North Adams Historic Survey Focusing on Mills, Churches
 Jennifer Berden of Gray & Pape explains how she will be taking pictures of buildings for the city's historical survey. |
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The next phase of the city's historical survey update began on Monday, with a focus on commercial possibilities.
"It's making sure every church, every mill has a survey form," Historical Commission Chairwoman Justyna Carlson informed the City Council on Tuesday night. "Ones that have [forms] are updated so they're part of a package if somebody buys them they have the history of it."
Some of the buildings, like the former Incarnation Church, are already being reused, she said, but "even if they're in use right now it would be helpful to have what possiblities there are to have a professional options of what should go into the building should become available again."
Jennifer Berden of Gray & Pape, a consulting firm for historical resource management and preservation, is again doing the survey work, as she did last year.
This year's phase is being funded through a Community Development Block Grant and Berden will be meeting with Michael Nuvallie of the Community Development Office to review the properties.
Carlson said the focus will be on the business corridor including Union, Miner and River streets, as well as Massachusetts Avenue. Historical residences in those areas will also be surveyed.
"We tried to get buildings that are kind of related," she said. "It's not the areas that were surveyed before.
"They're all different sizes all different shapes of what's available right now."
Berden someone from Pittsfield will be helping her and that they would be wearing notable safety vests in high traffic areas.
"I will not enter private property, I will stay on the public right of way and get two photos of each building," she explained. The photos will include outbuildings and Berden anticipated doing research in Norh Adams and Adams.
If anyone has questions, they can reach Carlson at 413-663-7146.
The council meeting Tuesday was brief, with the agenda item most likely to prompt debate postponed.
Mayor Richard Alcombright had anticipated bringing forward a request to borrow $160,000 to pay a court-ordered settlement with Freight Yard Pub on behalf of the Redevelopment Authority.
But while the state Department of Revenue had provided one law under which to borrow the funds, the city's bonding agent had disagreed, believing another one more suitable.
"It's very simple but it's a very complicated thing," said the mayor. "There was a three-day disagreement between DOR and our bond counsel ... I didn't want to bring in an order that I would have had to change."
He anticipated bringing the order to the next meeting with "all the Is dotted, all the Ts crossed."
Two traffic ordinances were also postponed, one because the state Department of Transportation had not yet responded and the other because the Public Safety Committee had not yet met to review it.
The council approved a sewer hookup for Raymond and Jeanne Moulthrop of 164 Cross Road, Clarksburg; the Hoosac Water Quality District also has to OK it.
The request prompted questions from the council and audience over delinquent payments owed by Clarksburg. The $14,000 owed was paid and the mayor said a system had set up to inform the town, which is responsible for delinquent payments, of late bills. Clarksburg officials, at last week's Selectmen's meeting, had raised concerns they weren't being kept abreast of delinquencies in a timely manner.
Tags: historical building, historical commission, survey,
