Lanesborough's Town Administrator Resigns After 13 Years

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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Boudreau has worked as the Town Administrator since 1998 and is now looking to do something else.
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — After 13 years Town Administrator Paul Boudreau is calling it quits.

Boudreau accepted a job in the private sector but will stick around to help out part-time until the town replaces him. Boudreau said on Tuesday that he had been looking for a change for a while and started the job search earnestly about six months ago.

"It's time for a change of scenery," Boudreau said. "I feel good about my time here and I've accomplished quite a bit."

Boudreau took the job in 1998 right after bids for renovating the Elementary School came in too high and voters did not approve the extra amount. Town officials switched tactics and began looking at building a new school and put Boudreau in command.

"I shepherded that project to completion... That was probably the biggest thing," Boudreau said when asked what he though his biggest accomplishment has been. "And the Mall Road, that took more than a decade to make that happen."

In his 13 years Boudreau said his position has become much more complicated because of state and federal regulations but the town hasn't changed.The town still has the mixed personality of dense and almost urban living in some parts and country in others as it was when Boudreau first moved here in 1980.


"The town itself really hasn't changed much since I've been here. We're still sort of a suburb of Pittsfield," Boudreau, who grew up in Pittsfield, said.

Boudreau was a former Berkshire Regional Planning Commission employee who later went on to become the executive director of the Northwestern Connecticut Council of Governors before taking the town administrator position.

He is only the town's third administrator and the first one to stick around for a while. Now the Board of Selectmen are wondering if this is the time to re-think the town's government structure.

On Tuesday, the Selectmen voted to work with a consultant to examine the structure. The board talked about a possible switch to a town manager but how "strong" of one still needs to be determined.

While the Selectmen were given Boudreau's formal resignation letter Tuesday, they've known he was leaving prior to that and have begun considering their options.

Tags: departure,   town administrator,   

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Multiple Departments Respond to Lanesborough Structure Fire

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Multiple fire departments responded to a structure fire off Narragansett Avenue on Wednesday afternoon. 

The Fire Department received a call from the owner of 6 Bangor St. reporting a smoke and flames at around 1:44 p.m.

Firefighters arriving on scene reported heavy smoke emanating from the the 1940s single-family ranch home in the thickly settle neighborhood.

The blaze was brought under control in less than an hour and there were no civilian or firefighter injuries. 

"The homeowner was outside doing some work, evidently, opened the door when she came back in the house, and there were flames and smoke, so she backed out and called us, and that's all we know right now," Deputy Fire Chief Glen Storie said around 2:35 p.m. 

The fire was out at that time, and first responders observed "quite a bit of damage" to the home. The cause is still under investigation. 

Lanesborough, Cheshire, and Pittsfield departments responded to the scene, and Hancock covered the station during the call. 

"The first crew in knocked the fire right down with the first engine," Storie said. 

Smoke could be seen coming from the back of the home. Part of Narragansett Avenue and Bangor Avenue were blocked off while firefighters battled the blaze. 

 

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