Letter: Re-Elect Christine Hoyt in Adams

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To the Editor:

The financial health of the Town of Adams has improved greatly in the nine years since Christine Hoyt was elected to the Board of Selectmen, and I am voting for her re-election so that Adams will continue to benefit from her expertise.

Here are two examples of better financial management during Christine's tenure on the board.

Our Stabilization Fund has increased by 264 percent. The Stabilization Fund is the state's name for what is considered a savings account for rainy days. When Christine was first elected in 2017, the Stabilization Fund had only $331,968 in it. For the past nine years, Christine has supported fiscal policy that resulted in a Stabilization Fund certified in July 2024 at $1,207,110.


Our residential tax rate has decreased by 27 percent, from $21.37 when Christine was elected in 2017 to $15.63 in 2026. Adams' commercial, industrial, and personal property tax rate has gone down by 12 percent, from $24.55 to $21.51 over that period. Christine has contributed to the decrease in the rate by supporting level-service budgets and conservative budgeting. I know that increases in property values have meant increases in tax bills, but they would have been worse had the rates remained higher.

If she is re-elected, Christine supports a plan to further help the tax rate by addressing the inequity that causes some taxpayers who do not live within the Adams Fire District to pay taxes to support the wastewater treatment plant. Implementing a sewer-use fee means that those taxpayers will no longer pay for sewer services they can't use. And, the fee would allow the town to recoup costs for sewer use by nonprofit properties that don't pay for the sewer services they use because they don't pay property taxes.

Please join me in voting for Christine Hoyt on May 4 so that she can continue working on behalf of our town.

Dianne M Cutillo
Adams, Mass. 

 

 

 

 

 


Tags: election 2026,   town elections,   


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Adams' Cook Street Bridge Slated for Replacement

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
ADAMS, Mass. — The deteriorating Cook Street Bridge is slated for improvements, with the state favoring a superstructure replacement that would address the bridge's structural needs while minimizing impacts to the surrounding area.
 
The Cook Street Bridge primarily serves local traffic, spanning the South Branch of the Hoosic River and providing connections between the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail, Albert Street and Crotteau Street. It has a 12-ton weight limit.
 
The estimated cost at this point is $6.1 million.
 
The single-span bridge, originally constructed in 1957, has developed several structural deficiencies in recent years, including deteriorating steel beams with section loss and rusting, said Kasey Burke, project manager for the consulting engineering firm TEC. 
 
Additionally, there are holes in the underside of the deck that have exposed rebar, which is restricting travel across the bridge, she said. 
 
Deterioration of the bridge deck beneath the pavement is also resulting in several potholes on the road surface, which presents an ongoing maintenance issue for the town, Burke said. 
 
The planned replacement will have 10-foot striped travel lanes in each direction and be the same length of the current bridge, without adding any extra supports.
 
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