
The devil, however, was in the details, as panelists debated the pros and cons of building a brand-new new school or stripping the old one down to its core, constructing an addition and adding sprinkler systems and new infrastructure.
"The work I do provides me with unique insights into how Great Barrington might better leverage state and federal monies, pursue shared services, and develop creative partnerships which would help to strengthen and sustain our community."
-- Great Barrington Selectboard candidate Leigh Davis
The plan, the only one the town has so far received after several requests for proposals, calls for an adaptive reuse of the vacant 110-year-old school on Pleasant Street in the center of the village of Housatonic.
If the Berkshire Hills Regional School District could increase the number of towns that are formally members of the district, it could be leveraged to have a significant effect on the reimbursement rate for a potential project from the Massachusetts School Building Authority.
"Ultimately, it costs so much money for people to start these businesses, that it's just another way for rich people to make more money. That's not a great thing for a town that touts itself as progressive."
-- Great Barrington Selectboard member Kate Burke
The reality is that several businesses on that strip have closed in recent months, leading to the question of what replaces those businesses that have left and whether the current zoning is too restrictive to allow for a full range of replacements, including residential or mixed-use combinations.
In the push for medical cannabis approval in 2012 in Massachusetts, and then to the passage of recreational in 2016, the ACLU, Drug Policy Alliance and others stressed the racial and class disparities of the war on drugs. It is a fair guess that many of the more than 60 percent of Berkshire County voters who checked “yes” on the 2016 ballot question did so at least in part to help right these wrongs.
A common complaint among employees of the district and their families was that district officials did not adequately consult with faculty and staff about what was needed in terms of design and the accommodation of innovative curriculum, for example.
Abrahams said all elected and appointed government officials in the state take an ethics exam every other year. There is a phone number officials can call if they have a question and need to talk to someone at the ethics commission.
