Dalton BOH Looking at Fines for Permit Scofflaws

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
02:12PM / Thursday, February 12, 2026Print Story | Email Story

DALTON, Mass. — The town is looking to be more proactive in ensuring businesses renew their permits on time.

At Tuesday's meeting, the Board of Health was presented with a draft notice from Berkshire Regional Planning Commission Health Agent Jazu Stine to send to business owners about deadlines and fines for late permit renewals.

Stine said there has not been any motivating factors such as fines or deadlines for the renewals in the past and this should help businesses get those permits in on time. He has noticed a lot of businesses do not get their permits in on time and many do not get submitted until they are "chased down."

There are still businesses that have not applied for their annual renewal, which are needed by Dec. 1.

Dalton is not the only town asked to accept the draft; once it is accepted with any amendments, it will be uploaded into permiteyes online application. If someone does not submit their permit on time, a fine will be added to the permit fee and the permit will not be granted until fine is paid.

At the Board of Health's discretion, cease-and-desist letters will be issued to establishments that continue to operate without a current permit and have not made reasonable efforts to meet the permit renewal requirements.

The letter is planned to go out on Nov. 1, a month ahead of the deadline.

The board noted that Dwyer Funeral Home had not renewed its permit; multiple emails have been sent and calls made with no response.

New board member Patrick Carsell works there and will speak with the owners and the board will give the funeral home a week before sending a letter. If not heard from, the board will decide what further action will need to be taken at the next meeting.

In other business, the board also spoke about amending the current noise ordinance bylaw as it currently states operating a chainsaw is a violation and its enforcements are unclear. The board plans to work with the Clean Air Committee to make it more realistic and enforceable.

Tags: board of health, permitting,

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Fenton: Governor's Council Must Deliver for the Berkshires

Community submissionGuest Column
10:22AM / Friday, August 28, 2026

I am a Springfield lawyer running for Governor's Council and I am asking for Berkshire County residents to support me over an incumbent from North Adams.

Here's why: Last year I learned about staffing issues in our regional courts that I could not ignore. In 2025, it was reported that four of Western Massachusetts' 11 Superior Court judgeships were vacant, all at the same time. A few weeks later, that grew to five vacancies. This meant there were only six Superior Court judges serving all of Western Mass at a time when Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin, and Hampden counties had more than 100 pending homicide cases.

Those numbers were alarming to me, so I started to engage with leaders in the community who work most closely with the court system and I came to learn that these vacancies were only the tip of the iceberg here in Berkshire County.

I learned that no Superior Court or District Court judge had been appointed from the Berkshires since the current incumbent took office. As a result, there is not a single Superior Court judge who lives in the Berkshires today, and several of the District Court judges drive in from other counties to support Berkshire courts in Pittsfield, Great Barrington, and North Adams. Court staff also informed me about severe staffing shortages at the Berkshire Clerk of Courts office resulting in other counties needing to loan staff to the Berkshires just so hardworking employees can take a brief and planned summer vacation. This is not normal. These issues are a reflection of genuine problems with the Berkshire County court system and show a lack of proactive attention from our Governor's Councilor.

Instead of focusing on regional equity, I watched as the current incumbent celebrated that she has voted against the governor's nominees more than any other councilor, without much explanation as to why. Most recently, she voted against two extremely qualified former prosecutors for the Parole Board. This was despite an in-person plea from the governor and a letter of support from all the three of the district attorney's from Western Mass. Those votes do not show independence or standing up for principles, they demonstrate naivete, and an unwillingness to work with the key stakeholders.

I had seen and heard enough. I decided to jump in the race and challenge the incumbent to address these problems head-on.

I am a partner of a regional law firm. I understand our courts and the importance of having qualified, fair and hardworking judges. And I know how important it is to have judges from the Berkshires serving the Berkshires. To achieve that, you need strong relationships with the legal community and local stakeholders. You need to know how to use the power of the Governor's Council to fight forcefully for our region. And you need to be laser focused on identifying vacancies before they occur so that they can be filled quickly with local candidates.

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