Letter: Town Meeting Members Should Re-evaluate Glen Investment
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To the Editor:
We can agree that, to date, no revenue has come to the Town of Adams from the current Greylock Glen Outdoor Center project, since no components are operational. The components listed on the website, greylockglen.com, are Outdoor Center, Four-season Campground, Thunderbolt Lodge and Conference Center, Performing Arts Amphitheatre, and Environmental Art Garden.
We do not include the Multi-Use Trail System because there is no substantial addition or improvement to the trails system that historically already exists in Greylock Glen. The local individuals and groups would continue with their maintenance and construction of trails within the environs of Greylock Glen, regardless of any development project there.
A multi-use trail system and sports equipment rental space will not pass muster as a Nordic Ski Center. The Thunderbolt Lodge and Conference Center will never be built.
On Jan. 12, 2012, iBerkshires.com reported that a consultant advised town leaders that there were three factors or reasons why the town received such a poor response when the town put the Thunderbolt Lodge and Conference Center out to bid. The three reasons given were a current economy in which raising private capital was difficult; the location of Adams in that the Town is not a proven or a primary market as are Boston and NYC; and the lack of amenities such as spas and fitness centers in the area. These factors have not changed over the past 11 years
The Performing Arts Amphitheatre and a maintenance building seem to have disappeared off the radar.
The Outdoor Center and water system infrastructure components are under construction, having "broken ground" during the past year. There should be a visitors' building at Greylock Glen, as there is one on the other side of the mountain, in Lanesborough. The new water system brings improved water service to residents who live on West Road and beyond. Important, too, is that the Adams Fire District secures a second resource for water collection and recharge within town boundaries.
Monetarily, the only definitive benefits to come to Adams from the current development project at Greylock Glen will be from lease of the four-season campground and lease of two places in the Outdoor Center, the café and the retail/sports equipment rental space. In addition, there are two local excise taxes collected in Adams: a 6 percent Local Room Occupancy Excise Tax and a 0.75 percent Local Meals Excise Tax.
The rent from lease of the two spaces in the Outdoor Center and the dollar amount from the Local Meals Excise Tax will not be considerable. The rent from lease of the campground site is estimated at $80,000, according to page 2 of Attachment H found in the Signature Document of the Provisional Developer Designation document. This statement appears on page 2 of Attachment K-2 of the same document: "Lease payments will be in lieu of taxes for the Campground operator." That is to say, the campground developer/operator does not have to pay property taxes to the town.
Using the numbers from the submission of the campground developer/operator to the town, 35 cabins at $295 a night for 201 nights a year equals $2,075,325. The 6 percent Local Room Occupancy Excise Tax paid by the overnight visitor would result in about $125,000 for Adams.
The outlay for the Greylock Glen project proposed for fiscal year 2024 is $234,534. The expenditures are itemized as follows: Personal Services of $44,034 and Operating Expenses of $57,500 are covered by regular Operating Omnibus appropriation; $28,000 for installation of communications and data infrastructure comes from the Technology Fund; and the Economic Development Fund is the source to pay for Payroll Expenses for an executive director of the Greylock Glen Outdoor Center Foundation, at $65,000 for a half-year's work, and $40,000 for the Community Development Department Special Projects Manager.
In addition, by Article 23, $233,000 for Greylock Glen Outdoor Center expenses is proposed to be transferred into the Overlay Surplus Fund. The money in the Overlay Surplus Fund is held in
reserve for extraordinary and unforeseen expenditures.
Based upon the annual projected revenue figures (that is, $80,000 and $125,000) and the expenditures (that is, $467,534) presented above, the annual investment the town is making toward the potential economic return will result in a deficit to the town. In other words, the sum of $80,000 and $125,000 cannot sustain in any year the responsibilities and obligations the town of Adams has assumed in undertaking the current Greylock Glen project.
Annual Town Meeting takes place this year on Wednesday, June 7, at 6 p.m. During this meeting, we urge Town Meeting Members to remember their fiduciary responsibilities to residents and taxpayers of the Town of Adams as you reflect upon the potential negative impact the current Greylock Glen project can have on the town's bottom line from now and into the future.
The motivation to carry-on with the project based on desperation to see anything built at Greylock Glen cannot be good for the Town of Adams. The time is now for the town to re-evaluate its involvement in the current Greylock Glen project. Perhaps the following two pieces of information can spur Town residents and Town leaders to action.
Few people may recall that proposed development in the environs of Greylock Glen began in 1936, shortly after construction of the Thunderbolt Ski Run on Mount Greylock. Members of the Adams Outing Club raised funds to pay for two properties at the eastern base of the mountain. The properties were transferred to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in order to further plans for a ski area and amenities there. In 13 years, that would be 100 years ago.
On Feb. 4, 2004, the Massachusetts Inspector General wrote to the Chief of the Office of Commonwealth Development. The section below appears on page 3 of the letter: "The Office [of the Inspector General] notes that based on the RFP and draft master plan the scope of the entire project has changed from previously envisioned developments. Apparently substantial public support may be necessary to complete the anticipated project.(4)" Footnote (4) reads: "Considering the past and potential future state investment at the state-owned Greylock Glen site and its proximity to Mt. Greylock State Reservation, a cost-benefit analysis may show that a publicly-constructed and controlled environmental center, including trail systems, etc. could be carried out more effectively and efficiently by state conservation and recreation entities."
Surely, no one in Adams was made aware of this recommendation from the MA Inspector General before the town submitted its proposal to develop Greylock Glen on September 13, 2004. What is most clear from the information and thoughts shared in our letter is, first, that Adams was mistaken to put its long-held hopes and expectations in the hands of certain agencies of the Commonwealth and, second, that no argument can be made that the current project to develop Greylock Glen is a catalyst for economic growth for North Berkshire County, Massachusetts, which was the purpose of the enabling legislation, Chapter 676 of the Acts of 1985.
The Articles on the Warrant for Annual Town Meeting that relate to the current Greylock Glen project are numbered 5, 6, 22, and 23. Please take into consideration the information herein before making your vote on Wednesday night.
Paula and Ron Chenail
Adams, Mass.
Tags: Greylock Glen,
