LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Town officials want to place the Baker Hill Road District in the hands of the state but the district's board does not agree.

 

This change would reportedly be in the town's best interest, providing oversight and protecting it from unpaid bills while reducing costs for Target and the town.

 

"It would save one of our constituents, one of the businesses in our town, someone that we should be helping out, it would help them," Selectman Gordon Hubbard said. "So obviously, if we can help them save $100,000 a year in road maintenance, it'd be no reason not to follow a path and see where it takes us because in all honesty, we want to help businesses grow."

 

On Monday, the Board of Selectmen debated the proposition with attorney Mark Siegars, who represents the district that is a separate legal entity and not part of the municipality.

 

The Baker Hill Road District was created in 1989 when the town filed a home-rule petition in the Legislature. Under the legislation, the district owns and is responsible for maintaining the Route 7-8 Connector Road.  

 

The district has the authority to tax the property owners within it and then pay the town of Lanesborough. Siegars said that amounts to "at least $400,000" to the town.

 

Selectman John Goerlach reported a couple of "odd" communications that the town received from Target — one of the two remaining entities on the property — in relation to the district.

 

On June 8, Target sent a letter stating the retail store was going to pay the road district but received another letter on June 22 from Target saying it did not agree to pay the district and knew nothing about the previous letter.

 

"They know nothing about it and wanted to know who, why, and where it came from, so I find that odd," Goerlach said. "The gentleman from the mall keeps bringing this back, now he's trying to backdoor stuff to get this done."

 

He contacted state Sen. Adam Hinds about keeping the district in place while getting a state takeover written and is anticipating a response.

 

"So basically, in my proposal to Senator Hinds, the district stays in place, the state will take over the road, the district will own the land under the road, just like a body of water, but the district, they stay in place," he added.

 

Both Goerlach and Selectman Michael Murphy expressed mistrust for mall owner Durga Property Holdings LLC, which purchased the shuttered property from Michael Kohan in 2019.

 

"I'm totally in support of what our town counsel says," Murphy said. "I don't think this current owner has given us any indication of anything we should do to trust him and anybody that provides oversight and a watchdog mentality on that mall I am totally in support of."

 

Siegars said there is a "misconception" of what is going on with Baker Hill Road District, claiming that Target wrote an official letter in support of the entity in 2018 when the legislation was amended to add economic development.

 

"I had a conversation with Target's lawyer about seven days ago, and she told me unequivocally that Target is happy with the road district, they are happy with their location, they're going to be spending over a million dollars to separate themselves from the mall owner because the town had to take them to court because he turned the fire and safety system off, he doesn't plow any roads up there anymore, he doesn't pave even," he said.

 

"But my point in starting all this out is that somebody came to this Selectmen over a year ago saying that Target was on board for something they knew absolutely nothing about and you finally got a letter from their lawyer saying we have no interest in any of this and I want to know why and how anybody is allowed to make representations to a public body and not be held accountable for."

 

Siegars also said the road is better maintained in its current governance than it would be under the state.

 

In other news, the Selectmen discussed the appointment of a new town manager after Kelli Robbins left the post last week after three years with the town. Reportedly, Williamstown interim town manager finalist Robert Markel will be interviewed tomorrow and the job listing will be posted.

 

They also considered appointing Chief Financial Officer Amy Lane as the interim town manager, saying she is more than fit for the job.