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The Adams Fire District holds its annual meeting on Tuesday evening.

Adams Fire District May Expand to Entire Town

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
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Voters approved all 19 articles within a half-hour with little to no discussion. 

Updated (5-11-2023 at 9 a.m.) with clarifications from the Prudential Committee Chairman Thomas Satko 

Satko said the vote taken Tuesday only ratified the special legislation needed to expand the district.
 
That legislation has already been filed.
 
He said district membership voting to expand the district was only an early step in the process that will certainly include input from members of the public potentially coming into the district.
 
"We want to do this the right way, and we want townspeople to be part of this decision," he said.
 
Satko said the district council is working with town council to organize a community meeting to discuss the matter that will be followed by a townwide vote.
 
He did not have an exact timeline for when these meetings would occur and noted many details still needed to be worked out.

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ADAMS, Mass.— The Fire District membership voted to increase the district's size to the town's limits at the annual meeting bringing a new fire protection and street lighting charge to new members.

 
The Fire District flew through 19 articles in about a half-hour Tuesday and voted, without question, to expand the district so that all those receiving fire protection outside of the district's current overlay would now have to pay a fee.
 
"We've been asked by the members of the district. They would like to see those outside the district pay for fire protection," Prudential Committee Chairman Thomas Satko said after the meeting about Article 17. "So we're doing what our members of the district asked us to do."
 
Currently, the district is focused in the downtown area of Adams, and there are about 168 houses outside of the district. Although firefighters still respond to fires outside of the district, these residents do not pay any fees to the district.
 
Now, all property owners will be charged a semi-annual fee that, at this moment in time, is 91 cents per $1,000 valuation. The district also runs the Water Department but properties not on the water lines will not be charged for water. 
 
The town is completely separate from the fire district, and Town Administrator Jay Green said the expansion can be done unilaterally from the town.
 
"There are specific provisions in Massachusetts General Law for a Fire District to expand," Green said. "It is the responsibility of the Adams Fire District to ensure that they are complying with any legal requirements and to communicate to the community the reasons why the Fire District wishes to expand so a healthy and informative conversation can take place in the proper venues."
 
Green added that without a fire district, fire protection services would fall to the town.
 
"Generally speaking, there are no ramifications to the operation of local town government. However, I think it is important for perspective and discussion that if there was no Fire District, local town government would be responsible for structural fire protection, and those costs would be covered by real estate tax as part of the town budget rather than a separate tax," Green said. "Therefore, it is worth asking the question, what is the value to the community in having a separate Fire District?"
 
The entire meeting passed with few questions or opposition with only one single no vote from the dozens of district members who attended the meeting held in the fire station.
 
Article 6 represented the proposed operating budget and asked members to appropriate $596,905.90 from district taxes.
 
Article 8 authorized the district to raise and appropriate $1,570,659.63 from rates for the Enterprise Fund and to pay loans maturing during the upcoming fiscal year 
 
Article 5 set the salaries of district employees totaling $24,750.92.
 
Article 7 will allocate $5,000 from district taxes for the Adams support fee.
 
Article 9 allowed the district to place $40,000 of surplus revenue into the reserve fund and Article 10 drew $15,500 from the surplus revenue to purchase fire safety equipment. This amount will be fully reimbursed by the state.
 
Article 11 raises $100,000 from rates for the radio read meter replacement and Article 12 raises $10,000 from rates for the Cheshire PILOT Invoice.
 
Satko clarified that Cheshire is billing the district for the land it uses in Cheshire. This includes the well fields and land on West Road and Orchard Street.
 
Article 13 will appropriate from available funds $16,000 for an engineering review of the Greylock Glen and Article 14 will allow the district to pull $50,000 from the surplus account to go toward the Lead Service Line Inventory. This money will be reimbursed by the state. 
 
Article 15 pulls $50,000 from stabilization to put toward a down payment on a new fire engine.
 
The same day, the Fire district held its election in which 72 voters cast ballots.
 
Richard Kleiner will return to the Prudential Committee with 55 votes and John Pansecchi will remain chief engineer with 56 votes.
 
David Lennon was voted in as first assistant engineer with 69 votes, Edward Capeless as second assistant engineer with 69 votes, Mark Therrien as third assistant engineer with 65 votes, and Dylan Grimes as fourth assistant engineer with 67 votes. 

Tags: annual meeting,   fire district,   fiscal 2024,   

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Hoosac Valley High School is Moving and Shaking

There have been some major shifts within the Hoosac Valley Regional School District recently, all of which have focused on enhancing the student experience to make it a place where ALL students can find their path.
 
In 2023, Hoosac Valley High School was designated an Innovation Pathway School by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and has since restructured the Program of Studies, utilized creative scheduling, and expanded internship opportunities. Part of this transformation includes participating in a "Portrait of a Graduate" cohort alongside four other Berkshire County schools to determine a collective vision for student success, in partnership with the BARR Foundation.
 
The Innovation Pathways at HVHS are designed to give students coursework and experience in a specific high-demand industry, such as technology, engineering, healthcare, or life sciences. Currently, Biomedical Science & Healthcare and Environmental Studies have received official state IP designation. In addition to the IP designated pathways, HVHS offers programs in Engineering & Technology, Business & Entrepreneurship, Arts & Entertainment, Education, and Sports Medicine. The result is that students have an opportunity for a transformative experience – enabling them to build essential skills, gain awareness of future career opportunities, and make informed choices about post-secondary education in promising fields.
 
Principal Colleen Byrd notes, "What makes our program special is that entry into the Pathway of your choice allows a student to access Advanced Placement and dual enrollment college courses, as well as internships in the community to set them up for success after high school."
 
The Portrait of a Graduate initiative consists of a team of Hoosac educators and students who exemplify the essential skills, practices, and beliefs that define learning experiences across the district. They work to outline the competencies, values, skills, and knowledge that define our vision for student success – keeping in mind that not every student's pathway will look the same. The District's goal is to ensure that all students graduate as responsible people, prepared individuals, lifelong learners, global citizens, critical thinkers, and thoughtful communicators.
 
Another recent change district-wide in grades K-12 is the "Crew" culture. Teachers and students now have time each day to create positive connections and build authentic relationships with one another. Through Responsive Classroom at the elementary school and Crew at the middle and high schools, students and staff gather for 30 minutes each day to engage in meaningful experiences rooted in mutual and shared interests. 
The Crew block is a prioritized structure that allows staff to support all students socially, emotionally, and academically – anchoring them and promoting the Portrait of a Graduate competencies. Crew takes many forms at the high school, such as gardening, bird watching, yoga, and sports talk with visits to college games.
 
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