GB Town Meeting OK’d More Than a Water Bottle Ban

While the now-approved historic ban on the sale of water bottles got a lot of attention at Great Barrington's Town Meeting this week, voters had other issues to decide.

The Berkshire Record reports that over 300 people gathered in Monument Mountain Regional High School’s auditorium for nearly four hours. Among the other articles, voters approved an $11.3 million operating budget and $16.1 million school budget at the annual town meeting, which come with a $23.3 million tax levy. The tax levy came in at 8 percent above the previous year. Successfully adopted amendments on the town meeting floor added almost $30,000 in funding for several key town services.

As in many other towns, voters were given a say on how to proceed with the state-approved retail marijuana issue. Town Meeting members passed a bylaw establishing local oversight of recreational marijuana establishments. Included was an amendment that would require all interested marijuana manufacturers to get a special permit from the Select Board.  Voters decided the Select Board, not the Planning Board, should be the permitting authority.