Introduction

Introducing Stockbridge Updates

The 30 towns and villages of Berkshire are the last examples of pure democratic rule. That means we the people run the towns. However, residents do not always know about all the issues under consideration. Voters do not always have all the facts when it is time to vote. Since this is a democracy – a government of by and for the people, we the people should know more. Stockbridge Updates is dedicated to bringing you the information you need. To inform without opinions or pressure and give you what you need to make your own decisions.

About Stockbridge Updates: Stockbridge Updates is a periodic newsletter delivered through email and the web. The goal is to improve town communication and government transparency. Stockbridge Updates will present the facts about a wide range of issues.

We believe there is a place for opinion. We believe facts and opinions are different, therefore, opinion pieces will be clearly marked, and the opinion holder clearly identified. To share your opinion: email us directly at the address below and let us know how we are doing. Submit an opinion piece or click at the end of any item and post your comment. Also please let us know what subjects you would like us to address.

Please sign-up to receive Stockbridge Updates via email by filling out the form on the right. Feel free to forward or share this newsletter. And please email us at the address below to let us know how we are doing; to submit an opinion piece, tell us what subjects you want us to cover, and to answer our survey question. First survey question: do you think we should have an editorial board? If yes how should we select editorial board members?

by Carole Owens, Editor

Editorial

Where is the Milfoil?

At the 2018 Stockbridge Bowl Association (SBA) meeting, President Richard Seltzer, assured the attendees that at the same time SBA submits its Notice of Intent (to use herbicides in the lake), SBA will prepare an adversarial document. That is, if SBA does not like the decision of the Stockbridge Conservation Commission, Health Department, or Select Board, it will sue to override that decision.

“And.” Seltzer said, “SBA will win.”

SBA was certain in its conviction that Stockbridge Bowl must be rid of Eurasian Watermilfoil (an invasive aquatic weed). Seltzer introduced a representative from SOLitude, the lake management company contracted by SBA.

SOLitude explained the Bowl was overrun with Eurasian Milfoil. SOLitude recommended an herbicide called fluridone as the most cost-effective method to rid Stockbridge Bowl of Eurasian Milfoil. To have its way, SBA was prepared for a pitched battle with Stockbridge – even in the courts.

Two years later, Thomas W. Coote, PhD, the Director of the Berkshire Environmental Research Center at Bard College at Simon’s Rock, was hired to catalog Eurasian Watermilfoil by the Town for the Harvesting program. His conclusion? He could find only one stand of Eurasian Milfoil in the main body of Stockbridge Bowl and a number of individual plants but no stands in the Outlet. All of the contentious meetings, ill will, bad press, and huge legal expenses, all could have been avoided with simple cooperation and more accurate information from folks who did not have an economic interest. What now?

Editor’s note: To assure there is no confusion, the penultimate sentence refers to experts who when hired to render opinions, should have no economic interest in the outcome of those opinions.

News

Town News: August 1

Town Meeting/Budget Update

The Stockbridge Town Meeting took place July 25, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. It was held out of doors. All warrant items passed. The meeting concluded in 31 minutes. It was proclaimed a record.

Interim Town Administrator Mark Webber and the members of the Finance Committee cut 2% from the town budget to ensure a financial cushion against any uncertainties created by COVID-19.

Town Administrator Position

Selectman Roxanne McCaffrey thanked Terry Flynn for his service to the town.

You can watch the entire town meeting on CTSB:
http://ctsbtv.org/government-channel-1303/

On July 9, the Select Board chose Michael Canales for the position of Town Administrator. Canales, currently the Chief Administrative Officer of the city of North Adams, was recommended by Mark Webber. The Search Committee, appointed by the Select Board, managed the process including identifying and screening the candidates, and developing and scoring the interview questions. The members were Bronly Boyd, Chuck Gillett, Marion Gardener-Saxe, Doug Goudey, Terry Shae, and Terri Iemolini.

Canales assumes the position on September 14.

