Letter: Re-Elect Christine Hoyt to the Select Board

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To the Editor:

In her nine years on the Adams Board of Selectmen, Christine Hoyt has made many contributions to improve our Town of Adams. Two areas that are important to me are her experience with Emergency response and advocating for the state to provide more dollars for Adams in Chapter 90 road monies.

When faced with the closure of Adams Ambulance in 2023, Christine worked to ensure that EMS coverage continued for the residents of Adams without an interruption. Her membership on the Northern Berkshire Regional Emergency Planning Committee provided her with a strong relationship with Cheshire that allowed her to work closely with Cheshire officials on press releases, public meetings, and arrangements for EMS coverage.

In addition, Christine has completed Incident Command System and National Incident Management System training in particular for public officials to better understand her role in times of emergencies. She has often been called upon to help disseminate information during an emergency.

Our tough New England winters cause potholes and a lot of damage to our roads. Our town relies heavily on state aid to municipalities through the Chapter 90 bond bill. Christine has advocated at the local, regional and state level for more dollars from the program. She has done this through local conferences, advocacy among our local delegation, advocacy as a member of the Local Government Advisory Commission (LGAC), and testimony provided to the Joint Committee on Transportation.

She also supported the work of the Healey-Driscoll administration's Transportation Funding Task Force and Chapter 90 Program Advisory Group, which led to a 50 percent increase overall to the Chapter 90 program. This included $200 million for the 351 municipalities using the existing funding formula, and an additional $100 million using a formula that removes the population element, which favors rural and small communities like Adams. That meant an additional $130,809 to Adams in fiscal year 2026.

Please join me in voting to re-elect Christine Hoyt on May 4 so that our town can continue to benefit from her experience.

Bernie Pinsonnault
Adams, Mass.

 

 

 

 

 


Tags: election 2026,   town elections,   


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Cheshire Speed Limits Reduced, Code of Conduct Mulled

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

CHESHIRE, Mass. — Some streets will soon be slower for cars with the Department of Public Works replacing the speed limit signs in response to community concerns.

The town adopted Chapter 90, Section 17C to reduce some local road speed limits to 25 mph. Twenty-three streets are approved by the state; signs are ordered from the state Department of Transportation and should arrive within a couple weeks.

DPW Director Corey McGrath told the Selectmen at last Tuesday's meeting that the department had received concerns from residents wanting people to be slower on the following streets:

  • Church Street 
  • East Main Street 
  • portions of Wells Road 
  • Main Street 
  • Furnace Hill Road
  • Flaherty Road
  • Pit Road
  • Prospect Street 
  • Dean Street 
  • Richmond Street 
  • School Street 
  • Railroad Street 
  • Depot Street 
  • Richardson Street 
  • 5th Avenue
  • Meadowview Drive 
  • Wood Lane
  • Dean Street Extension 
  • portions of Ingalls Road 
  • Devonshire Drive 
  • Yorkshire Drive
  • Berkshire Drive 
  • Wilshire Drive 

Chair Michelle Francesconi asked McGrath to look into the signs solar-powered "slow down" signs. She also spoke about increasing problems with electric bicycles and similar devices.

Young people are going 30 to 40 mph, often on sidewalks, weaving between cars, cutting through private property and town property and riding in the road, she said, and brought up how other towns are creating bylaws to address these problems. Francesconi thought the board should look into it as well as a matter of public safety.

The state is currently revising related laws, so the board will see what the Legislature passes and then model bylaws on other communities.

Francesconi also said that since there is limited police coverage at night during most of the behavior, she suggested shifting some patrol hours to evenings to address youth riding behavior.

Later in the meeting, Francesconi also brought up code of conduct for town employees as she has been receiving numerous reports regarding professionalism, boundaries, confidentiality, and internal relationships and communication among town hall staff, department heads, and with the public.

She said town counsel has recommended adopting a code of conduct as well as providing training. After some discussion, the board decided to get a catalog of training options and identify mandatory and optional trainings. Members are also thinking of doing them in-person.

In other news, the Fire Department's rescue boat missing from the water because motor is broken and is in the process of being replaced.

There are two applicants in the running for the police chief position who will be doing the assessment center on Aug. 17. The Selectmen will get their resumes afterward and decide on interviews.

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