NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Planning Board is awaiting a legal opinion before it continues a permit for the West End Market at 437 West Main St.

Barry Garton purchased the historic market four years ago from Charles Huberdeau, who operated a secondhand and antiques shop there, with the intention of relocating his coffeehouse Brewhaha from Marshall Street. But time and money has forced him to change his plans.

"The extent of the renovation was such that we just decided to do everything that needed to be done," said Garton. "Basically, the money that I borrowed to move there, to shut down and to buy new equipment, all got eaten up by the renovations."

Garton now wants to lease the space but is running into a two-year permit deadline that could see the commercial site revert to residential.

"I'm a little at a loss to be honest with you," Building Inspector William Meranti told the planners. "I think that in all fairness to Mr. Garton, he has been working on it and it has not been abandoned ... for that period of time."

According to the city ordinance, the variance runs out after a property has been unused or abandoned for two years. There's no spot zoning to grandfather it so it reverts to residential.

Chairman Michael Leary said it was obvious a significant amount of work has gone into the building but the board couldn't extend a permit without having the legal authority to do so, particularly not knowing who might be taking over the property or when it might happen.

He cited the 2006 permit as stating "this permit shall lapse on Oct. 16, 2006, if substantial use has not started at that time."

"It doesn't say substantial construction, it doesn't say substantial work, its says substantial use," said Leary "... the question is how does the city define substantial use?"

If the permit lapsed in 2008, the question is moot. If the permit is good throughout the "work period," even if it's four years, then the two-year deadline begins now. That would give Barton time to find a leasee for the spot.

"I see an art gallery or an office of some kind but the storefront would remain the same," he said, because the intent had been to maintain the historic porcelain front with the West End Market name.

Planner Wayne Wilkinson described the opinion as a "test case."

"There's a bunch of commercial buildings in North Adams that are in the exact same situation," he said. "They haven't been used in two years; their obvious only use is a commercial use."

He pointed to the former NAPA store on State Road as one example that's sitting vacant because it can no longer be used for commercial purposes because it's reverted to residential after two years being vacant. "We need to change the ordinance or come up with a new idea," he said.

The board continued the matter until its next meeting pending an opinion from the city solicitor.

The board also welcomed a new member and bid farewell to an old one.

Joanne DeRose attended her first meeting as the mayor's appointment to fill the seat held by the late Edna Rudnick. DeRose is an account executive at National Grid and member of the city Democratic Committee and the North Adams Rotary Club. Rudnick died last fall.

David Babcock ended his term on the board at 22 years, three months after asking the mayor not to reappoint him. Babcock is retiring from BerkshireWorks on Sept. 9. Leary personally thanked him for the years of service he's given the city of North Adams.

Wilkinson and Paul Senecal were selected as the nominating committee for the Feb. 14 election of officers.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Finance Committee is wondering how the city might learn from the state's takeover of other municipalities.

The city is struggling with rising costs and nearly depleted reserves. Yet Lawrence, which accepted state oversight to borrow $24 million, has a robust $5.9 million in cash overlay; Springfield, which just exited receivership, has $109 million — some 19 percent of its budget.

In comparison, North Adams has a cash overlay of $726,000; about .0014 percent its budget, said Mayor Richard Alcombright.

"Obviously, Springfield benefited from receivership and Lawrence is plugging along," said committee member Alan Marden. "What can we learn from what was done there?"

The mayor said he hoped to discuss that with the Department of Revenue, but the city may already be following that lead.

"If this group and the council and the staff hadn't worked to be so pro active last year ... we might have gone that way," said Alcombright. "I think it was the fact we kept addressing things."

Still, the city has some tough times ahead and is facing a structural deficit of $1.2 million that could jump to $1.4 million to $1.6 million, depending on the state budget.

The mayor is urging the Finance Committee and staff to undertake discussions now to be prepared for cost-cutting measures and some out-of-the-box thinking to get through the next year.

One of the topics that has come up is regionalization of services, a la the city's recent partnership with Adams and Williamstown to share a veterans agent. Committee member David Bond wants to go further, suggesting that Adams and North Adams reintegrate once again to create a more streamlined system and save money.

