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Adams Selectman John Duval was excited about the current development in Adams.
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Neal was given a tour of the Outdoor Center site on Wednesday, as he announced a $1 million earmark for the building.
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Neal gets the grand tour of the Glen with Town Administrator Jay Green and state Rep. John Barrett III.
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Before heading up to the Glen, Neal stopped at Adams Town Hall.

Congressman Neal Visits Adams to Celebrate $3.9 Million for Greylock Glen

By Brian RhodesiBerkshires Staff
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Work is underway at the Greylock Glen Outdoor Center.

ADAMS, Mass. — U.S. Rep. Richard Neal visited Adams to celebrate the allocation of over $3.9 million in federal funding for the development of the Greylock Glen. 

 

"I know what a great job you've done on this at the local level, and I know how important this is," Neal said Wednesday at the Greylock Glen. 

 

The funding includes a $1 million earmark for the Outdoor Center and a $2.9 U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) grant to construct the Glen's water system, which will support the entire development.

 

Neal credited the town for investing in economically and environmentally sustainable economic projects. 

 

"The quality of life is the envy of New England, living here in the Berkshires," he said. "But having this sort of investment and initiative in front of us, I think, highlights the fact that not only is a beautiful place to live, but there's going to be plenty of opportunity here." 

 

Neal said he understands the hurdles local government officials face with large-scale projects like the Glen. He recognized state Rep. John Barrett III and Adams Select Board Member Joseph Nowak for their consistent efforts to push the project forward. 

 

"You have to have a local community, so the Select Board members, they get a pat on the back as well for their advocacy and their persistence in staying with it," he said. "... They did stay after it, and this is one of the reasons that we're celebrating this occasion. So congratulations to all of you in Adams." 

 

Several state and town officials were in attendance for Neal's visit. Barrett said Neal delivered for Adams and Northern Berkshire as a whole with this funding. 

 

"This has been a trip of personal satisfaction for me because I'll never forget when we started on this, 'It'll never happen. It will never happen,'" Barrett said. "Folks, it happened and it's going to happen even more in the town of Adams. The Northern Berkshire area should be proud of it." 

 

The state has already committed $7.3 million to the construction of the outdoor center. Gov. Charlie Baker, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito and more than 100 others attended a ceremonial groundbreaking for the outdoor center in August. 

 

Town Administrator Jay Green gave Neal a tour of the site after his visit to Town Hall. He said the federal funding, particularly the EDA grant, should cover the entire cost of constructing the water system.

 

"The community of Adams has stuck with us, believed this," he said. "As I said at the groundbreaking, we've turned the page. It's time to move on. We're not going to talk about what once was. We're going to talk about what will be and not aspirations because it's happening," he said. 

 

Adams Select Board Chair John Duval called the funding allocation another exciting occasion for both the project and the town. 

 

"The town of Adams and the Greylock Glen project certainly has been blessed with strong support of state and local government, community groups and town staff, as many are here today," he said.

 

The town of Adams was named developer in 2006 by then Gov. Jane Swift after several private ventures collapsed for lack of funding or direction.

 

The center, once finished, will include a classroom and meeting space, a  cafe, concession and retail space, exhibit areas and a reception space. 

 

The entire $50 million development is proposed to also have a campground, a lodge/conference center and an amphitheater.

 


Tags: Greylock Glen,   

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Adams Clerk, Treasurer & Assessor Request Raises

By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff
ADAMS, Mass. — The Board of Selectmen has begun a deep review of the fiscal 2026 budget of $19,548,441, up $717,916, or 3.7 percent over this year.
 
The annual budget workshops started with a preliminary review and presentation of the budget books last week and continued on Tuesday with the Executive, Finance and Technology and General Government sections. 
 
That included the elected town clerk, assessor and treasurer/collector who all asked for a 5 percent raise to start bringing their salaries closer to other department heads and citing increased responsibilities and workloads in their offices.
 
Each began with reading a statement that they had emailed interim Town Administrator Kenneth Walto, Chair John Duval and Finance Director Ashley Satko on Feb. 27 requesting the raises that would amount to $7,000 total in the budget.
 
"This 5 percent increase would help to align these three positions with the salaries of the other department heads throughout the town of Adams. The average of these other department positions is approximately $89,000," said Assessor Paula Grover. "It would bring our salaries to $81,933, which is still well below the average salary."
 
Town Clerk Haley Meczywor said, "this disparity raises questions about fairness and equally, the allocation of resources." 
 
Treasurer Kelly F. Rice noted that raises of between 4 and 10 percent had been given to other departments and positions, above the regular 2 percent cost of living. 
 
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