The body was presented with $150,000 in state funding that would establish a shuttle between the Southern Berkshire Community and Wassaic, the northern terminal of the Metro-North Railroad’s Harlem Line in Amenia, New York. The funding, filed by former Democratic State Senator Adam Hinds, proved controversial to the selectboard as it was packaged with a lower sum aimed at ameliorating the long-running issues with water quality in the village of Housatonic. Selectboard member Ed Abrahams offered some context to WAMC.
“There has been apparently forever water quality issues in Housatonic that has gotten worse in the last two years. So, every now and again in hot weather, when they would flush the line, they would get what's called roily water, which is a polite way of saying ‘icky,’" said Abrahams. "The Department of Environmental Protection, that’s a state department, which regulates the water quality says it's safe to drink. But anyone looking at a glass of this stuff, it looks like they're anywhere from tea to coffee, wouldn't drink it. But it doesn't have dangerous stuff in it. Recently, they found out well, maybe it does have some dangerous stuff in it, but it doesn't hit the level that they worry about.”
With the commonwealth slow to act on the issue and the town facing an over $30 million bill to take over the waterworks and the 800 customers it serves, frustration is building in Great Barrington.
“Another option is another private water company that recently bought the Sheffield Water," said Abrahams. "It has expressed interest and said they would look at it. Another option was merging with the Great Barrington Water District. At our last meeting, they said they weren't interested. So, we're still pursuing any options we can. You know, if we were, if the town or a private company were to buy it tomorrow, it's still going to take time to fix, so it's frustrating and maddeningly slow, the process. Meanwhile, people of Housatonic have brown water and they can't do laundry, they can’t bathe children. It's really not acceptable. The problem is it's also not fixable quickly.”
Selectboard member and Housatonic resident Eric Gabriel, who was elected in 2021 on promises to promote the village’s needs on the body, voiced his displeasure about the shuttle money Monday night.
“I guess it kind of shows where Senator Hinds’ priorities are, and how he makes it known with his, the way he's put the money figure next to each one, which I find kind of upsetting," he said. "I feel it confirms what we've been saying in Housatonic for a while, that no one on state level’s really listening to our issues. I know there's been a ton of letters and everything else. It just makes me extremely frustrated how this is coming out. This $150,000 should go towards, go in with the same pile of money, that bit of money that we got for the water, to help alleviate the pain for the water in Housatonic.”
Gabriel moved to send that request to Democratic Governor-elect Maura Healey, who will replace outgoing two-term Republican Charlie Baker next month.
“I would like to ask maybe our new governor if, since our old governor didn't have the time to even respond to the letters that the selectboard sent, that the Board of Health sent, anybody else, that maybe we can make an appeal to our new governor, when it's in place, they'll transfer this money so it can go towards alleviating the pain we're having in Housatonic and the water crisis that we have there,” said Gabriel.
Chair Stephen Bannon agreed.
“It's unfortunate to me the way this was presented to us," he said. "It really is unfortunate. To put $100,000 for Housatonic customers and $150,000 for the transportation shuttle service in the same bill is really unfortunate. Because if I had my druthers, and if anyone had asked me, and no one asked any of us, I think both could be funded. But I would love to see $250,000 for Housatonic water.”
Vice Chair Leigh Davis pushed back against wholly moving to dump the shuttle service.
“I think that we can accept the money and do what it's earmarked for and keep the pressure up," she argued. "I don't really think that taking it and saying hey, we're not thankful, you should be using it for this, I don't think that's really helpful. And I worry about that relationship that we’ve had with our state legislators to turn something like this down. But I absolutely agree that Housatonic waterworks needs to be a number one priority. But I don't think that this should be either or.”
Selectboard member Garfield Reed said that the shuttle service doesn’t best represent the most pressing needs of the community.
“I personally think the money should be probably used elsewhere," he said. "I don't see, myself personally, this my opinion, it being a shuttle that's going to help most of the people in Great Barrington. Not at all, not at all. We have a housing problem, this and that and the other thing. A lot of these people that need workforce housing and are having the affordable housing problem, etc., and the people that we have here aren't going to be going to New York City using a shuttle. I think that's not anywhere I'd want to put my monies at all. I'd rather see it deferred or keeping the pressure on, of course, the state. But the shuttle doesn't float my boat.”
The board voted to ask Governor-elect Healey to move the shuttle funding in with the Housatonic waterworks funding in one $250,000 allotment, with only Davis in opposition.
