Adams Locks In New Electrical Rate
Superintendent of Schools Robert Putnam also addressed the board but had no news on a school budget. The School Committee is expected to vote again on Monday night.
The Selectmen on Wednesday agreed to continue with a municipal aggregation agreement that offers a rate lower than .09432 cents per kWh National Grid offers.
"We are still less than a cent per kilowatt hour but it is still less than what National Grid would charge us," Chairman Jeffrey Snoonian.
Adams' current rate is .08995 cents per kilowatt hour.
The town entered the aggregation agreement through Colonial Power and went out to the market to secure a lower electricity rate. National Grid continues to the distributor of the electricity and residents choosing municipal rate still get their bills from National Grid.
Before Adams voted to use aggregation, a number of Berkshire County communities had already entered into a joint agreement. By renewing the agreement for six months, the town can sync its contract renewal with the other larger group.
"This will put us in line with them to join them if we so well choose if they get a better rate than ours," Snoonian said.
Selectman Richard Blanchard asked if it would be beneficial to lock in the current rate longer than six months just in case the new rates are even higher.
Selectman Joseph Nowak said he saw Blanchard's point but said lining up with the larger group would give the town more flexibility and possibly the ability to see a lower rate, especially if Pittsfield joins.
"In six months, all of the other contracts will come up and we can get a better feel for it," he said. "If any other communities want to get in that price should be lowered but if we don't find that's the case, we can go somewhere else."
In other business, the Selectmen approved placing an ice cream vendor bylaw on the town meeting warrant.
"This is something that is required by the state and past boards and various town administrators throughout the years have been a little bit remiss," Snoonian said. "We have ice cream trucks in town and we would like like to keep track of them."
Police Chief Richard Tarsa said the town was supposed to get something on the books in 2014 after the state changed the regulations the year before.
He said a business based out of Adams would have to get a permit in Adams. As long as the owner has a permit from the base location, he or she can operate anywhere in the state as long as the permit is on display on the vehicle with a photo of the operator.
"When the owner wants to do business in Adams, Cheshire, Savoy, Williamstown or anywhere in the state they had to have a license in each community," Tarsa said. "The law has changed and now you just need the license in one community where you are located."
Tarsa said he worked on the bylaw with Board of Health member Allen Mendel who, at a meeting earlier that day, said there is one vendor who operates in Adams but is permitted in North Adams.
"If anyone wishes to take on an ice cream truck who lives in Adams and they come to us for a permit we have no statute on how to give them one," he said.
He said the Board of Health issues the permit but the police are responsible for doing background checks on the vendors.
• The board also voted to appoint Selectman John Duval as vice chairman. With the resignation of former Vice Chairman Arthur "Skip" Harrington, the position was vacant.
Duval will hold the chair until elections in May.
• During public comment, resident Francie Anne Riley invited all to participate in the BagShare Challenge at the Fire House Café on the weekends from noon to 4. The group is still accepting donations of feedbags and material that can be used as handles.
"Pieces of rope, string, bailing twine, inner tubes from bicycles," she said. "We can turn them into handles ... we can use more, more, more and more. Keep it out of the landfill give it to use we will make it into bags and turn it into something useful."
• Richard Tavelli also informed the board that the Berkshire Mountains Faerie Festival is scheduled for June 17 at Bowe Field.
He said they are still looking for volunteers and performers interested in the event.
Tags: electrical aggregation, ice cream,
