Adams Seek Funding for Town Common and SBA Celebration

The Adams Selectmen have approved a letter in support of a state budget amendment that would secure funds for the Susan B. Anthony Memorial Park.

iBerkshires.com reports  Town Administrator Jay Green told the board on Wednesday that he had received communications from Sen. Adam Hinds' office in regard to a state budget amendment that would secure nearly $50,000 for the park.

The town plans to hold a celebration in 2020 marking Anthony's 200th birthday and the 100th anniversary of the passing of the 19th Amendment that gave women the right to vote. The Adams Suffrage Centennial Committee was formed a few years ago to steer this process and set a goal of $300,000 to fund the celebration and erect a statue to Anthony.

The group has reached funding levels needed to have the statue made but Selectman and Adams Suffrage Centennial Committee member Joseph Nowak said there is still more work to do.

The statue is slated to stand on the Town Common, which the town plans to overhaul at a cost of $425,000. Nowak said the common is in bad shape.

The annual town meeting warrant will include an article that will appropriate this amount hopefully mostly through a grant. The plan is to allocate $127,000 from free cash and apply for a $297,500 grant.