ADAMS, Mass. — The town will see a three-way race for the Board of Selectmen in the annual town election.
It is the only race on the May 5 election ballot.
Incumbent Joseph J. Nowak will face off against Jay T. Meczywor and Jerome S. Socolof for the two seats up for election on the board. Both seats are for three-year terms.
Selectman Richard Blanchard is not running for re-election after serving four terms. He and Nowak were first elected in 2013.
Nowak is a retired from the state Department of Conservation and Recreation and was a co-founder of the former Adams Agriculture Fair.
Meczywor is a physical therapist at Berkshire Sport & Physical Therapy and chair of the town's Finance Committee.
Socolof unsuccessfully ran for the board in last year's election. He is an associate professor in arts management in the Fine and Performing Arts Department at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.
Newcomers on the ballot are David Rhinemiller, chair of the Planning Board, for a three-year term on the Board of Health; Christian Ricahrd Rowe for a five-year termon the Planning Board; and Stephanie Melito for representative to the Northern Berkshire Regional [McCann] School Committee.
Running for re-election unopposed are Moderator Myra Wilk, Treasurer-Collector Kelly Rice, Assessor Lorraine Kalisz, Library Trustees Virginia Phelps Duval and Karen Kettles, Cemetery Commissioner James Taylor, Housing Authority member Ann Bartlett, and Hoosac Valley School Committee member John F. Duval and Erin Milne, both representing Adams.
No one has submitted papers for the a three-year term representing Cheshire on Hoosac Valley School Committee or for a one-year term for Cemetery Commission and five-year term for Redevelopment Authority.
Running for town meeting member are:
Precinct 1: Deborah Nowicki and Gregory Nowicki for two two-year terms, and one open seat for three years.
Precinct 2: Catherine Foster, Charles Foster, Andrew Harmon, Howard Rosenberg and William Schrade Jr. will vie with incumbents Donald Bury, Scott Cernik, Edward Janik, Sandra Moderski, Andrew Przystanski, Norman Schutz, Tanya Wilson-Malloy and Mitchell Wisniowski for 10 three-year terms; and Paula Grover is running unopposed for a one-year term.
Precinct 3: Russell Duval, Kathryn Anne Gigliotti, Jerome Socolof and Kelly Szkasz are running for one of 10 three-year terms against incumbents Patricia Conroy-Shepley, Richard Frost, Raymond Gargan Jr., Kelly Craddock-Kelley, Amy Oberlin, Robert Patterson Jr., Melissa Schaffrick and Barbara Ziemba; Christina Satko is unopposed for a one-year term.
Precinct 4: Kathryn E. Perras and Edmund St. John III for two two-year terms; one two-year term, two one-year terms and five three-year terms are vacant.
Precinct 5: 15 candidates are vying for 10 three-year terms. Newcomers are Kathryn Foley, Denise Fortier, Jacqueline Kelly, Stephanie Melito, David Rhinemiller, Christian Rowe and Caroline Scully; incumbents are Kathy Hynes, David Lennon, Sarah Lesure, Erin Milne, Michael Ouellette, Linda Rhoadds, Ashley Satko and Barbara Tarsa.
Partial terms are to complete vacated offices; each precinct has 30 representatives.
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Adams Applies for CDBG Grant to Address Blight
By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
ADAMS, Mass. — The town continues its efforts to address blight in the community by applying for funds through the Community Development Block Grant, as it has done years prior.
The Select Board recently approved the grant application requesting $950,000 to fund the highly anticipated Winter Street reconstruction and the town's Adams Housing Rehabilitation Program.
CDBG is a federally funded competitive grant program administered by the state. It can be used for activities that address blight, housing, beautification, demolition and economic development.
The need for these funds is substantial as towns work to balance addressing high-cost infrastructure repairs with limited state and federal funding, such as Chapter 90, said Donna Cesan, community development director.
"Adams is one of the poor communities in the commonwealth. Here in the Northern Berkshires, we're still recovering from the '60s and the loss of our manufacturing base, so it's been a slow recovery," she said.
Cesan has been working with the town for more than 20 years and during that time has seen improvements but there are still setbacks, including the rising costs to address the communities needs.
"To continue to work on projects like this to improve the community. So, I think Adams is very deserving of this. I think the community needs this," she said.
The town is trying to remedy the transfer stations pay-as-you-throw model as the trash tonnage per permit is significantly higher than what it is supposed to be because of an abundance of blue bags last purchased in 2021. click for more
Like many public safety organizations in the Berkshires, the Adams Fire District is looking for ways to address its building's deteriorating condition.
click for more
The building is a total loss but firefighters were able to prevent the flames from reaching another nearby barn and the house at Stoney Brook Farm. click for more
The town is preparing to submit an application for Community Block Grant Funds following the designation of its blighted area on Route 8. click for more
The Board of Selectmen last week approved the closures of the street between Pleasant and Dean Streets from Wednesday through Saturday, April 1 to 4, to allow for the Crewdson's production company to set up for his complex and intricate shots. click for more