A three-dimensional model of the proposed Greylock Elementary School. Voters will decide on a debt exclusion for the city's share of the cost on Oct. 8.
North Adams Council Sets School Debt Exclusion Vote
Council President Bryan Sapienza holds up an application to work as a poll worker for the upcoming elections. The form can be found under 'Becoming an election worker' under city clerk on the city website or in the city clerk's office.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The City Council gave final approval on Tuesday for the mayor to borrow $65,362,859 for a new Greylock School to serve Grades prekindergarten through 2.
This final adoption paves the way for two community forums and a debt exclusion vote scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 8, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at St. Elizabeth's Parish Center. Passage of the debt exclusion vote will allow the city to raise funds beyond its levy limit for the life of the loan.
City Clerk Tina Marie Leonesio said the city has about 1,400 requests for mail-in ballots for all elections and that in-person early voting will start the Saturday before.
The first forum is Thursday, Aug. 15, at 6 p.m. at Greylock; officials will provide an overview of the project and tours of the school. Zoom participation is available here. Northern Berkshire Community Television will also record the forums for later broadcast.
The second forum is Thursday, Aug. 22, at 6 p.m. at Brayton Elementary School. The Zoom link is the same and those attending in person can also take a tour of the building.
The Massachusetts School Building Authority will pick up about $41,557,218 of the cost, the city about $20 million and the $3 million balance is expected to come from federal energy grants. The 30-year tiered loan for $20 million is expected to have its highest impact in 2029 when it will add $270 to the average tax bill, or about $22.50 a month.
The School Committee and School Building Committee are recommending the construction of a new Greylock based on geography, security and cost.
The estimates for new school construction or renovating Brayton were about on par; school officials saw Greylock as better situated with more usable land, without concerns of the attached, at that time, YMCA, and could be built while students were housed at the other two elementary schools. Old Greylock will not reopen this year because of the failing heating system and other issues.
In other business, the council confirmed the reappointments of Heather Williams and Woodrow Boillat to the Conservation Commission with terms to expire on Aug. 1, 2027, and the appointment of Kaleb Decarolis to the Youth Commission with a term to expire Aug. 13, 2027.
• The council passed to a second reading and publication an updated littering ordinance and a new ordinance regulating the feeding of wildlife other than birds. Councilor Lisa Blackmer, chair of the Public Safety Committee, said the language for the wildlife ordinance, which began under Council President Bryan Sapienza, has been reviewed by the city solicitor.
"We've had problems with with rodents. We've had problems with bears in neighborhoods. And I think it's important to pay attention and respond to constituents," she said.
• The council referred ordinances updating parking zones and school zones to the Public Safety Committee on Councilor Peter Breen's suggestion to add in safety zones.
• The council adopted a new paragraph in the ordinance covering the Commission on Disabilities.
• The council set the state primary election for Tuesday, Sept. 3, from 7 to 8 p.m. at St. Elizabeth's Parish Center and, for the debt vote as well, and for all three upcoming elections, confirmed the list of poll workers and voted to leave the responsibility of assigning police officers to the polling location to interim Chief Mark Bailey and Leonesio.
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Vegan Restaurateurs Offer North County New Options
By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
Above, a cold Lithuanian beet soup featured on the website of North Adams' Wish Tree; below, a green curry made with fava beans, cubanelle pepper, bamboo shoot and basil and served with jasmine rice.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Six years ago, Benjamin Dinsmore and Tracy Rackauskas saw a hole in the restaurant market that hit very close to home.
"Denver needed good vegan tacos," Rackauskas said, referring to the Colorado city she and Dinsmore called home at the time. "We felt a need."
"So, our youngest son has a lot of allergies," Dinsmore picks up the story. "[Rackauskas] was a vegetarian before, and because [their son] has a milk allergy and an egg allergy and, for ethical reasons, everyone in our family became vegan.
"I was the last one to join them, which was like the day before we opened the taco truck."
That business, dubbed Migration Taco, later migrated itself from Denver to southern Arizona and, finally, to the Steeple City, where Rackauskas and Dinsmore established a new base of operations for the mobile eatery in 2023.
This year, the family took on a new challenge, purchasing the historic West End Market building at 437 West Main St. and opening the city's first vegan restaurant, Wish Tree.
The journey that began in 2019 has confirmed both the need for vegan dining options and the ability of Dinsmore and Rackauskas to fill that void.
This final adoption paves the way for two community forums and a debt exclusion vote scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 8, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at St. Elizabeth's Parish Center.
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This year, the family took on a new challenge, purchasing the historic West End Market building at 437 West Main St. and opening the city's first vegan restaurant, Wish Tree.
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The school received a $64,000 Feigenbaum Foundation grant a couple years ago, but because of supply and shipping delays from the pandemic, the equipment was not delivered until this past winter. click for more
Nearly a dozen residents attended Monday's Conservation Commission meeting to express opposition to a forest management plan that will include logging and the use of herbicides near Notch Reservoir. click for more
Stoss Landscape Urbanism and its partners are charged with providing North Adams options for addressing the failing overpass to create a more connected and thriving downtown.
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