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North Adams Housing Authority Replaces Hydrants With CARES Act Funds

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The North Adams Housing Authority used CARES Act funding to replace out of service fire hydrants at the Greylock Apartments.

Housing Authority Director Jennifer Hohn said the topic came up at a recent board of commissioners meeting when Chairman Colin Todd, who works for the city's Water Department, noted that the hydrants at the Greylock Apartments in the West End were not in optimal condition. 
 
"I was shocked. This was the first I have heard this," Hohn said in an email exchange. "I assumed that when hydrants are no longer working, they are replaced as soon as possible. I panicked, thinking that the health and safety of our residents were at stake. Additionally, the lives of our firefighters were at risk if, God forbid, there were a major fire and no source of water immediately available to hookup to."
 
Hohn said four of the five hydrants at the Greylock Apartments were out of service and one was on its "last leg."
 
The city is only able to replace so many hydrants at a time so she tapped the authority's federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act money to purchase five hydrants. She said the total expenditure was $10,176.85
 
"NAHA is 100 percent federally funded by HUD," she said. "As a result, this will alleviate the city of some financial burden during difficult times when collaborating resources is so vital for the city and NAHA."
 
Hohn said the hydrants were installed in late December.
 
"The health and safety of our residents have always been, and will always be our number one priority," she said.
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Clarksburg Select Board Accepts School Roof Bid, Debates Next Steps

By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff
CLARKSBURG, Mass. — The Select Board last week accepted a bid by D.J. Wooliver & Sons to do the flat roof on the elementary school. 
 
Wooliver was the lowest bid at about $400,000 but cautioned that the cost may rise depending on the conditions once the work started. The work will depend on town meeting approving a borrowing for the project and a possible debt exclusion.
 
But how much borrow and whether the work will be worth it has been a conundrum for town and school officials. The condition of the school has been a major topic at meetings of the board and the School Committee over the past few months. 
 
Town officials are considering putting the question to the voters — try to piecemeal renovations or begin a new study on renovating or building a new school. 
 
In the meantime, the leaking roof has prompted an array of buckets throughout the school. 
 
"Until they actually get in there and start ripping everything up, we won't really know the extent of all the damage per se so it's really kind of hard to make a decision," board member Colton Andrew said at last week's meeting, broadcast on Northern Berkshire Community Television.
 
Board member Daniel Haskins wondered if it would be better to patch until a town made a decision on a school project or do a portion of the roof. But Chair Robert Norcross disagreed. 
 
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