2018 has provided enough Great Barrington news to keep journalists busy and observers of town politics highly amused, signaling that the community dubbed "best small town in America" by Smithsonian Magazine continues to be a place in transition.
In his letter Bill Burger writes: “Any benefit derived from additional electricity to businesses will be greatly overshadowed by lessening the tourist trade.”
The commissioners emphasized that, at the moment, there is no proposal. And besides, their charge was a narrow one: to interpret and enforce the state Wetlands Protection Act. Further approvals would likely be the purview of the planning board.
In their letter to the editor, Sharon Gregory, Patricia Ryan and Gabrielle Senza write: "Allowing the Planning Board to grant a special permit to an industrial scale solar project, especially in residential zones, would set a terrible precedent."
Inspector Edwin May did his job by interpreting what was available on the books. He treated Kearsarge’s project, which is to generate power at discounted rates for three central Massachusetts municipalities, as “light industrial” and so not allowed on the land the company planned to lease from farmer Bob Coons.
Among the usual farm stressors, lowered milk prices prevented farmer Bob Coons from expanding the cowherd, leaving him to look for new ways to survive and leasing 20 of his roughly 200 acres, mostly wetlands, being his only shot at staying on the land his family has farmed since the 1950s.
Steiner board president Tom Sternal said, while some administrators knew the school’s neighbor was considering building a solar array, neither the administration nor the school’s board understood the size and scope of the project until around one week ago.
“Until last week the school did not understand the location, the size, or the timing of the project. We’re just attempting to collect as much information as possible to share with our families, hear their concerns, and work with Kearsarge Energy to bring about a solution.
-- Tom Sternal, president of the board of trustees at the Great Barrington Rudolf Steiner School
Building Inspector Edwin May said the property did not have sufficient frontage for a building lot and is not by right since it sits in a residential/agricultural zone.
The town’s attorney has reviewed the citizen petitions, five of which refer to school district finances, and determined that their effect would be non-binding and advisory only, according to Town Manager Jennifer Tabakin.
We are not professional developers. We’re the leading edge of a community movement to get this done and to make this happen at the fairgrounds.
-- Janet Elsbach, co-proprietor of the Great Barrington Fair Ground
If Kirt Mayland’s Housatonic Solar Project achieves its objectives, the Berkshire Hills Regional School District, the Southern Berkshire Regional School District, and the town of Great Barrington would all become the beneficiaries, with significant savings on the cost of electricity.
