PITTSFIELD-The Citizens Coordinating Council for the GE Pittsfield / Housatonic River Project will meet on Sept. 7th, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Berkshire Athenaeum.
The September meeting is the first following a recently completed mid-course evaluation conducted to help assess the future direction of the group. Suzanne Orenstein, a neutral facilitator who was engaged to conduct the assessment, will be reporting her findings to the group and leading a discussion on the future direction of the group.
The agenda also includes a discussion about cleanup and other activities that will be underway over the next year and establishing the 2005 - 2006 meeting schedule.
EPA’s objectives over the next year include completing the excavation and backfilling activities in the 1.5 Mile Reach and overseeing GE’s cleanup of the floodplain properties adjacent to the 1.5 Mile Reach from Dawes Avenue to the confluence. In addition, GE plans to complete the remediation of two to four of the former Oxbow Areas that abut the 1.5 Mile Reach.
At the facility, EPA expects GE to submit the Silver Lake phase 3 bench scale study in early 2006 and also expects GE to submit the Pilot Study Work Plan for EPA approval. Construction of the pilot study’s one-acre cap is expected to get underway in late 2006. GE will be conducting the work and EPA will be overseeing the activities. Soil investigations at the GE facility and the Unkamet Brook Area are also anticipated to be completed by GE in the next year.
For the Rest of River component, EPA, with GE, continues to complete the steps necessary to make a decision on the Rest of River. Three major milestones on the schedule for the coming year include GE’s submittal of the proposed Interim Media Protection Goals (IMPGs, or cleanup numbers) in early September. The IMPGs are one of the criteria considered in the evaluation of remedial alternatives in the Rest of River.
In addition, EPA will present the Model Validation Report in January. The report will evaluate the effectiveness of the model as a tool for predicting PCB fate and transport and in the evaluation of future concentrations of PCBs under different cleanup scenarios. A Peer Review of the Model Validation Report will be held in May 2006. Finally, the Corrective Measures Study Proposal, describing remedial alternatives that will be evaluated in greater detail, will be submitted by GE in the fall of 2006.
All are welcome to attend and participate in the CCC meeting.
More information on this cleanup effort is available at: http://www.epa.gov/ne/ge/index.html .
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.
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Lanesborough Town Meeting to Vote Budget, Bylaws & Vehicle Purchases
By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Tuesday's annual town meeting includes a $14 million operating budget, new short-term rentals, accessory dwelling units and sign bylaws, and free cash article appropriations.
Voters will gather at Lanesborough Elementary School on June 9 at 6 p.m. to decide on 20 warrant articles.
The fiscal 2027 budget is up a little over 10 percent. Some of the main increases are the Mount Greylock Regional School District and McCann Technical School: the McCann assessment is up more than 30 percent based on factors including enrollment and the school renovation project, and Mount Greylock's is up 11 percent.
Article 11 is for the town to vote to approve from free cash the sum of $16,298.48 for the McCann Technical School roof and window replacement project so as not to impact the budget. Article 3 is appropriate $7,586,284 for Mount Greylock Regional School assessment.
Another notable increase was in life and health insurance, showing an increase of about 26 percent.
Ambulance Director Jen Weber is planning 24-hour coverage, which means more staff and a hike in her budget. One of the articles asks the town to appropriate $234,100 to operate the Ambulance Enterprise Fund for salaries and expenses.
Many town departments are looking for new vehicles. The Fire Department is looking to replace its outdated 1996 fire engine. There are two articles related to the truck at a total of $813,366. Article 12 would transfer $225,000 from free cash into the Fire Truck Stabilization Fund; Article 13 would transfer $605,000 from the fund and authorize the borrowing of $208,366.08.
The total includes a $100,000 contingency cost to cover any additional costs if a 2026 model-year chassis cannot be secured before new emissions standards go into effect in 2027.
The board at its last meeting moved the $225,000 transfer to come before the borrowing article, changing the stabilization number. If the $225,000 is not voted on, then they will amend the next article's number on the floor, subtracting the $225,000. This shows the borrowing number significantly lower.
Article 17 asks for the transfer of $80,000 from free cash to replace a police cruiser.
Police Chief Rob Derksen's aim is to replace one vehicle every other year, meaning the oldest vehicle gets replaced about every 10 years.
He stressed that if delayed this year, the town may have to double up in a future year to get back on schedule, and that paying later usually costs more. The article will ask for $80,000 from free cash, the vehicles used to be funded by the BHRD.
Lastly, the Highway Department is looking to replace a 2014 International dump truck that will be a total of $330,000 and will take two to three years to receive.
Money will be used from last year's approval of $250,000 from free cash for the replacement of a 2012 highway front-end loader that was underspent $49,261. Town meeting is being asked to approve a transfer of $53,274.85 from free cash and the use of $227,464 from funds from the Sale of Town Real Estate to fund the balance.
Other free cash proposals include $1,200 to purchase software to support tracking and ongoing maintenance schedules of town-owned vehicles; $42,000 for the replacement of the Highway Department's storage shed roof, $200,000 to reduce the tax levy.
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