Dalton ADA Committee Explores Expanding

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
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DALTON, Mass. — The Americans with Disabilities Act will soon be a full committee. 
 
The five-seat committee currently has four active members but received comments of interest from two residents. 
 
The committee voted to appoint John Curro to the committee. The appointment will be added to a future Select Board agenda, ADA coordinator Alyssa Maschino said. 
 
Curro had already completed the committee interest form, while the resident who expressed interest had yet to do so by the time of the meeting. 
 
Curro has dealt with accessible buildings and walkways while working for Pittsfield housing for 36 years. During his time he has searched walkways for trip hazards and other bad conditions. He aims to make things safe for everyone, he said in his interest form. 
 
Once the board approves the appointment, the committee will select a chair and vice chair. 
 
Although the members voted in favor of recommending Curro, they noted that the other resident who expressed an interest is welcome to attend meetings to provide insight during discussions. He just won’t be a voting member. He also successfully completed the two-day Massachusetts Office of Disability Training. 
 
Committee member Patrick Pettit recommended that they consider expanding number of seats to seven rather than five so there are still enough members in case a couple decide to leave or are absent. 
 
To do that, Maschino has to research how the ADA Committee was formed. It is unclear how long the committee has been around but it is "old," she said. 
 
"I need to actually physically go through all of the town reports that I have to see what year it started. Then I can go to the town clerk's office, and she should have something from a town meeting saying how it was formed," she said. 
 
Depending on how it was formed, increasing the number of members will have to be approved at a town meeting or by the Select Board, Maschino said. 
 
The committee started to meet regularly again last year with its current members but had existed before that. 
 
Committee member Rachel Branch offered to aid Maschino in her research. 

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Letter: Is the Select Board Listening to Dalton Voters?

Letter to the Editor

To the Editor:

A reasonable expectation by the people of a community is that their Select Board rises above personal preference and represents the collective interests of the community. On Tuesday night [Nov. 12], what occurred is reason for concern that might not be true in Dalton.

This all began when a Select Board member submitted his resignation effective Oct. 1 to the Town Clerk. Wishing to fill the vacated Select Board seat, in good faith I followed the state law, prepared a petition, and collected the required 200-plus signatures of which the Town Clerk certified 223. The Town Manager, who already had a copy of the Select Board member's resignation, was notified of the certified petitions the following day. All required steps had been completed.

Or had they? At the Oct. 9 Select Board meeting when Board members discussed the submitted petition, there was no mention about how they were informed of the petition or that they had not seen the resignation letter. Then a month later at the Nov. 12 Select Board meeting we learn that providing the resignation letter and certified petitions to the Town Manager was insufficient. However, by informing the Town Manager back in October the Select Board had been informed. Thus, the contentions raised at the Nov. 12 meeting by John Boyle seem like a thinly veiled attempt to delay a decision until the end of January deadline to have a special election has passed.

If this is happening with the Special Election, can we realistically hope that the present Board will listen to the call by residents to halt the rapid increases in spending and our taxes that have been occurring the last few years and pass a level-funded budget for next year, or to not harness the taxpayers in town with the majority of the cost for a new police station? I am sure these issues are of concern to many in town. However, to make a change many people need to speak up.

Please reach out to a Select Board member and let them know you are concerned and want the Special Election issue addressed and finalized at their Nov. 25 meeting.

Robert E.W. Collins
Dalton, Mass.

 

 

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