Board OKs street funds

The Selectmen approved an $84,000 lump-sum amendment to the design contract held by Tighe & Bond for the reconstruction of South Street. The additional funds were allocated for unanticipated design work, including surface transitions to side streets, public coordination meetings with homeowners, landscaping and a recommendation from the Dalton Historical Commission to save trees.

Monday's approval of the contract allows for a closeout of the design phase and a transition into the construction phase, set to begin this spring, according to Town Manager Kenneth E. Walto.

The Selectmen also named Jan. 7 as the date for a special election for a pair of debt exclusion articles that, if passed by majority vote, would finalize approval for Town Hall and Craneville School renovations.

The special election would uphold approval for the $1.1 million in exterior improvements to the 115-year-old Town Hall and $286,600 to replace the 18-year-old carpeting at Craneville Ele-mentary School, which voters approved at a special town meeting last week. Both measures would result in tax increases and

In other business, the board approved an increase in dog license fees from $15 to $25 for dogs not spayed or neutered. Licenses for spayed and neutered dogs will increase from $10 to $20 at the start of the calendar year. License fees for owners with four to six dogs will rise from $10 to $20.

According to Walto, increases in license fees were an alternative to tax increases.

To reach Amy Carr: acarr@berkshireeagle.com, (413) 496-6233