Peter J. Most is a member of the California, New York, and Massachusetts bars, practicing complex business litigation. He has been living with his family in Great Barrington since 2018, practicing law remotely.
A town whose service economy runs on tourism—whose restaurants, shops, and theaters live and die by the visitor—has written into its own law a hard ceiling on the one thing visitors most need (a place to sleep).
Four articles await voters at Great Barrington's Special Town Meeting. Decisions on two are easy, one less so, and one deserves a hard “you’ve got to be kidding me, no.” Please consider the following a primer for how to vote on Monday night (and, please, do come vote).
This is not a town that ignored its contractor and banked the work. It is a town that caught a problem and refused to ratify it. A documented, good-faith dispute over whether money is even owed is a very different thing from foot-dragging on an undisputed bill.
The designation does not obligate the town to take any specific action, but it does open doors. It offers a hand, and boy, when it comes to housing, we could sure use a hand.
Make no mistake, it is not only Southern Berkshire Ambulance that will be harmed if the Selectboard can undemocratically handcuff Town Meeting voters. The power rests with the voters. Long before it was an anthem, Town Meeting was the original “power to the people.” It should never be otherwise.
While State Rep. Leigh Davis is working on behalf of Great Barrington in this legislative session, the next question is: What can the town do on a parallel track?
Times have changed, but the formula remains stuck in 1949. The wealth disparities between neighboring towns simply did not exist at anything like their current scale. The founders of the regional school system could not have foreseen the inequity their formula has imposed on most towns today.
A new state designation under the Affordable Homes Act could give Great Barrington voluntary tools to preserve year-round housing for essential workers—but only if voters say yes at Annual Town Meeting.
We can honor the value of libraries while still asking the hard question: Are we funding a modern public need or maintaining a nostalgic institution whose scale no longer matches the town’s priorities in an era of diminishing resources?
When the walls are crumbling and the systems failing, achievement suffers. When modern spaces are designed for light, collaboration, and current learning models, students thrive.
