Barrett Honored at Final (Maybe) City Council Meeting

Councilor Gailanne Cariddi hugs Mayor John Barrett III after he was presented with a wooden 'Mayor's Chair' by her, President Alan Marden, left, and Michael Bloom.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The City Council paid tribute to outgoing Mayor John Barrett III on Tuesday as he attended what may have been  his last council meeting.

"What can you say about him, not even his biggest critics can deny that John Barrett the Third immeasurably and to great benefit changed the city of North Adams during his tenure from Jan. 4, 1984, until this day, Dec. 22, 2009," said Council President Alan Marden, stepping down from his seat to speak as a petitioner in open forum. "John Barrett cared and his compassionate influence went beyond these Berkshire Hills."

The council also bid farewell to Robert Moulton Jr., who lost his seat in the November election and Richard Alcombright, to whom Marden jokingly said, "I understand you're moving on to a new position in government somewhere."

Alcombright will replace the state's dean of mayors on Monday, Jan. 3, ending Barrett's record 13 terms in office.

In recognition of Barrett's service, the council presented him with the "John Barrett III" chair sporting the city's seal. The mayor's chair, said Marden, was a reminder of the Barrett's dedication and his attendance at City Council meetings. It was placed at the side of the chamber, where the mayor usually sits, as a suggestion to his successors to continue that close relationship. Councilor Marie Harpin read off the names of the 33 city councilors who served under Barrett.

Marden noted the many accomplishments since his friend's election 26 years before — the sports fields, the school system, low taxes and good public services, the ongoing redevelopment of the historic mills and buildings, the addition to the library and the world-class Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, among others.

His voice breaking, he recalled how tough things were for the city when he helped prepare for Barrett's first inaugural.

"Thank Mayor Barrett for making us so proud of our city," he said, noting that first Barrett address was themed "Yes, Yes, North Adams Can." "Well, yes, yes North Adams did, you did restore our pride in our community."
 

In his last meeting, eight-term City Councilor Robert Moulton Jr. opened the meeting from the president's seat.

"It's been a great ride," said Barrett, adding he's received hundreds of notes and had visitors of all ages stop to say thank you. "Our walk through life is a short one and if you can touch the lives of people that you'll never know again, then you've done your job well."

He believes his most important accomplishments was to "rekindle the city's lost sense of pride." 

"I thank the people of this community from the bottom of my heart for giving me the opportunity," he said. "I also don't think anyone will serve again for 26 years ... no one's that's stupid."

Moulton briefly took the president's seat to open his last meeting. "I wanted to say how much  enjoyed my last eight years," he said, offering best wishes to his colleagues, incoming councilors and both the mayor and mayor-elect. "I made a lot of friends and learned a lot of things."

It wasn't all hearts and flowers. Earlier in the meeting, Barrett sharply criticized Alcombright's move to table his recommendations for appointments to the Licensing Board and Housing Authority and warned the incoming mayor could run afoul of state ethics laws.

Barrett seemed particularly annoyed over the tabling of David Lamarre's reappointment for License Board, since his name would have been submitted months ago if he hadn't been running for City Council. But it was the three names for the Housing Authority that he said could cause trouble, "if there's been any other discussions with any other councilors about tabling this issue, you, too, could be in conflict."

Alcombright's motion, however, was swiftly seconded and passed 6-3, with he, Michael Bloom, Lisa Blackmer, David Bond, Moulton and Ronald Boucher voting aye; Marden, Harpin and Gailanne Cariddi voting naye. There was no discussion or response to the mayor.

The state's conflict-of-interest law says public officials can't hire, supervise, promote or be involved in the employment of an immediate family member, or take any official action to affect a family member's financial condition.

After the meeting, Alcombright said when "I'm ready to make the appointments, I'll pass it by the city solicitor and the State Ethics Commission and we'll get those rulings."

He said he had no plans to ask for the resignations of the city's board and committee members, as suggested by Barrett, nor of any city department heads, with whom he's been meeting.

"I've had some great conversations over the last few weeks and things have been going real well and I'm looking forward to a nice, smooth transition," said Alcombright. 

The board also approved appropriating funds from the Landfill Reserve, Parking Meter Reserve and Sale of City Land accounts to balance the budget and drop the city's budget from $34,682,322 to $33,271,222 to reduce the tax rate.

The council, at the mayor's recommendation, continued the meeting to Wednesday, Dec. 30, at 7 p.m. for a tax classification hearing, although there is no guarantee that the Department of Revenue will have certified the city's property values and tax rates. The DOR is lagging in getting towns and cities certified in time for tax bills to go out.

"If the tax rate is not set in this fiscal year," said Barrett. "A single bill will be sent out in May and that will cause a financial hardship for some people."

If the DOR doesn't catch up, the next meeting will be Jan. 12; if it does, Barrett, Moulton and Alcombright will have one more council meeting in their old roles.

As Marden later predicted, "He may not be done yet ... remember, John Barrett always has the last word."

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