Year in Review: Adams 2014
 Adams signed a master lease for the Greylock Glen with the state in 2014 that paves the way for development on the 50-acre site. |
ADAMS, Mass. — As 2014 ends, Adams has started and completed many projects, taken the further steps in the long-awaited Greylock Glen initiative, and welcomed a new town administrator.
Anthony Mazzucco, an assistant mayor from Caribou, Maine, will take the post of town administrator soon after the New Year after being hired in November.
He replaced Jonathan Butler, who chose not to renew his contract in May after five years in the post and who became the president of the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce in September.
After Butler's decision to leave, the Selectmen quickly formed a town administrator search committee that worked through the summer and fall to narrow a list of nearly 40 applicants to three.
Director of Community Development Donna Cesan acted as the interim town administrator.
The board also welcomed new Selectman Jeffrey Snoonian, elected in the annual town election in May.
The Greylock Glen master lease was signed in October. The master lease marks the end of a 30-year push to start developing the land and create a recreational hub that will be a cornerstone for economic development in Adams.
The $40 million project will fund the construction of a campground, hiking trails, a conference center, an education center, and an amphitheater on the 50-acre parcel.
The lease marks an agreement between the state and Adams. The anticipated next step is the development of the campground.
The Park Street streetscape project lay largely complete by the end of 2014. The project, which was first envisioned in 2003, was finally made possible by a $900,000 community block grant awarded to the town in 2013.
The project budget was $690,000. However, because all bids came in over the budget, an additional $223,000 was taken from Chapter 90 road funds.
The project kicked off in the summer and addressed the replacement of curbing sidewalks and paving, as well as making the town's main street handicapped accessible. The project also included new benches, bumpouts, and planters.
 New Town Administrator Anthony Mazzucco, right, was hired the same day he was interviewed. |
The work also addressed the street's aging underground infrastructure and updated the sewer and storm-management systems.
The project was criticized by Park Street business owners, who complained that construction negatively affected business because of the lack of parking. During the project, the Firehouse Café closed after less than a year in business.
Small items such as permanent line painting and final bench installations will be completed in the spring.
The Adams Free Library also began major renovations this year. The project went out to bid in mid-June and came in under the $970,000 budget.
The project, which addresses both the building's interior and exterior, is more than 50 percent complete.
The former Adams Memorial School opened its doors to the public for in November for the first-ever Adams Holiday Market.
The deteriorating middle school was shut down in 2009 but put back into service briefly during the renovation of Hoosac Valley High School.
Some $516,800 in grant funds were used to repair the leaking roof and funds are being sought after to replace the HVAC system. The town plans to lease parts of the building to businesses and use other parts of it as a possible community center and elderly housing.
The town also began the renovation of an old car wash on Hoosac Street into a train station. The town bought the building and approved the construction of the Adams Station that will act as the Adams hub for the Berkshire Scenic Rail and as a recreational area. The rail service is awaiting the state's purchase of the tracks.
 The year saw a major reconstruction of Park Street, including brick-paved bumpouts and benches. |
About 70 percent of the $552,000 project will be reimbursed by the state and the town will use $165,000 from free cash to complete the ongoing project.
Although some town meeting members were hesitant to approve the money for the station because there was not yet a firm commitment to the railway, they believed it would clean up a blighted and add more recreational space.
A portion of the Waverly Mill was also developed and turned into the 5 Hoosac St. gallery. The 4,500 square feet gallery worked as a catalyst for the arts in Adams and housed the "Mill Children" exhibit based on photographer Lewis Hine's photographs of child millworkers from the early 20th century.
The gallery also hosted 30 photos from photographer Leonard Freed, a photojournalist who followed Martin Luther King in 1963.
The gallery also housed lectures and plays.
Because the building is not heated, it has been shut down for the winter months, however, gallery coordinators hope to re-establish it in the warmer months.
The town also hired its first tourism director, Cheshire native Samantha Talora, in May. Talora was responsible for the successful farmer's market series at the visitors center this summer and other events in town.
Talora resigned from her post in November. The town plans to hire a new director.
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