Tag: Stephen Bannon

At its Monday, October 24 meeting, the Great Barrington Select Board reviewed the first of the two redevelopment proposals for the former Housatonic School from Arete Venture Partners LLC.

As required by collective bargaining agreements, Town Manager Mark Pruhenski bargained with labor unions representing town workers on Friday.

We are concerned for the welfare of year-round residents AND second-home owners. More people arriving here, especially from an area where the likelihood of illness is high, is not good for the people arriving or the people already here.

The town will be discussing the possibility of delaying tax and license deadlines by an additional 30 days once approval is granted from the state.

Frankly, I never wanted to get into this, but the issues here are so clear and the arrogance of the Great Barrington Selectboard majority is so great that I am doing what I have to do.

I have always thanked New York Gov. Cuomo for filling Great Barrington’s coffers. It didn’t seem to lower my tax bill, but who pays attention to those things?

But there is a workaround for local control. The project would require as many as three special permits from the town.

At Monday's Great Barrington Selectboard meeting at the Claire Teague Senior Center, concerns ranged from traffic, speeding, and the impact the closure of the Division Street and Cottage Street bridges are having on businesses and residents alike.

Brandee Nelson said the task force is "confused" about what the selectboard's "goal is going forward" and "how confusing it might be to drivers" in transitioning the road to one-way and then going "to a closure scenario."

At issue is the fact that the Conservation Commission, which, on the local level, enforces the state Wetlands Protection Act, is also charged with enforcing the town's own wetland bylaw, which is somewhat more stringent than the state law.

Among the problems with a permanent closure, town manager Mark Pruhenski said, is the lack of a plan to deal with a "turn-around and detour of vehicles" from the sudden closure of the Division Street bridge earlier this month.

School committee members noted that the driving force behind the merger should be greater opportunity for students and a desire "to keep education strong" in the two districts amid declining enrollments.

Town manager Mark Pruhenski told the audience that such a move might force the town alone to pay the costs of replacement.

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.

Berkshire Hills voted unanimously to appoint two subcommittees. The first will focus on the nuts and bolts of a potential consolidation. On the recommendation of the Southern Berkshire school committee, a second subcommittee would focus on the educational aspect of the potential consolidation.