Mount Greylock Advisory Council Hopes to Clarify Role With State
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| The Mount Greylock Advisory Council is hoping changes at the state level will give it more of a voice in Boston. |
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The Mount Greylock Advisory Council hopes that a new state division will help clarify its role and foster more communication.
On the agenda for Wednesday's quarterly meeting was "Does Council have a voice in Boston?" Members have cited a disconnect with the Department of Conservation and Recreation when it comes to items concerning the mountain.
"We're supposed to be an advisory council, and things are coming down from the state, and we didn't even know about it," Chair Heather Linscott explained.
A day before the meeting, she received an email from DCR's Director of Partnerships Paul Fahey, who is aware of the council's concerns and shared how the department is structuring a policy and public affairs team to provide this kind of support. He stepped into the position earlier this year.
"It seems important to set up a path for future success for engagement between the Advisory Council and DCR on our common goals, rather than a continued discussion of the previous role the Council played," Fahey wrote.
"Our team is happy to work with you on this."
Based on his understanding of the council's history, "It appears clear that there was never any statutory basis for the establishment of the Council or its role. It was set in other ways in the past, both by DCR (and its predecessor agency, DEM) and other regional entities."
When county government was dissolved, many of these organizations and groups went with it.
"We're supposed to be an advisory group for any project that happens on the mountain because we know the mountain. We all have different expertise on the mountain. We know it inside and out, basically," Cheshire representative Gary Trudeau explained.
"So that's where we want to get back to. Some type of official advisory role, even though we don't officially have that now."
Fahey explained that the Policy and Public Affairs division is still being staffed after budget-related delays, but hopes to soon have a deputy commissioner who assumes overall responsibility and a peer position to direct intergovernmental relations and policy.
"One of our top priorities relates to a more formal process for recognizing and maintaining relationships with our partnerships, including 'Friends' groups, as well as organizations like yours," Fahey wrote, proposing that these entities meet to discuss the specific issues of governance going forward as a more formal partnership process is developed.
"We have an opportunity to redefine the role of the Advisory Council in a productive way to recognize the desire of your group and others to have a positive impact on what happens at Mt. Greylock."
DCR's Mountain District Manager Mark Jester said this portion of the agency will fill a "large need" and open communication. The division is set to focus solely on issues like this one and will handle partnerships with friends groups, etc., and the state.
"We're very excited that this part of the organization is up and running because I think it's going to take a lot of pressure off of the people that shouldn't be put under that kind of pressure," he said.
"Open a line of communication."
The mountain's roadways are expected to open on May 17, and the Bascom Lodge and War Memorial Tower on May 24.
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