Adams Fire District Signs $600K Lawsuit Settlement

By Brian RhodesiBerkshires Staff
04:21PM / Thursday, October 06, 2022Print Story | Email Story

ADAMS, Mass. — The Fire District's Prudential Committee has officially signed a $600,000 settlement agreement for a class-action lawsuit over its fire protection and street lighting fees.

The committee discussed the agreement after a final briefing from district Counsel Stephen Pagnotta. Pagnotta said this is one of the final requirements before the district can move on from the lawsuit.

"This settlement agreement outlines the process of the settlement, who is going to get what funds and outlines a timeframe for doing that," he said at Thursday's Prudential Committee meeting.

Pagnotta said, per the agreement, residents of the district who paid fire protection and street lighting charges between September 2019 and June 2022 will receive a proportional share of the $600,000 settlement. The district approved the appropriation of surplus revenue for the settlement at its annual meeting in May.

Pagnotta explained that the agreement can be filed with the court once both sides officially sign it.

"We will also be engaging a settlement administrator to assist in the distribution of the funds to the recipients," he said. "... There will be court hearings that the court will schedule, and it will be required to approve this because it is a class settlement action. We anticipate the court will do so. This is one of the last steps in putting this matter behind us."

The lawsuit resulted in a change to the district's collection of fire protection and street lighting. A Superior Court judge found that the district did not have the authority to charge for anything other than water, according to an 1873 act by the Legislature.

Tags: fire district, lawsuit,

iBerkshires.com Text Ads

Now's the time...

to harvest value from your home. Click for more details about a HELOC. Insured by NCUA.

www.greylock.org

rk MILES Blding Materials

Are You Ready to Update Your Home? Start With rk MILES. 4 Locations (800)670-7433

www.rkmiles.com

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Adams Prudential Committee Evaluating Truck Replacement

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
05:21AM / Thursday, September 03, 2026

ADAMS, Mass. — The Fire Department's Engine 2 is suffering from rust and the Prudential Committee needs to decide if it should be fixed or run until it can be replaced.

Fire Chief David Lennon told the Prudential Committee on Monday about the condition of the 20-year-old truck and acknowledged it's going to be an costly endeavor.

"If we choose to do this, it's going to be so expensive that it would have to be put out for multiple people to look at and possibly bid on, but moreover, we have to look at what the long-term plans are to decide if we want to spend that money on that truck," he said. "If we're going to replace it on its usual schedule, which would be in under 10 years now, so we have to decide."

Lennon said his thought was that it was similar to getting a medical diagnosis: since they've got one opinion, "it'd behoove us to get a second opinion to see.

"We see that it's rusting, but is that rust going to be completely detrimental to running that for the period that we want to run it for, and have somebody else look at it now," he said. "As far as who that would be, I don't know, but I think that's what we should discuss and see moving forward."

The committee set a workshop for Friday, Sept. 11, at 4 p.m.

Superintendent John C. Barrett said he plans to install a new system and water main for the Adams Housing Authority's 64 one-bedroom units in the Columbia Valley facility, which will mean a new suppression system for all of the buildings.

View Full Story