image description
The solid waste district will not be able to apply for a districtwide grant.

Waste District Scales Down District Survey

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
Print Story | Email Story
ADAMS, Mass. — The regional solid waste district won't be able to do an in-depth survey of its needs but the state coordinator will be able to help member towns with specific issues. 
 
Northern Berkshire Solid Waste Management District Program Coordinator Linda Cernik told the district representatives last week that although they have to scale down their district survey, Veronique Blanchard, municipal assistance coordinator for the state Department of Environmental Protection, is still committed to making improvements for them.
 
"We can't apply for technical assistance grant for the entire district but Veronique said she is willing to work with anyone who needs some help," Cernik said. "If anyone needs anything special she is willing to work with you."
 
Blanchard had told the directors at their last meeting that the district could can apply for a grant to fund her time for a complete district survey in hopes of finding ways to increase funding through the Recycling Dividends Program.
 
Cernik said this grant is not available districtwide, however, Blanchard is willing to help communities with specific concerns.
 
She said her first charge will be to help improve the new Adams Transfer Station and address its brush removal practices.
 
The transfer station was burning brush against regulations and the Board of Health placed a cease-and-desist order on burning.
 
In other business, Cernik asked the district representatives if they would like to alter how they remove tires as a district because of increasing removal costs.
 
She said it is specifically a problem in Adams, where she suspects dealers are abusing the tire drop off.
 
"I am not getting the income, and do we want to have the district pay for it or discontinue it?" she said. "It is very expensive to get rid of tires ... business should not be using it either."
 
Adams representative Edward Driscoll said some transfer stations use a tire ticket system and it seems as though some people aren't abiding by the rules or have stockpiled tickets when they were cheaper.
 
"They may have a while ago bought a bunch of those stickers when we were charging a small amount and those stickers, and they are still one per tire," Driscoll said. "They did buy them but they outsmarted us."
 
Driscoll suggested that each town figure out how to handle tires and their removal.
 
"Williamstown and Adams have businesses that generate tires so we may want to handle it differently than say, Savoy who may just pick out an old tire in the middle of the woods," he said. "I think we need to tailor it to each community."
 
The district representatives agreed that this may be the best solution and will discuss it at a future meeting.

Tags: NBSWD,   

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Adams Sees No Races So Far

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
ADAMS, Mass. — With less than a week left before nomination papers are due, there are currently no contested seats.
 
Only selectman incumbent John Duval has returned papers. Selectman Howard Rosenberg has decided not to seek re-election. 
 
Rosenberg, who was elected in 2021, said he has chosen not to run again to make room for younger candidates.
 
"I feel strongly, we need younger people running for public office,  as the future of our town lies within the younger  generation. The world is so fundamentally different today and rapidly changing to become even more so. I believe we need people who are less interested in trying to bring back the past, then in paving the way for a promising future. The younger generation can know that they can stay here and have a voice without having to leave for opportunities elsewhere," he said.
 
The only person to return papers so far is former member the board Donald Sommer. Sommer served as a selectman from 2007 to 2010 and before that was a member of the School Committee and the Redevelopment Authority. He ran unsuccessfully for selectman in 2019 and again in 2021 but dropped out of before the election.
 
Incumbent Moderator Myra Wilk and Town Clerk Haley Meczywor have returned papers for their respective positions.
 
Assessor Paula Wheeler has returned papers and incumbents James Loughman and Eugene Michalenko have returned papers for library trustees.
 
View Full Story

More Adams Stories