Page 12 - Benjamin Lamb News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

  City Councilor Jason LaForest had initially submitted the proposal for the creation of a "Fire Hydrant Division" with a request to refer to his Public Safety Committee but on Tuesday night instead asked it be fast-tracked to publication and a second reading.    The rest of the council balked at taking a shortcut in the process, rejecting the motion and voting 7-2 to send the language to the General Government with LaForest and Councilor Marie T. Harpin voting no.    The ordinance relates to issues regarding non-functioning fire hydrants and how information is shared between the W...

  Several city councilors responded with their regrets that the mayor would not run for a third term, and saying they respected what must have been a difficult decision.   "I respect Mayor Bernard's decision as he will get more time to focus on the job instead of an election to finish off his term, which still has 10 months left," said Councilor Keith Bona, the senior member of the council. "A lot can happen in that time."   What will happen in any case is an election and City Councilor Jason LaForest confirmed on Tuesday that he is exploring a run for mayor, noting it was not really...

3:17 The North Adams, Massachusetts city council has rejected a proposal to turn a former school building into 75 units of affordable and market rate housing. City residents attended Tuesday night’s virtual city council meeting to protest the project. Michael Fierro said he represents many who live near the Sullivan Elementary School property on Kemp Avenue. “We propose you demolish the current school building, revitalize and expand Kent Park into a neighborhood park, seeing our tax money put into green initiatives and a community space rather than more infrastructure,” he said. Council...

  This is the second bid on the vacant 12-acre property the council has turned down, the first being a plan for an advanced manufacturing school a year ago.    Xenolith Partners LLC of Bedford, N.Y., and SanoRubin Construction Services LLC of Albany, N.Y., had offered $10,000, well below the assessed value of $2,333,350, and requested a 30-year tax incentive that set the tax bill on each unit and capped increases to 2 percent annually.    It was the only bid on the property, which has been put out for requests for proposals nine times now. Approval would have given Mayor Thomas Ber...

North Adams, Massachusetts city councilor Benjamin Lamb says he won’t be seek a fifth two-year term this fall. The former city council president says he’s