Letter: The Problem With Yes Vote for Greylock School

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To the Editor:

I'll say it again and again, I think all the yay-sayers are missing the point of priorities in North Adams, why we moved to another town.

The brown water, the water breaks, sewage backing up in the streets, the constant flow of power outages, the huge potholes everywhere, closed roads/bridges, cement barricades left halfway in road passage ways for years, vegetation overgrowth throughout the roadsides, the multiple promises of attractions that never materialized, dilapidated buildings both city owned and privately left to rot, and on and on.

The major problem with your yes vote is no promises to fix any of these issues, just to spend more taxpayers' money, including mine when I support your local businesses with their passing on the tax burdens coming down the pike. This "average" $270 a year tax increase is only the beginning of all your increases yet to come! Because another new school is a tax liability that like the others that won't be kept up. No one will invest until they get this mess cleaned up.

Shawn Collins
Adams, Mass. 

 

 

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Cheshire Explores Partnership with Lanesborough Police Department

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
CHESHIRE, Mass. — The Select Board has been talking with the Lanesborough Police Department to determine if a partnership would be advantageous. 
 
During initial discussions, it was believed that a 50/50 split of sharing services is not feasible. However, the town officials say the investigation into possible funding options are not over. 
 
The Select Board has scheduled a meeting with interim Chief Timothy Garner, Lanesborough Chief Rob Derksen, and state Sen. Paul Mark to see if there are state monies or grants available for a regionalization-type arrangement, board Chair Shawn McGrath said at Last week's meeting.
 
Cheshire has five police officers and a chief; Lanesborough six full-time officers and multiple part-time officers and a chief. Both departments are seeking to construct new police stations. 
 
Options include merging the department with a 50/50 cost split, which was determined to be expensive for Cheshire, a contractual arrangement in which the fee would cover additional officers to provide coverage, or other shared service arrangements that might bring costs down.
 
"I don't think we should shut the door on that," McGrath said. 
 
Exploring these possibilities will likely take several months and he said Garner does not have any qualms about serving in the interim until decisions about the structure of the department can be made. 
 
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