ADAMS, Mass. — The Cemetery Commission will look into buying an additional shed for cold storage.
Chairman Bruce Shepley told the commission on Thursday that even though they have decided to go forward with the $100,000 Bellevue Cemetery garage project, the Department of Public Works still has storage needs.
"I guess it was an oversight on our behalf," he said. "We are losing the cold storage and there is equipment that needs to be stored."
Currently, there is a white shed at Bellevue that serves this purpose but is on the verge of falling down. Shepley added that the shed is not secure and has recently been broken in to.
"We are losing that shed and it is falling down," he said. "There have been a few incidents there, too, of batteries and fuel being stolen from the equipment."
Shepley said the DPW will round up some estimates for the commission but that where the funding will come from to purchase the shed is still a mystery.
In other business, the commission may eliminate Saturday afternoon burials.
"The bottom line is I think it does need to be addressed," Shepley said. "The DPW has been working very short staffed and they do everything ... 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In addition, this is one more responsibility that has to happen on occasion."
Shepley said many surrounding communities do not allow Saturday afternoon burials or discourage them. He said some towns charge extra for these weekend burials and noted Clarksburg charges $850 for a Saturday afternoon.
The commissioners were against adding a fee to the Saturday burials but felt it was acceptable to add a cut-off time.
Commissioner Jim Taylor suggested a cut off time of 11 a.m. for full Saturday burials and noon for cremation burials.
"Because it takes longer to open a full grave and this way you would still be out by noon," he said. "A full burial takes much longer to tidy up. Cremation is easy."
He added that he thinks the commission should still be open to unexpected circumstances that may cause a burial to run late.
"In case of a hardship, we have to have something for unforeseen circumstances," he said. "Like a flat tire on a hearse or something like that."
Shepley said he will look up how many Saturday afternoon burials the town usually conducts a year and that he would get some feedback from the local funeral homes.
Shepley said he would like to make a decision next meeting.
Before closing, Shepley responded to some comments he saw on social media about dogs defecating in Bellevue Cemetery.
"I have not seen people in the cemetery with the dogs, but we are certainly empowered to tell them they can't do that," he said. "But I am not sure it's a problem."
Shepley said no one has complained to the office directly.
The commission also reorganized and elected Shepley as chairman.
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Adams Community Bank Holds Annual Meeting, Announce Growth
ADAMS, Mass. — The annual meeting of the Community Bancorp of the Berkshires, MHC, the parent company of Adams Community Bank, was held on April 10, 2024, at Charles H. McCann Technical School in North Adams.
The meeting included reviewing the 2023 financial statements for the Bank, electing directors and corporators, and highlighting upcoming executive personnel changes.
"In 2023, the Bank experienced another year of growth in assets, loans, and deposits, noting the Pittsfield branch reached $26 million in customer deposits from its opening in December of 2022," President and CEO of Adams Community Bank Charles O'Brien said. "Those deposits were loaned out locally during 2023 and helped drive our #1 ranking in both mortgage and commercial real estate lending, according to Banker and Tradesman."
At year-end 2023, total assets were $995 million, and O'Brien noted the Bank crossed the $1 billion threshold during the first quarter of 2024.
Board chair Jeffrey Grandchamp noted with O'Brien's upcoming retirement, this will be the final annual meeting of the CEO's tenure since he joined the Bank in 1997. He thanked him for his 27 years of dedication to the Bank. He acknowledged the evolution of the Bank as it became the premier community bank in the Berkshires, noting that branches grew from 3 to 10, that employees grew from 40 to 135, and that assets grew from $127 million to $1 billion.
An executive search is underway for O'Brien's replacement.
The Adams Beautification group, which has been quietly sprucing up the town since 2022, hopes to bring in more members of the community during a community cleanup day scheduled for Saturday, April 27. click for more
Berkshire Arts and Technology Charter Public School history teacher Alla Chelukhova has been selected as the April Teacher of the Month. click for more
Desroches graduated from the Police Academy on March 22 in the top tier in his class. He's currently in the field training program and assigned to Sgt. Curtis Crane.
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Michael Wynn, who was selected in January to run the center, submitted a level operating budget of $57,500 but said he could pull funding from different lines to ensure there was money for advertising this fall.
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