William St. Pierre, left, George Forgea, Deborah Forgea, Paul Corriveau, Nancy Bullet and Peg Clermont. St. Pierre, Corriveau and Bullett are members of the Windsor Lake Recreation Commission; George Forgea is the chairman.
North Adams Group Breaks Ground For Lake Project
By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff 12:42PM / Sunday, April 08, 2012
Windsor Lake Recreation Commission member William St. Pierre brought equipment to make the job easier.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Windsor Lake entrance is getting a makeover to reflect some of the changes going on at the recreation area.
Volunteers were out on a blustery Saturday morning digging up sod and prepping the ground for a native plant garden and new sign to better point visitors in the direction of the city's public beach and Historic Valley Campground.
"We want it to complement what the city is doing with the infrastructure ... It's a visible way to show things are happening here," said Deborah Forgea, who's spearheading the project. The brown rustic sign that's been there since the late 1960s was fine at the time, but she said, "We want the sign and entrance to reflect that we're coming into the 21st century."
New septic is being run into the campground, the bathrooms have been overhauled and the area spiffed up. A new playground area and volleyball court are being put in and there are future plans for a new concession at the lake. The old concession will get a new coat of paint this coming Community Service Day on May 5.
The volunteers were a little ahead of schedule on Saturday to take advantage of a visit by site designer Peg Clermont and her husband, Bill, from Franklin.
Clermont, originally from North Adams, said the garden will take advantage of native plants to creative an environmentally friendly garden that will be good to the birds and bees and highlight the area. It will include dogwood, azalea and coneflowers.
"It will make [the entrance] highly visible and highly accessible," said the self-taught landscape designer.
The new, larger sign will feature Mount Greylock.
The Windsor Lake Greenspace Improvement Project is a Develop North Adams initiative that is being funded through donations and grants. The Windsor Lake Recreation Commission approved the project in February and several of the commission members were volunteering on Saturday.
"If we get grants, we'll order the plants; if not we'll look for funding," said Forgea. "We'll find a way."
Donations for the project can be sent to Develop North Adams Inc., PO Box 746, North Adams, MA 01247, ATTN: Windsor Lake Greenspace Improvement Project.
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Why will a sign for a municipal project in North Adams feature Mount Greylock, which is in Adams? Don't you have something of significance in North Adams to use? Let me suggest some steeples or the Hoosic Tunnel. You wouldn't use The Bennington Monument or the iconic Hail To The Sunrise Indian would you? Then why something from out of town?
Editor: One of the reasons I was told is because even though the mountain is in Adams, the only northern route to it is through North Adams. The city's trying to position itself as the main gateway to the mountain. Plus you can see it.
You can't see or visit the Hoosac Tunnel (which I think should be the main city logo - not steeples that may disappear) and it's not very outdoorsy. The lake is a recreation area. The only other thing I can think of is Natural Bridge; but would visitors recognize it?
I hope they got a permit for this project. I also hope that an environmentalvimpact study was done and submitted to the dcr before tearing upbthe ground around that wetland. Tbis is a verynserious offense if not and i will be filing a complaint. They used earth moving equipment and will be hopefully forced to remediate that area.
Future donations should be submitted to their legal defense fund.
This is just what our community needs, people donating their time to the community's benefit. This is an all around positive for everyone. The Berkshires is filled with Mass DCR sites that sometimes seem like they must be totally unknown to the general public. In fact, the Berkshires is littered with great places for hiking, cruising, camping, and picnicking. I hope this project helps steer more people in the right direction!
It still mamzes me some of the posts that are allowed. Besides that, many thanks to the volunteers helping their community. Ignore the tiny minority who wish failure on everything.
These are the same people who are the first to try to stop a walmart because of frogs and flowers. So it is good for them to have to abide by there own rules. Impact studies first, then delays, then lawsuits, then give up. Whats good for the goose...
I am not against it i just want to make sure the ruoes are followed and everything is vetted first.
Beautifying the entrance to the Lake is just another example of people who care about their community giving freely of their time and talents. I look forward to enjoying the end results of this project. Please know that volunteering your time to this great project is very much appreciated.
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