Main Street Reconstruction, revisited: Public meeting Dec. 17
Great Barrington — Town Planner Christopher Rembold has compiled a list of ideas to enhance downtown Great Barrington for both during the Main Street reconstruction project and the long term. The ideas were generated by residents last spring at a presentation from Project for Public Spaces, about “Placemaking,” for the downtown area. Rembold sent out a letter along with the list, and said many of the projects were “interesting and very achievable,” and should perhaps be considered now “before the spring construction season.”
“Things like art and cultural offerings, portable seating and shade, music, murals, marketing communications and other activities that will help us through the construction season and make our downtown welcoming to visitors and residents,” Rembold wrote.
“We believe that working together, we can plan and execute a few of these ideas, and have a positive impact.” Rembold is hoping for a good showing this Wednesday morning, December 17 from 8:30 am to 10 am at Town Hall, “to identify how to accomplish some of these projects.”
Rembold encourages residents to come to the meeting.
To see the list of ideas or for more information contact Town Planner Christopher Rembold at townofgb.org.
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Bill to mandate Payments in Lieu of Taxes dead
A bill attempting to address the needs of municipalities with a large number of tax-exempt properties owned by nonprofits has pretty much died, according to Rep.William “Smitty” Pignatelli (D-Lenox).
The Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA) was behind a policy initiative “requiring a level of contributions from nonprofits,” Tabakin told the Selectboard last week, though she later learned the bill was unlikely to pass. She and the Selectboard have been looking for ways to increase the tax base, and the legislation got Tabakin’s attention.
Pignatelli said today (December 15) that the bill “had already been sent to a study, which is the proverbial black hole.” While the process could be started all over again in January, he said, “the bill is considered dead.”
In prior year budget discussions, Tabakin said she and the Selectboard tried to give the issue attention, to be “more consistent about what we have in terms of payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT).” It now appears such payments will only be made voluntarily, if at all.
Tabakin said she also “recognizes that non-profits are very valuable to the economy of Great Barrington and the state.”
The town has 268 tax-exempt parcels; government entities own 90 of those, and 178 are owned by tax-exempt charitable organizations, according to Tabakin. Several non-profit organizations make voluntary payments in lieu of taxes. According to Town Assessor Christopher Lamarre, Great Barrington’s PILOT participants are Hillcrest Educational Centers, AIER (American Institute for Economic Research), Great Barrington Housing Authority, Berkshire Housing Authority and CDC/Hillside Avenue Apartments.
“We are extremely grateful and appreciative for each of them,” Lamarre wrote in an email. “I’m not surprised the bill met its demise. There is scant enthusiasm to compel nonprofit and charitable organizations to pay taxes either in whole, or in part, as the MMA bill suggested.”
Pignatelli said this is a “historical” problem. From the outside, he said, it looks like a lot of lost revenue. But from the inside, “imagine you are a church and have to start fundraising to pay your property taxes, he said. “What do we do with churches, synagogues, museums, theaters…” He noted non-profits that perhaps offset the loss — organizations like Tanglewood, he said, that generate over $62 million every year. “Are we going to be splitting hairs over their $20,000 tax bill?”
But Lamarre is “very thankful,” he said, for those organizations that “are willing to assist their host communities in defraying the cost of providing essential public services through financial contributions.”
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Community Block Grants Offer Assistance
Federal Community Development Block Grants for housing rehabilitation announced by the Gov. Deval Patrick in Housatonic last summer now make it possible for Great Barrington and Sheffield homeowners with low or moderate income to apply for help. “All applications are strictly confidential,” said Town Planner Christopher Rembold at last week’s Selectboard meeting. He said the assistance could be “substantial.”
Town Manager Tabakin said she was eager to “get the word out” about the grant applications. “It’s a good opportunity, and I want to make sure everybody who is eligible can apply for it.”
The program is managed by Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, and provides the home improvement assistance in the form of zero-percent deferred payment loans for low- and moderate-income homeowners. According to the town, the maximum award of funds for a single rehabilitation project is $30,000; approximately 15 housing units will be rehabilitated. The type of repairs “include roofing, foundation repair, installation of energy efficient windows and doors, insulation, accessibility improvements, plumbing, electrical repair or replacement, septic, water supply, lead paint removal, exterior paint, etc,” according to the town.
Preference will be given to residents living in the program’s target areas: Housatonic Village and town-wide in Sheffield. The application states that “applicants must not exceed the following income limits based on household size: 1 person: $44,750; 2 persons: $51,150; 3 persons: $57,550; 4 persons: $63,900; 5 persons: $69,050; 6 persons: $74,150; 7 persons: $79,250; 8 or more persons: $84,350.”
The grant totaling $803,100 is overseen by the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, and also includes “engineering designs for infrastructure improvements in Housatonic Village, and architectural designs for the elimination of accessibility barriers in Sheffield Town Hall.”
Applications are available at libraries, senior centers, Town Halls in Great Barrington and Sheffield, as well as on Great Barrington’s website and Sheffield’s. To learn more about the program and the grant, go to: https://berkshireplanning.org/projects/regional-community-development-block-grant-project/
To call or email, contact Patricia Mullins at 413-442-1521 x17 (pmullins@berkshireplanning.org) or Jaclyn Pacejo at 413-442-1521 x32 (jpacejo@berkshireplanning.org).
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Town auctioning foreclosed properties
Great Barrington — Town Manager Jennifer Tabakin announced at last week’s Selectboard meeting an auction date of January 30 for thirteen properties owned by the town for many years due to foreclosure. Details about each property can be downloaded from the Sullivan & Sullivan Auctioneers LLC website which, in red caps, says, “Town Says Sell – Low Minimum Bids!”
The town website also has a link to the Sullivan & Sullivan site, and has distributed purple flyers to advertise the auction around town. The auction will take place at Town Hall at 334 Main Street at 1 p.m. Registration begins at 12:15 pm.
