West Stockbridge — With Town Treasurer Karen Williams retiring, the Select Board unanimously approved Benjamin Gelb to the position during during their October 2 meeting.
Gelb, who also holds the title in the towns of Rowe and Washington, will be in West Stockbridge full time on Tuesdays and in some capacity on the remaining weekdays as he said he has flexibility within his other positions to devote time to West Stockbridge. Introduced by Town Administrator Marie Ryan, he said he enjoys the job and has “been able to fully cover the cost of [his] salary for every town [he has] worked for just by the increases in revenue.”
Gelb has a master’s degree in business analytics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst Isenberg School of Management. Select Board Chair Kathleen Keresey said Gelb’s resume was “very impressive.”
Williams’ last day as Treasurer is October 5, and Gelb started the job on October 3.
Real Estate Transfer Tax: For another day
With the expectation of a housing bill to be announced by the state legislature within the next two weeks, Keresey suggested the board curtail a conversation on a real estate transfer tax proposal until members can determine what Massachusetts will be considering regarding the fee. “The way we were thinking about proceeding is a little bit of a moot point at this point in time,” she said.
During its September 28 Special Meeting, the board received a presentation by Great Barrington Vice Chair Leigh Davis regarding the particulars of one version of a transfer tax proposal that would assess residential sales of more than $1 million, splitting a one percent tax between buyer and seller, with those funds going toward the town’s Affordable Housing Trust.
“It’s not known what’s in that bill so it could be that it includes issues around the transfer of fees for real estate purchases,” Keresey said.
Citizen Speak gets interesting
Richmond Select Board Chair Neal Pilson approached the West Stockbridge Select Board regarding Wiseacre Farm in West Stockbridge, a licensed cannabis-growing facility owned by Jon Piasecki. According to Pilson, several Richmond residents near the business have voiced concern regarding odor emanating from the property. He said he could not state what the source of the odor was, either the plants themselves or the processing. Although no formal complaints have been filed, Pilson said the neighbors “are being very adamant that they are being inconvenienced and quite unhappy about smelling the odors coming from the plant.”
He said the issue isn’t unique to Richmond but is experienced by other communities in western and central Massachusetts. “What we’d like and we request on behalf of our residents is for the town of West Stockbridge to take the necessary steps to investigate, to seek to ascertain the course and the nature of the problem, and to remedy it in conjunction with the owner of the property,” Pilson said. “This is the traditional way these complaints have been addressed in other towns.”
Since the item wasn’t on the meeting’s agenda, Keresey said the board could not take up the issue at the session.
The Berkshire Edge reached out to Piasecki for comment, with Piasecki saying that contact was the first he had heard of the issue brought before the West Stockbridge Select Board. “As the cannabis matures, it does become more aromatic for a brief period,” he said of the aromatic time that began about two weeks ago. “We’re right in the middle of the harvest now. We have about 40 people working here, racing against the clock to harvest before the frost when, of course, all smell will be gone.”
The farm is located within the specific marijuana overlay district laid out for West Stockbridge, Piasecki said. “Our goal and expectation is to have limited impact,” he said. “Again, it’s seasonal in nature; it happens just around this time of year and then it’s gone.”
Piasecki said he has fencing along the property, with a steep slope and a railroad trestle to help trap the odor. “We are surrounded by a vacant lot to the west, the railroad trestle to the north on the way to Richmond,” he said. “Then there’s a gravel pit to the east, and we have a 500-acre wildlife refuge to the south. So, we’re about as far away as we can possibly be.”
The venture “is trying to be good neighbors,” Piasecki said, adding that he planted fall clematis in the spring to also help defray the smells. “We really designed the project to stay grade separated from everything.” Wiseacre Farm began operations in June, he said.
The board also heard from individuals who are meeting with other residents about how to defray state and local taxes, especially for senior citizens and those with disabilities.
New Select Board positions
At the session, Keresey said the board neglected to appoint two other positions to the dais. With unanimous vote, the group approved members Andrew Krouss as Clerk and Andrew Potter as Secretary.
