You’ve got to admire the persistence of Tony McBride, the local undertaker who quipped some 40 years ago that the obituary had not yet been written for a tramway on Mount Greylock. McBride now seems to have re-ignited the Greylock Glen Now committee in Adams — a group of local cheerleaders who unsuccessfully exhorted the Michael Dukakis administration and later the William Weld administration to finish what they had set out to do at the Greylock Glen — that is, develop the thing, for goodness sake! Never mind that 1,200 condominiums or 850 single-family homes and a golf course would have eaten up much of the public land and been an eyesore and a playground for the rich just below the state’s highest peak.
When the cheerleading didn’t work, the committee went into hibernation for a time, as Paul Cellucci and later the Berkshires own Jane Swift seemed to be proceeding on apace with a new plan — this time for a modest 300 vacation homes, an inn, 160-room conference center, environmental center, golf course, cross country skiing and hiking trails, among other things. Well, we all know what happened, as hapless state officials got suckered by a less than forthcoming developer, and Swift and other sane people in power saw that the numbers just wouldn’t work — especially in the tanking economy.
Over the past two years, those townspeople who still want a glen development have waited patiently as the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency has tried to hammer out a new plan — so far one that calls for a very modest proposal for an environmental center and recreational trails.
That patience has evidently worn thin, as McBride and his newly charged group are now calling for the state to repeal the state legislation that has protected the 12,000-acre Mount Greylock Reservation from downhill skiing, tramways and chair lifts. McBride also wants the state to allow a hotel and a restaurant on the reservation (although both already exist at the Bascom Lodge).
Heck, why not a casino? Greylock Glen Now has about as much chance of succeeding with its plan as the Williams College basketball team had of defeating the Harlem Globetrotters.
One can certainly understand the group’s impatience. The 1985 legislation that authorized a joint public-private partnership and $8.5 million in state funds for a glen development was an “emergency bill,†passed because the town and Northern Berkshire desperately needed economic development. Over the last 20 years, Adams has lost population to such an extent that McBride said last week, only half-jokingly, that the National Guard was leaving town because “there’s no one left to guard.†He and others in his group have also bemoaned the fact that few environmentalists, if any, have raised uproars over mountainside condominium developments in Hancock and New Ashford.
Trouble is, Mount Greylock is a statewide icon and a rallying point for every environmental group in existence. Greylock Glen Now should leave the mountain and the reservation alone and stick to the glen itself. State Rep. Daniel E. Bosley, D-North Adams, kindly suggested as much when he advised the town to try to get the glen land back from the state — which, after all, essentially stole it while whispering sweet promises, all of which have been broken. If McBride thinks environmentalists have been tough on the glen, wait until he sees the tiger that leaps to the defense of the reservation.
Now is the time to hold the state’s feet to the fire and pursue realistic goals, not pipe dreams that Beacon Hill will laugh at and the Boston media will savage. MassDevelopment, even without its departing guru and Berkshire County advocate Michael Hogan, still has the guns to get things done. And the glen land has long been earmarked for development, despite the perennial outcry of those who would like to see it remain forever wild (perhaps for the four-wheelers who are ravaging its meadows and wetlands?).
The group is Greylock Glen Now, not Greylock Reservation Now. It should stop tilting at windmills, climb down from its soapbox mountain and pursue a dream within its means.
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LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Town meeting on Tuesday approved an almost $14 million fiscal 2027 budget, and approved bylaws for short-term rentals and signage, and for public safety vehicles.
Of the 20 warrant articles, one, Article 7, to use free cash to pay prior fiscal year bills of $941.27 was indefinitely postponed by Moderator David Rolle because the bills were for the fire association.
Some 247 of the town's more than 2,600 registered voters filled Lanesborough Elementary School, debating articles during a meeting that lasted more than three hours.
The town's 2027 spending plan is up more than 10 percent, with the main increases from higher enrollment in the regional schools and the McCann Technical School renovation project.
Voters approved the assessment of $7,586,284 for Mount Greylock Regional School. They also approved Article 11, which was the use of $16,298.48 in free cash for the McCann's roof and window replacement project so as not to impact the budget.
Ambulance Director Jen Weber is planning 24-hour coverage, which means more staff and a hike in her budget. Article 5 asked the town to appropriate $234,100 to operate the Ambulance Enterprise Fund for salaries and expenses, which passed.
Fire Chief Jeff DeChaine spoke to the audience on his articles and the need for a new truck to replace the 1996 fire truck, listed on the warrant articles for a total $813,366, which includes a $100,000 contingency cost on whether a 2026 model-year chassis can be secured before new emissions standards in 2027. If they get the 2026 chassis, that contingency likely won't be needed.
Cassidy Flynn scattered five hits in a complete-game effort in the circle as Lenox upset top-seeded Hoosac Valley, 3-2, in the quarter-finals of the Division 5 State Tournament. click for more
Brayden Durant struck out seven and walked one in a complete-game effort on the mound Saturday to pitch the Drury baseball team to a 6-0 win over Keefe Tech in the quarter-finals of the Division 5 State Tournament at Joe Wolfe Field. click for more
Jason Codey struck out 13, walked two and allowed just an infield single as the Generals earned a 7-1 win over Wahconah to claim their third straight regional title. click for more
Gracelyn Wright struck out eight, and Genevieve Lagess went 3-for-5 with four runs batted in as the Hurricanes beat Monson, 17-3, to claim their first Western Mass title in four years. click for more
For the boys, Ward Bianchi helped lead the way with a win in the shot put and a second place in the javelin as the Mounties finished 16 points ahead of runner-up Pittsfield (pending the results of the pole vault, which were unavailable at 11 p.m. Friday night). click for more
