Voters in the community of around 8,000 in Northern Berkshire County approved every item on the meeting warrant except for one. Article 9, a citizen’s petition, would officially request a home rule petition from the state legislature to establish a Greylock Glen Commission. The move would shift the fate of Adams’ recently opened, long awaited new multipurpose facility at the foot of the tallest mountain in Massachusetts from the town’s hands into the new body.
“Even before the building, the Greylock Glen Outdoor Center was built, years ago, we decided to try to get ahead of things and working with Representative John Barrett and Joe Thompson, the former director of MASS MoCA. We put on the town meeting agenda words that would go to the legislature to approve to create a Greylock Glen Commission. It did go there, and on two occasions, the bill died in committee. We believe that the legislature was looking for more supportive information on actually what this commission will be responsible for and what the makeup will be, things like that," Adams select board chair John Duval explained to WAMC. “However, after years have gone by and after we completed the Greylock Glen Outdoor Center, the town has- What we're doing is, we're following a master lease that was signed and approved October 17th, 2014 with the commonwealth, that, they still own the land up there, the Greylock Glen. However, we are the tenant. And there's even in this master lease, the four phases of the project, of the economic development project for Adams, there’s four phases of it, and the Greenland Glen Outdoor Center, which we have now since completed, is the first phase. So, if a commission was agreed upon, the commission would take over this master lease. The town of Adams itself would no longer be the tenant. It would be the Greylock Glen Commission, and they would receive the funding that comes with that operating up there.”
Duval says he’s concerned the move would concentrate too much power in the hands of the commission.
“What I had thought all this time was that the town itself would be able to reap the benefits of this project up there, which would in turn help with the real estate payments that our residents are making and keep them under control and also generate new businesses as a result of the Glen up there," he said. "But however, if this commission is approved, this commission would have all the authority and would have all the profits go to this commission for a future development to keep working on the Glen for years to come.”
The select board chair says Adams wants to see a return on investment after decades of waiting for the Greylock Glen project to come to life.
“The next couple phases- The campground, which, we have a lease already signed, we're working that, and we have a café operator that, we're working finalizing the lease with them, who’s going to be at the Greylock Glen Outdoor Center," Duval listed. "And then the amphitheater is a phase, outdoor amphitheater, and also the lodge conference center, which will have over 100 rooms up there.”
Duval says the Adams select board will eventually present a new plan for how to handle the Greylock Glen at a town meeting to come, but did not commit to a deadline.
“It's time now for my generation to really prepare the community of Adams for the next generation so it doesn't have to go through the struggles that we have had for the last 50 years in our community," he said. "It’s a great community. We really have a great quality of life here, and we have apartments being built in the Memorial School with the 25 new apartments that were approved last night. So, we're heading in the right direction to get to have this community be a great place to raise your family, and you can work outside our community like I do. But it's a great place to live and to raise your family. So, quality life is key here, outdoor recreation- So, that's what we need to develop the baseline for the future, for our next generation.”
The Greylock Glen held its grand opening in October, some 50 years after the concept was first suggested.
Local leaders like Democratic State Representative John Barrett of the 1st Berkshire District have been bullish on its potential impact on the region.
“I honestly believe this is the single most important economic development project that's going to happen over the next 25 years in Northern Berkshire," said Barrett.
