North Adams Council Sets Committee Agendas

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The City Council met briefly on Tuesday night to refer some items to its subcommittees.

A communication from Councilor Eric Buddington asking that the council consider removing certain functions from ordinance was referred to General Government.

Buddington said he didn't think short-term matters such as City Hall hours and employee vacation times should be covered by city ordinances.

"The employee handbook will cover some of these details, providing a written policy that will give us more freedom to simplify these sections of ordinance," he wrote to fellow councilors.

Mayor Richard Alcombright last year had looked to continue the summer City Hall hours into the fall but ran into the ordinance restrictions.

The General Government Committee will take up the communication, and a previous one from Buddington on declaring the city a "right to farm" community, on Tuesday, July 29, at 7 p.m.

A communication submitted by Councilor Keith Bona on behalf of the Wheel Estates Tenants Association was referred to the Public Safety Committee and the Traffic Commission.

The tenants association, which purchased the park last year, is asking for the city to set a 15 mph speed limit in the park by ordinance.

Also at Tuesday's meeting, resident Mark Trottier announced it would be his last appearance. He later said he may be moving from the area.

Cost, Access to NBCTC High Among Concerns North Berkshire Residents

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
06:15PM / Thursday, April 25, 2024

Adams Select Chair Christine Hoyt, NBCTC Executive Director David Fabiano and William Solomon, the attorney representing the four communities, talk after the session. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Public access channels should be supported and made more available to the public — and not be subject to a charge.

 

More than three dozen community members in-person and online attended the public hearing  Wednesday on public access and service from Spectrum/Charter Communications. The session at City Hall was held for residents in Adams, Cheshire, Clarksburg and North Adams to express their concerns to Spectrum ahead of another 10-year contract that starts in October.

 

Listening via Zoom but not speaking was Jennifer Young, director state government affairs at Charter.

 

One speaker after another conveyed how critical local access television is to the community and emphasized the need for affordable and reliable services, particularly for vulnerable populations like the elderly. 

 

"I don't know if everybody else feels the same way but they have a monopoly," said Clarksburg resident David Emery. "They control everything we do because there's nobody else to go to. You're stuck with with them."

 

Public access television, like the 30-year-old Northern Berkshire Community Television, is funded by cable television companies through franchise fees, member fees, grants and contributions.

 

Spectrum is the only cable provider in the region and while residents can shift to satellite providers or streaming, Northern Berkshire Community Television is not available on those alternatives and they may not be easy for some to navigate. For instance, the Spectrum app is available on smart televisions but it doesn't include PEG, the public, educational and governmental channels provided by NBCTC.