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Thomas Bernard, left, and Robert Moulton Jr. debated at MCLA's Church Street Center on Monday with Eagle reporter Adam Shanks as moderator.

North Adams Mayoral Candidates Meet in Final Debate

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
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The candidates shake hands with Shanks after the debate. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The two candidates vying for the corner office found some points of agreement during Monday's hourlong debate but differed, sometimes sharply, on causes and solutions of city issues. 
 
Thomas Bernard and Robert Moulton Jr. tangled over crime, economic development, Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, students' "gangster" dressing, and what has become an albatross at every election, the Mohawk Theater. 
 
The debate sponsored by The Berkshire Eagle drew a couple hundred supporters and residents to Massachusetts College of Liberal Art's Church Street Center. The event was recorded by Northern Berkshire Community Television for replay on Channel 17 and moderated by The Eagle's North County reporter Adam Shanks. 
 
Moulton, a city councilor and local businessman, is making his second try for mayor; Bernard, who's worked in finance and planning for MCLA, MoCA and currently director of special projects at Smith College, is making his first run for elected office. Both are city natives with deep roots in the area. 
 
Each candidate was allowed two minutes for introductions and final statements; a handout listed their backgrounds and experience. 
 
The major issue they went back to a few times was the potential for Mass MoCA to do more for the downtown. Moulton said he wasn't against the museum or MCLA but felt they were isolated islands that were "self-sufficient."
 
Bernard scoffed at that perspective and pointed to the 150 people working for the museum and the 400 workers on its campus, plus 1,400 to 1,500 students at MCLA that patronize stores and restaurants and volunteer in the community.
 
"They put a vinyl sign up that says go under the bridge and take a left," Moulton said of MoCA. "That's not my idea for doing a lot for downtown. I'd like to see them committed to become a partner and help us out downtown to revitalize it for everybody."
 
MoCA had placed the sign on the Veterans Memorial Bridge as apart of the North Adams Exchange project in conjunction with the city as a way to direct visitors leaving the museum. 
 
"I've talked to restaurants when they've had the biggest events down at MoCA," Moulton continued. "They're slow, it's their slowest time periods ... "We got to get those people downtown. ... We've to get those people to stay here.
 
It was time for the museum to do "a little bit more,' " he said, pointing to the $25 million in federal grant funds it received for the development of Building 6 a few years ago. 
 
Bernard noted that the $25 million was matched by $40 million in private donations to make the expansion of MoCA a reality. The college also received some $54 million in state funding to build the science center and renovate Bowman Hall. 
 
"To pretend these institutions are self-sufficient ... I just talked about work force," Bernard said. "We can quibble over how many people but they made the effort."
 

Bernard explains his financial and management background. 
MoCA had spent $250,000 downtown installing the light project on the steeples and a sound installation on Marshall Street; the museum had also funded popup stores and performances, among other things this past summer that drew about 3,000. The museum draws 150,000 or so visitors a year, some of whom stayed are investing in the city, and has an economic impact of $35 million.
 
"That's a pretty good return on the state investment, that a pretty good return on having a world-class art museum in your community" Bernard said. "We can argue about having more connections between the college, the museum and the city, but they're strong."
 
Moulton, however, felt either or both of those anchor institutions could solve the prickly question of what to do with the Mohawk Theater.
 
"The key to the downtown is the Mohawk Theater, for the past 30 years, the past two administrations often talked about but nothing's been done," he said. "I'd like to partner with them to collaborate and put some investment down there."
 
Resurrecting the 20-year-old Hyatt-Palmer report, Moulton said the report was clear that developing the empty, 80-year-old theater was a priority. 
 
"Every two years you have candidates who stand on this or other debate stages and promise you the world about the Mohawk," responded Bernard. "I do share the counselor's love [of the moviehouse] ... but not everyone has that same emotional connection to the Mohawk."
 
There have been a number of feasibility studies done and Bernard said he was involved with the last one in 2012, a collaborative effort between MCLA, MoCA and the city.  
 
"The findings were that it's not feasible, that there isn't an economic model that provides the cost to renovate and sustain the long-term operation," he said, adding that if anyone came up with and idea and investment, "that would be fantastic."
 
Moulton, however, said, if elected, he would make it a point to get something into the Mohawk. 
 
The candidates also shared some sharp words over their interpretations of education standards. 
 
Bernard focused on funding, noting the state education funding formula is 25 years old and doesn't take into account the spiraling costs of special education or health insurances. Regionalization could be an option if looked at through a North County approach. 
 
