Lanesborough Eyes Reserves For New Police Cruiser

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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The Board of Selectmen want to go through all of the options instead of simply replacing the damaged cruiser with another car.
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The Board of Selectmen are preparing to dip into reserves to purchase a new police cruiser.

The board will go to the Finance Committee and request those funds and, in the fall, ask voters to replenish the account. Selectmen are eyeing a maximum of $30,000 to replace a damaged vehicle.

That means two brand-new cruisers could be on the road this year because another has already been approved and ordered.

However, in return for two new cars in the same year, the Selectmen are also thinking of delaying the next purchase. The town replaces a cruiser every two years.

"If we're going to end up with two new cars now, maybe we should put off the new car in two years until three years," Selectman William Prendergast said.

Voters already approved splitting the cost of a new vehicle with the Baker Hill Road District. That vehicle has already been ordered and will be delivered to the town in the fall, according to Police Chief Mark Bashera.

While one new car is already purchased with a trade-in, the other cruiser was recently damaged in an accident. Bashera said the subframe of that patrol car was damaged after an officer hit a rock in the Vacation Village parking lot late at night.

The town's insurance will cover just short of $10,000 to fix it. He said he was looking at replacing the car with a used one as well as save money by the department transferring the equipment itself.

"Now I need to expedite to get another cruiser here," Bashera told the Selectmen. "I am going to save as much as I can on this."

Bashera said he hoped to keep the cost below $20,000. The board, however, asked Bashera to look into new vehicles instead including all-wheel drive ones. In the meantime, police are borrowing a patrol vehicle from the Berkshire County sheriff's department.

"If everything went through, we'd have three patrol vehicles," Bashera said.

Police have six vehicles in all — three patrol cars, a K9 vehicle, the chief's car and a backup four-wheel drive SUV. By purchasing an all-wheel drive patrol car, it could delay the purchase of a new four-wheel drive vehicle, the Selectmen hope.

Board members are also considering the replacement of the fire chief's vehicle and with the new police cars, they are wondering if there is a way to "marry" the interests — such as giving the backup four-wheel drive vehicle to the Fire Department or reducing the number of vehicles in the Police Department.

Bashera said he will get prices for all of the options and report back to the board at a later date.


Lanesborough is using a patrol car from the Berkshire County sheriff's department until a new one is purchased.
In other business, interim Town Administrator Joseph Kellogg said the town has received eight applications for the full-time administrator position.

The board is opting to replace Kellogg with the town's first full-time administrator and will be asking for additional money to fund the position at a special town meeting on July 31.

Kellogg said he has advertised the position for 30 days on *BerkshireJobs.com for $125, for 30 days with the Massachusetts Municipal Association at $135 and with The Berkshire Eagle for one day at about $600.

The board hopes to fill the position by September.

The town will also call a joint meeting with the Williamstown Board of Selectmen 30 minutes before July 31's special town meeting to fill Jack Hickey's seat on the Mount Greylock Regional School Committee. Hickey resigned from the board last month.

"Anyone interested in serving on the committee until the fall when the seat will be filled by election, they need to send a letter to the Board of Selectmen," Kellogg said. "The appointment this group is making will only last until the fall."

*Full disclosure: BerkshireJobs.com is a subsidiary of iBerkshires.com.

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Lanesborough to Negotiate New HCA With Only Dispensary

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. Due to evolving state regulations, the town must settle on a new or amended host community agreement with its only dispensary.
 
On Monday, Feb. 24, the Select Board voted to allow Town Administrator Gina Dario to work with counsel towards a resolution.  Dario felt that both parties were willing to come up with a practical solution.
 
Liberty Market, located on North Main Street, has requested a new host community agreement or host community agreement waiver in lieu thereof.  The town was sent a notice of non-compliance from the Cannabis Control Commission in January.
 
"The discussion for the Select Board is whether or not to proceed with either a redrafting of the current host community agreement or a re-negotiation of a new host community agreement that uses a more prescriptive template that is being provided by The Cannabis Control Commission," Dario explained.
 
A couple of years ago, the Canabis Control Commission (CCC) approved changes to the state's adult and medical use regulations including policies that implement the agency's oversight of host community agreements, new equity requirements, and suitability reform.
 
"The Cannabis Control Commission is taking the position that changes to the cannabis laws which went into effect in November of 2022 are retroactive and affect pre-existing agreements, such as the one that the town has with Liberty Market," Attorney Nicole Costanzo said.
 
"Of course, there are some novel legal issues presented as to whether or not the legislative changes do retroactively affect pre-existing host community agreements. It's my understanding that the town does want to work with Liberty Market nevertheless and try and get them a "compliant" agreement for purposes of the Cannabis Control Commission issuing them a license renewal to move forward."
 
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