Great Barrington Special Town Meeting Approves Wastewater Funding and Cook's Garage Cleanup on October 19, 2026

On October 19, 2026, the Town of Great Barrington held a special town meeting, called by a warrant dated October 1, 2026, with Moderator Michael Wise presiding. A quorum of 100 voters was present. Voters considered six articles, approving wastewater infrastructure borrowing, authorizing Cook's Garage environmental response funding, correcting a prior appropriation, paying prior-year invoices, taking no action on a hotel/motel zoning change, and funding ambulance capital costs.

Article 1: Wastewater Treatment Plant and Avery Lane Pump Station

• The town voted to appropriate $20,700,000 for design, engineering, permitting, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, equipping, and improvements to the wastewater treatment plant and Avery Lane Pump Station, and authorized borrowing under MGL c.44 §7/8 and c.29C. Because borrowing was involved, the vote was by secret ballot and required a two-thirds majority.
• DPC Engineering and plant staff described a wastewater treatment plant built in the 1970s, now 50+ years old and beyond its typical 20–30 year useful life. Photos showed corroded electrical conduits, collapsed aeration baffles, deteriorating safety railings, seized gates, and a failed quarter-inch pipe. The Avery Lane Pump Station handles three-quarters of plant flow and also needs mechanical and electrical upgrades.
• The project is a renewal, not an expansion. It is funded through the sewer enterprise fund, paid by sewer users, not by the general property tax levy.
• Funding plans include a $350,000 gap grant contingent on approval of Article 1, a pending Long Island Sound nitrogen-removal grant application of up to $6.5 million, and a MassDEP SRF loan: a 20-year term at 2% interest. Sewer rates already include planned 12% annual increases through FY28, with projected ~3% increases FY29–FY31; completion is anticipated by FY30.
• Vote: passed by secret ballot, 148 in favor and 9 opposed.

Article 2: Cook's Garage Environmental Response and Stabilization

• Voters approved a $500,000 transfer from the Capital Stabilization Fund for environmental cleanup, stabilization, project management, regulatory compliance, oversight, and related costs at 426 Park Street, Housatonic, with any unexpended funds returning to the fund.
• Town Manager Liz Hartsgrove explained the town acquired the property by foreclosure judgment on June 7, 2018, after about $114,000 in unpaid certified property taxes. The site is 1.55 acres with a circa-1914 brick building of about 38,500 square feet. A partial collapse on August 20, 2026, sent debris into the Housatonic River, which is part of the GE-Pittsfield Housatonic River Superfund site.
• Work is complicated by debris in the river, the building's structural condition, and hazardous materials including asbestos and lead-based paint. The town is coordinating with MassDEP, EPA, and GE's cleanup team.
• The Capital Stabilization Fund balance was approximately $1.12 million; after the transfer, about $623,000 would remain. The town manager stressed that authorization does not require spending the full $500,000 and that proposed expenditures would go before the Select Board at public meetings.
• Public comments and questions included: why the town acquired the property (the previous owner walked away from unpaid taxes); the current assessed value ($235,000); whether the property could be sold now (staff said no viable market given estimated remediation costs of $2–3 million); and the cost of full demolition (estimated at over $3 million and not grant-eligible). Fred Clark spoke in support, warning that another collapse could let DEP/EPA take control and cause costs to rise exponentially.
• Finance Committee member Jeff Rothenberg said the Finance Committee deadlocked rather than recommending the article; some members favored a smaller encumbrance of $250,000–$300,000.
• Vote: passed by show of hands, not unanimously.

Article 3: Scrivener's Error Correction

• Voters unanimously approved amending the May 2, 2026 annual town meeting vote to correct a scrivener's error: the $140,000 appropriation and transfer from free cash for firefighter salaries is identified as fiscal year 2027 instead of fiscal year 2026. No additional appropriation or funding source change was made.

Article 4: Prior-Year Invoices

• Voters unanimously approved paying $6,484 in fiscal year 2026 invoices from available fiscal year 2027 appropriations: $6,190 to Railroad Street Youth Project and $294 to Eagle Shoe and Boot Company.
• The town manager explained the invoices arrived after fiscal year-end closing, the funds were not carried forward, and Massachusetts municipal finance law requires town meeting approval. Eagle Shoe is out of business, but the town remains responsible for the debt.
• The moderator noted this vote required a nine-tenths majority; it passed unanimously.

Article 5: Hotel/Motel Room Limit Amendment – No Action

• Voters approved a motion to take no action on a proposed zoning bylaw amendment that would eliminate the existing 45-room limit for hotels and motels.
• The Select Board explained that the Planning Board opened its public hearing on October 15, 2026, and voted to continue it to December 10, 2026, because of procedural concerns about shortened review. The moderator noted that state law (MGL c.40A §5) prohibited a vote on the merits because the Planning Board had not issued a report. A Select Board member said the board continued to support the substance and hoped it would return at the May town meeting.

Article 6: Southern Berkshire Ambulance Capital Funding

• Voters approved transferring $47,838 from the Capital Stabilization Fund to Southern Berkshire Ambulance Squad Inc. for the town's fiscal year 2027 capital assessment for replacement ambulances.
• The motion's proponent recounted that the squad's November 2025 service proposal was $462,514, later separated into operating and capital expenses. The May Town Meeting appropriated about $327,000 for operating costs, which was unsustainable; subsequent action brought support to roughly $414,000, and a contract was eventually signed. The current request covers the capital portion for two replacement ambulances.
• The Select Board voted unanimously not to recommend the article, citing concern about settling multi-year capital funding through the contract rather than annual town meeting votes, not about service quality. Public speakers supported the article, noting the four other member towns had already contributed, and the existing ambulances are at the end of useful service; new ambulances would be larger and four-wheel drive.
• Vote: passed by show of hands.

Key Outcomes

• Article 1: $20.7 million wastewater project authorized; borrowing approved by secret ballot (148–9).
• Article 2: $500,000 from Capital Stabilization authorized for Cook's Garage; passed not unanimously.
• Article 3: FY26 reference corrected to FY27; passed unanimously.
• Article 4: $6,484 in prior-year invoices approved; passed unanimously.
• Article 5: No action on removing the 45-room hotel/motel limit; hearing continued to Dec 10, 2026.
• Article 6: $47,838 ambulance capital assessment approved despite Select Board non-recommendation.