NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The North Adams Housing Authority Board of Commissioners approved a policy that would hold tenants responsible for damaging property with motorized scooters.
"I think it is time that we created a policy to hold people accountable," Executive Director Jennifer Hohn said at the commissioners' meeting Monday. "When people get scooters they need to be aware of what is expected."
She said there is plenty of scooter damage throughout the authority's properties but specifically sited common areas.
She said one tenant rammed a scooter into one of the elevators causing $15,000 worth of damage.
This person was caught on camera and, after breaking the elevator door, returned to their apartment without reporting the incident.
"It is basically negligence," Hohn said. "Nobody cares and nobody is held accountable so some people just bang into walls and elevators."
The commissioners noted that when people receive a scooter through the state they are first assessed and are briefed on how to properly operate them.
Hohn said she is less worried about tenants who go through the state to get scooters because they tend to safely and respectfully operate them. She said tenants who purchase the scooters with no strings attached are the ones who cause trouble.
"My concern is people who are buying these scooters form other people and some have a tendency to maybe drink too much and operate their scooter under the influence," she said. "That is commonly the biggest issue that we will see."
She said another point of concern is that some tenants have multiple electric scooters in their apartments. Charging them all at once creates a fire hazard.
"We have people with two or three scooters in their apartments right now," she said. "... If someone is charging all three of their scooters at once in their apartment, then we have a problem."
She said the policy will hold tenants accountable who are caught in the act and refuse to report an incident. Hohn said they will not be able to monitor everybody, but she hopes the policy will at least make residents more aware and respectful.
"I just want people to take more ownership and responsibility for their actions," Hohn said.
In other business, the authority has begun the eviction process and has released 30 notices to tenants who have refused to pay rent after the lifting of the eviction moratorium.
Program Manager Lisa Labonte said some tenants have made an honest effort to work with the authority but many have just refused to pay — to the tune of $110,000.
Residents were given 30 days' notice instead of the usual 14.
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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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