West Stockbridge — At the start of next month, West Stockbridge residents will see Lenox Road closed for all but local traffic when the route is scheduled to be milled and repaved, according to Highway Superintendent Jamie Boyer who addressed the Select Board on September 9.
Lenox Road will be fully milled and blacktopped while Deer Hill Road will receive an overlay after bids for the work were awarded to DelSignore Blacktop Paving Inc., he said.
“I think the best thing for this project—it’s going to start at the beginning of October—we’re going to go ahead and close the road during the day to local traffic only,” Boyer said, adding that the project should take a maximum of four days during the first week of the month.
Additionally, the West Alford Road Bridge in Alford is shut down after a recent start to work on the bridge revealed that needed repairs were greater than expected, requiring a full bridge replacement, he said. That work may impact the drive for West Stockbridge residents traversing Willson Road meeting up with the bridge route. According to Boyer, the bridge repair constituted “an emergency replacement” instead of a one-lane closure, with his department agreeing to assist Alford with its upcoming winter maintenance plans.
Additionally, he informed the Select Board that two trucks ordered by the Highway Department have arrived in time for possible inclement winter weather, including a pickup and a front-line snow fighter. Tree trimming is also scheduled at the end of September to keep the electrical lines free of debris, with a service set to remove about 900 dead and hazardous trees during the winter. Those trees bound for removal have already been reviewed by tree warden Andrew Fudge, who made the determination after visiting each site with National Grid and the town’s arborist.
“Trees on the wires are one of our most frequent calls,” Boyer said.
At the meeting, Department of Public Works (DPW) Director Curt Wilton applauded Boyer who, along with DPW crew member John Lyford, recently earned Master Road Scholar status after completing the necessary training from the Baystate Roads Scholar Program. “It’s a pretty good commendation for what [Boyer] and Lyford have accomplished,” Wilton said.
Department of Public Works update
Praising youths Evan Alfonso, Owen Brennan, and Evan Albert for their help in removing large and interfering pine trees from the town’s three cemeteries this summer, Wilton said the downed trees had outlived their lifespans, with their roots extending into gravesites and damaging headstones. This year marked the seventh year of a 10-year program to remediate the local cemeteries, he said.
Wilton reported that a previously approved, state-of-the-art pavilion is slated to be installed at Town Hall in mid-October. Using Community Preservation Commission funds, the 16-by-32-foot structure will be completed before Halloween, he said. A second pavilion will be erected at Card Pond.
This summer was “the worst” for bacteria, e-coli, that closed the Card Pond beach for about 80 percent of the season, Wilton noted. He said plans are being discussed to keep geese off the beach and shoreline next summer.
This fall, Day Farm Road at the town’s transfer station is on the docket to be repaved, Wilton said. The three-day project will force the closure of the station, he said, but notice will be given to the Select Board and residents once dates are finalized.
Although Wilton didn’t have the removal of Japanese Knotweed on his agenda, comments made by resident Lorri Santhay alerting him of the presence of the highly invasive species at the transfer station lot created another project for his department.
“It’s listed by the World Conservation Union as ‘one of the world’s worst invasive species,’” Santhay said of the Japanese Knotweed she noticed on town property. “It’s on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s list of Terrestrial (land-dwelling) Invasive Plants and is on the State of Massachusetts’ Prohibited Plant List.”
Wilton said he will check out the Japanese Knotweed growth at the transfer station.
Upcoming events
Berkshire Health Alliance will sponsor two vaccine clinics at Town Hall: October 8, from 8 to 10 a.m., and October 17, from 4 to 6 p.m. Preregistration is required here or by scanning the QR code here.
Halloween Trick or Treating will take place in West Stockbridge on October 31, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
The Select Board meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. on September 23 will include a round-table discussion in Chair Andrew Potter’s ‘Meet and Confer’ format focusing on the state’s recently passed Affordable Housing Act. The session will be a joint meeting with the town’s Planning Board, affordable housing trust fund administrators, and other representatives, as well as town counsel, to converse about how local officials can comply with the new legislative measures.
Following a discussion regarding adding welcoming signs at the town’s entrances, the issue will be taken up by the Select Board at the group’s October 7 meeting.
