North Adams Council OKs Borrowing for Conte Project

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The City Council on Tuesday authorized a nearly $29.7 million borrowing to renovate Conte Middle School into an elementary school.

The Massachusetts School Building Authority has approved 80 percent reimbursement for the project, bringing the city's cost down to $6.5 million.

The vote was 7-2, with Councilors Marie Harpin and John Barrett III voting against. The borrowing order requires a two-thirds vote.

The approval was met by cheers from a cadre of school administrators and School Committee members, and a boo from within the handful of meeting regulars.

"I think most everybody believes this community needs to grow, growth requires investment and it can come from outside the community and from inside," said Councilor Alan Marden. "Two of the other major factors are education and the quality of the work force. That's the job of this community. ... I believe in the Conte project, the mayor said we can afford it, I don't think we cannot afford not to do it."

Planning for the project began more than three years ago after the closure of Conte and the relocation of sixth and seventh grades to the three elementary schools and the eighth grade to Drury High School.

The project will continue the city's decision to split its educational framework into a Kindergarten-through-Grade 7 and Grade 8-through-12 structure. The School Building Committee had hoped to also renovate Greylock Elementary but a two-school option was rejected the Massachusetts School Building Authority.

Mayor Richard Alcombright said the debt could be absorbed into the budget, at $102,500 each the first two years on interest only and $370,000 annually over the balance.

"This is built within our 2 1/2 percent levy limit, so the numbers will be built into a budget," he said, adding that the city would still have to live within the constraints of local receipts, taxes and state aid.

In answer to questions from several councilors about the looming capital projects for sewer, public safety and Americans with Disabilities Act requirements, the mayor said he would be coming forward with a plan for addressing those issues that will require more borrowing.

He believed that most of the ADA issues, as ordered by the U.S. Department of Justice, could be addressed through Community Community Block Grant Funding. The public safety building would be the last, and most expensive, item on the list.

The time it will take to study and develop plans would push any public safety project out to 2018-2020, he said, adding that he would be updating the council on immediate plans at the next meetings. The city's long-term debt (at $1.7 million this year) is calculated to drop by $1 million at that point as other borrowing is paid off.

"We wouldn't do this if we thought there would be an override, if our numbers are accurate, and we believe they are accurate, we can absorb this," he said. "We don't see it as problematic."

Several in the audience were skeptical about the cost, or were opposed to Conte being the school renovated.

"Where are your priorities?" asked resident Mark Trottier, saying the city needed a new police and fire station, and work on the sewers. He urged holding off on the project. "I think we could go on for another four years."

Katherine Montgomery said a new school should be built on a different site, something more like what was done in Williamstown. Putting money into Conte would mean "we would be stuck with an inconvenient, unpopular school building."

But John Franzoni, assistant principal at Greylock and Sullivan, said the plan was a good one, and would give the children a play area the size of Sullivan and Greylock combined, as well as a gym and a modern building. "I hope that you will do what is the best for our student body," he said.

The report offered fixes for both Sullivan and Greylock elementary schools at a cost of about $21 million, said Barrett. (The plans drawn up by Margo Jones Architects put the costs to totally renovate Greylock and Sullivan at about $30 million each.)

Harpin's objections were over concerns for costs and the feedback she had received from people over the past weeks.

"They don't want to lose their neighborhood school," she said. "The people who are calling me and the people who are stopping me on the streets are against this school. I just can't see how the city can handle this."

Several other councilors said they had heard just the opposite. Councilor Lisa Blackmer, who had opposed the Conte choice because of safety concerns and the wishes of Sullivan parents to keep their school, said the feedback she had received changed her mind.  

"I've listened to people. They're definitely two to one in favor of Conte," she said, thanking those who had approached or mailed her. "It may not be their first choice but they think now is the time to do it. I really think we need to go with this project."

Councilor David Bond said he had received the same comments, particularly from parents in the Conte neighborhood who are pleased with the choice.

"There are parents that had some real concerns," he said. "It's the best project we can put forward. We have spent years reviewing this project with professionals and the state has endorsed it."

Councilor Nancy Bullett also said she had spoken to parents who believed that Conte was their neighborhood school and noted that at one time, Drury High, St. Joseph's High and Notre Dame schools had all been open in that area.

"I think the timing is right," she said. "To wait another two or three years ... this is already approved for funding. ... the longer we wait the more money we'll have to use."

Councilor Keith Bona wondered why the city would want to spend $2 million to $3 million in Band-Aids on Sullivan, unlikely to be reimbursed, when it could get a brand-new school for $6.5 million right now.

