Reader to Reader

Carole,

While cycling down Tyringham valley today, I admired the historic watering trough, and I

recalled the old trough in our town that I had enjoyed for many years. I think the inscription was "utility is preferable to grandeur"?

I ask if my recollection of the proverb is correct? And what has happened to our trough? I am saddened every day when I pass by the site of the old watering trough. Since you are in the know and someone who our Town Administrator respects and listens to, are you able to provide a status update? I fear for its demise.

Sincerely

Alan Wilken

Hi Alan,

Thank you for your note. As far as I know it is out for repairs and will be returned soon.

Carole

To the Select Board cc: Stockbridge Updates

Dear Jamie and Chuck,

I would like to have the Public Comment included on the select board meeting agendas.

Actually, I am amazed it was taken out of meetings in the first place. Three minutes sounds like a reasonable time to allow someone to speak.

At the last meeting there was plenty of time to bring up some questions that were on people’s minds.

Aside from our Highway Supt problem, the Tennis courts on Pine - talk to Dickie Peretti. We have done several courts with him at nowhere near the numbers you are talking about. We moved 2 THOUSAND yards of material and installed a new court in a hillside in Hillsdale for less than $300,000. See Pictures below.

Dear Members of the Select Board,

Cc: Stockbridge Updates

I am writing to express my strong support for the preservation and restoration of the Pine Street tennis courts. I respectfully urge the Board to consider renovating the courts with a proper foundation to ensure their usability for the remaining 44 years of the lease. The existing foundation, likely set in the mid-1970s, is now over 50 years old and showing signs of significant wear. A thoughtful investment in renovation would provide exceptional long-term value.

Stockbridge has long taken pride in its commitment to preserving the beauty and character of our town through investments in its monuments, gardens, and historic architecture. That tradition is important, but equally important is our investment in spaces that support the vitality, health, and well-being of our living community. The Pine Street courts offer exactly that kind of return.

It’s important to note that the current underuse of the Pine Street courts is not due to lack of interest, but rather to their unsafe condition. Cracked and uneven surfaces make play hazardous. This is a maintenance issue, not a demand issue, and the drop in use reflects the town’s disinvestment, not the community’s disinterest.

Financially, the opportunity is clear. With no tax burden on the leased land and 44 years remaining on the lease, restoring these courts now ensures decades of community benefit at a relatively modest cost when amortized over time. Compared to other recent town projects, this is a high-impact, fiscally responsible investment.

At the same time, we recognize the growing demand for pickleball facilities. A smart solution would be to restore Pine Street as dedicated tennis courts and designate the Town Park courts for pickleball This division of use, already successful in towns like Lenox, reduces conflict, maximizes use, and allows each sport to grow.

From a planning and noise perspective, pickleball is far better suited to the Town Park, which already has restrooms, playgrounds, and a future performance area. Pine Street is a quiet residential area where tennis, already part of the soundscape, is a far more compatible fit.

Relying on the courts at Monument Mountain Regional High School as an alternative is not realistic. Those courts are in disrepair, shared by students and the Berkshire Hills Tennis Association and located outside the town center. Encouraging residents and visitors to go elsewhere weakens our effort to keep people engaged with Stockbridge businesses and gathering places.

Walking away from a long-term lease with 44 years remaining would be deeply short-sighted. The town made a commitment, not just to Austen Riggs, but to its own residents, to maintain this space for active use. Abandoning that responsibility sends the wrong message.

As for alternative ideas, such as installing concrete chess tables or a passive park could be appropriate enhancements to the Town Park, where they would complement existing and planned amenities. But what residents and visitors need most are well-maintained, accessible places to move, gather, and connect. Tennis and pickleball provide those benefits powerfully and simply. Numerous studies show that people who play racquet sports live longer, healthier lives—physically, mentally, and socially.

This is a chance for Stockbridge to honor its past commitments while investing in a healthier, more vibrant future. I hope the Board will choose to restore the Pine Street courts and retain this valuable community asset.

Sincerely,

Joseph Tonetti

Dear Carole,

Thank you for all the reporting, thoughtful editorials and publicity you offer to the happenings of Stockbridge! It is impressive - each of your publications different and yet each is an important addition to the wellbeing of the Town.

What could be happening anywhere else? (Haha !!) Well, LWV CBC will hold an annual meeting for members and friends at the Lenox Library because it is open and available in the early evening.

Thank you, Carole, for squeezing in the notice in time in this edition of SU.

On a personal note, I will be sharing my role as president of the local LWV chapter with Mose Olenik of Great Barrington. Her contact is oceanmose@gmail.com. She is copied on this. We have worked closely together over the last year. and we look forward to joint efforts in the future.

Kind regards,

Ramelle Pulitzer

To the editor:

I have been surprised by the number of “Vote Yes on Monument” signs lining the roads of Stockbridge. One thing appears clear: these signs are appearing in front of houses that rarely post any political signs on the front lawns. Are these new residents of town with children who moved from elsewhere in the ‘great escape’ of Covid-19? I think they are. I also think these new town voters are in a position to lobby not only the Stockbridge Select Board but also the new residents in West Stockbridge and Great Barrington are in the same position.

Lobby their Select Boards to do what? Adopt The Residential Tax Exemption.

It is fact that during Covid outlanders from wherever actually bought homes here sight un-seen and for cash. There were bidding wars and those with substantial resources paid “over asking price” to assure their purchase. The result is: it is these very folks who drove our real estate values and property taxes through the roof. Again it was these folks who have put many in positions where their property tax burden is beyond their reach.

In his September 4 column Berkshire Edge writer Michael Wise wrote “South County Towns should adopt RTE or The Residential Tax Exemption.” Wherein he spells out a detailed explanation of what would happen to “ordinary people’s” (or local’s) residential property tax rates. The article left it in-disputable the 3 Select Boards should adopt the RTE during their tax classification hearing in October. Search and read this column.

Those who oppose it on these Select Boards say it’s anti-growth, it’s divisive. To those members of these Boards I say ‘nonsense”. These Selectmen/women are elected to serve THEIR CONSTITUENTS!. Who are their constituents? They are the ones who voted them into office. They are the very folks who could find legal tax relief if they adopted the RTE. Second homeowners paid absurdly high prices for their 2nd homes.

During October Select Boards with no constituent input decide whether to adopt it or not. During October I suggest you attend Select Board meetings and lobby them. Speak out! Write letters! Tell them to vote yes on the RTE. It will make the impact of the New Construction of Monument affordable for our residents and voters.

John Hart

Carole,

Wonderful newsletter!

I live in Lenox and don't necessarily have a dog in the hunt regarding Stockbridge Community events, although it seems my 38 years managing the former Shadowbrook Estate grounds for Kripalu I've established an affinity for your community. I am Kripalu's historian of sorts, not ever close to your historian capacities. I manage Bullard Woods property for the SBA as well, I am a groundskeeper without borders.

I do have an extensive amount of photographs taken over the years of landscapes, wildlife and human interactions on the landscape. Also of Shadowbrook in its prime, your historical publication sits on my shelf which inspires me.

I love the sense of community you are currying with the newsletter, its no easy feat to publish it in a world of polarities, and I like its simplicity. I am sending a pictures of the landscape from Olivia's overlook to the lake taken in a Fall morning, I call it Hope on the Horizon. Also a picture of Old man Winter trying to sneak pass us on a snowy night at kripalu.

I hope you can use them or at least enjoy.

Kevin Foran aka Moose

Photo: Patrick White