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Bousquet Mountain is one of the oldest ski areas in New England.

Bousquet Mountain Being Sold to Local Investment Firm

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A local private investment firm plans to buy Bousquet Mountain ski area.
 
Mill Town Capital announced Friday that it will partner with Charlemont's Berkshire East Mountain Resort to continue the Bousquet's 85-year legacy into the future.
 
"Bousquet is a pretty valuable outdoor recreational asset for the city of Pittsfield and we felt like we wanted to be part of that and continue that into the future," Tim Burke, Mill Town's CEO and managing director said.
 
Mill Town, which focuses on community impact in its investments, will purchase the resort from Tamarack Ski Nominee Trust and owners Sherry and PJ Roberts. The sale includes 155 acres across four parcels, including the summit of Yokun Ridge, 22 trails, multiple buildings, and operational equipment. 
 
Mill Town also announced its collaboration agreement with Berkshire East and Catamount Ski Resort's management owners Jon and Jim Schaefer, who will advise Bousquet on capital and operational decisions and investments.
 
"We go into to every project we do with the best intentions and we know it is going to be a lot of work so that is why we want to create good partnerships with those know a lot about these things," Burke said. "We are the first to admit we are not experienced ski area operators but at the same time we are excited to give this a shot."
 
Bousquet will be a part of the "Berkshire Pass," joining Berkshire East and Catamount in Egremont, as the third mountain to be featured as part of this season-pass program.
 
"It makes sense to have them all linked," Burke said. "It gives skiers and riders a lot of options."
 
He said the Schaefers will enter the project with a "fresh set of eyes" and assess what they think can be improved.
 
"Hopefully we can improve the mountain as much as possible but I think first and foremost we have to ensure that it is a viable skiing asset," Burke said. "I think first we are going to focus on skiing, lifts, snowmaking, and improve what needs it." 
 
The resort began when a ski club used the slopes of Clarence "Clare" Bousquet's farm in the early 1930s. Bousquet was quick to see the possibilities, installing the second rope tow in the country in 1935 and the first lights for night skiing. His slopes were soon overrun as thousands of New Yorkers took the snow trains to ski Bousquet Mountain every winter.
 
Burke said the mountain is optimally located between Boston and New York and has the potential to become a year-round destination.
 
"I think particularly in this day and age people are looking for places where they can go to have high-quality outdoor experiences and I think Bousquet has the ability to provide that year-round basis," he said. "If we can offer high-quality skiing and riding plus other outdoor activities like hiking and biking in the offseason and solid food and beverage program I think this can be a year-round destination."
Beyond this opportunity to draw tourists to the area, Burke noted the mountain is an important recreationial asset to residents.
 
"It is in the middle of a city in the middle of Berkshire County," he said. "So in the future there is the opportunity for tourism but in the meantime, we know this is a really valuable mountain to the local community."

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EPA Lays Out Draft Plan for PCB Remediation in Pittsfield

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Ward 4 Councilor James Conant requested the meeting be held at Herberg Middle School as his ward will be most affected. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency and General Electric have a preliminary plan to remediate polychlorinated biphenyls from the city's Rest of River stretch by 2032.

"We're going to implement the remedy, move on, and in five years we can be done with the majority of the issues in Pittsfield," Project Manager Dean Tagliaferro said during a hearing on Wednesday.

"The goal is to restore the (Housatonic) river, make the river an asset. Right now, it's a liability."

The PCB-polluted "Rest of River" stretches nearly 125 miles from the confluence of the East and West Branches of the river in Pittsfield to the end of Reach 16 just before Long Island Sound in Connecticut.  The city's five-mile reach, 5A, goes from the confluence to the wastewater treatment plant and includes river channels, banks, backwaters, and 325 acres of floodplains.

The event was held at Herberg Middle School, as Ward 4 Councilor James Conant wanted to ensure that the residents who will be most affected by the cleanup didn't have to travel far.

Conant emphasized that "nothing is set in actual stone" and it will not be solidified for many months.

In February 2020, the Rest of River settlement agreement that outlines the continued cleanup was signed by the U.S. EPA, GE, the state, the city of Pittsfield, the towns of Lenox, Lee, Stockbridge, Great Barrington, and Sheffield, and other interested parties.

Remediation has been in progress since the 1970s, including 27 cleanups. The remedy settled in 2020 includes the removal of one million cubic yards of contaminated sediment and floodplain soils, an 89 percent reduction of downstream transport of PCBs, an upland disposal facility located near Woods Pond (which has been contested by Southern Berkshire residents) as well as offsite disposal, and the removal of two dams.

The estimated cost is about $576 million and will take about 13 years to complete once construction begins.

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