The mayor answered a number of other questions that went over old ground on meetings and decision making, but said that wasn't the point of the order.

"I'm not hear to argue the project, I'm here to convince the council we can afford it," he said. "We ran the numbers, we've confirmed the numbers and we know we can make it work."

Barrett, however, urged the council to put the money to a public vote.

"The people do not want this and it will be defeated if it goes to the ballot box," he said.

Earlier in the day, the mayor also provided an opinion on the ownership of the property by City Solicitor John DeRosa. A number of people have questioned the city's rights over the property in relation to Nathan Drury's will, which bequested $3,000 to buy land and develop a school.

"It is our opinion that the City of North Adams has good and clear record title to the property, in fee simple absolute, and holds the property in trust, to 'perpetually maintain the same for educational purposes as contemplated by said will,'" DeRosa writes in the opinion.

DeRosa wrote that any issues with possible heirs of Nathan Drury — who never owned the land in question and who has no direct descendants — was taken care of when the Supreme Judicial Court decreed the surrender of the trust and all titles to the city in 1915.

Why the Massachusetts Art Community Is Worth Continued Investment

By James BirgeGuest Column
10:41AM / Tuesday, April 21, 2026

How do we quantify the value of art on society and culture? Even eye-popping figures, like the $100 million estimate for the jewels stolen from the Louvre, or the record auction last fall that saw a piece by Gustav Klimt sell for more than $236 million can't fully account for the value of the history, stories, and emotions behind the creations themselves. But beyond that, there is a measurable financial, cultural and social benefit of the arts that is often taken for granted. 

Closer to home, arts and cultural production in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts totals nearly $30 billion annually, representing more than 4 percent of the state's economic output, according to the Mass Cultural Council. All told, more than 130,000 jobs are spread across the commonwealth creating a vibrant and thriving artistic community for us all to enjoy. 

Despite the obvious impact, these figures are under threat. A recent survey by MassCreative compiled recent federal cuts to the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute of Museum and Library Services and identified 63 grants canceled and $4.2 million in grant funding rescinded across New England so far this year. 

The dollars, of course, are important. But they also only scratch the surface on what they bring to the community. Today, we risk losing part of the culture and identity many now take for granted. 

While others choose to look past these less tangible, but just as vital benefits, we're doing the opposite. Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts is all in to ensure the next generation retains their access to works of art, while also being empowered to create themselves. 

Last fall, MCLA officially broke ground on the new Campagna Kleefeld Center for Creativity in the Arts, which will serve as a new hub for the campus and the local community for arts programming. When complete in fall of 2027, our students will benefit, but so will all of Berkshire County and artists in the surrounding area. 

This exciting new facility is just one of the many forthcomings our region can enjoy in the coming years. Just a few miles away, anticipation builds for the Fall 2027 anticipated opening for the Williams College Museum of Art. Years in the making, the museum likewise grows from an enduring commitment to the arts, both in curriculum and in practice. Exciting times are also underway for the Clark Art Institute with the construction of a new facility to house a collection of 331 works of art, including paintings, sculptures, drawings and other works. Their wing is scheduled for completion in 2028. And listeners will no doubt enjoy the sounds and melodies from Mass MoCA Records, the latest endeavor to foster creativity and artistic pursuits through music launched in October as well. Of course, many are also awaiting the reopening of the Berkshire Museum anticipated this summer, after a tremendous renovation process to rejuvenate the experience for visitors. 

So much time, energy, and yes, dollars, have already been invested in taking these facilities from ideas and sketches and making them reality. But they represent much more than new buildings. They represent new opportunities to cultivate and accelerate the thriving arts community in Massachusetts and the northern Berkshires. 

Art, regardless of the medium, is a reflection of who we are, where we've been, and what we aspire to be. It can be inspired by hopes or fears and chronicle collective triumphs as well as tribulations. The goal of art is not only to document history, but to inspire those positioned to change it and to feel something new or even to provoke us to revisit our own assumptions or misconceptions. 

As unfathomable of a number as $30 billion can seem, boiling down the impact to any number inherently discounts the unknowable downstream effects our graduates will bring to the community and the broader world after they leave our institutions. Likewise, rescinding $4.2 million now removes a huge chunk of that growth potential.  

Justification for making these investments today when simply boiled down to dollars and cents still places us on solid ground strictly from a financial perspective that forgoes all of the intangible, but no less valuable, benefits as well.  

The arts are still worth our support. And our community will be richer for it. 

James Birge, PhD, is president of Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams.