Clarksburg Wants More Control of Opioid Money
CLARKSBURG, Mass. — The Select Board is leery of pooling its money from the opioid settlement with other communities.
Clarksburg, one of the first communities to sign on to the opioid lawsuit filed by a consortium of states several years ago, has so far received payouts of $23,594.78. It's expected to receive nearly $64,000 by the end of the 16-year payout.
Board members on Monday discussed the pros and cons of dropping the town's anticipated funds into a much larger pot. The funds must be used for opioid remediation efforts or related costs.
Pooling would allow for the hiring of a coordinator and programming, but it's not clear how much the town would benefit compared to the larger communities.
"My feelings from day one was trying to keep this money in our town to teach our children, or bring speakers in to make them aware of things," said board member Daniel Haskins. "If there's a way to pool the money, but yet they help tap their resources for bringing in speakers, I would be fine with that, but I just don't like, I just don't want it disappearing and then also not seeing any education out of it."
Colton Andrews thought the funding should be used to educate the town's youngest as to the dangers of drugs, which he said could affect anyone.
He said he'd lost people he knew to substance abuse — fathers and grandfathers — "because it doesn't show its ugly face until it's too late."
"It affects everyone from A to Z. You could be a millionaire, it's going to affect you, because sometimes it's the people you least suspect," he said. "I think any resources should be directed directly at the school, especially in our town ... I think, to get the most bang for our pockets."
Andrews said the local superintendents should create a program that could run from school to school with a consistent message and take advantage of economies of scale.
Chair Robert Norcross worried who could run a program for Clarksburg, noting that next-door neighbor North Adams is planning to hire a coordinator to administer the $1 million it's expected to receive.
"I agree, I think we can do a good job ... but who is going to make this happen? That's my dilemma," he said.
Andrews thought it would be "fairly easy" to find a volunteer who could help coordinate for a small stipend, saying there were enough residents with medical experience in the community.
The board voted to appoint Michael Williams, the former police chief, as administrative police chief/constable, as constable for the elections, as emergency management director and as assistant treasurer.
Williams had filled all these posts in the past until his retirement a month ago that left the town with no police presence. The board has temporarily suspended police operations to rely on the State Police until decision on the department's future can be made.
The former chief had indicated his interest in continuing in a part-time position for paperwork and licensing.
Williams will work no more than 15 hours a week with a salary of $30,000 out of the balance of the police budget. He plans to have regular hours with possibly firearms licensing applications by appointment in the evening. He will fill in vacation days for the treasurer and will work on cleaning out the stored police files. His hours may be adjusted depending on his workload and availability.
In other business:
• The board approved the annual liquor, entertainment and Sunday entertainment licenses for the Golden Eagle.
• McKinney reported that the town did not get grant funding for paving on south Middle Road, the retaining wall on Cross Road or the joint application for work on water and sewer lines with North Adams on Millard Avenue and Southernview Drive.
However, the town did get a $145,000 to update the town's 1965 master plan. The Planning Board will be spearheading this endeavor.
Norcross said McKinney had worked hard to get the grants in on time but thought the new single application portal is making it easier for small towns to seek grant and thus creating more competition.
"We'll have to figure out what we can do ... to get these grants for next year," he said.
• The town has applied for a $199,000 Green Communities grant for mini-splits for Clarksburg School. McKinney said this is the first step in a three-phase project with the first phase addressing the gym/cafeteria and middle school sections. This will also give the school air conditioning, which it does not currently have.
A contractor has looked at what was thought to be a malfunctioning heater in the connector space between the library and the school. The heat is coming out but the blower isn't functioning. With the anticipation of the future "greening" of the school with heat pumps, the contractor recommended waiting rather than spending the money to fix the older univent heater.
• McKinney has two bids for removing trees at the library and is awaiting a third. He is also waiting for bids on an emergency generator. He recommended it be place at Town Hall as recent emergencies have forced its closure, hampering the ability to deliver government services.
• Treasurer/Collector Kelly Haskins gave an update on efforts to revise the employee handbook and McKinney reported that the bulky waste collection on Oct. 12 had raised $710 in donations toward the school roof project and another $1,000 for it in the sale of metal.
Tags: opioids, settlement,
