Baker Hill Road District Gifting Lanesborough $150,000 for Police, EMS Building

By Brian Rhodes02:00PM / Tuesday, October 18, 2022Print Story | Email Story

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The Baker Hill Road District has agreed to gift the town $150,000 for the purchase of land for a combined police and ambulance building, pending approval by taxpayer vote.

The district's prudential committee voted to give the gift at its meeting last week. The Police Station Building Committee, which the Select Board formed earlier this year, has spent much of the last few months preparing with Architect Brian Humes for when a final site is determined.

After finding a temporary space for officers in June, the committee expressed several issues with a new station at the former location, 8 Prospect St., eventually deciding to look at other potential options. EMS Director Jennifer Weber also recently joined the committee, as the group works to add ambulance services to the project.

Committee Chair Kristen Tool said the $150,000 gift should allow the town to find a suitable property without creating an additional tax burden.

"I am grateful to BHRD for their gift and continued work in supporting emergency services in Lanesborough," Tool said in a statement.

Since the construction of the mall in 1989, the Town and District have had a Police and Fire Services contract, through which the district makes an annual payment to cover the added costs of having the Berkshire Mall facility in Lanesborough. As a result of the recent sale of the Berkshire Mall, the district has recovered all unpaid taxes and a significant interest payment assessed on the delinquent tax.

In a statement, the district said it is proud to continue to partner with and strengthen its relationship with the community and public safety officials in town.

Tags: ambulance service, Berkshire Mall, police station,

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Lanesborough Chooses New Town Administrator

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
09:19PM / Tuesday, October 06, 2026

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The Select Board has named longtime Easthampton official John Mason as the new town administrator after interviewing him and one other candidate on Tuesday.

About 45 applications were received. Eleven were brought before the seven-member selection committee. From that pool, the committee brought forward two candidates to the Select Board: Mason, Easthampton's director of Parks And Recreation, and Allison Schmitt, executive director for Entrepreneurship for All (EforAll).

During the Select Board meeting on Tuesday, the board voted, 4-1, to offer the post to Mason, following a meeting that lasted more than two hours.

Prior to the interviews, the board bid farewell to outgoing Town Administrator Gina Dario, who is taking a position as Adams' new Community Development Director. Her last day is Friday, but she will be a resource to Lanesborough to ensure a smooth transition.

Mason brings about 20 years of experience in municipal government, including the last 17 years as director of Parks And Recreation in Easthampton, where his responsibilities included grant writing, managing state and federal grants, overseeing budgets, and managing projects.

Prior to that, he served as executive director of a Boys & Girls Club near Boston, where he developed his grant-writing experience. He credits that role with helping him grow.

"We were trying to run an operation on good feelings and no money. It's tough to operate that way. So it was very challenging, and I had to learn how to grant write and to do it well," he said.

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