The towns of Lee and Lenox and the Laurel Lake Preservation Association have been informed that the two towns will receive a state Lakes and Ponds grant. While the grant is a matching grant, $12,500 from the state to be matched by an equal local contribution, the association says it’s off to a good start in meeting the local goal . At their Saturday meeting they talked about commitments from Schweitzer - Mauduit, Cranwell and the Black Swan Inn. They will now go to the two towns to ask for items to add to town meeting warrants.
The grant and matching funds will give the towns the money it needs to hire an engineer to study the lake water composition, said association president Mark Alimansky. The study would give the organization baseline data and ideas for how to deal with eutrophication in the lake, a problem common to area lakes. Alimansky says the LLPA is quite focused on finding out about the weeds in the lake, how they got there and what they are. They are focusing on the biochemical composition of the lake and how and why the nutrients that feed the weeds are getting there.
The association is also interested in helping landowners along the lake to keep the shorelines from eroding, said Alimansky. Some of the problem with nutrients could be coming from septic systems, he said, and recently the board met with the Tri-Town Health Department to discuss this problem. None of the houses on Bramble Lane in Lenox, for example, have access to sewer lines. Another potential contributor of nutrients could be farm runoff, however Alimansky said he thinks High Lawn is using best practices and keeping waste from making it into ground water and runoff.
State senator Andrea Nuciforo’s office (D-Pittsfield) announced the grants: "These lakes suffer from erosion, non point source pollution,and an abundance of invasive plants, which all need to be addressed if they are going to maintain their appeal to everyday recreational users. The Lakes and Ponds grants are critical to defining and solving these problems," said Nuciforo.
Several years ago, Lenox Institute of Water Technology announced a system for cleaning the water of the nutrients, but the system was extremely expensive and was abandoned, said Alimansky.
Since they just learned that they will receive the grant, the two towns have yet to discuss how it will be administered, said Lee Town Administrator Robert Nason. The two towns jointly applied for the grant.
Land around the lake lies roughly 60 percent in Lee and 40 percent in Lenox, said LLPA member Ed Handberg. He said land ownership in Lee is mainly High Lawn Farm, which also owns the Lee Town Beach area, the Department of Environmental Management, which owns what is called the “boat ramp,†five private landowners on Route 20 and the Black Swan Inn. Deidre Consolati, also of the LLPA, added that the two towns jointly own the Edith Wharton Park. Also in Lee is a part of what is called the “white bridge causeway†or â€Foxhollow boat ramp.â€She added that a sign for 30 acres posted for sale near the lake has some association members worried.
Handberg said the people on Bramble Lane in Lenox .are trying to do what they can to keep their septic systems from leaching into the lake, but it may be difficult. .He said they have expressed interest in tying into Lee’s sewer line, which he said includes houses on Route 20 and which is closer to Bramble Lane than the Lenox sewer line.
One lot near the boat ramp in Lee was recently the subject of much attention when a couple purchased it with the intention of building a house but didn't have the necessary permits to do it. State Representative Christopher Hodgkins (D-Lee), also an association board member, has said to members that he would look into possible funding sources for public purchase of that land.
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Berkshire Food Project Closed for Power Issues
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Berkshire Food Project is closed Monday because of a power outage early in the morning.
"We are unable to get proper electricity and heat to the building," according to Executive Director Matthew Alcombright. "We hope that this can be resolved and be open tomorrow."
The project does have some sandwiches and frozen meals that will be distributed at the entry.
The city has lifted a boil water order — with several exceptions — that was issued late Monday morning following several water line breaks over the weekend. click for more
The bridge had been closed to all vehicle traffic since March 2023 after being deemed structurally deficient by the state Department of Transportation. click for more
