Great Barrington Select Board Meeting — October 5, 2026

The Great Barrington Select Board met on Monday, October 5, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. The board received the town manager's report, approved routine licenses and minutes, reviewed the FY25 audit, heard a one-year update on traffic-calming measures in the East Street/Gilmore/Anderson neighborhoods, discussed FY28 Community Preservation Act applications and the Collins Center EMS study, and acted on two National Grid utility pole petitions. Members of the public spoke at length about the Housatonic Water Works emergency and traffic danger.

Consent Calendar

• Approved the September 14, 2026 meeting minutes as amended (unanimous); the amendment corrected a name in the citizen speak section.
• Approved a one-day beer and wine license for Berkshire Community Land Trust's October 18, 2026 brunch at River Run Farm/Off the Shelf Farm, 200 North Plain Road, 10:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m. (unanimous).
• Approved a retroactive one-day all-alcohol license for the 'Night at the Center' fundraiser held October 2 at 15 Christy Barn (unanimous); this was an administrative carry-over left off the prior agenda.
• Accepted a $191.10 donation to the Great Barrington Libraries and a $100 donation to the Claire McTeague Senior Center from Elizabeth Elliott (unanimous).

Public Comments & Testimony

• Housatonic Water Works: Donald Jacobs (260 Park Street) said a water emergency has existed since December 24, 2025. He reported that Housatonic Water Works' water source is threatened by non-payment and that rate increases are proposed. He described three requests in a draft letter to the Attorney General's Energy and Ratepayer Advocacy Division: intervene with the DPU for emergency/interim relief; investigate Housatonic Water Works' use of ratepayer money, compliance with DEP/DPU orders, and its financial disclosures; and establish an independent escrow or protected payment mechanism so ratepayers can pay into a protected fund rather than the utility.
• Housatonic Water Works: James Garzone (84 North Plain Road) said the Great Barrington Fire District should not be coerced into continuing to supply water, opposed a free takeover, and said the problem has been known for over a decade. He also said businesses are leaving and some seniors feel the town is driving them out.
• Housatonic Water Works: Julie Kay (22 Pleasant Street) reported sudden high water pressure, $2,000 in plumbing repairs, and similar reports from neighbors. She supported the escrow idea, said she is no longer willing to pay her water bill, and urged the town to ask the state for help.
• Housatonic Water Works: Anna Taiga (216 South Street, Housatonic) said she has experienced repeated rate increases, the manganese work is on hold, and she pays about $20 per month extra for whole-house filters despite town grant assistance. She said the roughly 800 Housatonic ratepayers deserve priority and requested weekly formal updates from the town.
• Traffic safety: Aaron Mesh (15 Gilmore Avenue) said the new stop signs are not working; he estimated about 40 percent of drivers fail to stop, described 40–70 mph speeds, vehicles on sidewalks, crashes, and noise at all hours. He said he would personally contribute thousands of dollars for speed humps and warned of a possible fatality.
• Traffic safety: Michelle Bear (70 Division Street) recalled severe speeding in the same neighborhood in the early 1990s and said the town should not wait decades to act. She also questioned the accuracy of radar sign placement near railroad tracks, called for a cruiser on Division Street, and criticized the town's response to her public records request after the September 28 hearing.
• Traffic safety: Other residents from East Street, Cottage Street, and North Plain Road said conditions have worsened, especially with summer construction and the planned state bridge project, and asked the board to seek state traffic-calming funding.
• Community Preservation Act: Frederica Siegel (27 Round Hill Road), co-chair of the Ramsdale Building Committee, said the committee had not been informed or consulted on the proposed Ramsdale Library CPA item.
• Open meeting law training: An attendee asked why the October 6 training for boards and committees is closed to the public. The town manager said it is free state-provided training for current appointed/elected members, is required every two years, and another session will be offered for those considering service.
• Public health: A representative said over 100 people attended a recent flu/COVID clinic and announced two more: October 14, 1:00–3:00 p.m., and October 21, 3:00–6:00 p.m., with homebound options and a call line at 413-243-5540.

