PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Licensing Board received an update on the renovation of the former Johnny's Beach Club, which is still on schedule.
During a brief Licensing Board meeting Tuesday the board reviewed a letter from attorney Jeffrey Lynch, representing the owners of Barcelona Tapas and Bar Inc., outlining some of the progress they have made on the 87 Wahconah St. property.
"He predicts operation would start sometime in March or April assuming all the work gets done and the certificate of occupancy is awarded," Chairman Thomas Campoli said.
The owners indicated this summer that instead of opening the former Johnny's Beach Club as a tapas bar, they planned to improve the site in hopes of selling it.
Last month, the owners also indicated they would like to hold onto their license and if they are unable to sell the business they will open when renovations are complete.
This worried the Licensing Board, which was wary of the delayed project that has been ongoing since 2017. They asked for firmer dates and regular updates.
Campoli said Lynch wrote in his letter that exterior and interior work has been done and they are on schedule for completion this spring. He also included architectural plans for the board to consider.
He said Lynch will provide another update in December.
"Then we can really interrogate him about what they have in mind for that place," he said. "It has been out of operation for a long period of time."
Board member Denis Powell said he was impressed with the "ambitious" project.
"I will say it is quite an aggressive plan and I was quite impressed by it," he said. "I just hope they can get their money back it is a major renovation."
In other business, the board extended a seasonal all-alcohol package store license for Peaslee's Package & Variety and approved a change of hours for the Tamarack Room.
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Central Berkshire School Officials OK $35M Budget
By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
DALTON, Mass. — The Central Berkshire Regional School Committee approved a $35 million budget for fiscal 2025 during its meeting on Thursday.
Much of the proposed spending plan is similar to what was predicted in the initial and tentative budget presentations, however, the district did work with the Finance subcommittee to further offset the assessments to the towns, Superintendent Leslie Blake-Davis said.
"What you're going see in this budget is a lower average assessment to the towns than what you saw in the other in the tentative budget that was approved," she said.
The fiscal 2025 budget is $35,428,892, a 5.56 percent or $1,867,649, over this year's $33,561,243.
"This is using our operating funds, revolving revenue or grant revenue. So what made up the budget for the tentative budget is pretty much the same," Director of Finance and Operations Gregory Boino said.
"We're just moving around funds … so, we're using more of the FY25 rural aid funds instead of operating funds next year."
Increases the district has in the FY25 operating budget are from active employee health insurance, retiree health insurance, special education out-of-district tuition, temporary bond principal and interest payment, pupil transportation, Berkshire County Retirement contributions, and the federal payroll tax.
The students have also been able to build friendships and experience new things, such as dancing for community events, taking a trip to Ireland and participating in competitions.
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Because of this, traffic will be reduced to one lane of travel on First Street (U.S. Route 7) and North Street between Burbank Street and Abbott Street from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday through at least May 6.
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Independent Connections officially unveiled its Massachusetts branch on Thursdsay with a ribbon cutting. The IT solutions company's specializations include consulting, cloud computing, and cybersecurity.
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Taylor Garabedian scored a team-high 22 points and grabbed five rebounds, and Abby Scialabba scored 16 points for the ‘Canes, who got 16 points, nine rebounds and four assists from Ashlyn Lesure. click for more