Dalton Holds Community Sessions on Public Safety Building

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
06:07PM / Sunday, August 17, 2025Print Story | Email Story

DALTON, Mass. — Since last August, public officials said the basement of the Town Hall is inadequate to house its police station, and now the town will demonstrate why through several community outreach initiatives.

QR Code to Public Safety Facility Survey. More information at the bottom of the article.

From tours of the deteriorating precinct, information sessions with the Public Safety Facility Committee, the development of a Facebook page, to a survey, the town is engaging the community to keep them informed of the situation and develop a solution.

During numerous meetings, Police Chief Deanna Strout demonstrated the decaying condition of the current location of the department including mold, mice, water damage, plumbing issues, damage to cells, and more.

For the last year, the committee has been coordinating the department, communication center, and town to determine the future of the department and communication center.

Listed on the town website is a timeline and links to several documents including the indoor air quality report, air quality assessment, sewage backup, and the draft space needs assessment by the town’s consultant Jacunski Humes Architects LLC.

Throughout August, the Public Safety Facility Committee will hold information sessions to provide community members with an update on its progress thus far. The first was held last Wednesday and the next on Monday at 1 p.m.

These sessions will include presentations on the current state of the department, a question-and-answer session, and a review of prior assessments of the station and possibilities for the future.

Dates for the information sessions are as follows:

Aug. 18 at 1 p.m. at the Dalton Senior Center
Aug. 19 at 6 p.m. at the Dalton Library
Aug. 30 at 11 a.m. at the Dalton Senior Center

Community members can see first hand the state of the police station during tours of the precinct which will take place on: Tuesday, Aug. 19, between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Saturday, Aug. 23, between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m

Additionally, citizens are asked to complete a survey, which will help the town understand residents’ priorities surrounding the proposed facility.

The brief survey includes questions that rate the department and communication center’s level of service and explores residents' understanding of the station's needs.

It also requests what information they require to make an informed decision about the proposed facility, their level of support for the facility, and the reasons behind their opinions.

Tags: community forum, Dalton Police, police station,

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Lanesborough Hopes for Continued Talks on Mall Sale

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
06:41PM / Wednesday, November 11, 2026

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The Select Board is optimistic that talks for the Berkshire Mall sale will continue.

Chair Deborah Maynard and Vice Chair Juli Baker were to meet with mall owner JMJ Holdings, the Baker Hill Road District, and proposed buyer Cypress Equities on Tuesday to discuss next steps. As of Wednesday, iBerkshires had received a "we are optimistic" from Maynard on the talks. The Berkshire Eagle reported a response from a Cypress representative saying talks will continue.

Baker had updated the Select Board on Monday about the status of the sale and the efforts being undertaken by the renamed Baker Hill Business District.

Cypress Equities pulled out of a purchase-and sale-agreement with mall owner JMJ last week for the following reasons.

Not enough water service/pressure to the property to support redevelopment without constructing costly water tanks.
The current septic system and former treatment facility is not acceptable for a project of the scale and magnitude proposed.
There is existing asbestos and bad soil from the treatment system that needs to be remediated off site.
And the current structure and tax assessment of the Baker Hill Road District.

Baker has been working with what is now being called the Baker Hill Business District and said she and the district members are happy that Cypress has decided to leave the door open to more discussions and that they have been working hard to try and address the company's needs.

Last month, the town had asked state Sen. Paul Mark and state Rep. John Barrett III to support the state Department of Transportation taking over the Connector Road, funding for a mall connection to Pittsfield's wastewater treatment plant and a connection to the town's water main.

Baker said an amendment has been drafted to cap the district's taxes to not grow more than 2.5 percent a year. She noted that, historically, taxes have not grown by more than one percent per year, so it won't be difficult to meet that cap.

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