McCann School Committee Give Go-Ahead on New HVAC Program

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — After getting a grant from the state worth more than $3.1 million, McCann Technical School has already begun setting up its new heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration program. 

"There's a whole lot of fun parts of this, daunting yet it may be. But it's such an exciting thing to do," Superintendent James Brosnan told the school committee on Monday. 

The committee approved the program at its meeting Monday and authorized Brosnan to seek engineering help for the proposed 5,580 square-foot HVAC building. The program would provide training to an estimated 100 students each year. 

"I don't know if anybody's had any HVAC work done on their house recently, but they're in incredibly high demand," said Principal Justin Kratz. "The annual mean wage is $64 grand, so this is a field that our kids can certainly go out and be successful and secure a solid living for themselves after high school, which is, obviously, one of our biggest missions here at the school." 

Kratz provided the committee with background on state requirements for the program and preliminary renderings of how the HVAC building may look. The program, he said, will take full advantage of the space they are planning. 

"A lot of HVAC units are obviously outside; the main condenser or the power source, and heat and cooling is provided inside. So an HVAC shop has to have access to both inside and outside equipment that are connected together," he said. "So that's kind of an interesting twist in this particular program." 

Kratz said he does not anticipate any trouble filling the program with students. He highlighted a survey of more than 100 current McCann students, about 80 percent of whom said they would have been interested in HVAC had it been offered their first year. 

Brosnan said HVAC is one of the most in-demand fields in Berkshire County, which should help students in the program and local employers. Currently there is no HVAC technician training program in the county, and the Berkshire County Workforce blueprint identified HVAC as a critical workforce need. 

"We looked at a program that has a lot of career advancement, good salary levels to start out and continue on," he said when asked why the school chose HVAC as a new program. "Another one is, there isn't another program in the county ... In the last 15 years or so, I have gotten more request for HVAC than any other." 

In other business, the committee discussed an adult basic education program partnership with North Adams Public Schools. Students in the program will get academic education from North Adams, while McCann will offer vocational training. 

"We're really thrilled to do this. We've been talking about this for a number years," Brosnan said. The program, he said, will begin in January. "... We've been looking at trying to do this. And it's a really good way of helping people get into the economy, as well as get their high school diploma." 

• The committee approved a request for proposals from Hill Engineering for work to re-engineer parking spaces on the west side of the building. Brosnan said this work should increase the number of spaces.

North Adams Hopes to Transform Y Into Community Recreation Center

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
05:19AM / Thursday, May 02, 2024

Mayor Jennifer Macksey updates members of the former YMCA on the status of the roof project and plans for reopening. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The city has plans to keep the former YMCA as a community center.

 

"The city of North Adams is very committed to having a recreation center not only for our youth but our young at heart," Mayor Jennifer Macksey said to the applause of some 50 or more YMCA members on Wednesday. "So we are really working hard and making sure we can have all those touch points."

 

The fate of the facility attached to Brayton School has been in limbo since the closure of the pool last year because of structural issues and the departure of the Berkshire Family YMCA in March.

 

The mayor said the city will run some programming over the summer until an operator can be found to take over the facility. It will also need a new name. 

 

"The YMCA, as you know, has departed from our facilities and will not return to our facility in the form that we had," she said to the crowd in Council Chambers. "And that's been mostly a decision on their part. The city of North Adams wanted to really keep our relationship with the Y, certainly, but they wanted to be a Y without borders, and we're going a different direction."

 

The pool was closed in March 2023 after the roof failed a structural inspection. Kyle Lamb, owner of Geary Builders, the contractor on the roof project, said the condition of the laminated beams was far worse than expected. 

 

"When we first went into the Y to do an inspection, we certainly found a lot more than we anticipated. The beams were actually rotted themselves on the bottom where they have to sit on the walls structurally," he said. "The beams actually, from the weight of snow and other things, actually crushed themselves eight to 11 inches. They were actually falling apart. ...