Letter: Open Letter to Mayor Macksey on Notchview Logging

To the Editor:

Dear Mayor Jennifer Macksey,

Almost two months ago I learned about the logging project that was going to use cancer-causing chemicals near our drinking water supply. Hearing this news terrified me as I lost my father to cancer. At the Sept. 12 meeting, we were told chemicals would not be used; however, when we questioned about future use during this 10-year plan, Mass Audubon and NEFF would not give us a definite answer. Management and operation plans are two different things; they can come back at any point during the next 10 years and use chemicals.

Even after your public apology, you still have not reached out to answer my questions so I will address them here in hopes they will finally be answered.

1. The original plan called for the use of chemicals, for two years you knew this yet stayed quiet. Why? You stood in front of your residents sharing a proclamation of September with Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. This took place right before our meeting, so again, how can you be OK with this plan?

Michaela Lapointe
North Adams, Mass. 

New Greylock School Vote Edges Yes Victory

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
08:54PM / Tuesday, October 08, 2024

The vote was close with some 1,309 voting no for the debt exclusion over concerns of burdensome tax increases.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The new Greylock School project will move forward after a successful debt exclusion vote on Tuesday. 

The proponents won a narrow victory with a 136 votes. The unofficial tally was 1,445 yes to 1,309 no.

The vote was to determine a debt exclusion that would allow the city to bond out nearly $20 million over 30 years. The Massachusetts School Building Authority will be picking up $42.2 million of the $65 million cost with the balance being covered by a federal grant for a geothermal system. 

 

"We're very excited, and we look forward to moving this project forward, in the best interest of our kids and the future generations of North Adams," said Mayor Jennifer Macksey. 

 

Opponents of taking on the debt are considering appealing. One of the leaders of the effort, Marie T. Harpin, said she thought there were enough irregularities in the close vote to take another look. She referred to a number of voters who had been deemed inactive and other issues. 

 

Both opponents and proponents of the new school, however, were cheered by the amount of engagement they'd seen from the community. 

 

Harpin, a former city councilor and a leader on the vote no side, said she'd spoken to one man who was voting for the first time in four years. 

 

"He was showing up for this vote, so people are concerned," she said. "I think it's probably going to be close. I think there's division in the community, just naturally, so I think it'll be close ...