Discussion Items

FY25 Audit Review

• Tom Scanlon of Scanlon & Associates presented the town's FY25 financial audit, the firm's eighth year with the town. He reported a clean opinion with no modifications. The federal single-audit threshold was raised from $750,000 to $1 million in 2026; the town remained subject to the audit requirement.
• Key numbers included a $9.7 million OPEB liability (down from $15.7 million in 2017), about $1 million in the OPEB trust, and a roughly $36,000 net pension liability. The general fund unassigned balance was $8 million against an approximately $39 million budget, about 20–21 percent. Certified free cash was $11.2 million, and stabilization was $2.3 million; a $5.1 million accrued marijuana settlement liability explained the lower unassigned balance on the GAAP statements.
• The budget generated about $2.1 million in free cash from revenues, including about $1 million from hotel/motel and cannabis fees (about $640,000 from cannabis tax), $895,000 in appropriation turnbacks, and roughly $3 million from the current-year budget.
• Scanlon said controls over cash, investments, and receivables were good, but bank-transfer cleanup is needed so the correct funds earn interest. He offered to perform additional testing in areas such as police details if the board requested.

Traffic-Calming One-Year Review

• Chief Adam Carlotto presented speed and volume data from the stop-sign pilot installed last year at Gilmore/Anderson, Gilmore, and East/Anderson. Data covered January 1–June 30, 2026; summer data were excluded because of construction-related closures/detours.
• He said the stop signs were a low-cost good-faith effort but were not as effective as hoped. Complaints of rolling stops, rapid acceleration, noise, and lack of enforcement continue.
• Among the 10 radar sign locations, speed compliance ranged from 94.67 percent (Hillside) down to 22 percent on the two Monument Valley Road signs; Main Street was about 44 percent. Six-month volumes ranged from roughly 31,000 vehicles (Hillside) to 1.054 million (Main Street), with about 202,000 on East Street.
• Enforcement is limited: grant-funded overtime from the Governor's Highway Safety Bureau produced the most enforcement, and the current grant cycle has ended. A dedicated traffic unit would be desirable but staffing and budget constraints remain. The chief said technology-based enforcement is currently limited to school bus violations.
• Board members and residents discussed speed humps as the preferred next step. The board asked the administration to come back with options and costs, including speed humps, and to examine whether the upcoming state bridge construction and detours can include neighborhood traffic-calming measures.

FY28 CPA Application Process

• The town manager said FY28 Community Preservation Act applications will need his endorsement before going to the Community Preservation Committee, to better align with capital planning and strategic priorities.
• He is working on a recommendation to fund an ADA-accessible first-floor bathroom renovation at Ramsdale Library. The building's 30 percent improvement trigger has a 36-month window expiring around town meeting, allowing up to about $300,000 in improvements without requiring full building compliance.
• He also proposed a consultant evaluation of the affordable housing trust and CPA process, using Prosperity Way as a test case. This is still a draft and will be discussed further on October 26; public comment will be accepted online.

EMS / Collins Center Study

• The board continued discussion of the September 28 Collins Center ambulance/EMS presentation. Members highlighted the large overlap between fire department and ambulance calls and wanted more operational and financial analysis before choosing among options such as town-operated service, an enterprise entity, or the status quo.
• Fire Chief Turner said the next step is direction from each participating select board. Heather, an online participant, said towns that left the study, including Stockbridge and West Stockbridge, are no longer receiving updates but may still access public materials; the two towns have formed their own partnership and plan their own ambulance service next year.
• No decision was made, but the board asked to bring the parties together and continue the discussion.

Public Hearings

• National Grid petition for one new utility pole and overhead conductors on State Road beginning 10 feet west of the Hillside Avenue centerline and extending approximately 80 feet southwest: approved unanimously.
• National Grid petition for one new pole, guy stub, span guy, anchor, and anchor guy on West Jeffery Road near Maple Avenue: approved unanimously.

Key Outcomes

• Approved minutes, licenses, donations, and both National Grid pole petitions unanimously.
• Select Board member Bill said he would advocate for Governor Healy and the Berkshire delegation to declare a state of emergency over Housatonic Water Works.
• Directed administration to return with traffic-calming options and costs, including speed humps, possibly with a menu of choices, and to engage on state bridge project traffic impacts.
• Directed that FY28 CPA applications be endorsed by the town manager before CPC review; Ramsdale Library bathroom and affordable-housing process evaluation will return on October 26.
• Agreed to continue EMS discussions with more data and a broader group of stakeholders; no structural decision made.
• Housatonic Water Works remains an active issue; residents asked the board to pursue state intervention and weekly public updates.