NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Housing Authority Board of Commissioners on Monday welcomed new member Rachel Branch.
Attending her first meeting after being appointed by Mayor Thomas Bernard, Branch said she was excited to be part of the commission.
"This is really fun for me because my grandfather was on the Housing Authority in the '50s," Branch said. "I am happy to be here."
Branch replaces former member Chris Tremblay.
Tremblay often was unable to attend meetings or called in remotely. Executive Director Jennifer Hohn said she had asked Tremblay what his future intentions were and was later sent a letter of resignation.
Hohn said she has served on the Fair Housing Commission with Branch.
"We have a pretty good working relationship with each other, so I am excited to have her on board," she said.
Branch will serve the remainder of Tremblay's term, which expires in July 2019.
In other business, Hohn said she had no update on the Sun Cleaners property and that the environmental services company still must conduct a final drilling.
"I have no update and we are still waiting on them to do the final digging," she said. "They have done some of the testings and one of the tests came back higher than normal levels, so they have to do more digging."
The commission, which also serves as the board for Housing Opportunities Inc., plans to transfer all the HOI assets to the city and dissolve the 30-year-old program created to help first-time homeowners.
The 111 River St. property is the last asset HOI needs to transfer to the city. However, the transfer has been pending for over a year because the city first wanted to test for contamination at the former dry cleaners.
The Housing Authority will participate in an urban tree program and plant trees at Greylock Valley Apartments.
"They have 500 species of trees they are going to be using," Hohn said. "We certainly could use some prettier foliage over there."
She said the planting would likely take place in the spring and the tenants would be involved.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.
Your Comments
iBerkshires.com welcomes critical, respectful dialogue. Name-calling, personal attacks, libel, slander or foul language is not allowed. All comments are reviewed before posting and will be deleted or edited as necessary.
No Comments
North Adams Public Schools To Host Grade Configuration Forum
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — North Adams Public Schools will host a community forum to discuss updates on grade configurations and logistics for the 2024-2025 school year.
The forum will take place on Wednesday, May 15 at 6 PM. The forum will take place in a hybrid format at the Welcome
Center at Brayton Elementary School and via Zoom which can be accessed by going to napsk12.org/ZoomLinkMay15.
Forums are open to anyone interested in learning more about the logistics planned for the upcoming school year, including, transportation, arrival and dismissal times, class sizes, and school choice updates. The forum will also allow participants to ask questions and provide feedback.
For questions, please contact the Family and Community Outreach Coordinator, Emily Schiavoni at 413-412-1106 or at eschiavoni@napsk12.org.
This spring weekend, there are a variety of events in and around the Berkshires, including Spring Celebrations, music, cleanups, and more.
click for more
More than 300 students from area high schools entered their work in 12th annual Teen Invitational at Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. click for more
Backed by a $750,000 federal grant for a planning study, North Adams and Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art are looking to undo some of that damage.
click for more
"It wasn't 100 percent consistent but I was afforded the opportunity to get to know other people with different religion, beliefs, backgrounds and culture and to be able to embrace that." click for more