Lanesborough Select Board Tables JMJ Mall Settlement Renegotiation

Select Board · Meeting of July 27, 2026

Lanesborough Select Board tables Berkshire Mall settlement talks over hidden district debts. Chair Deborah Maynard said dissolving the Baker Hill Road District would immediately saddle the town with $451,000 in district accounts payable and wipe out a $1.7 million legal claim against mall owner JMJ, while removing the town's only path to sue over that debt. JMJ representative Tim Grogan had countered that dissolution would net the town $1.1 million and grow annual mall-area tax revenue to $1.1 million by 2029, up from about $760,000 today.

The board voted 3-1 on a roll call to keep negotiating a reduced tax burden directly with the district's own Prudential Committee while withholding action on JMJ's settlement draft. Resident Lyndon Moores urged the board "not to be too hasty." Separately, the board unanimously appointed Lauren Diamond, a two-year MCLA police officer, to the Lanesborough Police Department.

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Source: the Select Board meeting of July 27, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.