MJD Real Estate has fallen behind on its payments one too many times and the Selectmen have begun taking steps to rescind its operating permits and revoke an agreement the company made with the town to make back payments.

 

In early January, the Selectmen promised to shut down the business if it was not paid up to date by the end of the month. According to Town Administrator Jonathan Butler, the company has paid only $5,000 of the $18,000 it was delinquent on the Howland Avenue site by the deadline. 

 

The company paid the balance owed on Wednesday but it was not enough to sway the board. Town counsel had already begun the process with the state Department of Revenue to rescind the agreement the town had with the company to make monthy payments on back taxes it inherited when it bought the property. The Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals will be taking up the process of rescinding the permits.

 

Rescinding the agreement could take months but rescinding the permits is a quicker solution; the boards are not required to do it.

 

The Selectmen also gave Director of Public Works Thomas Satko approval to pursue replacing a retaining wall on Enterprise Street. Some of the work will need to be done on private land so a warrant article must be approved by voters at town meeting.

 

"This wall has been falling down for the last five or six years," Satko told the board Wednesday. 

 

A set of stairs descends to private property and the owners of that land have already agreed to an easement, he said. The project will cost about $60,000 and will be paid by Chapter 90 road funds.

 

The town also joins most of its neighbors in overspending its snow and ice removal budget because of this winter's frequent snowstorms. Towns intentionally underfund that budget line in expectation of running a deficit.

 

Butler also reported that the town received a grant from the Berkshire County Regional Planning Commission that will bring one of the planners to town to help develop wind turbine bylaws.

 

The meeting was short because only three selectmen — Paula Melville, Jason Hnatonko and Arthur "Skip" Harrington — were present. Chairman Michael Ouellette and Scott Nichols were absent. This week would normally have been a nonvoting workshop session but the regular meeting last week was canceled because of another snowstorm.