Selectmen repeat determination to knock down old town garage

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The old brick town garage on Water Street, its windows boarded and its aspect forlorn, is absolutely, positively coming down, the Selectmen reiterated unanimously at their Monday meeting. It will be demolished, the board determined, because it stands in the way of development that could generate more in taxes than any use of the 1920s former automobile dealership that served as the town’s Department of Public Works garage until 1998. Those prospective taxes are even more important in today’s economic climate, Selectmen said, and a multi-story building combining retail, offices and apartments is in line with the recommendations of the town’s Master Plan, which envisions the parcel as critical in the revitalization of Water Street. The Selectmen confirmed the building’s fate in a discussion Monday with Historical Commission Chairman Charles Bonenti, who voiced concerns that the circumstances surrounding the town’s application for demolition were “confusing.” And, Bonenti said, he was concerned that the Shanleys — Peter and Michael, brothers who own and operate Berkshire Ivy Gardens and wanted to renovate the building to house an antique automobile museum — may not have been kept informed of the board’s thinking on the building’s future. “I have this lingering feeling that the Shanleys were ill-dealt with,” said Bonenti. “I have to say I found the circumstances surrounding the town’s application for demolition confusing,” said Bonenti. The Historical Commission last Tuesday, Dec. 3, voted 5-2 not to impose a 90-day delay on demolition. On Monday, Selectmen voted unanimously — Selectman John Madden was absent — to proceed toward demolishing the structure before the request for proposals process is finished. This and earlier votes to demolish the dilapidated building, whose structure is insufficient to support additional stories, stemmed from the Selectmen’s belief that a clear site would appeal more to potential developers and expedite a process that many consider inevitable. The Master Plan calls for public parking on part of the site, as well as three- or four-story building combining retail, office and residential space. Said Selectman Jane Allen, “We do have to expand our tax base, and this is a property that’s going to help us do that.” But Selectman John “Jack” Merselis questioned, “are these seemingly contradictory uses mutually exclusive?” Town Manager Peter Fohlin said “The RFP process and the demolition process are unrelated.” Early last year, said Fohlin, who owns a black 1963 Cadillac and a light blue 1961 Cadillac, the Shanley’s idea drew support from “the unlikely duo of Dagmar Bubriski and myself.” In April, 2001, “the Selectmen instructed me not to take any further action on the property pending the results of the Master Plan, so we did nothing for more than a year.” The Selectmen Nov. 12 instructed Fohlin and DPW Director Timothy Kaiser to seek bids for demolition, and Nov. 25 voted unanimously to proceed with demolition which, he said, “we will do as diligently as we did nothing.” Selectmen Chairman Margaret Johnson Ware said the economic climate has turned gloomy since the Shanley’s idea first surfaced, making the tax-generation potential of the parcel even more crucial, and indeed imperative. Fohlin said that absent intervention by the Selectmen there is a 50-50 chance the building will be demolished in January. The RFP will be advertised in February and returned in May, he said. “A classic car museum is not likely to generate the highest selling price or the highest tax revenue,” said Fohlin. Fohlin said the RFP is “meant to attract proposals that are the most advantageous to the community in terms of job creation and housing.” Its potential as a tourist attraction has never been given a high ranking, he said. Selectman Charles Schlesinger said “the Master Plan very clearly says this should be a multi-use building with parking.” Also Monday, Fohlin, in his town manager’s report, told the board that the apparent low bidder for the Photech cleanup is Air Quality Experts of Salem, N.H., at $233,000. Other bidders were A+ Asbestos Abatement of Pawtucket, R.I., with $484,526; Accutech Insulation & Contracting of Ludlow, $399,500; Environmental Compliance Specialists of Kingston, N.H., with $280,000; GEM Environmental of North Adams, $411,748; D.L. King & Associates of Amherst, N.H., $397,000; Safe Environment of America of Ludlow, $350,000; Aeroclean Demolition Contractors of Trumbull, Conn., $448,300, and Suburban Middlesex Insulation of Norwood, $332,800. Fohlin also informed Selectmen that Officer Robin Hart submitted his resignation from the Williamstown Police Department to Chief of Police Arthur Parker Monday morning, and that Fohlin accepted the resignation that afternoon. Hart had been suspended since August pending the outcome of a charge of assault and battery against his estranged wife Debra Johnson Hart. On Friday, Hart was found guilty in Northern Berkshire District Court, where Judge Fredric D. Rutberg sentenced him to a year’s probation.
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Northern Berkshire United Way: 1970s Has Its Ups and Downs

By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff

The Northern Berkshire United Way sets its highest goal yet in 1979, and the first time going over $200,000. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Over three decades, the Northern Berkshire United Community Services had raised some $3 million for its affiliated agencies. 
 
That number was announced that the organizations "fifth" annual meeting in 1974, marking the time since Adams had joined, and counting the funds raised by the North Adams Community Chest and the North Adams and Adams United Funds and Northern Berkshire United Fund. 
 
The report that year was dedicated to past 24 volunteer campaign chairs, of whom 17 were still in the area and three — Russell Lanoue, George Higgins and G. Churchill Francis — had since died.
 
The amount of money raised seemed significant for the time, but the united fund found itself struggling in the early '70s as the economy dipped and its the need for its services grew. 
 
The campaign in 1970 saw an ambitious goal of $184,952 to support 16 agencies, with Northern Berkshire Child Care as the latest addition. The drive kicked off that goal at the Midway with Chair George Bateman, but it reached only 80 percent of its goal by the end. 
 
Batemen said it might not be a financial success but "I believe it was a spiritual success" because of the hard work and enthusiasm of so many drive volunteers.
 
But President Henry Pierpan said there would be allocation cuts for 1971 despite "a substantial sum" voted from reserve funds.
 
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