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Adams Receives PARC Grant for Train Station

The town of Adams has received grant money toward repurposing a vacant car wash into a train station.

ADAMS, Mass. — The town has received nearly $400,000 in state grant funding for the renovation of a local car wash into a train station, as part of the Berkshire Scenic Railway Project.

Adams is getting $386,820 in state funding from a Parkland Acquisitions and Renovations for Communities grant (PARC) that will go toward the building of a train station for the Adams end of the railway Project.

The grant requires that the town show proof of non-state funding used toward the project, which the town will seek approval for during an upcoming special town meeting in early 2014, according to Town Administrator Jonathan Butler.

The town's contribution for the train station project will be up to $150,000 in appropriations, applied to the Parks and Recreation or Public Works line item, as part of its capital obligation.

"The town is very excited about this news, as it comes on the back of a very positive public presentation about the overall Berkshire Scenic Rail Project in Adams that took place last week," Butler said.

The grant requires that the public have access to the park or land that benefits from its funding, which is fits in with the projected train station.

These grant funds will be applied to the former car wash located across the street from the Adams Visitors Center at 4 Hoosac St., the site of what will be a replica train station. The car wash has not operated in years.

In addition to being a refuge from inclement weather, a 300-foot platform will be built to accommodate loading and unloading passengers. The inside of the existing car-wash bays will feature historical displays, local maps, vending machines. The exterior of the station will be made to look like an historic train station.

Three other Berkshire County municipalities and organizations were awarded grant funding from open space investments: a total of $1,774,000 in PARC and Gateway City Parks grant funding for the First Street Common Park in Pittsfield, which was announced by Gov. Deval Patrick and Sullivan two weeks ago; a $35,632 Conservation Partnership grant to add 66 acres owned by the city of North Adams to Berkshire Natural Resource Council's 740-acre Hoosac Range Reserve; and an $85,000 Conservation Partnership grant to protect 45 acres by the Trustees of Reservations on Monument Mountain in Great Barrington.

"The Patrick administration is committed to improving our parks and open spaces across the commonwealth," Sullivan said during a press conference in Easthampton on Tuesday. "In addition to preserving open space, improving recreational opportunities and protecting the Commonwealth’s natural resources, these investments will create economic growth across the region."

Formerly the Urban Self-Help Program, the PARC Grant Program is given as assistance to cities and towns for the acquisition and development of lands or parks for outdoor recreation purposes.

Cheshire Town Meeting Oks Budgets, Debates Potential Prop 2 1/2 Override

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
10:12PM / Monday, June 08, 2026

Moderator Carol Francesconi, left, and Anne Marie Furey were presented flowers in memory of the Rev. William Furey, their brother and husband, respectively. The town report was dedicated to him. 

CHESHIRE, Mass. — Town meeting on Monday approved all 35 articles on the annual meeting warrant, including a total spending for fiscal 2027 of more than $8.5 million. 

 

Some 77 of the town's more than 2,500 registered voters filled the Cheshire Community House meeting room, debating on a number of articles during the meeting that lasted nearly three hours

 

The town dedicated its annual report to the Rev. William David Furey, longtime pastor of First Baptist Church and more recently Berkshire Union Chapel in Lanesborough. Furey died last year at age 77.

 

His wife, Anne Marie Furey, and his sister, Town Moderator Carol Francesconi, were presented with a bouquet of flowers in tribute to him. 

 

He was an exemplary member of the community who left a lasting impression in each and every life that he touched, said Town Clerk Whitney Flynn. 

 

Voters approved several warrant articles that make up an operating budget of $3,840,314 for fiscal 2027. Of this amount, $1,642,481 is allocated for the general government budget, which was approved after clarification of a few questions.

 

One item was the administrative assistant's salary. Prior to the annual meeting, the town eliminated the executive assistant salary of $54,309 in favor of a part-time administrative assistant salary of $27,155, to reduce costs considering the financial constraint the town is in.