An image of what the home used to look like from the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System database.
DALTON, Mass. — The Historical Commission is reviewing financing options so that it can repaint the Fitch-Hoose House museum.
Commission co-Chair Louisa M. Horth had said in August that the nearly 200-year-old house is in need of repainting.
The paint is starting to peel and weather, and would need to be repainted this year or next year, she said. The house was painted six or seven years ago during a restoration.
According to Town Manager Tom Hutcheson, the commission will need to provide the Select Board with two quotes for how much the project will cost and was recommended to look into applying for a grant, Horth said during commissioners' meeting on Wednesday.
Until they have a better idea of what the project will cost it is unclear what funding route they will take, whether it's through a grant, the Historical Commission budget, or through an article at town meeting.
In 2014, the Historical Commission got a grant from the "Promoting Community Development and Tourism in Central and Western Massachusetts" program in the amount of $180,000 grant to restore the 1840s-era house.
The back addition with its kitchen and bedroom had been taken off several years ago because of its condition but was added back on during the restoration.
Over the years, the home has gone through a variety of changes, from the now gone vinyl siding to the yellow color and the commission has worked to make the exterior as historically accurate as possible.
In 2019, the Fitch-Hoose House's restoration received the Massachusetts Historical Commission Preservation Award.
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BRPC Committee Mulls Input on State Housing Plan
By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Regional Planning Commission's Regional Issues Committee brainstormed representation for the county in upcoming housing listening sessions.
"The administration is coming up with what they like to tout is their first housing plan that's been done for Massachusetts, and this is one of a number of various initiatives that they've done over the last several months," Executive Director Thomas Matuszko said.
"But it seems like they are intent upon doing something and taking comments from the different regions across the state and then turning that into policy so here is our chance to really speak up on that."
The Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities and members of the Housing Advisory Council will host multiple listening sessions around the Commonwealth to hear input on the Healey-Driscoll administration's five-year strategic statewide housing plan.
One will be held at Berkshire Community College on May 15 at 2 p.m.
One of Matuszko's biggest concerns is the overall age of the housing stock in Berkshire County.
"And that the various rehab programs that are out there are inadequate and they are too cumbersome to manipulate through," he explained.
"And so I think that there needs to be a greater emphasis not on new housing development only but housing retention and how we can do that in a meaningful way. It's going to be pretty important."
Non-commission member Andrew Groff, Williamstown's community developer director, added that the bureaucracies need to coordinate themselves and "stop creating well-intended policies like the new energy code that actually work against all of this other stuff."
Downtown Pittsfield Inc. proposed angled parking on North Street and was pleasantly surprised that the city responded with an in-depth study and new plans — even if they don't include angled parking.
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Officials celebrated Arbor Day on Friday by installing a commemorative plaque next to the American elm sapling. This is a tree that James McGrath, the city's park program manager, said Presutti would have been particularly proud of.
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Albert Ingegni III was applauded for four decades of service on the Zoning Board of Appeals during City Council. Mayor Peter Marchetti presented him with a certificate of thanks for his commitment to the community.
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