Cheshire to Hold Special Election Monday

CHESHIRE, Mass. — A special town election will take place on Monday to vote on two ballot questions. 

The special election will take place Aug. 4 between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. in the cafeteria of the Community House. 

Voters will decide whether to allow the town to be exempt from Proposition 2 1/2 to pay for a three-year borrowing of $67,150 for a police cruiser. 

During the June town meeting, voters authorized the purchase of the cruiser. However, it also requires a ballot vote to exclude it from Proposition 2 1/2.

The item was voted on by ballot last year but failed after passing at the annual town meeting. 

According to the minutes for the June 10, 2024, annual town meeting, Police Chief Michael Alibozek explained that the school resource officer would need a vehicle stationed at the school for storage and transportation. 

Voters will also decide whether to approve uncombining the treasurer and collector position, separating them into two part-time positions. 

The proposal was approved after discussion during this year's annual town meeting in June. However, it also has to be adopted by a town ballot vote.

The office has one full-time employee and a part-time employee; the approval authorizes it to be changed to two part-time employees.

Treasurer/Collector Ben Gelb, who started in the position part time in March, explained that he will be working 19 1/2 hours and will be in the office on Tuesdays and Fridays, as needed. His salary will be $40,000 and any balance leftover will go into free cash. 

Gelb said he is confident he will be able to complete his responsibilities within the allotted time because he is doing "half the job." He said in the six other towns he works for, he has been able to offset his salary by increasing revenue and cutting costs. 

More information here. 

From Empty Storefronts to New Opportunities, Park Street Eyes a Comeback

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
05:07AM / Tuesday, August 25, 2026

The latest Park Street sale is the 1890 Carlow building, a Queen Ann flatiron, purchased this past spring. The former owners ran Coffee Liberation Front until retiring. 

ADAMS, Mass. — For several years, Park Street has seen a steady stream of businesses open their doors, only to close again after brief operations. Now, some are hopeful of a new beginning, with new businesses bringing fresh energy to the area.

 

Some residents can remember a time when people walked the streets of downtown Adams to shop or eat, whether it was getting your photo taken at Smith Studio, shopping at Schiff Clothing or Groves & Co. Women Apparel, or having lunch or ice cream at The Crest. 

 

Over time, storefronts closed, and the once-bustling street grew quieter, with fewer people on the sidewalks and parking spaces sitting empty.

 

Adams is a very walkable town, said Glen Diehl, who sits on ProAdams Board of Directors.  

 

Diehl highlighted ProAdams' destinations map that sits at the corner of Park Street and the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail. 

 

The town needs restaurants and businesses he said, and as more move in the nonprofit will update the map. 

 

Small-town retail corridors face challenges from the shift to online shopping and the high cost of renovating historic buildings to meet modern codes, real estate agent Jeffrey Loholdt of Engel and Volkers Wellesley.