NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The City Council on Tuesday night moved the establishment of a Sustainability & Tree Commission to a second reading and publication.

 

Mayor Jennifer Macksey back in February had presented the council with a list of objectives and how she thought a such a committee could support the administration. Councilor Andrew Fitch had raised the issue the year before, referred it to the mayor's office and pushed through the ordinance.

 

As the process moved forward, he recommended it merge with the Tree Commission, taking on that committee's objectives as part of the city's sustainability mission. It will make recommendations such as regarding climate change and impact on neighborhoods, and be able to seek grants, partnerships and other resources. 

 

The language provided to the council on Tuesday had been reviewed by several committees and commissions and included changes advised by the city solicitor. 

 

"It's been through a whole bunch of different reviews, and it took different tweaks from each of these committees," said Fitch, acting as president that night. "Each of these committees and commission provided excellent guidance of how to make this a little bit stronger, how to make this a little bit better."

 

Jenny Dunning, a member of the grassroots North Adams Sustainability Task Force, spoke at the beginning of the meeting to endorse the ordinance.

 

"I just want to say how much I appreciate that the council and the administration has moved forward to figure out a way to make this happen, and it's up for the vote tonight," said Dunning, who serves on the Windsor Lake Commission. "And we've got five of us who are here to support this change."

 

The ordinance was amended to reduce the number of seats on the committee, which was set at nine by the Public Safety Committee.

 

Councilor Lisa Blackmer motioned to set the number at seven, which passed.

 

"It's become apparent that filling nine seats is difficult, and so I know that we're making recommendations through some of these other committees to reduce them," she said, referring to the ongoing Codification Committee. "So I would like to kind of make this more consistent with what we're doing."

 

Councilor Marie McCarron said the reason nine was chosen was because it seemed there would be a lot of interest in serving. (At one point the number became eight, then bumped to nine to be odd.)

 

"Plus we talked about having the student on there, too, which would have brought it to nine as well," she said. "So I personally would like to see us stay at nine."

 

Other councilors, however, felt the number was too high and noted how difficult it was to get people to serve — and the enthusiasm could fade.

 

"I think of other commissions we started," said Councilor Keith Bona. "We had the Youth Commission, which everyone was very excited about. We had the Public Art Commission, which everyone was very excited about, and we're constantly needing to fill positions on those."

 

Macksey declared September as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and presented the proclamation to Kathy and Joe Arabia of the AYJ Fund, which provides support to children with cancer and to cancer research.

 

In reading the declaration, the mayor said thousands of children are diagnosed each year with the diesease, and that organizations like the AYJ Fund raise awareness and are critical to improving the quality of life of survivors. 

 

"Recognizing and supporting those fighting childhood, including our own Liam Lescarbeau, unites us in a shared commitment to hope and healing, and reminds us of the power of love, hope, and unwavering support for every child fighting this disease," she said. 

 

Liam, 9, has been fighting acute lymphoblastic leukemia; his treatment is expected to run three to four years. A GoFundMe has been set up for his family.

 

"Our community is impacted by Liam and all of the other children that are diagnosed every year, and all of these the statistics about childhood cancer are staggering, and each one represents a need," said Kathy Arabia, who also gave a shoutout to her board. "And we will continue to fight for each one of these these young boys and young girls who have a whole lifetime ahead of them, and we continue to fight with advocacy and funding for research, and trying to make the lives of these children a little better each day, and also helping to support the devastating financial impact that this has on every family that's impacted with childhood cancer."

 

In other business, a public hearing on a pole placement on Church Street for new service was continued when no one from National Grid was there to answer any questions. The council set it at the same time as another request for pole for new service on Phelps Avenue.