Mount Greylock Advisory Council Seeks Summit-Cam Options
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The Mount Greylock Advisory Council will look for creative ways to return the summit camera to the mountain.
Mount Greylock Supervisor Alec Gillman told the Mount Greylock Advisory Council last week that because of funding challenges, the summit cam has not been operational for several months.
He said the issues cannot be quelled by a onetime grant, but rather a constant stream of funds.
"It requires a funding source for ongoing maintenance," Gillman said. "It's an ongoing contract with a vendor and that is part of the issue, we need vendors that can provide the service and the support beyond the one-time grant. That's the problem, we can't get anyone to service it."
He added that it is difficult to bring a vendor on board.
State Rep. Gailanne Cariddi, D-North Adams, said the proposed state budget is not good news for the Department of Conservation and Recreation and other such agencies.
"It really does not look very good for these kind of things, and in particular this reservation and a lot of things that are connected to it," Cariddi said. "It's just there are certain things in the budget we just don't have control over."
She said the governor's retirement program also hit the parks hard and many employees who opted in have left positions that may not be filled.
Gillman said ABC Channel 10 out of Albany, N.Y., often contacts the mountain seeking permission to use the inactive summit cam. Gillman said it may be worth inquiring to see if any such business or organization may want to sponsor the camera and negotiate a contract with them.
He said many organizations use the monopole and it may be worth gathering the stakeholders together and try to work something out.
"I think we can come up with a way to combine efforts with those who use our facility and maybe they could take the camera off of our hands," he said. "We can use the service here, but they will support it because they need the data."
Any agreement would have to go through the state.
Gillman said he would start this process and see what the possibilities are.
He said the summit's weather station works similarly and is contracted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The station is set to be installed when winter is over.
Cariddi said she will continue attempts to contact DCR Commissioner Leo Roy to set up a meeting to discuss such concerns. She pledged to continue advocating for the mountain.
"I am working for you, and I personally have used this place, too," she said. "It has always been my home and never hesitate to contact me."
Council member Ken McInerney brought good news that New Ashford had received a $333,000 grant to rebuild 3.7 miles of mountain access roads. He said he will begin work on the request for proposals soon.
He also reported that people have been dragging the cement blocks that keep vehicles off the mountain during the winter away from access points. Also, someone had cut the lock on one of the mountain gates and replaced it with their own. The lock has been restored and DCR is aware of the issues.
"People can't help themselves and are drawn up the mountain," Chairman Cosmo Catalano said.
Gillman repored the mountain saw 217,000 visitors last year. In 2014, 173,711 made it up the mountain.
"October is always our busiest month and this past October, we saw 50,794 visitors and that set a one-month record," he said.
He added that work on the War Memorial Tower stopped Nov. 1, but will pick up again in the spring and should be complete ahead of schedule in the fall. The 83-year-old tower is undergoing an extensive $2 million restoration.
Bascom Lodge manager John Dudek said renovations have been completed for last row of private rooms on the upper levels of the lodge and the electrical and heating system has been upgraded.
He said the next big projects are renovating the porch and replacing windows. DCR has secured grant money for the windows.
"They will be replicas of the remaining original windows," he said. "They are going to match ... what the [Civilian Conservation Corps] originally put into the lodge."
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