CHESHIRE, Mass. — It's back.

 

The state has mandated that a harvester be used to again remove the invasive tape weed from Cheshire Reservoir.

 

"I don't want money. I want people, I want trucks, and I want a backhoe because they have to bring in a harvester," Selectwoman Carol Francesconi said last week. "They have been mandated to bring it in…It is going to get worse."

 

The town was last plagued by the weed in 2016 and had to bring in SOLitude Lake Management to clean up the lake with a rake type mechanism called a harvester.

 

Rumors that the weed was back surfaced last month and a biologist was dispatched to see if the tape weed would indeed be an issue again.

 

Francesconi said the harvester will likely be in town last week or this week. She said they would prefer to remove the weeds once they have matured.

 

"The tape grass has not finished maturing," she said. "We could collect the weeds that are there now but then we would have to go back and do it a second time."

 

She said the collection will likely take a week.

 

The weeds will need to be hauled away from the lake and Francesconi said she asked state Rep. John Barrett III to contact the state highway department's District 1 office to see if it could spare two trucks and a backhoe for collecting the weeds.

 

If this is not possible, the town will likely have to contract the job out. The weeds would be stored at the Highway Department, where they will decompose. 

 

"It has an interesting aroma as it decays we had complaints about it last time, but we have no choice," she said. "It has to be put somewhere." 

 

Highway Superintendent Blair Crane said his department has already been hauling the weeds pulled out of the lake near the boat ramp by the state.

 

The weeds not only smell but create a fire hazard because they clog the Fire Department truck pumps.

 

The board then discussed a different kind of weed at last Tuesday's meeting with Jacob Zieminski of Berkshire Boys who wants to establish a recreational marijuana cultivation development at 128 Fales Road.

 

Besides going over the draft host community agreement, Zieminski provided the board with more information on his proposed development.

 

Zieminski said his operation will be a Tier 2 -- under 10,000 square feet.

 

"That could fluctuate down a little bit but right now it will be under a tier 2," he said. "We want to be small, smart, and learn from that and continue to grow."

 

He added that although they would be interested in a retail business they have no plans in building a store on Fales Road.

 

The only structure on Fales Roald will be a steel building in which the marijuana will grow. He proposed a 7,500 square foot windowless structure 14 to 18 feet high.

 

"It will be very very simple we will look at the area and make sure the colors look good and the landscaping looks good," he said. 

 

He said he plans to have between four and 10 employees and that construction could start in the spring.

 

The board asked about how the product will be transported and security.

 

Zieminski said he will have this information in a future report but noted transportation and security are strictly spelled out by the state. He still has to go through the state and Planning Board process and hopes to hold a community outreach meeting in the near future.

 

After this, he would like to come to finalize the host community agreement.