Lanesborough Voters Asked To Approve Aerial Adventure Park Bylaw

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Voters will finally get a say in the proposed aerial adventure.

Last April, Feronia Holdings LLC proposed developing a seven-acre park of hiking trails, zip lines and ropes courses on Brodie Mountain Road. However, the town's new zoning bylaws eliminated those types of parks.

The Selectmen then promised to take an amendment to a special town meeting.

When the town held a special meeting in fall, the adventure park was not on the warrant because the company did not want their zoning amendment to conflict with zoning amendments for dock bylaws.

But now, the Selectmen have called another special town meeting which will focus on the zoning amendment needed to bring the park to town. The meeting is scheduled for Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. at town hall.

"This is something that we support. We think it is a great addition to town. It brings some tax base and brings some people," Selectman William Prendergast said.

Town officials have had multiple conversations about how to craft the amendment. The version heading to town meeting defines outdoor adventure recreation facilities as "land, buildings, improvements, facilities and related appurtenances to be used for commercial operation of a ropes course or other challenge type courses, zip lines, canopy tours, hiking and biking trail (excluding trails for motorcycles, atvs and utvs) laser tag and other similar outdoor recreational activities associated typically associated with aerial adventure parks."

The bylaw allows the park by special permit and requires a minimum lot size of 10 acres, that 75 percent of the elements shall be suspended by trees and exceptions were made to height restrictions for the apparatuses.

The special town meeting is being paid for by Feronia.

"We've been supportive of this since the beginning and I am glad that they'll pay for it," Selectman Robert Barton said.

Attorney Jonathan Sabin, who is representing Feronia, described the course as "good for revenue, good for jobs and good for having something to do."

""There are minimal impacts and it draws people to town," Sabin said.

Police Officer Timothy Sorrell and Police Chief Mark Bashara put forth a bylaw to restrict "pawnbrokers and secondhand dealers."

Sorrell led the petition saying that there are multiple places buying jewelry and gold - particularly at the mall - but they do not have to keep records of what they buy. Currently he gets documentation from the stores but the quality varies.

The bylaw would set requirements for documenting all merchandise, require a 15-day period before it can be resold and make all vendors apply for licenses from the town. The goal would the be able to held police investigations by being able to search for stolen property.

"Unfortunately, most of it is turning out to be stolen," Sorrell said as he presented the Selectmen with a stack of documentation from the various stores. "Right now, all I can do is thank them when they give me these slips."

Bashara said the law would help discourage the "bad guys" from opening up shop. The law also includes fines for those who do not document the merchandise. Lanesborough officers are often called to attain documents for investigations in other towns because the items could likely be resold there.

Similarly, voters will be asked to pass a similar law for scrap metal dealers. That law was less important for police because the town only has one business - Sayer's Autowrecking - buying scrap metal. Police said that company is also "very good" at working with Police and documenting the items.

The Selectmen tabled the discussion on a fourth item which would increase the fees for demand letters for late payments. The one-time fee would increase from $5 to $30.

Chairman John Goerlach and Barton had opposing views on it with Goerlach concerned that the increase would even further hurt those families that are financially struggling. Barton, however, believed that it isn't increasing the obligations but rather punishing those who do not fulfill their obligations.

That item could still go to town meeting after the next Selectmen's meeting.

Prospect Meadow Farm Opens New Vocational Barn

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
05:40AM / Thursday, June 18, 2026

A charcuterie board at the event displays fare from some of the regional producers.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Prospect Meadow Farm last week officially opened a new barn to sell plants and other goods it produces.

Prospect Meadow Farm Berkshires is an expansion of ServiceNet's first farm in Hatfield that has provided meaningful agricultural work, fair wages, and personal and professional growth to hundreds of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities since opening in 2011. 

The Berkshires farm opened on Crane Avenue two years ago and has now introduced a new vocational and unwinding space for the more than 25 farmhands who get paid a minimum wage.

"This is a facility for our folks who work on the farm to learn additional skills and do additional work," said Vice President of Vocational Services Shawn Robinson at the Friday event. "So we have a food packaging space, we've got a walk-in cooler space, we've got a floral design space, we've got a farm store room for staff, lunch room, and then a meditation room that we're standing in now, which is when you're having those hard moments and you need to get away from everything.

"This is going to be a peaceful place you can find and sort of find some comfort, and then hopefully get back to work."

The barn was built by funds from the state Executive Office of Economic Development and the state Department of Agricultural Resources that equated to around $600,000, with ServiceNet contributing around the same amount. The structure took over a year to build.

The state's Department of Developmental Services Commissioner Sarah Peterson spoke on how meaningful this farm and ServiceNet is to her and that this place is important to those who need it.

"Places like this are so crucial because they create opportunities for people living with disabilities that aren't plentiful," she said. "People living with developmental and intellectual disabilities have an unemployment rate over 25 percent five times the rate for people without disabilities, even more jarring is under appointment, which is at 80 percent. That means that four out of every five people with disabilities earn below market rate wages and have limited upward mobility.

"The building itself is really impressive, but what you're really seeing here is the result of vision. It's about opportunity, it's about community, and it's founded in the belief that every person deserves the chance to learn and work and contribute to thrive under the leadership of ServiceNet."

One aspect of the barn will be the market where produce from the farm and other local growers will be sold as well as keeping the tradition of Jodi's Seasonal, which previously occupied the location, alive with plant sales. The market will be open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

"Everything you see in terms of the tomatoes, the fresh produce, that's all done with the hands of our farm hands here, individuals with disabilities who get out every single morning, get in those greenhouses, put their hands in the dirt, and make all of this happen, and this is just the start," said Robinson. "This farm is a little over a year old at this point, but give it another two years, and we hope to be growing enough food to share throughout the Berkshires."

Robinson said the farm is focused on local food security, recently partnering with the Hatfield Council on Aging and planning to work toward making enough food to partner with places in the Berkshires.

He said the barn serves the Hatfield farm and what the employees here needed.

"We've been able to learn the needs of the farm hands who work there and so we have learned that they need a comfortable break space for those times where it's hard to be out in the fields, we've learned that a quiet space for when you're going through something you need to be away from people are key, and then also we have a small farm store in Hatfield, but we've seen increasing interest in retail work from our participants, so we thought it was time for a larger-scale farm store," he said.

Robinson noted that Prospect Meadow Farm has helped the individuals working there feel valued and head.