NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Board of Health will decide on the limits of a "tent city" planned at Noel Field Athletic Complex to house Wilco fans despite protests from local campgrounds.

A public hearing on the so-called Solid Ground on Wednesday night drew only a few people who expressed concern over health and safety issues. The board said it would take their comments under consideration but insisted that it would set the final conditions.

The city is proposing up to 300 tent sites on the soccer field to house concertgoers to the Solid Sound Festival this June 24-26 at Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. Solid Ground was prompted in large part by the dearth of hotel rooms and overflowing campgrounds at last year's August event.

Steve Daniels, co-owner of Shady Pines Campground in Savoy, continued to express his concern over sanitation and state guidelines related to the site. Daniels and other campground owners had protested Solid Ground last month at a meeting with Mayor Richard Alcombright and Charles Kaniecki, district health officer for the state Department of Public Health.

Daniels sent a large package to the board outlining concerns and referring to the state's housing guidelines in relation to information provided by Kaniecki. But health officials said the material didn't apply in this case.

"Ninety percent of what you gave us was about housing, about rented apartments, living space ... this is not permanent living space," said Chairman David Polumbo.

Health Inspector Manual J. Serrano said the temporary housing fell under the auspices of the Board of Health, which can set the number of tent sites and sanitation requirements.

"If we didn't have the temporary housing capabilities in the housing code, you wouldn't have carnivals, you wouldn't have circuses, you wouldn't even have the Big E ... that all falls under temporary housing," he said.

"I believe it is unsafe and I'm still protesting this situation," said Daniels.

The camping is being operated by the ROPES program, which is staffed by volunteers almost entirely from local police, fire and ambulance departments. Police Lt. David Sacco, representing ROPES at the meeting, said the group's purpose was to facilitate whatever whatever was asked. "If you want 12 portapotties down there we'll put in 12, if you want 24, we'll put in 24."

Local business owner Jennifer Barbeau said she hoped it was successful but wondered if the scale of the event was too much for an all-volunteer group. She suggested using Windsor Lake and History Valley Campground for overflow.

"Potentially, maybe a 100 tents could be posted there, where we have showers already in place and system in place," she said.

Robert M. Moulton Jr., also a local businessman and a former city councilor, also objected to the scale, noting up to 1,200 people could potentially be on the field damaging it. "I'd like to see how this goes," he said, but added, "I think it's going to hurt businesses ... I think there's more of a downside than an upside."

Any profits from the tent city will used first to repair any damage to the field, city officials have said.

Ernest Gamache, who operates a used-car dealership abutting the field, said he was concerned about policing and restrooms.

"I'm in favor of the whole idea because I know what this can do for the city," said Gamache. "But I've got a big investment and that's what I'm worried about."

"Our intention is to increase the visibility of police down there, Ernie," responded Sacco, who said there will be a regular police presence and command center in addition to the volunteers. "We are cognizant of your business ... we'll keep an extra eye on it."

About 140 tent sites, with a maximum of four people, have been reserved so far through the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art; Historic Valley is filled and has a waiting list.

Palombo said the board will issue its decision at a later date. That will likely be next week when it also hears a request for a temporary housing permit for Northern Berkshire Relay for Life, which annually hosts hundreds of Relay team members for 24 hours at Noel Field.

There was quite a kerfuffle across from our office this afternoon. There were three cruisers and a tow truck to deal with one thing: a parking ticket. The car's owner apparently had a few outstanding tickets and ran down to City Hall to pay them to prevent the vehicle from being towed away. Parking Officer Mary Ann King got quite an earful — at least from what we could see — but the whole thing was settled within 30 minutes. It was an interesting afternoon diversion for our office.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Voters in Ward 3 will be moving to a new polling location in the next election.

The polling station for Ward 3 has been located in the Ashland Park Apartments High-Rise. Ward 3 will join Wards 1, 2 and 5 at the St. Elizabeth's Parish Center, consolidating four polling stations in one location. The Board of Registrars voted unanimously to change the location of Ward 3.

City Clerk Marilyn Gomeau said the consolidation had been discussed for years because of the promiximity of the four polling stations – they were all within a mile of each other. The consolidation actually began when the closure of Notre Dame Church on East Main Street pushed out the polling station for Ward 2 that had been located in the church's basement hall.

"We had to move from Notre Dame, then when Conte Middle School was closed (in 2009), we had to move Ward 1 out of the gym," said Gomeau, who added that the idea was to move one polling station at a time to ensure it worked. "I've been very pleased with it so far."

Ward 1 and Ward 2 — literally across the street from each other for years — moved into St. Elizabeth's Parish Center, where voting for Ward 5 was located. When the parish changed the date for its annual bazaar, the availability of the parish center gym allowed the full plan to be put in action.

"It was a very easy transition for everyone," said Gomeau. "The gym at St. Elizabeth's is large enough to accommodate all four wards. St. Elizabeth's is easily accessible to everyone, and is handicapped accessible."

She said the move will save money since there will be fewer machines to program and fewer police officers on duty. The parish center also provides easier access to all four wards in the event of a machine problem and an easier set up for the Public Works Department.

But she stressed the move was not prompted to save costs, but rather the final step in a long-discussed plan to streamline and group voting stations. It will also cut down the clerk's travel time between polling stations, making it easier for her to deal with problems like balky voting machines.

She does not believe the move will significantly affect turnout in Ward 3. "We did our homework on the population, and it's not a huge population that votes," said Gomeau, who added that the plans are being made to provide rides to the new location for the elderly.

