Vol. V No. 17 9/1/2024
SU FYI
1. Vote! Vote! Vote! Vote! Tuesday September 3 Primary Election Day
Ways to vote:
Mail-in ballots can be returned in the drop boxes outside Town Hall until close of polls, 8 pm on Tuesday Sept. 3. It's too late to mail it.
In-Person voting is any time Clerk's office Town Offices
Election Day is Tuesday, September 3rd: 7am to 8pm in the Senior Center on the ground floor of the Town Offices
Check the town website for specimen ballots. https://www.stockbridge-ma.gov/town-clerk/page/information-september-3-2024-state-primary
New Online Dashboard
2. Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) is excited to announce the release of a new online dashboard that provides visual and detailed information about the safety of our roads in Berkshire County. Throughout the year, BRPC has been working to develop a Comprehensive Safety Action Plan for the region. Funded by the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) federal program, this project is named the Safe Travel and Equity Plan for our Streets (STEPS) initiative.
The efforts have included meetings and opportunities for public input, with assistance from consultation partners, BETA Group, Inc., who have worked to develop our new Data Dashboard and Public Input Mapping Tool. This dashboard aims to provide an interactive tool for community leaders, stakeholders, and members of the public to see which areas of Berkshire County have the highest risks of serious and fatal crashes.
Visit the dashboard HERE to get started. You can switch between the Data Dashboard and Public Input Mapping Tool using the tabs at the top of the screen.
In the Data Dashboard, users can view crash statistics for the county by default and individual communities by selecting from the menu in the top-right corner. This helpful tool provides the exact locations of high crash and fatality areas, visualizes this information on the map, and provides charts and graphs with additional context and information about crash statistics.
The Public Input Map Tool allows users to submit comments on the map where they would like to highlight a known or potential safety risk. To do so, place a point in the map toolbox in the bottom-right corner and select the type of concern. Users can even submit photos to provide more context for their concerns.
By continuing our focus on a data-driven approach to collecting qualitative and quantitative safety information, we strive to provide valuable data to inform local decision-makers. BRPC is confident that this asset will provide a new opportunity for public participation, which can be used to implement roadway safety improvements in our region.
3. Berkshires Outside website helps residents explore and helps protect natural resources from overuse
BRPC launched www.berkshiresoutside.org in early 2024 to help residents and visitors discover more of the outdoors. Since its launch, the site has hosted nearly 50,000 sessions.
Remember to check it out as we approach fall and perfect weather for visits to our county's special places.
4. What does a new home cost in Berkshire County?
BRPC has access to the online building permit program for 20 communities in the county and can view high-level data on these permits. The price of new home construction has increased significantly over the years and has become unattainable for many county residents. The current average price for new home construction in the 18 months from January 2023 to June 2024 is $647,669, approximately $200,000 more than from 2017-2020. This covers 164 buildings permitted.
These prices do not tell the whole story of new homes, however. The homes can be broken into four categories — affordable housing through agencies like Habitat for Humanity, owner-built, modular, and traditional stick-built by a contractor. In the last 18 months, 26 residential buildings built by affordable housing agencies have been permitted with an average price of $217,089 per unit ($217,000 median). This price is mostly for materials, as these agencies often rely heavily on volunteers for construction.
Owner-built new housing, where the owner serves as the contractor, of which there have been 45 permitted, has an average price of $392,197 ($310,000 median). These homes, which tend to be larger than affordable housing homes, are also subsidized by the owner volunteering their labor for the construction. Modular homes, which are pre-assembled and transported to the building site, of which 29 have been permitted, have an average price of $410,577 ($309,165 median). Modular homes are built in a factory and tend to be more efficient in material use and time due to the controlled conditions. The final category of homes is traditional stick-built homes built by a contractor for an owner. There have been 78 permitted homes with an average price of $975,704 ($724,334 median).
Looking at all new homes during the last 18 months, 24 have been permitted for over $1,000,000, 46 homes have been permitted that range from $500,000 to $999,999, and 94 are below $500,000, with the majority of these lower-priced homes built by owners or affordable housing agencies.
Photo: Jan Wojcik