Highway Building

You may have heard that there are problems with the construction of the highway building. Basically, the contractor hired sub-contractors who did sub-standard work on the building. It is the town’s position that the contractor must correct the deficiencies its own expense. Much of the repair has begun and some of it is already complete. As more details become available, Stockbridge Updates will share them.

Transfer Station Sunday Hours

The Select Board voted to staff the Transfer Station on Sundays from 12-3 beginning immediately through Columbus Day weekend.

Planning Board

Second Homeowner Meeting

The Select Board scheduled the second homeowner meeting for Thursday July 30 at 9 a.m. Department heads were invited. The meeting was conducted via Zoom and approximately 100 people attended. Town representatives and homeowners discussed a wide variety of issues including the Stockbridge Bowl.

You can watch the Select Board meeting on CTSB:
http://ctsbtv.org/government-channel-1303/

Bill Vogt was elected Chairman of the Planning Board succeeding Marie Raftery, the Planning Board chair for the past year.

At its last meeting, the Planning Board discussed bylaws updates and identified 11 projects that could be addressed.

At Town Meeting, a $40,000 appropriation was approved for the Planning Board to engage consultants to help complete this work.

Historical Commission and Monuments

With monies awarded by the Community Preservation Commission and under the leadership of Terry Flynn, a structural analysis was done on two key Stockbridge monuments, the Soldiers’ Monument and the Chime Tower. Selectman Patrick White is now shepherding the repair projects. Members of the Historical Commission and White met with Amanda Trienen, an expert at monument restoration, on Monday, July 27.

At the Town Meeting, $50,000 was appropriated for repair of the Civil War monument. More on the engineering and conservation assessment when facts become available.

The Fountain Committee

Kate Fletcher and Carl Sprague continue to shepherd the repairs to the two Main St. fountains – the watering trough and the Cat and Dog Fountain. The Fountain Committee is currently seeking bids from vendors to address the restoration of the Watering Trough and the Cat and Dog Fountain. Foresight Land Services is providing mechanical drawings to address electrical and plumbing needs. A landscaping plan has been drawn up for the Watering Trough. The Committee provided an update to the Select Board in May. Please email kfletcher@stockbridge-ma.gov with any questions.

Lake Stewardship: Harvesting

The town has been working hard for over two months to get a harvesting Notice of Intent (NOI) fast-tracked through the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Mark Webber and the prior Select Board hired Foresight Engineering in April to write the NOI and while there have been weeks of back-and-forth regarding the details that the DEP will find acceptable, the town still does not have permission from the state regulators to harvest this season. Everyone involved understands the severity of the problem and is working as quickly as DEP will allow. Any progress will be reported by Stockbridge Updates. Please see Stockbridge Updates editorial.

Board of Health Senior Survey

Jim Wilusz, Rae Williams and the Board of Health is working on a survey of seniors based on an AARP template. The survey is a comprehensive questionnaire that, among many other topics, discusses issues like housing and financial security. This survey will give us insight when considering policies the town might adopt to ensure we are an age-friendly community as our population ages over the next 20 years. Please watch for the questionnaire and be sure to fill out and return it. Thank you.

Parks and Recreation

Steven Knopf, Nick Fredsall, and Nicole Fairaux of Parks and Rec, in conjunction with Monica, the head lifeguard at the Town Beach, requested an emergency allocation of $4,000 to augment staffing at the Town Beach to deal with COVID-19. Both the Select Board and the Finance Committee approved this budget.

Resources

Take Care of Your Buffer Zones

If your property abuts water, the place where the land area meets the water is known as the buffer zone. The Massachusetts Vegetated Buffer Manual defines vegetated buffers as:

“Simply put, a vegetated buffer is a protective area between a waterbody and human activity. They are ‘living filters,’ because they capture many of the pollutants that travel through them. Buffers filter out sediment and debris from surface runoff. Plant root systems and chemical and biological activity in the soil can capture and transform nutrients and other pollutants and transform them into less harmful forms.”

