West Stockbridge — Following three Select Board meetings listing “Vote to approve contract with Tech Environmental” on its agendas and two record requests for the agreement filed by The Berkshire Edge, Town Administrator Marie Ryan released the terms of that contract on September 8 and 9.
A copy of the agreement and related correspondence can be found here.
Backstory
According to Select Board member Kathleen Keresey, the August 26 meeting listed online was cancelled. Another meeting, held two days later on August 28 and with the same agenda but not listed online, resulted in a unanimous vote by Keresey and Select Board Chair Andy Krouss approving the contract without any discussion of its terms, parameters, or fees.
Finally, Keresey and Krouss approved the measure at a September 5 Select Board meeting, without any discussion or noting the intent of the agreement. At that session, Krouss stated another vote was necessary “due to a clerical error in posting” the August 28 meeting.
The issue prompted an outcry by residents and neighbors of cannabis facility Wiseacre during the final meeting’s public comment segment, inquiring as to what the contract entailed. Wiseacre co-owner Jon Piasecki and his attorney Aaron Dubois asked for those details, citing that the contract has a direct effect on the business.
On August 28, The Berkshire Edge filed email requests for the contract listed in the August 26 and August 28 meeting agendas.
Odor complaints, response
Since beginning operations in 2022, Wiseacre has been the subject of complaints filed with the town by residents of West Stockbridge and nearby Richmond who abut the facility, voicing concern about odors emanating from Wiseacre that have interfered with their daily lives and the enjoyment of their homes. Neighbors Advocating for Fresh Air (NAFA) was formed by those affected individuals and is represented by local attorney William E. Martin.
The Select Board previously engaged Tech Environmental in February 2024 to review and comment on a 2023 plan presented by Wiseacre that was developed by specialist Byers Scientific. The plan uses an agricultural fan and odor-neutralizing agents to deter the negative effects of the smells from its facility. At that time, the Massachusetts-based firm charged West Stockbridge $4,500 for a site visit and initial review, with those fees paid by Wiseacre under the terms of its Host Community Agreement with the town.
However, Tech Environmental’s fees pursuant to its new contract will be borne by West Stockbridge coffers.
Meanwhile, Wiseacre’s 2022 three-year special permit to operate on Baker Street was recently acknowledged by the West Stockbridge Planning Board to automatically renew for another two years without town intervention due to a state law allowing such action. As a result, Wiseacre’s special permit will not be up for renewal until November 2027.
Contract aims to create a baseline odor-monitoring program, train town employees on how to assess odor complaints
The two-fold contract provides for Tech Environmental to be the consultant to the town of West Stockbridge regarding odor issues stemming from Wiseacre.
First, according to the agreement, Tech Environmental will develop a “baseline odor monitoring program” to be used in late summer and fall, peak times for odors emitted during the facility’s harvest season. By establishing “actual and target baselines” using five odor-monitoring rounds at Wiseacre’s fence line as well as at homesites noting complaints, the program could be used to determine thresholds for whether Wiseacre is complying with the odor standard. The charge for this portion of the contract is $7,800.
Second, the agreement provides that Tech Environmental will train up to 10 town employees on how to respond to odor complaints using a test, the “n-butanol jar kit,” as well as develop a standardized odor complaint form to document complaint “frequency, intensity, duration and odor character.” The charge for this portion of the contract is $3,900.
An August 29 letter from Tech Environmental President Michael T. Lannan to Ryan alleges that not all of its prior odor-mitigation recommendations were implemented by Wiseacre. Lannan states that, in April, the facility agreed to add more odor-control measures in exchange for the town holding off on mandating an odor threshold. The correspondence further alleges the existence of a “wide gap between odor levels reported by residents and those acknowledged by the facility,” with Tech Environmental “asked to advise on establishing a clear, location-specific compliance threshold.”
“The proposed program provides the Town with objective, defensible data on both baseline conditions and complaint-driven events,” Lannan states.
Wiseacre questions contract validity, odor-monitoring procedure
In a telephone interview with The Berkshire Edge, Dubois questioned the validity of the contract due to possible violations of the Massachusetts Open Meeting Law. He cited the numerous executive sessions held by the West Stockbridge Select Board as evidence of the dais abusing its use of those sessions.
Since January 1, the group has met in seven executive sessions—February 26, March 13, April 9, May 8, June 10, August 8, and August 13—regarding Wiseacre, specifically “to discuss strategy with respect to litigation, as an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the litigating position of the public body and the chair so declares.” Wiseacre representatives confirmed the entity is not involved in a lawsuit with West Stockbridge or NAFA members.
According to Dubois, the procedure to be employed in this latest consultant contract—using an n-butanol comparative scale—involves a synthetic compound. “All it achieves is measuring the individual subjective sensitivity of the person experiencing that chemical which has nothing to do with any of the aromas put out by the natural farming of the plant,” he said. “It’s not appropriate for any testing that is aiming to be objective. It doesn’t measure cannabis or anything that is point source. It measures from the subjective point of view of the person experiencing the n-butanol at a given location.”
Regarding the April meeting, Dubois said his client agreed to install additional mitigation measures such as more misting nozzles emitting the odor-neutralizing agents and noise baffles on the fan. “But the notion that the town has the ability to mandate any level of [odor] is in and of itself a false idea,” he said, adding that Tech Environmental is not a neutral third party as the company is engaged by town officials. “At this time, Wiseacre Farm is considering all options.”
