North Adams, Hoosic River Revival to Host Meeting About Flood Control

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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A multi-year feasibility study now underway by the US Army Corps of Engineers ("Corps"), City of North Adams and Hoosic River Revival is evaluating options to modernize the Hoosic River flood risk management system in North Adams.
 
To inform this work, the City and Hoosic River Revival are seeking public input on the kinds of access and recreation opportunities that would be most meaningful to area residents. A community workshop is planned to share information about the feasibility study progress, to show examples of placemaking, and to explore the community's interests in riverside access, recreation, culture and community gathering spaces.
 
The meeting will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 4 from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. It will be held in the City Council Chambers at City Hall.
 
People can also attend via zoom  with this link.
 
Modernization is intended to enhance flood protection and climate resilience, and restore river ecology displaced by the concrete flood chutes.
 
The study area encompasses the entire extent of the Hoosic River in North Adams. The study has progressed over the past year, and it is expected that a recommended modernization plan will be available by the end of 2025.
 
Local partners are working with the Corps to find ways to ensure that the modernization plan also includes opportunities for the creation of new public spaces, recreation opportunities that will connect the river to City life, and contribute to the economy.
 
This opportunity is called "placemaking" because it looks wholistically at the river and surrounding landscape, and involves the collaborative efforts of community members and stakeholders to create places that promote community health and well-being, stated a press release.
 
 
 
 

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North Adams Council Looks to AG for Assurances on Federal Grant

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — City officials want to know if the attorney general will defend them if they refuse to abide by certain provisions in a federal grant for the Police Department. 
 
The City Council on Tuesday voted to postpone action until Nov. 10 on a fiscal year 2025 Edward Bernard Memorial Justice Assistant Grant after an hour of debate and hearing from more than a half-dozen audience members in opposition.  
 
"Let's take all the time that we have. Let's wait for them to actually do their due diligence and fight these provisions and, hopefully, win, and then it's not a problem at all, and everybody's happy, and we take care of it," said Council President Ashley Shade. "And if they don't get the provisions out, let's make sure that they're willing to defend us if we accept it. And if they are, let's fight them. Let's fight them on this."
 
The U.S. Department of Justice grant for $14,231 is to update the department's overstuffed evidence room to aid its accreditation process. But new requirements within the contract about active or passive cooperation with federal agencies, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, have raised fears within the council and community. 
 
Mayor Jennifer Macksey and Police Chief Mark Bailey had explained the need for an evidence room two weeks ago and assured that Police Department didn't deal with civil matters like immigration, but the council rejected the grant. Shade motioned for it be reconsidered for discussion, which passed. 
 
Audience members spoke out in opposition to accepting the grant, often to applause. 
 
"We cannot trust that they aren't attaching strings that we think, in good faith, could not happen," said Sarah Farnsworth from North Adams. "That they could not make us do things that we are protected from in the Constitution. And we have seen over and over that somehow that manages to happen."
 
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