Lanesborough to Mall Owners: Pay Your Taxes

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The Select Board would like to see movement on the Berkshire Mall — markedly the payment of taxes.  

Earlier this month, the Lanesborough Fire and Water District filed a suit for more than $105,000 in back taxes and interest. JMJ Holdings, which purchased the mall last year, owes about $211,000 to the town.

The owners say they are plagued by the costs of stabilizing a rundown property that should not have gotten to its current state and cite "inhibitive" taxation from the Baker Hill Road District.

"Because you have not paid fiscal '24, all those real estate taxes that are due to the town, they are affecting our free cash certification," Selectwoman Deborah Maynard said.

"Our free cash is lowered by the amount of money that you owe the town in real estate taxes so it does really hurt the town when you don't pay your taxes and you don't pay them on time."

She said the mall also hasn't paid the first two quarters of FY25, making it six payments behind, and the tax collector is beginning the process of putting the property into tax title.

Chairman Michael Murphy observed that the owners, who want the BHRD dissolved, were "holding $211,00 over our heads to get what you want."

"We are about six or seven million dollars into this property so I think, I believe, and I know we will be able to handle a $211,000 tax bill," Jones said.

He noted the JMJ did pay $800,000 in the first year of ownership.

Jones said the taxes fell behind because of all the work that needed to be done to the vacant mall, as "it will never function right unless it's totally gutted."  On top of the $4 million purchase investment, he reported spending almost another million to get it in shape for use.

"We will be paying our taxes and we will be doing that shortly but it will be for the town of Lanesborough," he said.

"As far as we're concerned, the Baker Hill Road District is a separate situation and we would like to come back to the town a second time and suggest something different in terms of the taxes when we have our other partner on board."

Jones said JMJ has been in talks with another company for the past year on partnering transforming the former mall into senior housing and assistive living. 

"The Baker Hill Road District, throughout the life of the project that we see, it's just not fiscally feasible," Grogan said.

"We want to get the assessed value of this property up by putting a lot of money into it. We dream of 400 to 500 units and that all depends on what the feasibility study can support. We're not just looking at a standard run-of-the-mill senior care facility. We're looking at independent living, skilled nursing, memory care, palliative care, hospice care, and that's all being fed into this analysis as well as additional complexities such as exploring affordable housing although that is not the primary means of what we're for for this project."

He said the owners do not feel represented by William Prendergast, chair of the BHRD, and questioned his election and the length of his term.

"We're really trying to make as many strides as we can to get this to a financeable property and utilizing this to its highest and best use but we want the town to recognize how inhibitive the Baker Hill Road District is," Grogan said, later adding that they are trying to turn it into a win-win for everyone.

There was some back and forth between the two bodies about the authority of the Select Board in making choices about the district. Siegars attempted to contribute to the conversation on Monday but was told that it was between the Select Board and the mall owners. In his email Tuesday, he noted that town meeting in 2023 "resoundingly defeated a citizen petition to dissolve the road district."

"I'm not saying pro-Baker Hill or anti but I can tell you for the town, the Baker Hill Road District helps us because they are, for a lack of a better word, the taxing entity who, when you pay your bill, they give money to the town to pay for two officers, they give the money to pave, maintain the road," Selectman Timothy Sorrell said, asking how they can trust the mall owners when they aren't paying taxes.

He suggested that the town look into the governance of the BHRD and Murphy suggested that the owners identify a person they would like to represent them on it. The prudential committee is made up of two members appointed by the town and one by the property owners.

The feasibility study is expected to take another two months.  The Select Board reiterated its wish to be informed about how the town can help move development along and get the property functioning again.

"The point is and the real concern is, we want you to be comfortable, we want to bring these jobs and the situation here," Jones said.

Pittsfield Man Creates Device to Clear Lakes of Algae Blooms

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
08:07AM / Sunday, October 11, 2026

Marc Bellora holds a jar of lake water, left, to compare to water cleaned by his Aqua Clarifier Water System.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Marc Bellora has high hopes for a device he's created to treat lakes from harmful algae blooms.

His patented water clarifier can physically remove captured material rather than letting the nutrient-rich material settle back into the lake, which occurs when herbicides are used.

"It's a long-term lake management tool that can be used to reduce legacy nutrients in lakes and ponds over time," he explained. "We built the prototype, this is a prototype. It does approximately 65 to 70 gallons per minute. It's very environmentally friendly. Can be used with air only, or we can use a low-dose potable polyaluminum chloride (PACL) or chemical on board that can help improve results."

The water clarifier barge is based on well-proven technology for water treatment, he said. "It's a self-contained, portable, mobile unit that removes algae blooms, nitrogen, phosphorus, and the associated nitrogen and phosphorus within lakes."

Bellora founded Clear Waterways Group with business partner Mark Simon. They built a prototype mobile unit and are still working out the kinks. It's taken Bellora about five years to bring the project to fruition as he is also a full-time Realtor.

He says the repurposed barge they use has a device that uses air to filter the water to separate harmful bacteria or uses a chemical at low doses. They are testing both to see how well each does at cleaning the water.

"They would do the same thing here, except they would spray it, and it blocks all that stuff together," Bellora said of the use of herbicides. "But then it drops to the bottom. So now all the nutrients that are attached in that plot go to the bottom and contribute to the legacy nutrients only to fuel next year's bloom. Ours removes it."

He said just using air alone has removed 70 to 90 percent of harmful algae where he has been operating on the south end of Pontoosuc Lake.

"Essentially, we take in the bad stuff, we take in the lake water. We separate the good stuff from the bad stuff. Clean water goes back into the lake, and the bad stuff can either be composted, or it can be taken to the wastewater treatment plant, which is what we're doing here," he said. 

Bellora explained that tiny air bubbles attach to particles in the water, making them buoyant so they rise and can be removed. The unit can operate with air alone, or with a low dose of potable polyaluminum chloride.

PACL helps through flocculation: it gathers small particles into larger clumps that are easier for air bubbles to capture. He said this can help remove dissolved nutrients that air alone may not capture as effectively. 

Bellora said he was inspired to build something like this after noticing the lakes he enjoys being shut down because of algae blooms. 

The city issued a health advisory for Pontoosuc in August, warning residents not to swim or come in contact with the lake water because of an algae bloom. The cyanobacteria can cause skin irritations, vomiting and diarrhea and nerve or liver problems. 

Bellora previously worked for a company that used traditional dissolved air flotation (DAF) systems to treat water. In that role, he traveled around the country to work at paper mills and food-processing plants.

That experience gave him a practical understanding of DAF, and while flying between jobs, he would see green ponds and wonder whether the technology could be adapted to treat lakes.