The Vegetated Buffer Manual is a 111-page document produced by folks from Berkshire County and it’s chock full of tips and techniques to create and manage your buffer zone. You can find a copy at: budman.pdf

Download your free copy of this manual today, and thanks to Kate Fletcher for sending us this great resource.

Insight

What is the Zoning Board of Appeals?

Every town in the Commonwealth has a Zoning Board of Appeals, although the title might vary in di?erent jurisdictions. In general, these boards have the authority to hear appeals of decisions made by zoning administrators (permitting bodies, building inspector, etc.). They have the authority to interpret provisions that are unclear in the zoning ordinance. In essence, they rule on dimensional and use regulations that might vary from zoning regulations.

In Stockbridge, various boards are given the authority to make decisions regarding the implementation of the zoning bylaws. They are, essentially, zoning administrators. These include the Board of Selectmen, the Conservation Commission, the Planning Board, as well as the Building Inspector. If a property owner is unhappy with a decision made by any or all of these entities, they have the right to appeal the decision to the ZBA. The ZBA must determine the correctness of the zoning administration body’s decision, based upon the purpose and intent of the bylaw. It is sometimes necessary for the ZBA to interpret unclear provisions of the bylaw that have ultimately led to a di?erence of opinion over the application of the regulations.

As zoning regulations cannot cover every conceivable situation that arises, the ZBA has the authority to allow minor exceptions (in unclear cases) to existing zoning rules. Under certain circumstances, these small changes might allow a landowner to do what would generally be forbidden by the ordinance. Variances are not easy to acquire. They must show practical di?culties or unnecessary hardship. This all depends on the type of variance being sought. The ZBA, while not strictly a judiciary, acts as a judicial panel, issuing rulings, along with ?ndings to clearly explain the justi?cation for those decisions. Stockbridge has an 85 page Zoning Bylaw.

Bob Jones served on the Great Barrington and Stockbridge Boards of Appeal

Editor’s note: ZBA meets when necessary. It will meet again this year in response to an appeal by a resident of Building Inspector Ned Baldwin’s decision.

by by Bob Jones

Opinion

Planning for Our Future

We currently live in a wonderful community.

We got here through careful stewardship of our resources, knowing what we have, and long-range planning to maintain it.

Through attrition and influx, we have lost much of our linear historic basis of thought and decision making. Our historical conscience if you will.

We need to reestablish long range planning and localized thinking; not using other towns as examples … or alleged State mandates.

Joel Russell, the Planning Consultant hired by The Ad Hoc Zoning Review Committee, stated that our bylaws and Master Plan were basically sound as they stand. They may need some updating, but nothing major or even mandatory.

We suffer from a form of “Buyer’s Remorse” at times where some property owners or residents move here for what we have and represent, but then want to change our community to mirror the area they recently left.

Self-proclaimed experts and misinformation have crept into our community and manifests itself at board meetings and developer speculation proposals.

Financially Stockbridge sits pretty well, but requires vigilance. Promised windfalls of tax dollars need to be weighed against the cost of services, the ability to maintain those services, infrastructure, and the cost of unintended consequences.

Gary Pitney serves on the Planning Board and the Community Preservation Commission.

by by Gary Pitney

Perspective

Influencing Change

Serving as a member of the Stockbridge Select Board involves dealing with dozens of smaller issues while working toward a few larger goals.

Big changes in our government and town bylaws are relatively hard to accomplish, and that’s a good thing. We don’t empower a single person to govern, unlike a mayor, governor or president. Instead, we elect three selectman, a planning board, a moderator who appoints our Finance Committee and a number of other boards, all of whom need to work together to identify problems and develop solutions.

Consensus is the key to town government. That means convincing your colleagues that the challenges need to be addressed and working with them and other boards to come up with the best policies to solve them.

We have so many talented individuals in this town. Want to become more involved? Start by attending our meetings. You can find the schedule on the Town Website Calendar. Find the areas that are of interest to you, and participate. Your voice matters and it will be heard!

Patrick White serves on the Select Board and Conservation Commission.

by by Patrick White