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Adams Selectmen Approve Police Chief Contract

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
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ADAMS, Mass. — The Selectmen approved new Police Chief Scott Kelley's contract and his first day on the job will be Tuesday, Jan. 19
 
The three-year contract was approved after a brief executive session at the tail end of Wednesday's meeting.
 
"He is good to go," Town Administrator Jay Green said. "He has a sergeants' meeting scheduled for that week and is raring to go." 
 
Interim Police Chief Troy Bacon had declined to move into the permanent position leaving the Selectmen to undergo another search for a permanent chief. In early December, the  board voted to appoint Kelley, who is chief of police at South Carolina's Spartanburg Community College.
 
Kelley's starting annual salary will be $88,317.
 
In other business, the selectmen approved a payment in lieu of taxes agreement for the construction of a 5.6-megawatt solar field on Duke's Gravel Pit on Grove Street.
 
"Thank you for coming into our town to help us out," Selectman Joseph Nowak said. "That money will sure come in handy."
 
Green said this project goes back some years with Sun Rays Energy, which sold the project to Engie North America in 2019
 
He said the project has gone through the Planning Board and the developers are in pursuit of a building permit.
 
Per the agreement, the town will receive $64,464 annually for 20 years.
 
Engineer Matt Singer said the array would take up the bulk of the gravel pit and anticipated that further use of the pit would be minimal. 
 
"Any future activity would be limited just because of the available land," he said.
 
He said the array will work as a solar garden, and residents will have the ability to subscribe to it.
 
"We will be looking to get residential subscribers ... to subscribe directly to the energy from this project," he said. "They will receive credits in a way not dissimilar if they had solar on their roof."
 
The PILOT agreement has to be approved by town meeting.
 
The Selectmen referred to an open meeting law complaint to town counsel. Selectman John Duval asked that counsel share his response during their next meeting.
 

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Cheshire Town Meeting Oks Budgets, Debates Potential Prop 2 1/2 Override

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff

Moderator Carol Francesconi, left, and Anne Marie Furey were presented flowers in memory of the Rev. William Furey, their brother and husband, respectively. The town report was dedicated to him. 
CHESHIRE, Mass. — Town meeting on Monday approved all 35 articles on the annual meeting warrant, including a total spending for fiscal 2027 of more than $8.5 million. 
 
Some 77 of the town's more than 2,500 registered voters filled the Cheshire Community House meeting room, debating on a number of articles during the meeting that lasted nearly three hours
 
The town dedicated its annual report to the Rev. William David Furey, longtime pastor of First Baptist Church and more recently Berkshire Union Chapel in Lanesborough. Furey died last year at age 77.
 
His wife, Anne Marie Furey, and his sister, Town Moderator Carol Francesconi, were presented with a bouquet of flowers in tribute to him. 
 
He was an exemplary member of the community who left a lasting impression in each and every life that he touched, said Town Clerk Whitney Flynn. 
 
Voters approved several warrant articles that make up an operating budget of $3,840,314 for fiscal 2027. Of this amount, $1,642,481 is allocated for the general government budget, which was approved after clarification of a few questions.
 
One item was the administrative assistant's salary. Prior to the annual meeting, the town eliminated the executive assistant salary of $54,309 in favor of a part-time administrative assistant salary of $27,155, to reduce costs considering the financial constraint the town is in. 
 
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