BRPC Adopts Sustainable Berkshires Plan

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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The Sustainable Berkshire plan received exactly the 17 votes needed to be adopted.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — It was a "sobering" three years in the making, but the county now has an updated master plan.

The Sustainable Berkshires project received the votes it needed Thursday to be adopted as the guideline for the county's future. The massive document outlines a vision, goals and strategies for the entire county encompassing topics of energy, economics, agriculture, neighborhoods, housing, open space, recreation, transportation, health, infrastructure and land use.

"We have an old regional plan at this point. Our old one was adopted in 2001," said Executive Director Nathaniel Karns, prior to the vote.

That plan, however, isn't relevant anymore because the county has changed in the last 13 years. And the old plan was based on an expectation that the population numbers would increase.

"One of the sobering aspects of this plan is that our population decline has continued," Karns said.

With gloomy populations numbers forecasted, the county needs to find a way to be sustainable, he said, and in the last three years that vision was completed.

The Berkshires particularly needs to use the plan to turn many numbers around. In the last 40 years, incomes went from "well above" the national average to "significantly" below; educational levels did the same, with the Berkshires losing college graduates. And with that, there are 7,000 high school students and 13 high schools, creating an average population well below the "optimal" size.

"Our communities are not fiscally sustainable," Karns said.

In developing the plan, Karns said there has been "significant" outreach to the public and county organizations. The plan is eyed to be a reference for all towns to base their decisions on and doesn't carry any regulatory authority.



"I think this is an incredible plan," said BRPC Commissioner Rene Wood.

However, the vote didn't come easy as the plan needed 17 votes to be accepted and received just that. Two delegates — from Florida and Stockbridge — abstained from the vote, protesting language regarding the Housatonic Rail redevelopment.

The plan references as redeveloping the rail lines to re-establish passenger rail to New York City.

"In no way are we endorsing a specific proposal or necessarily endorsing specific ridership numbers. Nor endorsing the economic analysis is entirely accurate. It is a broad, conceptual statement saying that the county would benefit from having direct access to the New York City market by passenger rail," Karns said.

But with a proposal currently on the table from the state and the Housatonic Railway that some towns don't like, the commissioners considered loosening up the language so as to not give that project an endorsement. Instead, they hoped to add "evaluate" into the section so the goal is to investigate options but not necessarily do it.

"It seems that there is a hangup between endorse and an evaluation period," said Lenox delegate Mark Smith, who believes in developing rail overall but is questioning the current proposal.

Lanesborough delegate Jack Hickey said the committee should change the wording to accommodate the concerns of the communities being affected by the project.

But, a vote to keep the language as written passed 14-5. With that, Florida and Stockbridge abstained from the vote for the whole project and with 19 voting members present, the plan was accepted by the 17 votes needed.


Tags: Berkshire Regional Planning Commission,   BRPC,   master plan,   passenger rail,   Sustainable Berkshires,   

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Simon's Rock Awarded Freedom to Read Grant

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Bard College at Simon's Rock was awarded a Freedom to Read Grant by the Newburger Schwartz Family Foundation. 
 
The grant was awarded to support the Alumni Library and Bard Queer Leadership Project in building a more robust collection of queer scholarship, starting a Queer Book Club, and hosting Drag Story Time events in partnership with Drag Story Hour of the Berkshires.
 
According to a press release:
 
In response to current educational threats with book bans affecting schools and libraries across the country and further proposed legislation against LGBTQ+ people's access to basic rights and education, Simon's Rock is actively seeking to create inclusive and equitable spaces for queer individuals. 
 
The Bard Queer Leadership Project and Alumni Library will utilize the grant funding to expand the library's current collection of queer books in order to fully enable the longevity of the Queer Book Club and the Bard Queer Leadership Project. The Queer Book Club will be an intergenerational space, open to local middle school students through rainbow seniors and will partner with local community organizations, to discuss queer books and learn about LGBTQ+ issues and experiences. Bard Queer Leadership Project students will eventually help lead this initiative as part of their leadership project training. 
 
The Queer Book Club will host their first meeting on April 6 at 3:00 p.m. at the Alumni Library, with following meetings on April 27 and May 11. This semester, the selected books are "Obie is Man Enough" and "He/She/They," both by Schuyler Bailar, inspirational speaker and first openly transgender NCAA Division swimmer, who was a guest speaker in the inaugural Queer Leaders Vision Forum in fall 2023 at Simon's Rock. Schuyler Bailar will return to campus for a book signing and pool party at the Kilpatrick Athletic Center on April 19 at 7:00 p.m. Participants in the Queer Book Club will receive a free copy of either book of their choice. 
 
The first Drag Story Time will be on Saturday, March 30 at 2:00 p.m. at the Simon's Rock Alumni Library and is open to all LGBTQ+ affirming individuals. The event is in partnership with Drag Story Hour of the Berkshires with local drag queens JV and Poppy DaBubbly. The second Drag Story Time will be Saturday, April 27 with drag queen Poppy DaBubbly and drag king Sativo Green.
 
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