"The city at this point only contributes 2 percent annually over the minimum local contribution established by the formual, and this year our budget increased by about 2 percent against a 4 percent need to level fund, so we're falling behind," he said. 
 
There's a high-needs population that affects the school system's rankings and a new more rigorous MCAS, but that also gives the city a fresh start to improve, said Bernard. 
 
Moulton said the school system has outstanding employees but it's still losing kids. More than 35 are school choicing in but another 100 are chosing to go elsewhere. (The city takes in about half what it expends on school choice slots.)
 
"I think we have to upgrade what we're doing, new programs, mentoring programs and keep our standards up higher," he said.
 
By higher, he meant cracking down on what students were wearing, saying Bernard, as a member of the Drury High School Council, had voted to allow students there to wear hooded sweat shirts, hats, and baggy pants and girls to wear "revealing" clothing. 
 
"I don't think that's raising your standards," he said. "I think when people come from out of town to go in your schools and see what's in there, that's gangster dressing."
 
Moulton had linked the casual dress to losing students to school choice on a campaign flyer. His brother, School Committee member Mark Moulton, had also brought the issue up at a committee meeting earlier this month.
 
"Let's begin with the fact that we're working with two very different definitions of the word 'standards,'" Bernard said. "I'm talking about students attending class, persisting and succeeding." 
 
He said the policies he supported "were not about hoodies or pants or really shaming as to how girls are dressed," but about attendance and the availability of learning. 
 

Moulton, a businessman, says the city needs to be run like a business. 
"To reduce them and to reduce my position on them to gangster talk is really frankly offensive," said an indignant Bernard. 
 
Where the candidates agreed was around the need for economic growth to expand the tax base, concerns over the approaching levy ceiling as highlighted in the city's annual audit report, use of Community Development Block Grants to combat blight and the use of tax incremental financing agreements to promote investment.  
 
"I've been involved in, I believe, three TIFs for North Adams," Moulton said. "If people need them, they want them I'm all for them."
 
He also highlighted companies that are making investments in the city without depending on tax relief. 
 
"That's an area where we do agree," Bernard said. "To provide support for people who are adding value in the community is absolutely vital." 
 
It shouldn't just be TIFs, but other processes or support that can help new or existing businesses successful, he said. 
 
The two candidates also agreed that high-tech and green jobs would boost the city's growth but that it did not have the workforce at this time to entice such companies. Moulton thought help from the state could increase training programs and said he would like to recruit internet companies less dependent on transportation  access. 
 
Bernard said the city could collaborate with existing institutions like MCLA, McCann Technical School and Berkshire Community College in preparing new workers. 
 
He also pushed a couple times during the debate his idea to hire a business development director who could make the case with industries to relocate here, point them to areas of investment and shepherd them through various permitting and application processes. 
 
Moulton felt that was the role of the mayor. "That economic job you propose, I don't think we need," he said. "I think that's the mayor's job to do that."
 
The candidates had similar answers on the possibility of shifting its split rate more to the residential side to relieve businesses carrying on of the highest commercial tax rates in the state of $38.54. 
 
"I don't think you're going to get that commercial and residential closer," Moulton said. "I know if did that, became mayor and did that, started making it closer, it would be my last term ... I don't think that would fly and I would be absolutely against it." 
 
It would be devastating for residential property owners, he said. The commercial rate might be higher, but other towns with lower rates might have higher assessments.
 
"The building that you look at here might be assessed at $300,000, the one in Pittsfield might be assessed at $900,000," Moulton said. "So when you actually compare apples to apples, it's not what it seems there."
 
Bernard said the only way to reduce rates is for the city to grow, pointing to the recent report by Standard & Poor's that increased North Adams' bond rating.
 
"One of the things they talked about was limited budget flexibility and a limited capacity to tackle spending on the city side," he said. "We can look at efficiencies, we can look at consolidation, but until we address the issue of growth we are going to be challenged on the tax issue." 
 
They also agreed that the city's tax levy ceiling will become an issue in a few years.  Moulton called it scary, saying the city had to watch where it was spending its money. "Everybody knows what you've been paying and what you've been getting," he said.
 
Bernard said that was why he wanted great transparency to ensure every taxpayer understood what services they were getting for what they were paying. He referenced a program used in Holyoke that broke down where a propertyowner's taxes were going. 
 
"What I hear from a lot of people is they don't mind doing their part but they want to know they're getting a fair shake," he said. 
 
