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West Stockbridge held a grand opening for the town's new dog park on Sunday, Oct. 5.
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Berkshire Briefs: Oct. 8

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The dog park is located on 21 State Line Road.

A roundup of municipal and development news across the Berkshires

West Stockbridge Opens Dog Park

West Stockbridge held a grand opening for its new dog park on Oct. 5. Michael Bolognino, chair of the Friends of West Stockbridge Dog Park, estimated that 100 people attended the opening, along with 50 or so dogs.
 
The Berkshire Humane Society attended and offered loose leash training, Irie's Pet Pantry also attended and received donations, and a couple of local businesses sold their dog-related wares.
 
Some funds were also raised to contribute to the ongoing maintenance of the park.
 
The park is located on 21 State Line Road.
 

Fairview Hospital Purchases Neighboring Property

The Berkshire Eagle reports that Fairview Hospital has purchased a neighboring property on 82 West Ave. to be used as a contractor meeting space to facilitate its $70 million renovation plan.
 
The 4,000 square foot property was purchased on Sept. 25, for $1.1 million.
 

Dalton Extends Interim Town Manager's Contract

The Berkshire Eagle also reports that the Dalton Select Board voted to extend interim Town Manager Henry H. "Terry" Williams III's contract until Nov. 21.
 
The town hired Eric Anderson of Connecticut as the new permanent town manager, but with an uncertain start date, the town wants to make sure there is a smooth transition.
 
The town has been looking for a full-time town administrator since earlier summer to replace Thomas Hutcheson, who retired. 
 

Great Barrington Hires New Town Manager

The Berkshire Edge reports that the Great Barrington Selectboard unanimously approved the hiring of Bourne Assistant Town Manager Liz Hartsgrove as the new permanent town manager.
 
The vote came during a brief meeting on Oct. 6.
 
Former Town Manager Mark Pruhenski left his post to take on a position for the town of Middlebury, Vt. Town Planner Chris Rembold has served as the interim town manager.
 

Developers Propose Battery Storage Facility in Lanesborough

The Berkshire Eagle reports that the California developer Mission Clean Energy has proposed installing a 170-megawatt battery storage field for Lanesborough near the Pittsfield line.
 
The $100 million project could provide the town with $10 million in payments to Lanesborough over 20 years.
 
The facility, proposed for a parcel, between the Connector Road and Crane Avenue in Pittsfield, would hold 200 units containing racks of lithium iron phosphate batteries that would connect to Eversource's Partridge Substation in Pittsfield. The facility would store extra energy from the grid during periods of low demand and release it back to the grid when needed.

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Pittsfield Audit Committee Sees 2 'Advantageous' Proposals

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city received two strong proposals for an independent audit and will evaluate their cost as the last determining factor. 

On Monday, the Auditing Services Evaluation Committee decided to advance proposals from CliftonLarsonAllen and from Scanlon and Associates, the firm that has audited Pittsfield for years. 

The city received two bid responses that members generally saw as equally strong. Some pushed for a new set of eyes, and some were comfortable with the knowledge Scanlon has built about Pittsfield over the years. 

They agreed that prices are an important factor and voted to advance both proposals to purchasing agent Colleen Hunter-Mullett so she can come back with financial information. 

"I think one was longer, but when I looked at it, I thought they both had in-depth information for us, and I really didn't have any issues with any of them, and I think they're both highly advantageous in that," said Kathy Amuso, who was designated to review the proposals. 

"… I contacted municipalities for both CliftonLarsonAllen and Scanlon, and no matter which one I contacted, all the CliftonLarsonAllen customers and clients highly recommended them, and the Scanlon clients highly recommended them."

She has worked with Scanlon through government since 2003 and, because both proposals were highly rated, doesn't see a reason to change.

"I think it's been pretty consistent. I think they've been good to work with; I think they found some issues that they worked with the City of Pittsfield on," Amuso explained. 

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