NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — East Main Street will be getting new signage, including a solar-powered signal, to improve pedestrian safety near Colegrove Park Elementary School.
The improvements will be funded by a $6,000 Safe Routes to School grant accepted by the City Council on Tuesday.
The public schools have partnered with the state Department of Transportation program since 2016 and more recently was the recipient of a $622,000 project to reconfigure the entrance and sidewalks to the Northern Berkshire Family YMCA and Brayton Elementary.
The application for this latest grant from the federally funded program was accepted last fall. The Signs and Lines program is for low-cost infrastructure around elementary and middle schools.
A committee of school and city personnel made plans for the grant that have been approved by the Traffic Commission earlier this month. The city is responsible for implementing the plan and then applying for reimbursement from the grant.
The area affected runs from the entrance to the library up to the intersection with Miner and Pleasant streets. It will consist of reduced speed limit, new pavement markings for lines, crosswalks and bicycles, and new signage. The solar-powered, blinking radar sign will be programmable and operate between school hours of 7 a.m. and 4 p.m.
The grant was accepted overwhelmingly with Councilor Benjamin Lamb, whose wife Emily Schiavoni coordinated the grant, abstaining and Councilor Jason LaForest absent.
In other business during the brief meeting, the council:
• Approved extending the B-2 zone on Massachusetts Avenue east to include 1272 Mass Ave. The property is owned by Centerville Sticks LLC and adjacent to other properties owned or affiliated to Centerville that are in the B-2 zone. The Planning Board approved the change earlier this month after a joint hearing with the council.
• Confirmed Christa Sprague to the Human Services Commission for a term to expire Feb. 1, 2024.
• Approved the installation of a metal-frame awning at 85 Union St., property owned by Scarafoni & Associates. Proof of liability insurance and council approval was required because the awning will overhang public property.
• Referred to General Government and Community Development an ordinance change that would allow the city to revoke special permits if the holders fail to comply with conditions or to pay taxes and fees. The changes are recommended by the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission and were submitted by Councilor Wayne Wilkinson.
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North Adams Schools Talk Final Budget Numbers for Public Hearing
By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
The elementary schools will be phasing in a new math curriculum over the next two years.
The subcommittee is recommending the budget of $20,357,096, up $302,744 or 1.51 percent over this year. This was expected to be funded by $16,418,826 in state Chapter 70 education funds, local funding of $3,938,270 (up $100,000 over this year) and a drawdown of school funds of $575,237. This will also include the closure of Greylock School at the end of this year and the reduction of 26 full-time positions.
A hybrid public hearing on the budget will be held on Thursday, May 23, at 5:30 at Brayton School, with a vote by the School Committee to immediately follow.
The extra $100,000 from the city will likely not be part of this funding package, warned Mayor Jennifer Macksey, chair of the School Committee.
"Going through all my process on the city side, so to say, with the rest of my departments, it's going to be really hard for me to squeak out the additional $100,000," said the mayor, alluding to a budget gap of $600,000 to $800,000 for fiscal 2025 she's trying to close.
"I just want to be fully transparent with everyone sitting here, and as your School Committee chair, I don't know if the city budget is going to be able to squeak out that $100,000. That number will most likely change."
Director of School Finance and Operations Nancy Rauscher said the $100,000 had been a placeholder with administration understanding that it could change.
The closure was announced on the store's Facebook page late Sunday night, where it immediately drew comments of remembrance and well-wishing.
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Spring arriving in all its raucous and deliberate awakening is heralded by a symphony of vanguard spring peepers, hyla crucifer, that transform the cold and drear into a circus of vivacious trilling. click for more
The fate of the facility attached to Brayton School has been in limbo since the closure of the pool last year because of structural issues and the departure of the Berkshire Family YMCA in March.
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The School Committee will be presented next week with a $20 million spending plan for fiscal 2025 that includes closing Greylock School and a reduction of 26 full-time positions.
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