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The Parks Commission is concerned about vandalism at the newly refurbished Russell Field.

Adams Parks Commission to Address Russell Field Vandalism

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
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ADAMS, Mass. — The Parks Commission is exploring different ways to secure the Russell Field tennis/pickleball courts after vandalism.
 
The commission read a report last week from the Department of Public Works that stated the brand-new tennis/pickleball courts have already been vandalized.
 
The report stated that people have sat on the nets that are now stretched out. The net hand cranks have been stripped, and there is graffiti on the court.
 
The commissioners agreed that the police should be made aware of the issue but acknowledged they may not have the time to enforce the park.
 
Commissioner James Fassell suggested locking the court up and leaving keys with local tennis organizations, however, the rest of the commission was hesitant to release keys out into the public.
 
A suggestion was made to install some sort of lockbox with a code that changed daily. Users could call the Town Hall and receive the new code. This way the town would also know who is using the court if vandalism occurs.
 
The commissioners felt both of these options could limit public use and agreed to pass off the issue to the Community Development Office.
 
They did recommend locking up the court with a combination lock in the interim. Users could call Town Hall to get the combination.
 
They also suggested a more immediate fix of locking the court at night. At the moment the court is always unlocked.
 
There was a concern if the already busy DPW squad would have time to lock and unlock the court. There was also the concern about unlocking the court on weekends with the DPW are not working.
 
As for the field itself, the commissioners had major concerns about the infield and wanted the contractors to know their grievances before they squared away the project. They asked that Community Development take this into consideration before they close out the project.
 
"I was down there a couple of weeks ago and it looked like it was wet in some spots," Commissioner Jacob Schutz said. "The drainage wasn't perfect. I would think it would be ok to ask that they take a strong look at these things."
 
The Russell Field project is in the final phase. In recent weeks contractors have fertilized and de-weeded the field slated for an early October completion.
 
Fassell felt the commission needed to be more proactive and made a motion, that went unanswered, to ask the contractor to pour mason sand in the infield to make it less muddy.
 
"I don't think it is acceptable at this point. I think it is a muddy infield and we need to control it," he said.
 
The commission did ask that Berkshire Arts and Technology Public Charter School limit its use of the field as the youth football program had done.

Tags: parks commission,   playing fields,   

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Adams Sees No Races So Far

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
ADAMS, Mass. — With less than a week left before nomination papers are due, there are currently no contested seats.
 
Only selectman incumbent John Duval has returned papers. Selectman Howard Rosenberg has decided not to seek re-election. 
 
Rosenberg, who was elected in 2021, said he has chosen not to run again to make room for younger candidates.
 
"I feel strongly, we need younger people running for public office,  as the future of our town lies within the younger  generation. The world is so fundamentally different today and rapidly changing to become even more so. I believe we need people who are less interested in trying to bring back the past, then in paving the way for a promising future. The younger generation can know that they can stay here and have a voice without having to leave for opportunities elsewhere," he said.
 
The only person to return papers so far is former member the board Donald Sommer. Sommer served as a selectman from 2007 to 2010 and before that was a member of the School Committee and the Redevelopment Authority. He ran unsuccessfully for selectman in 2019 and again in 2021 but dropped out of before the election.
 
Incumbent Moderator Myra Wilk and Town Clerk Haley Meczywor have returned papers for their respective positions.
 
Assessor Paula Wheeler has returned papers and incumbents James Loughman and Eugene Michalenko have returned papers for library trustees.
 
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