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The Select Board had a difficult debate on Tuesday over which agency should get to buy its police cruisers.

Clarksburg Board OKs Sale of Cruiser to MCLA

By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff
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Both Adams Officer Kevin Stant, left, and MCLA lt. Mark Denault advocated for their departments, citing the need to update their fleets. 
CLARKSBURG, Mass. — What town officials hoped would be a simple matter of disposing of two police cruisers turned into a difficult debate on money, timing and integrity.
 
The 2022 Ford Explorer and older Chevrolet Tahoe have been sitting since last fall when Police Chief Michael Williams retired; the police department was dissolved in March. 
 
On Tuesday, the Select Board voted to sell the Ford to Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts for $30,000.
 
But the decision came after a long debate on whether they should go with the  second, the Adams Police Department.
 
"We've been wanting to release the cruisers since March," said Chair Robert Norcross. "MCLA has been right on top of it since day one in saying they're interested in that cruiser, and they talked to Ron and got a ... Kelly Blue Book quote, and MCLA came right back and said, yes, they would do that."
 
Town Administrator Ronald Boucher said Adams and the town of Cheshire had also indicated interest in the vehicles. 
 
Adams offered the higher price of $45,000 for both, with plans to put the 2022 cruiser on the front line and use the older Tahoe for the K9. Cheshire had offered $35 for both.
 
Last week, the board decided to give Adams a deadline to come back with confirmation on its offer after a meeting with its Finance Committee. It did but needed one more step. 
 
"This is on the Select Board's agenda for tomorrow [Wednesday]," said Adams Police Officer Kevin Stant. "We made it very clear that it was something that we were interested in. So I do appreciate you guys taking the time to look over this offer. I know it's a little bit more complex than what MCLA has presented, but that would be something that we'd be able to give you a definitive answer on tomorrow after the completion of the Select Board meeting."
 
MCLA Lt. Mark Denault, who had appeared before the board last week, reiterated that the college had already approved his bid and was ready to cut a check. 
 
"The only thing I would say to that is, MCLA has been ready right from the start," he said. "It's been a month now that we've been ready to purchase this car. Last week, I thought we did purchase this car."
 
Norcross said he felt that his word and the integrity of the town was at issue and that Adams hadn't confirmed its bid on time.
 
"I feel like we've been stringing Mark along," he said. "I feel like we're going back on our word."
 
Select Board member Daniel Haskins, however, said he had spoken to Adams on that Tuesday before the deadline. "I did talk to him, we didn't prolong it," he said. "I don't know, foresee that as going back on our word, because we did hear from Adams that Tuesday."
 
He though the Adams' offer would bring in the most for the town.
 
Colleague Colton Andrews felt a bit in the middle, noting that Adams had offered a higher bid on time, but it also came with a contingency, and that MCLA has been willing to purchase the Ford immediately. 
 
"I don't necessarily think Mark should be penalized because of our discrepancy," he said. "I understand your situation [to Stant]. Like, you guys need a cruiser. You guys need a cruiser [to Denault]. Mark's been very straightforward, very open from the get go. ... we have a lot of moving parts. We want to maximize our return. We want to get the most we can."
 
They discussed concerns of whether the Adams Selectmen would reject the idea, though Stant said it was very unlikely. The town's fleet is aging and the K9, he said, is sitting home because it's cruiser died. 
 
Boucher said he had thought it would be a simpler to sell the cruisers to a governmental agency but the town hadn't been prepared for the interest. The board thought a bidding process would be better the next time. 
 
In the end, Norcross and Andrews voted to award the Ford to MCLA and then auction the Tahoe; Haskins voted against. 
 
"I just personally feel I'll lose my integrity by not following through," said Norcross. 
 
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Main & Mill: A Vibrant New Restaurant on Main Street

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — You can now enjoy another eatery on Main Street by well-known restaurant siblings Colleen and Sean Taylor.

Their restaurant Main & Mill opened for the first time Tuesday, bringing their vision of creating something vibrant and new to downtown North Adams.

"We have created Main & Mill to be part of our day. It's very seasonal ingredients, thoughtful cooking, beauty, beautiful presentation and dishes. And we really wanted to be part of the community, the downtown area, and start a vibrant area on this end, which has been shuttered for a while," said Colleen.

The building is owned by Ginko on Main Street LLC, which has granted 20 years exclusive possession of the property to Latent Builds as the developer. Jack and Suzy Wadsworth, behind Ginko, are development partners with Karla Rothstein and Salvatore Perry of Latent.

The bank closed in early 2021 and was purchased by Ginko late that year. Plans for the property unveiled three years ago envisioned a restaurant, retail, a park and rooftop bar. 

Colleen saw potential and said she initially wanted the building when it first went up for sale. Being good friends with Rothstein and Perry, she helped them design the kitchen and the bar before learning in March that she could lease it as a restaurant space, something she told them would be a great idea.

She said one of the most important things about the restaurant was the collaboration between Rothstein, Perry, and the Wadsworths, who put a lot of time and energy into the building.

"If Sean and I had done it, we would not be able to do what the collaboration supported. The collaboration of the three of us being able to really have that kind of money to put in down here. The design that the architecture firm that Carla and Sal own is stunning," she said. "The time and effort, everyone came together to do this in a really trusting manner."

The two wanted the restaurant to be an all-day venture, so people could eat at any point throughout the day, all week long.

"We wanted it to be open for coffee and socialization in the morning where people can meet, have their cup of coffee, have a quiche, a vegetarian quiche, or croissant or yogurt. Something intentional with their coffee," she said. "Then move into a lunchtime for the downtown business or anybody, and then go into supper, dinner, with drinks later into the evening. So have it really be open all day long, so that there wasn't a void on any particular day."

They also wanted to do something different than the other restaurants they owned.

"We didn't want to mimic any other restaurant in town. We wanted to bring something that was inspiring, something that had some familiar things that people would see, and other things that we would bring to them for them to experience," she said.

As a woman business owner, Colleen said she wanted to bring a female chef into the kitchen. 

Colleen brought on Chef Anna DeRose, who she said puts twists on a lot of her dishes.

"So we have a creme brulee, but our creme brulee is topped with marshmallow," she said. "Our creme brulee is like almost two desserts in one. It's a s'mores creme brulee. So you could have a s'mores, and you could have a creme brulee - but when you put both of them together, fireworks go off."

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