Council on aging staff meet Lenox Select Board, question budget language

12:00AM / Wednesday, March 06, 2002Print Story | Email Story

Elaine Christopher, chair of the Lenox Council on Aging (COA) committee, and Sara Patella, COA director, appeared before the Lenox Select Board at its Feb. 27 budget session to discuss some small print in their budget proposal. Christopher and Patella first reinforced the importance of the COA van. COA cannot use the same handicapped accessible van that the schools use, they said, because the school van runs constantly, taking kids to programs in Pittsfield and Lee. The van is used for many COA services. It is the only way some people get out of the house. In January, they said, COA did a phone survey to determine Lenox seniorsâ€™ transportation needs. Out of the results, they found that people most enjoyed using the van for special trips, if only a ride to the mall to get Valentineâ€™s Day cards. According to Patella, people kept telling them, â€œI have a car. I know I shouldnâ€™t be driving. But unless you have a van, Iâ€™ll be out there.â€ They also found the phone survey much faster than one through the mail. More expressly, though, Christopher and Patella asked about a line of text in their budget, a note that suggests â€œa possible merger with the Department of Parks and Recreationâ€ that could save money. They asked what this meant. Selectman Timothy Doherty asked Town Manager Greg Federspiel how he had envisioned such a merger working. Federspiel explained that right now, Jodi Laplante-Santos, program director at Parks and Rec, makes may of the same phone calls the COA makes, to set up similar programs. If Laplante-Santos could take over some COA programming, it would free Patella or Christopher to do more outreach. Select Board Chair Robert Akroyd added that right now Parks and Rec Director Mike Canales, Laplante-Santos, and COA are all calling same place to organize two different Tai Chi lasses; why not, he asked, have one person make one call and arrange both? Patella and Christopher said they do not see how someone who is not a professional in elder care and outreach can oversee the Council on Aging programs. Like Parks and Rec, they deal with renting space and lining up teachers and volunteers for their programs, but they work with a different mindset, they said. Parks and Rec enhances leisure time and provides youth leadership. All COA programming are aimed at seniors on very small fixed incomes, and they all respond to a need. The COA Tai Chi class in the mornings helps arthritis patients to keep flexible. The Parks and Rec Tai Chi class is more expensive and more vigorous, for younger people. Federspiel agreed that setting up programs for elderly and handicapped people might take special knowledge, and certainly would take sensitivity to the needs of older people, but he believes Laplante-Santos could easily learn anything she needed to know. Patella said Canales wants to do more adult programs at the Community Center too. She has talked with him. He might get people between 60 and 70 to come out, she said. Older people go to the COA programs. People 60 to 70 years old are sometimes still working and often more active. COA did get a volunteer coordinator a couple of years back who has gotten 60- to 70-year-olds to volunteer. They did not need to come and eat a COA lunch, but they would come to serve one. Doherty said perhaps COA and Parks and Rec could take some baby steps towards greater cooperation. The merger was a suggestion for the future. They might begin by combining their scheduling. COA could work with Parks and Rec on some intergenerational activities. Under no circumstances, he said, did the board want to cut COA programs. Selectman Terrence Field, hearing that suggestion about the merger, said he would have asked for clarification too. He then asked Christopher and Patella how they arrived at the programs they chose to offer. Christopher said the COA did a needs assessment a couple of years ago. They got good attendance at their watercolor classes, memoir writing, and genealogy programs over the past years. In the spring, they are planning a program on spiritual and financial health. People come into the COA office to talk, she said, to make suggestions, to tell them about people that may need help. Or they call to ask questions: â€œMy husband has just been diagnosed with diabetes. What do I do?â€ She added that the formula grant based on the number of seniors per town may drop this year by 25 cents per senior, from $5 to $4.75. The grant is based on census information, however, which for the last 10 years has been calculated from the population given in the 1990 census. Since the population of seniors in Lenox has grown in the last 10 years, and the grant is now determined from the 2000 census, Lenox probably will not lose much. At the regular meeting, the board confirmed the projected 3 percent rise in water and sewer rates for FY03. Effective May 1, 2003, water rates will increase from $4.11 to $4.23 per 1,000 gallons, and sewer from $3.44 to $3.54 per 1,000 gallons. The sewer flat rate will then be $114 per six months, up from $111, and the water tie-in fee will be $4.24/gallon, up from $4.12/gallon. Wiring Inspector Robert J. Pensivy Sr. has also submitted a proposal for changes in the electrical inspection fees. The fees were last changed in 1995, Pensivy wrote in a letter to the board, and are no longer in line with fees charged by similar municipalities in the area. As Lenox continues to grow (and build), wiring inspections take many more visits a year. Pensivy said he spends 10 to 15 hours a week on inspections, and has also requested that his salary more accurately reflect the time he puts out. The board has agreed to review the fees and discuss the exact increases at a later meeting. They also renewed their agreement with the Springfield Materials Recycling Facility. Federspiel explained that the town benefits from sending its recycling to MRF: when the market for recyclables is healthy, MRF returns some of its profits to the town. Lenox has received approximately $24,000 from MRF in all, since the town began working with them. This decision does not have any direct effect on the average citizen taking bottles to the dump. Finally, the board had a chance to exercise its right of first refusal on a sale of land, which prompted a general discussion on the protection of open space. The town grants a 621A tax reduction for agricultural and forestry land. If land with the tax abatement is sold, the town then has the first right to buy it. In practice, however, the town rarely has funding set aside to buy land that comes up for sale. The board asked Federspiel to look into programs that provide funding to buy land in such sales.

iBerkshires.com Text Ads

rk MILES Blding Materials

Are You Ready to Update Your Home? Start With rk MILES. 4 Locations (800)670-7433

www.rkmiles.com

RIBCO Supply

Check out our great lineup of Boss Plows, and spreaders. 2 Locations Clarksburg & Pittsfield!

ribcosupply.com

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

McCann Recognizes Superintendent Award Recipient

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
05:32PM / Tuesday, December 23, 2025

Landon LeClair and Superintendent James Brosnan with Landon's parents Eric and Susan LeClair, who is a teacher at McCann.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Superintendent's Award has been presented to Landon LeClair, a senior in McCann Technical School's advanced manufacturing course.

The presentation was made last Thursday by Superintendent Jame Brosnan after Principal Justin Kratz read from teachers' letters extolling LeClair's school work, leadership and dedication.

"He's become somewhat legendary at the Fall State Leadership Conference for trying to be a leader at his dinner table, getting an entire plate of cookies for him and all his friends," read Kratz to chuckles from the School Committee. "Landon was always a dedicated student and a quiet leader who cared about mastering the content."

LeClair was also recognized for his participation on the school's golf team and for mentoring younger teammates.

"Landon jumped in tutoring the student so thoroughly that the freshman was able to demonstrate proficiency on an assessment despite the missed class time for golf matches," read Kratz.

The principal noted that the school also received feedback from LeClair's co-op employer, who rated him with all fours.

"This week, we sent Landon to our other machine shop to help load and run parts in the CNC mill," his employer wrote to the school. LeClair was so competent the supervisor advised the central shop might not get him back.

View Full Story