Lenox Selectmen Take Anti-Pipeline Stance

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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The Board of Selectmen said they can't stop the company from doing surveys of land but they might be able to stop the pipeline itself.
LENOX, Mass — The town's Selectmen took a firm stance Wednesday in saying they don't want the proposed natural gas line to come through their town.
 
The Selectmen passed a motion saying that it opposes Kinder Morgan's efforts to build a new gas line. The expansion of the Tennessee Gas Pipeline is proposed to go through multiple Berkshire towns on its way through to Franklin and Worcester counties.
 
"We have a vague, proverbial line on a map. We know there is a strong preference of Kinder Morgan to use existing right of way," said Town Manager Christopher Ketchen, adding that so far the proposals seem to "circle the currently existing AT&T right of ways."
 
The company has asked to survey land as it craft its plans but the board held back approval. At town meeting, a citizen's petition to oppose the pipeline passed easily and many advocates hoped the board would fight the survey work. 
 
However, on Wednesday, the Board of Selectmen opted to hold onto resources rather than spend money on fighting the survey work.
 
"The article also didn't offer any funding for fighting the survey," said Chairman Channing Gibson. "The legal right to survey is likely going to trump any effort to fight it."
 
Selectman Dave Roche agreed.
 
"We are a town of limited resources. The money we do have I would like to see be used to oppose the pipeline itself," he said. "We will never get them not to be able to survey."
 
The board also reviewed a letter Selectman Warren Archey, a former state forester, is writing to the state asking for an environmental study to be done.
 
"We need to see that environmental impact done in a very professional way," Archey said, adding that he wants state Rep. William "Smitty" Pignatelli and state Sen. Benjamin Downing to "back" the town in it.
 
Archey said he wants the company to look for a different route because he has concerns over water quality and the dangers with a "failure" in the pipes. Gibson added the size of the pipe is concerning as well.
 
With an exact route undermined, the board is waiting to take any further action and is allowing the company to survey. Once the company proposes a route, the Selectmen say they will be ready to fight.
 
"I need to know where the fight is before I show up for it," Selectman Ken Fowler said.
 
Roche voiced similar thoughts in saying, "I'd be in favor of fighting this thing tooth and nail. But fighting it when we know where it is going to go."
 
At town meeting, discussion did circle around fracking, or high-pressure fracturing of shale to release natural gas, and what the town's position should be. The Selectmen said that is a bigger scope of issues than what the town is facing right now. Gibson said 92 percent of the town's gas is fracked, so trying to reverse that isn't in the town's best interest, while opposing the pipeline is.
 
"We're not going to let anything slip through the cracks," Gibson said, assuring those who petitioned against the pipeline that the selectmen are watching the progress closely.

Tags: gas pipeline,   natural gas,   

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A Boutique Hotel is Bringing Guests a Luxury Stay in Lenox

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

LENOX, Mass. — A new Inn is bringing a boutique-style stay for visitors and locals to enjoy.

Owners, Sullivan Capital LLC, purchased the property, located on 135 Main Street, in 2024. After a year or renovations, Garden Gables Inn is open for business. 

"Garden Gables started off as one of the many Berkshire cottages, 1790 was the date on that, and it's always operated as an inn," said Hospitality Manager Yvonne Walton. "It's just a great gathering place and relaxation spot for people to come and get the feel of Lenox, and just slow down and enjoy the nature and the surrounding area...get culture and art and see some great concerts. I think it'll be a wonderful place, definitely does more of the upper-scale hospitality." 

Owners Niko Giallouis and Eric Sullivan bought the property from the former owner. Sullivan had his eye on Lenox since attending a wedding almost 10 years ago.

"I came to a wedding in Lenox, probably six or seven years ago. Personally, just kind of fell in love with the area, and I guess that's kind of how it got on my radar. So you know from that perspective, as we got into the hotel business out towards an area, it was a place I was kind of monitoring and waiting for the right property to show up."

After purchasing the two underwent a full renovation, a project that cost around $1.5 million. The building, first built in 1780, required some TLC. Sullivan's wife, Jessica, who owns Jessica Sullivan Design, designed the inn.

Sullivan said they installed a new roof, repainted everything, renovated the bathrooms, installed new floors, a new HVAC system, and new plumbing.

"We really touched everything from the outside...I mean, all the aesthetics and layouts changed a bit," he said. "As I said, put about a million and a half into it. All new furniture, fixtures, everything. The design's completely different. It wasn't a full gut, but it was a heavy, heavy renovation."

The two like to collaborate with local businesses, and they make a point to direct visitors to local restaurants, businesses, and attractions.

"If guests are asking for recommendations, our customer service team, our guest services team, will relay that kind of information. Even if we can call and make a reservation for somebody, happy to do it," he said. "We aren't doing breakfast, but what we do is we have partnerships with a lot of the breakfast places downtown. We actually purchase a gift certificates for each person each day, so that they can use that to go downtown."

Sullivan hopes that guests don't see their inn as just a place to sleep and dump their bags, but make it an experience for anyone who stays.

"We really focus on kind of the experience side of things, so again, we want to give you the best experience you can have here...and we want that not just to be the place you put your bag and go do things. It's important to think of everything," he said.

Sullivan said partnerships are important to their business and are a way to connect with locals.

"The local partnerships, I can't stress that enough, because no matter how much and how great the room is, people are still going to want to go do other things," he said. "So, I think it just benefits everybody if we're all working together and so forth, and supporting the community, being neighborly too, because we are surrounded by residential homes...But we really try to put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, a lot of love into the building, all the details, really care about the senses," Sullivan said.

The Inn's check-in and reservations are completely online. When guests arrive, all they have to do is check in online and receive their code that they will use to enter their room. Sullivan hopes this helps create less stress for guests and gets them to their room as fast as possible, especially after a long trip.

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