image description — One option for a public safety building includes the town's ambulance service.

Lanesborough Advancing Two Public Safety Building Options

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:09AM / Tuesday, March 11, 2025Print Story | Email Story

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The Select Board has voted to advance two public safety complex options for public review.

A $7.3 million facility could hold police and emergency medical services under one roof and, for $6.5 million, the departments could have their own buildings.

The final choice will be in the hands of residents at a town meeting.

In 2023, voters rejected a proposed $5.9 million police/EMS complex 139-214. The committee thought that it was a good proposal and asked that the cost be updated for another try.

The 7,222 square-foot combined police and EMS build would cost about $7,365,868. Alternatively, a 4,814-square-foot police station with a separate two or three-bay EMS facility would $6,509,900.

All options would be constructed at 405 South Main St., the former Skyline Country Club.

The committee recently presented five options to the board and proposals for just a police station were scrapped. After hearing from leaders of the Police, Fire, and EMS departments the board recognized that EMS is a top priority.

The Fire Department was eliminated from designs after the planners found that a station would cost $27 million on its own.

The EMS department is currently housed in the fire station at 180 South Main St. which is owned by the Fire Association. It has been asked to leave because of insufficient space. The Select Board discussed progressing the EMS building first at an estimated cost of $2,851,282.

Before the police/EMS facility was rejected in 2023, Lanesborough was earmarked $1 million in funding through the state bond passed by the Legislature in 2022. With voter approval, the funds can be released for the project and more money can be requested each year.

Last year, the Select Board voted to work with RCAP Solutions as a consultant in the financing application to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development program.

The USDA's Community Facilities Program can help provide funding for public safety buildings to purchase equipment but typically, the grant funds cannot be used for construction itself. This would require a USDA loan, which requires more financial work to prove that the town can repay the debt.

Tags: public safety buildings, public safety committee,

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Fenton: Governor's Council Must Deliver for the Berkshires

Community submissionGuest Column
10:22AM / Friday, August 28, 2026

I am a Springfield lawyer running for Governor's Council and I am asking for Berkshire County residents to support me over an incumbent from North Adams.

Here's why: Last year I learned about staffing issues in our regional courts that I could not ignore. In 2025, it was reported that four of Western Massachusetts' 11 Superior Court judgeships were vacant, all at the same time. A few weeks later, that grew to five vacancies. This meant there were only six Superior Court judges serving all of Western Mass at a time when Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin, and Hampden counties had more than 100 pending homicide cases.

Those numbers were alarming to me, so I started to engage with leaders in the community who work most closely with the court system and I came to learn that these vacancies were only the tip of the iceberg here in Berkshire County.

I learned that no Superior Court or District Court judge had been appointed from the Berkshires since the current incumbent took office. As a result, there is not a single Superior Court judge who lives in the Berkshires today, and several of the District Court judges drive in from other counties to support Berkshire courts in Pittsfield, Great Barrington, and North Adams. Court staff also informed me about severe staffing shortages at the Berkshire Clerk of Courts office resulting in other counties needing to loan staff to the Berkshires just so hardworking employees can take a brief and planned summer vacation. This is not normal. These issues are a reflection of genuine problems with the Berkshire County court system and show a lack of proactive attention from our Governor's Councilor.

Instead of focusing on regional equity, I watched as the current incumbent celebrated that she has voted against the governor's nominees more than any other councilor, without much explanation as to why. Most recently, she voted against two extremely qualified former prosecutors for the Parole Board. This was despite an in-person plea from the governor and a letter of support from all the three of the district attorney's from Western Mass. Those votes do not show independence or standing up for principles, they demonstrate naivete, and an unwillingness to work with the key stakeholders.

I had seen and heard enough. I decided to jump in the race and challenge the incumbent to address these problems head-on.

I am a partner of a regional law firm. I understand our courts and the importance of having qualified, fair and hardworking judges. And I know how important it is to have judges from the Berkshires serving the Berkshires. To achieve that, you need strong relationships with the legal community and local stakeholders. You need to know how to use the power of the Governor's Council to fight forcefully for our region. And you need to be laser focused on identifying vacancies before they occur so that they can be filled quickly with local candidates.

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