"Those discussions sometimes take months, sometimes take years, but let's start talking about this stuff," Alcombright said.

In comparison with other municipalities, the city is lagging. It ranks last in the state in equalized property valuation (total value divided by number of residents) and last in the state for single-family home valuation (at $135,000), according to the DOR.

Its average residential tax bill ($14/$1,000) is the third-lowest in the county, but it's commercial rate appears to be the highest ($31.49).

Pittsfield, for example, has a residential rate of $14.20 and an average home assessment of $190,000, and a commercial rate of $29.41. Committee Chairman Michael Bloom, however, pointed out at the lower valuations in North Adams means a business owner would be paying much less even with the higher rate.

Alcombright said city has the seventh-lowest per capita income in the state ($16,381); and 18 percent of residents live below the poverty line, compared to 11 percent in Pittsfield and 9 percent statewide.

"What hurts us, what holds us back is a true sustainable, growing ecomony that doesn't churn a housing market or commercial property market," said the mayor, who added that that the city had to keep in mind the economic struggles of its citizens as it moves forward.

(On Monday morning, the city announced a partnership to try to spark private investment.)

In looking over the fiscal 2011 budget at the halfway mark, the city is about on track with about a third of expected revenue received and at the 49 percent mark in expenditures.

The landfill account is lighter than normal. The mayor said Public Services Commissioner Timothy Lescarbeau reported the number of trips, or loads, to the transfer station have not dipped but the weight of loads has. "People seem to be throwing less away," Lescarbeau had told him. The mayor added, "I would be more concerned if the trips were down because then you know the drivers are maybe going off to Pittsfield."

City officials had been concerned with the first-quarter returns on the meals tax, which came in at barely over $12,000. That could have been indicative of what the restaurants had actually paid to date, said the mayor, rather than what was owed.

Business Manager Nancy Ziter said the meals tax for the second quarter brought in $36,600, pegging it as more than $49,000 for the year to date. The rooms tax for the second quarter brought in $70,000, bringing the total so far to $151,000.

The mayor also discussed some of the finding in the audit done by Scanlon & Associates. Among the report's suggestion was the implementation of a full order and requisition system; tracking accounts receivable for veterans' disbursements (which are reimbursed 75 percent in the next year); write off languishing excise taxes while maintaining a mechanism for repayment; accounting for postretirments costs; developing a policies and procedures manual; establish internal audit system; and risk-assessment monitoring (related to cash receipts such as the landfill).

"There's nothing in here that any of us saw as a big deal," said the mayor. "It was more procedural, tidying up, cleaning up."

The auditors will give a presentation to the Finance Committee in the coming weeks.

Councilors President Ronald Boucher, Lisa Blackmer and Marie Harpin were aso in attendance.

The mayor will give his annual "State of the City" address at Tuesday's City Council meeting.

Mayor Richard Alcombright is expected to address opportunities for growth as well as the city's precarious financial condition.

On Monday, the mayor will join business and city leaders in announcing a new partnership between the city's business, education and cultural sectors. The economic development initiative, dubbed "The Partnership for North Adams," is being touted as a way to "propose and advance innovative community development projects and public/private partnerships."

Alcombright made the pursuit of economic opportunities, particularly hopes of drawing light industry back to the city, a centerpiece of his campaign. Those efforts have been stymied in part by the economic collapse that left the state and its communities reeling and the city's hard-hit finances.

Since his election last year, the mayor has had to raise taxes and institute a sewer fee to help cover budget shortfalls. He's expected to discuss on Tuesday night the looming budget gap of $1.2 million for the coming fiscal year - a shortfall that could grow to $3 million depending on the state's ability to fund municipal aid.

The Finance Committee will get a look a first draft of the 2012 budget on Monday afternoon.

The City Council will also take up bonding of the city's financial officers and several other matters.

