Adams' Valley Street Shed Still Needs Funding

ADAMS, Mass. — Construction of the new shed at Valley Street Field may be delayed due to a lack of funding. 

Mike Benson of the Adams/Cheshire Little League attended Monday's Parks Commission meeting and said the league is still working on obtaining funds for the shed. The town appropriated $3,000 for the shed as part of the fiscal 2023 budget and asked the league to match. 

"I've done a ton of fundraising this year to try to keep the costs low for the kids," Benson said, noting he could probably contribute about half of the $3,000 needed right now.

The league, Benson said, is in the process of ordering a new scoreboard for the field, one similar to the one recently installed at Russell Field. He said financing the scoreboard came first, as it was in the works before planning for the new shed began. 

"We had started the scoreboard thing before we heard anything about the shed," he said. "... We haven't asked the town for anything to do to help with the scoreboard. We're doing it all on our own, it's $3,500." 

Mark Pizani, an equipment operator at DPW, said they would likely be able to get more time out of the old shed if the league needs more time for funding. Benson said he would happily work with the town to clean the shed. 

"We can work it out with what we have. If we need another year out of it, it's really not a big deal," Pizani said. "That's my personal feeling. It would have been nice to have." 

Commission Chair James Fassell agreed the current shed can keep being used and said the group will revisit the issue in the future. 

"I just want to make sure it's for the good of the league and for the good of Adams," he said. 

In other business, Pizani updated the board on a berm near Russell Field, which the group was concerned could overflow onto the field. He said a significant amount of brush and debris was removed from the water since the last meeting, making an overflow less likely. 

"We cleaned that whole river out," he said. "We cleaned it out; it's in good shape. We took truckloads of debris and stuff out of the river." 

Business Success, Storm Clouds Highlighted at 1Berkshire Annual Meeting

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
06:14AM / Saturday, December 06, 2025

Cheshire native JD Chesloff of the Massachusetts Business Roundtable delivers the keynote address on Thursday.

 

ADAMS, Mass. — One of the county's biggest employers and one of its newest small businesses were touted on Thursday at 1Berkshire's annual meeting at the Adams Theater.

 

The vice president of maritime and strategic systems strategy and business development at General Dynamics shared news of a major expansion at the Pittsfield plant.

 

"We plan to hire over 200 employees in Pittsfield over the next 12 to 14 months," Chris Montferret said. "Business is booming. And of those 200 employees, over 200 will be engineers."

 

Currently, General Dynamics employs more than 1,600 people in Pittsfield, up from a low of 500 in 1997, Montferret said, reminding the 1Berkshire membership of the importance of growth for an anchor like his firm.

 

"As you all know as employers, the multiplier of economic development when you bring a full-time employee in is amazing for the entire community," Montferret said.

 

1Berkshire is dedicated to advancing the local economy by advocating for and serving local businesses while helping attract visitors to the region.

 

The development organization's president and CEO used the annual meeting to talk about 1Berkshire's economic development team, which averages more than 100 consultations per year with local entrepreneurs — over 40 percent with businesses owned by women, members of minority groups or immigrants.