The change will not affect the wards themselves, which are required based on population, although voters will have to remember which ward they're in now — not where they vote.

Voting for the city's fifth, Ward 4, will remain where it is at Greylock Elementary School.

"We would never pull Ward 4 from the West End," said Gomeau. "It's a very large turnout in Ward 4. But it made sense for the others. ... We think this is a win-win for everyone."

Registered voters in Ward 3 will receive a notice in the mail informing them of the change in voting location.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Parents and neighbors of Sullivan Elementary School expressed their displeasure for nearly three hours on Thursday night at the idea of closing the school in favor of resurrecting Conte School.

"This is a safe neighborhood and a great place to have a school," said one man. "Why are we going to invest in a school that's falling apart? ... I would rather have a new school rather than have a middle school in the middle of town."

More than 60 parents and community members, the largest crowd so far, sat at lunch tables in the stuffy Sullivan cafeteria to hear the latest presentation on options to deal with the closure of the middle school, which happened two years ago.

The architects flipped through the school buildings noting the pros — strong neighborhoods, good bones — and the cons — the lack of energy efficiency and program space, and outdated design. In the mix are Greylock and Sullivan elementary schools and Conte for five options for renovation and rebuilding to address the educational needs of 620 students.

Renovating the century-old Conte in the downtown has emerged as the preferred option over Sullivan's problematic configuration of levels and tight space on the side of a hill.

While there has been little debate over renovating or building new at the Greylock site, the possibility of closing the 45-year-old Sullivan on quiet Kemp Avenue and sending the kindergarten through Grade 7 pupils to Conte has alarmed some.

Parents raised concerns over traffic, safety and small children walking to the downtown location. "I don't want my daughter walking down Eagle Street," said one. Another mother spoke of seeing suspicious characters watching the middle school children exit Conte when it was open. 

Superintendent James Montepare said school officials were discussing the issue of children walking downtown, which has been raised as earlier sessions, but disputed the idea of people "lurking" about the school.

"There was always a police officer in the school and a police officer on the corner in a cruiser waiting for the kids to [get out]," said Public Safety Commissioner E. John Morocco, who conceded there had been problems with the middle school children.

"They were old enough to be trucking around by themselves," he said. "I do not see that problem when you're talking about grammar school children."

But the commissioner got into a bit of a shouting match with City Councilor Lisa Blackmer, who pointed out that two sexual assaults on children had occurred near Conte and at the library across the street.

"The one thing I keep hearing about is public safety," said Blackmer. "And the fact that nobody considered the traffic astounds me."

Morocco retorted that the downtown "is as safe as it ever was ... You show me the figures that show me it's not safe."

Blackmer said Sullivan should have more represention on the school building committee.

"I don't think anybody is really listening to their concerns," she said. "I have real apprehension about kids this age being in the downtown."

The school building committee and some city officials were pleased to see Conte as one of the options, but Sullivan supporters accused school officials of pushing the renovation of the former high school over Sullivan.

"It feels like the powers that be prefer Conte," said Angelica Parades, who said she'd rather see her son go to the Berkshire Arts and Technology Public Charter School — on busy Commercial Street in Adams — than go to Conte.

Former Mayor John Barrett III weighed in, suggesting holding off on the project and ensuring the preservation of the neighborhood schools.

"I don't think we should kick the can down the road for the next generation," he said, urging the School Committee to have an "open and transparent vote" on their preferred option. "I think that the Conte School can be used for a better purpose."

Mayor Richard Alcombright said the question was not can we afford it, but "can we afford not to do it?" The MSBA's 80 percent reimbursement may not be there in the future and constrution costs are likely to rise, he said.

John Bedard, a frequent and outspoken critic of the plan, warned that voters won't forget if Sullivan closed.

"If you do push this agenda through you know it will be against the will of the people and it will show in the next election," said Bedard. "I probably have 400 signatures on a petition to save this school ... I'll drive this down to Boston to the MSBA to prove that we don't want this."

Montepare countered that other than Bedard and Thursday's audience, he had received no calls or emails against the Conte option.

"I'm not the one who's pushing Conte; all the questions that have been coming my way have been about Conte," said Montepare. "I'm happy to have two neighborhood schools anyplace."

A vacancy is opening up on the North Adams School Committee. Committee member William G. Schrade Jr. sent us this statement on his decision not to run over the weekend at our request and it got buried in our email, as so many things do, before we had a chance to post it. Our apologies to Mr. Schrade.

Schrade told us he wanted to spend more time with his family and focus on his job as a program manager with the North Adams Housing Authority. He wanted to get the word out early that he would not stand for re-election to give time for other interested citizens to decide if they would like to run.

The School Committee is made up of six four-year elected positions and the mayor, who is automatically the chairman. There has been little changeover in the committee in the past decade. Schrade's stepping aside offers an opportunity for a new viewpoint on the board, something that the three-term board member encourages.

Schrade writes that:

While I have enjoyed my 12 years with the North Adams School Committee, I have decided not to run for re-election. This is a decision that I do not take lightly after so many great years in this position. There comes a time when a new and fresh perspective would be welcome to the School Committee. I encourage people to think about the contributions and ideas for the N.A. school system that they might bring to the table and consider running for this office.  My decision is both personal and professional. My intention is to more fully invest myself in my work with the North Adams Housing Authority and to have more time with my family. I would like to thank everyone I have worked with including two mayors, two superintendents, many School Committee members and most importantly the staff of the North Adams Public School System.

April 28, 2011, 3:36 p.m.: Updated to correct length of terms