Both were generally satisified with the medical services being supplied by Berkshire Medical Center at the former North Adams Regional Hospital. Moulton said he was disappointed that local leaders had not done more prior to the closure (the health care system went bankrupt three years ago under insurmountable debt). He called for the development of an addiction treatment center and Bernard thought BMC could open an urgent care facility in North Adams that would be more accessible than the recently closed office in Williamstown. 
 
Moulton floated the idea of moving away from a full-time professional fire department if a suitable solution could be found. 
 
"I'm going to bring in the best people, look at all the options and find a solution of where we're going to be," he said. "I'd love to keep them there, there's things we can do to raise revenue maybe raise fees for certain services they do."
 
The Fire Department is almost 5 percent of the budget, he said, adding that health insurance and pensions are eating up budgets across the state. 
 
"Can we have a full-time Fire Department? Absolutely. We can have anything that you people want to pay for," Moulton said.
 
Bernard agreed that what does North Adams want is the correct question but said the issue isn't about cost savings but about cost shifting.
 
"The councilor just talked about increased fees for service so that's a shift from something that's on the tax levy to something that still gets the taxpayer in the pocket," he said. And shifting to a call or volunteer department can mean homeowners pay more for insurance. 
 
"You still have to pay for a basic staffing level, equipment maintenance, there's an effect on your ability to apply for grants as well," Bernard said. 
 
Moulton countered that the Bennington Village (Vt.) Fire Department operates with volunteers and a budget (a few years ago) of $300,000. "We only have a limited amount of money everything is going to keep going up," he said.
 
He also pushed the idea of possibly again privatizing the water treatment plant as a cost savings (the plant had been operated under contract until the city took over several years ago to save money).
 
The issue had come up because two compliance violations had been revealed over the summer: one was a failure to notify the state of a test and the other a failure to do certain water treatments over several years. 
 
Bernard said he was not opposed to exploring privatization but felt municipal operation allowed better control over costs and compliance. 
 
They touched lightly on crime, with both saying the city is relatively safe despite the recent FBI reports that showed the city had among the highest per-capita rates in the state when it came to reported violent crimes. Bernard said they could not be complacent and need to be aggressive in fighting crime. Moulton thought the Police Department needed to allocate its resources better.
 
Bernard said he would put together an ad hoc committee to address blight and enforcement and create and create priority lists and possibility another inspector through the use of Community Development Block Grant funding.
 
Moulton agreed that blight and inforcement is an issue but took aim at the North Adams Armory, a project begun under a past administration that has used hundreds of thousands in CDBG monies. 
 
In closing statements, Bernard spoke to his experience in management, budgeting and planning and his vision for North Adams. He was not, he said, "beholden to anyone." 
 
"I will be the mayor of everyone regardless of how or whether someone votes for more," he said.
 
Moulton had also pointed to his experience as a businessman as a credential for the corner office, but in closing rattled off a list of 27 businesses that had closed for various reasons, saying the attrition was not normal. 
 
"What I'm trying to do is make North Adams what it can be," he said. 
 
The debate was taped by Northern Berkshire Community Television. The election is Tuesday, Nov. 7.

 


Tags: candidate forum,   city election,   election 2017,   mayor,   


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Clarksburg Sees Race for Select Board Seat

CLARKSBURG, Mass. — The town will see a three-way race for a seat on the Select Board in May. 
 
Colton Andrews, Seth Alexander and Bryana Malloy returned papers by Wednesday's deadline to run for the three-year term vacated by Jeffrey Levanos. 
 
Andrews ran unsuccessfully for School Committee and is former chairman of the North Adams Housing Authority, on which he was a union representative. He is also president of the Pioneer Valley Building Trades Council.
 
Malloy and Alexander are both newcomers to campaigning. Malloy is manager of industrial relations for the Berkshire Workforce Board and Alexander is a resident of Gates Avenue. 
 
Alexander also returned papers for several other offices, including School Committee, moderator, library trustee and the five-year seat on the Planning Board. He took out papers for War Memorial trustee and tree warden but did not return them and withdrew a run for Board of Health. 
 
He will face off in the three-year School Committee seat against incumbent Cynthia Brule, who is running for her third term, and fellow newcomer Bonnie Cunningham for library trustee. 
 
Incumbent Ronald Boucher took out papers for a one-year term as moderator but did not return them. He was appointed by affirmation in 2021 when no won ran and accepted the post again last year as a write-in.
 
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