The gate to Powder Mountain Road has been closed by the state after the area again became a trouble spot.

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Potter Mountain Road could be closed for good.

 

Town Administrator Paul Sieloff reported on Monday that the state environmental police have closed the gate, which blocks the road, and has no plans to reopen it. The Selectmen had already been skeptical of opening the gate in the first place. 

 

"The environmental police were uncomfortable with the gate being open," Sieloff said. "It sounds like they want to keep it permanently closed."

 

The road used to be opened all year. After triple murder investigation in 2011 led police to search for bodies there, the state closed off the access. The road connects into Pittsfield State Forest land.

 

The road has been a longtime party spot for teenagers and has seen fights and stabbings and other violent crime there in the past. The area was also often used for illegal dumping.

 

A few years ago, the state installed a gate to close off access. In the winters, the gate was opened for hunting season.

 

Selectman Henry "Hank" Sayers owns property at the base of the mountain and advocated this year to keep it closed. He was outvoted and the other Selectmen said they'd keep it open for hunters until there is a problem.

 

There are already signs of illegal dumping and the road is iced over. Sieloff said the gate will still be opened in case of an emergency.

 

In other business, the town is holding off on bonding any money to build out high-speed Internet. Sieloff said he has been working with Wired West on a plan to build out optic fibers to the "last mile" to homes and businesses. However, with the merger between Comcast and Time Warner Cable, Sieloff said the company might be upgrading the infrastructure on its own.

 

"Because of recent activities with Charter [Communications], they in some degree, with this merger with Comcast and Time Warner, they are going to upgrade the Lanesborough system," Sieloff said. "My recommendation is for us to sit tight for a while and see how this plays out."

 

The administrator said the plan would be to bond up to $3 million to build out the network and receive reimbursement later. That would be a financial hurdle for the taxpayers.

 

Lanesborough is in a "unique" situation in which it has a system of just television hook up to many areas of the town. Hinsdale and West Stockbridge are the only other two with the same system. 

 

"In our case, we have the luxury of waiting a little while and seeing how everything plays out," Sieloff said.

 

Sieloff also reported that he has reached a "working scope" of a contract between the town and the water department regarding billing. Sieloff has been hoping to take over the billing for the water bills through the tax collector's office. 

 

"The funds would be transferred to the water district but they would pay us a fee for doing the service. It would be very helpful for people in the water district because there are limited office hours there," Sieloff said. "We are hoping to eventually get to a point where we can merge the bills."

 

The Board of Selectmen also accepted various charges to license fees for 2016. The increases are: common victualer is up from $50 to $100; all-alcohol restaurant licenses are up from $1,200 to $1,250; wine and malt restaurant licenses are up from $500 to $600; wine and malt package store, up from $500 to $700; all-alcohol package store, up from $1,200 to $1,250; one-day wine and malt as well as the one-day all-alcohol licenses, up from $25 to $50; Sunday entertainment, up from $50 to $85; and a general business license is now being imposed at $50 (there wasn't one before).

 

"I do think it is reasonable and will add revenue to the town," Sieloff said.