Elton Ogden, president of BHD, provided what he called a very preliminary projection on Monday for the acquisition and conversion of Dalton High into affordable apartments.

DALTON, Mass. — A plan to turn the former Dalton High School into affordable housing units ran into stiff opposition on Monday night.

The presentation at the Senior Center by Berkshire Housing Development raised concerns over safety issues, noise and lack of housing for seniors.

Elton Ogden, president of BHD, provided what he called a very preliminary projection for the acquisition and conversion of Dalton High into approximately 33 one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments for individuals and families whose income fell at or below 60 percent of the median income for the area.

"Ten percent [of the total apartments] would be affordable for folks earning at or under 30 percent [of the median area income]," he explained.

"What this really is, is workforce housing. The typical folks that rent these apartments work have the income in order to be able to afford the rent – there's a lot of folks that have service jobs or work at entry-level positions in the school department or working at the hospital as CNAs. They're the kind of jobs that are really predominant in our [rental] communities these days."

But one of the main questions raised against the project was: What about seniors?

Senior citizens comprise a large percentage of the rural population in Dalton, and the federal and state funding for senior housing is slim. A handful of residents thought that priority should be given to seniors, rather than families from [most likely] outside of the Dalton municipality.

"I do see a problem with state authorities that don't fund senior housing," agreed Ogden. "But the housing study that was done pointed to a much greater need for working families."

Select Board Vice Chairwoman Mary Cherry chimed in to assure the assembly that, although the proposed apartments would not be specifically marketed toward seniors, many senior citizens would be eligible to apply for these units based on their income. And since the proposed renovations include handicapped-accessible units, an elevator to all floors, and mobility-impaired tenants or guests taken into consideration during design, senior citizens would be very comfortable in such apartments.

But Daisy Dudek, who was previously manager of Berkshire Housing's Rice Silk Mill Apartments in Pittsfield, said the somewhat similar project in Dalton could affect the peace and safety of the quiet neighborhood.

"How this would impact the neighborhood socially?" she asked of bringing in low-income housing tenants.

Berkshire Housing Development's website describes the Rice Silk Mill facilities off Tyler Street as geared for families or single individuals .

Dudek asked how Dalton would manage an increase in police calls, emergencies, or fire-related incidents with its small volunteer forces. She argued that most housing studies about the social impact of apartment complexes were done in urban settings – that there was no data from rural developments.

"From my experience living here in Berkshire County, you have to make at least $15 an hour to afford an affordable-housing apartment. As manager of the Silk Mill, I was woken at all times of day [because of] complaints from people [who needed] the police department to check on the bad characters. It's not all wine and roses in a situation like this."

Ogden told the assembly that the proposal for the Dalton High School project was different in scope and focus from the Rice Silk Mill building – that though zoned for affordable housing, there would still be an application process that included credit and background checks and landlord references. He hoped that the pool of applicants would be large enough to cull the best tenants, and that tenants would remain long-term.

Other issues brought up were concerns over where the additional influx of people would park – residents seemed to unanimously agree that street parking in that neighborhood was simply not an option as the roads were too narrow.

They also wondered what precautions would be taken to anticipate flooding like the area has seen in the past, and how the developers would handle such obstacles as an already temperamental sewer line and maintenance of the property before and during construction.

They were also wary of where the money would come from, though Ogden assured them that Dalton would not bear any of the costs. Funding would come from private investors and state grants.

Ogden said the ballpark timeline to begin breaking ground would be somewhere around 2018 or later – that it was still "really early on in the process" and there would be many future opportunities for discussion.

Editor's note: The description of the Rice Silk Mill's occupancy was quoted incorrectly in this article and has been changed to reflect that. iBerkshires regrets the error.

• Most Read

• Most Comments

• All News

• Blogroll

• Photos