The Select Board on Monday heard presentations on work the town can do locally to address two of the most intractable global issues facing the nation: climate change and systemic racism.
Members of the town's diversity committee Monday criticized Mount Greylock Regional School District officials for pulling a district-wide director of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging out of the fiscal year 2024 budget.
While a large portion of the conversation was centered around Councilor Karen Kalinowsky's attempt to place a question on the Nov. 7 ballot about the reconfiguration of North Street, there were several referrals and a Pawnbrokers and Secondhand Dealers License approval for a new second-hand shop.
According to Article 37, which passed overwhelmingly at the meeting, those reports, "should include types and vendors of equity training and policies and procedures created to advance access for traditionally under-represented groups."
Although the Select Board had the authority to unilaterally change the charter for a body it created in the summer of 2020, the board engaged in a dialogue with its colleagues currently serving on the DIRE Committee to find language that made sense to all parties.
Fippinger said he felt strongly that the working group should "sign off on it not in public," before a new draft was discussed by the committee in a public meeting.
The Diversity, Inclusion and Racial Equity Committee has been engaged with the Select Board throughout the summer in a discussion of the purpose and direction for the advisory panel the Select Board created two years ago.
Members of the town’s diversity committee Monday pushed back against an effort by the Select Board to evaluate and, perhaps, recast the scope of work for the 2-year-old advisory committee.
Members of the town's diversity committee Monday talked about the emotional toll from an email that threatened violence against the committee and others speaking out about making the town more welcoming to diverse populations.