Adams Preparing to Celebrate 19th Amendment's Centennial
Native daughter Susan B. Anthony fought for decades for the right of women to vote but died 14 years before that came to pass. The town of Adams is looking for ways to commemorate the amendment's passage and Anthony's efforts.
The Selectmen voted Wednesday to create an advisory committee to organize celebrations and commemoration efforts for the 100th anniversary of the amendment's passage, which will take place in 2020.
"It is a big deal nationally and I think it is a big deal for the town," Town Administrator Tony Mazzucco said.
The 19th Amendment that gave women the right to vote was ratified on Aug. 18, 1920. Civil rights activist Susan B Anthony, who was born in Adams, was an important figure in the women's suffrage movement. She and other women were arrested in 1872 in Rochester, N.Y., for voting.
Mazzucco said the town will need to time to raise funds and prepare to celebrate the national milestone.
"A lot of discussion has been around if we should do a statue in town and something like that would take several years and a public vetting process," he said. "So having a committee to guide that process is a good idea and I think starting now is appropriate because this is not a quick process."
The board agreed that Mazzucco would recommend members to the committee and the Selectmen would make final approval.
Initially the town probably will not allocate money for the group but in the future, he said it may create a line item in the budget.
The Selectmen officially approved another intermunicipal agreement, this time with New Ashford that will allow the Adams building inspector to officially take cases in that town and bring in revenue for the town.
"We have been helping them out informally now for a while and this just formalizes it and puts it in writing," Mazzucco said.
He said the building inspector has already informally taken cases in New Ashford.
The Selectmen recently approved an agreement with Dalton and with New Ashford officially on board, Mazzucco projects the town can bring in nearly $10,000 in revenue annually.
The Selectmen also voted to bring on former Adams building inspector Don Fitzgerald as part-time local inspector/building commissioner to help with the extra workload.
"It is great that we are getting someone that is familiar with Adams. He is a certified commissioner that can walk right in until we can get things worked out," Mazzucco said. "It is a great chance to get us started with someone who has a lot of experience."
He said Fitzgerald most likely won't be permanent but it will allow Adams to adjust to the new arrangement and bring on someone else later in the same role permanently.
Mazzucco said the town will not incur any extra costs because any salary or administrative increases will be covered by the towns.
The Selectmen agreed that they would be willing to take on other towns.
"I think this is great and I am all for a bringing on a fourth and a fifth," Chairman Jeffrey Snoonian said. "We can figure out how to do it, and it is a positive for Adams."
The Selectmen approved a facility use request to use Bowe Field for the upcoming Harvest Festival on Oct. 22.
Selectman Joseph Nowak said he was happy to see the field get more use.
"I like to see that Bowe Field has finally got the attention it deserves for use by people because I think it is a great field and it has come a long way," Nowak said. "It is just proof of all of the work the Fair Committee does down there."
Because the Agricultural Fair leases the property from the town they usually make facility approvals, however, because alcohol will be served at the event the Selectmen decided to vote on the request.
The Selectmen did agree to hold a future meeting about how to handle requests for the use of Bowe Field. Although it is under the Aggie Fair Commission’s purview, the board members agreed they may want some say in certain events.
"If someone is having an event with 30 people there who cares, but we may want some knowledge about an event bringing 1,000 people in," Mazzucco said. "It is the town's property and we need to have the at conversation with the Aggie Fair folks."
The board also approved other facility use requests such as the Bike Night on Sept. 24, the Fall Run on Sept. 25 and Ramblefest on Oct. 9.
Mazzucco said the town submitted its MassWorks applications for the last mile of the Berkshire Scenic Rail and repaving of the parking lot on Hoosac Street. The town should hear back from the state in October.
Tags: MassWorks grant,