The resignation of Rep. Gailanne Cariddi, D-North Adams, will be accepted by her colleagues. Her resignation will end 20 years of service on the council as she takes up her new duties as state representative for the 1st Berkshire District. Cariddi was sworn in that State House last week.
 

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The city's on the hunt for a new chief administrative officer after Jay Green announced his departure for Amtrak by the end of this week.

Green, a self-proclaimed train enthusiast, will take a management position with the federal rail system in Albany, N.Y. He already rides the rails as volunteer conductor for the Berkshire Scenic Railway in Lee and sits on its board of directors.

His post works closely with department heads, and with community development issues, including overseeing permitting and ordinance matters that come before the Planning Board. In some ways, the position is similar to a town administrator or chief of staff since it not only oversees city operations but also acts as a liaison between the mayor and departments.

Green was hired two years ago under the former administration and stayed on after Mayor Richard Alcombright took office. He previously worked in the district attorney's office for three years. Green's predecessor was also an attorney, M. Katherine Eade, who left to work in the attorney general's utilities division.

The mayor has said he doesn't believe a law degree is prerequisite for the post.

In a posting for the job, the description states the "this position works under the direct supervision of the Mayor and provides support and direction to all City administrative functions falling under the authority of the Mayor."

It also includes "preparation of the annual budget, assists in the coordination of special projects for the City, assists the Mayor and Community Development Office with strategic and long-range planning for the City and will have frequent interaction with State and Local Governments and agencies."

The salary is posted at $60,000.

Qualifications include a master's degree in business administration or public policy or equivalent work experience. A background in public administration, law, accounting and engineering and related areas is a plus.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Mayor Richard Alcombright does not want bureaucracy to stand in the way of issuing permits to street carts.

When revising an ordinance to include a procedure for street carts, the council requested a committee to be formed to oversee special events and vendors but fearful that it will drive business away from the city, Alcombright insisted the process should be streamlined and handled internally.

"I think we need to get away from committees and handle it internally first," Alcombright said at Tuesday's City Council meeting. "I think that if you talk to many of the merchants and people trying to organize events in the city, you’ll find they say the bureaucracy is what gets in the way the most."

The mayor's office has been discussing a way to manage vendors and will report to the council in February. That group is creating a checklist for events to ease the process.

Councilor Lisa M. Blackmer expressed concern that the work put into crafting the ordinance will be lost but Alcombright emphasized that it is only a mention of a subcommittee that he would like to change.

Also regarding events, Councilor Keith Bona said that during last year's Wilco concert a few local restaurants did not apply to extend its liquor license in time and had to stop serving early. Another Wilco concert is planned for this summer and restaurant owners need to be up to date with their permits.

"There is no reason it has to be 11 o'clock," Alcombright said. "We'll make sure everything is as it should be."

The mayor also attempted to halt rumors that the new stoplights on Main and Marshall streets are used for surveillance. Other cities have used the cameras to take photos of license plates of speeders or cars that run red lights. Though these cameras have the ability to do that, the city could not afford to equip them with that programming.

"This is not a Big Brother thing," Alcombright said. "These are strickly sensors."

The Marshall Street lights are using sensors to determine traffic flow and switch the lights but the lights on Main Street are back on a timer system, he said. Use of the sensors was causing traffic jams downtown so the city went back to timers.

However, there have been a lot of rumors that the cameras were surveillance and even Councilor Marie Harpin initially asked where the photos were being sent.

The city also approved an ordinance that requires residents who host tag sales to remove the signs within two days or else be fined.

Councilor Alan L. Marden asked if the timeframe could be cut to only a day but councilors responded by saying that the people the city will be after for violations are those who leave them up for longer than two days.

Bona emphasized that the ordinance will be meaningless unless it is enforced.

"It's something we're putting in the books but who knows if it'll be enforced," he said.

Councilor Gailanne Cariddi requested that the Traffic Commission review places that have received complaints. Those complaints include cars having to turn around when going west on Main Street to reach Route 2, a short crossing signal for seniors crossing Ashland Street to get to the high rise and speeding on North Street.

The commission will be called and the council will rehash the issue in February.