At first glance, the July 10 West Stockbridge Select Board agenda appeared brief; however, citizen comments provided members with a lot of information to mull over for future consideration.
Special permits
James “Dutch” Pinkston IV and Jack Houghton, members of West Stockbridge’s Zoning Board of Adjustments, addressed the dais regarding the group’s June 29 hearing that resulted in a decision to continue the session to July 24, allowing members time to seek the assistance of a sound expert in the appeal filed by Truc Orient Express (Trai Thi Duong and Truc Nguyen). The appeal stems from a complaint that sound emanating from The Foundry (Two Harris St. Inc.) was allegedly above allowable decibel limits; however, the town’s zoning enforcement officer disagreed. He found the alleged action didn’t violate the venue’s special permit, and, instead, noise detected on special equipment provided by The Foundry to detect sound levels came from outside the venue, including the nearby highway.
On Monday evening, Houghton asked the Select Board to include in its July 24 agenda a request by the ZBA to fund “an expert, professional, that would evaluate the evidence and provide us with an interpretive opinion … [as well as] expert testimony and a conclusion as to whether or not the allegations were well-founded and violative of the special permit issued by the planning board.” Houghton said, “I feel that this is going to be a repetitive issue, a serious issue for the town. I feel strongly that the town needs an independent professional that would be able to give us interpretive direction, keeping in mind that the ultimate decision is with the board.”
The Select Board did not take up any discussion on the item as it was not set on the night’s agenda. A second appeal is also pending between the same parties and alleging a similar complaint.
Prior to Pinkston and Houghten’s discussion, Nguyen approached the podium with concerns over amplified sounds from a recent TurnPark event that she alleged could be heard from inside her home. She said she called law enforcement to ask the venue to turn down the sound emanating from the site and was now addressing the Select Board regarding their “entertainment permitting [process] for certain businesses that keep exceeding volumes.” Nguyen asked, “What do we have to do to have some acknowledgement of accountability or enforcement or, when you are giving the permits out, saying ‘this cannot exceed this limit because this is going to infringe [on privacy].’ Our town is so small, and it’s surrounded by mountains, [the sound] bounces into our homes.”
Chair Kathleen Keresey suggested Nguyen address the town at the time when special permits are issued but said, “it’s not for us to be relitigating this at this point.”
Local traffic issues
Residents approached the board, citing concerns over unregistered school buses appearing within the town’s borders, cars speeding and crossing Route 41’s double yellow line, trucks with uncovered beds hauling items, and vehicles passing school buses that are traveling with children bound for summer activities.
The town has long been tackling the issue of Route 41’s speeding vehicles, with a 2022 consultant’s report that analyzed the traffic and safety conditions along Great Barrington Road (Route 41) between Cobb Road and Long Pond Road, finding “that the speeds of both passenger vehicles and heavy vehicles tend to exceed the posted speed limit along Great Barrington Road.” The report, prompted by a citizens’ petition, recommended installing speed feedback signs and centerline rumble stripes.
One resident shared a written memorandum detailing her concerns, with Keresey directing Assistant Town Clerk Marie Ryan to provide the document to Police Chief Marc Portieri, who also took to the podium to address the issues. “First of all, you wanted double lines on [Route] 41 and that didn’t stop anybody and it’s never going to stop anybody,” Portieri said. The department’s policies dictate that officers cannot exceed a speed limit to chase a vehicle, including motorcycles who drive 15 miles per hour over the stated limit,” he said.
Referencing an individual at the meeting who refused to provide her identity to The Berkshire Edge, Portieri said residents have interfered with his officers during motor vehicle stops, calling those officers derogatory terms. “I don’t appreciate my cops being harassed when they are trying to have a motor vehicle stop,” he said during a heated exchange.
Meeting attendees pushed for greater law enforcement efforts to apprehend speeders traveling through town and more full-time officers for a community that is experiencing “growing pains.”
Portieri said that, last week, his department dealt with 120 calls and two heroin arrests, and requested the Select Board add a discussion about police enforcement of traffic regulations on its next agenda.
Action taken
The Board unanimously approved authorizing Ryan to disseminate an employee handbook to town staff. She was also directed to post on the town’s website a request for interested parties to state their desire to become trustees of West Stockbridge’s Affordable Housing Trust, the first step in moving forward with the entity that was officially approved by the state’s Attorney General office.
At the request of Select Board Member Andrew Potter, the Board agreed to provide all recordings of Select Board meetings on the West Stockbridge website, with the possibility of adding other meetings as well. He also suggested advertising open volunteer positions on the website to alert the public of the existence of opportunities to participate in local government.
