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Report on Existing County Service C. CLEAN RIVERS PROGRAM
1. Background
The Program is also supported indirectly by the Commissioners' staff. They provide all of the administrative support, including answering phones, drafting letters, sending and receiving mail, billing, budgeting, acting as liaison between the program and its clients and the public, handling the payroll account, working with the public, administering grants, and providing all bookkeeping services, such as maintaining daily ledgers. The County Treasurer's Office also provides indirect in-kind support through management of the accounts, budget, and payroll. Additional in kind services are provided by the towns who participate in this service, as a condition of the annual state grant, which is discussed below. Service: Under an agreement with Massachusetts DEM, Division of Waterways, the Clean Rivers Program annually spends approximately three and one-half months working throughout the County with towns and cities to remove debris, mostly trees and large tree limbs, from County rivers and streams. The program is not properly equipped to remove the larger trees from major streams and rivers. The towns and cities for which work is performed must provide an equal matching contribution of in-kind service to the program. Such in-kind contributions usually include manual labor and equipment to collect and dispose of debris retrieved from rivers and streams.
2. Actual Service Usage
Regarding recent usage, the following towns participated in the Clean Rivers Program during the last two years: 1998 1997 Beckett Adams Lanesborough Pittsfield Mt. Washington New Marlborough New Marlborough Williamstown Pittsfield Sheffield Washington Williamstown In assessing service usage, it is helpful to know that in 1997 a Berkshire County Task Force survey found that sixteen of the thirty-two towns and cities indicated support for the Clean Rivers Program. County records indicated in 1997 that fourteen of the thirty-two towns and cities had participated in the program.
3. Service Costs and Funding
Indirect costs related to the Clean Rivers Program include in-kind contributions by the Commissioners' staff and the County Treasurers' Office, as discussed above. The cost of these contributions is very difficult to quantify. A reasonable estimate, however, of the time they spend per year performing the services described above equals 50 hours per year for the Commissioners' staff and 30 hours per year for the County Treasurers' Office.
Town Lake Years Lee Laurel 1988-present Lenox(Bramble) Laurel 1988-present Pittsfield Pontoosuc 1988-present Lanesboro Pontoosuc 1988-present Stockbridge Stockbridge Bowl 1990-present Pittsfield Onota 1988-98 Lenox(Preserv.) Laurel 1989-96 Gt. Barrington Mansfield 1988-95 Becket Shaw Pond 1991-95 Becket Shawnee Shores 1993-95 Becket Long Pond 1995-95 Pittsfield Richmond Pond 1988, 1993 W. Stockbridge Card. + North 1991-92 In regard to actual usage, three additional points should be noted. First, the vast majority of the harvesting occurs on Pontoosuc Lake. Second, although the towns of Lee and Lenox participate in this program, they use only the hydro-rake equipment. Third, for several years there has been controversy surrounding the effectiveness of weed harvesting. Some people believe that weed harvesting is ineffective. They assert that the weeds simply grow back and harvesting may actually exacerbate the problem by spreading weed segments that re-seed and facilitate weed growth. In fact, with regard to Onota Lake, Pittsfield recently abandoned the harvesting program to use a chemical treatment called Sonar. Other people, however, believe that the weed harvesting program is very effective. They argue that they have witnessed a very real reduction over the years in the growth and density of the weeds. They assert that harvesting is a better alternative to using potentially harmful chemical treatments because harvesting actually reduces the weed biomass, which in-turn reduces the weeds' nutrients for the next growth season. Reduction of the biomass also increases water clarity. Finally, they assert that weed harvesting is less expensive than chemical treatments. In assessing service usage, it is also helpful to know that in 1997 the Berkshire County Task Force survey showed that fifteen of the thirty-two towns and cities indicated support for the Clean Lakes Program. County records showed in 1997 that only eight of the thirty-two towns and cites had participated in the program. Finally, it is noteworthy that the Town of Stockbridge recently purchased a second weed harvester, but continues to use the County's hydro-raking services to supplement the local program. Also, the Lake Buel Preservation District in Monterey and New Marlboro owns harvesting equipment and operates its program independently.
3. Service Costs and Funding
The direct costs associated with the various lake studies are discussed above. With regard to the Weed Harvesting Program, the six direct staff members are paid the following hourly rates: Mr. LaChance = $10.50/hr., Mr. Robertson = $11.50/hr., Mr. Garcia = $8.00/hr, Messrs. Arena, Mills, and Gallagher = $7.00/hr. These rates of pay are decided by the commissioners from year-to-year. The total Weed Harvesting direct costs for 1998 were as follows:
These direct costs are paid from year-to-year by the towns based on the fee they are charged for the Weed Harvesting Program. Except for Pittsfield, all fees are calculated based on an hourly rate that varies with the machinery required to harvest each lake. For Pittsfield the Pontoosuc and Onota Lake fees are calculated based on the tonnage of weeds harvested. No profits are made by the County and any deficit or surplus that exists with this program is simply carried into the next year. Mr. LaChance reported that the cost of this Program to the towns is approximately 50% of what they would be charged by private sector entities.
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