NORTH ADAMS, Mass. - North Adams mayor Tom Bernard wants to move forward with a proposal to sell the Mohawk Theater, without further input from the city council. 

However, the bid is well under the property’s assessed value, and at its upcoming meeting on Tuesday, the council may reconsider a vote it took in 2019 which authorized the mayor to sell the theater in the first place. 

What You Need To Know

  • Mayor Tom Bernard wants to move forward with a proposal to sell the Mohawk Theater
  • The bid is for $21,000, significantly less than the property’s assessed value of $436,800
  • Bernard does not need city council approval to accept an under-value bid, as has been customary in the past
  • The city council will now reconsider its original vote to authorize the sale, made in 2019

“I’ve been on the council for nearly 30 years, and I don’t recall that the mayor has ever skipped the council before when the bid has come under the assessed value,” said city councilor Keith Bona, who requested the council re-visit the vote. “So this is a first, and it was sort of last minute and unexpected.”

Mayor Bernard has gone to the council in similar circumstances in the past, but he recently asked city solicitor Lee Smith for clarity about the law. Smith’s opinion was council approval isn’t required in these circumstances.

“I’m trying to establish the appropriate practice,” said Bernard. “And that is to say, once the disposition is approved, that moves it out of the council’s hands and it puts it in the hands of other areas of the city.”

This is the same issue which sparked an incident in which Bernard claimed 1st Berkshire state representative John Barrett made a threat towards him earlier this month.

The building was assessed at more than $436,000, according to a city report from last December. The bid the mayor wants to approve is for $21,000.

But, Bernard said it has several things going for it, including the bidder, who owns the Dowlin building next door.

“As you look at some of the recent history of trying to redevelop the Mohawk, there is a clear sense that if those buildings are developed and redeveloped in tandem, there’s a lot of advantages,” said Bernard.

The city took ownership of the Mohawk in the 90’s, and the building has sat empty for decades.

Bona said he is not opposed to the current bid, but wants to have more transparency in the process.

“The public are going to be able to speak, councilors are going to be able to speak,” said Bona. “We did not really have that opportunity at the last meeting. I can’t tell you the way the vote is going to go, so this is just sort of a step towards making it a little bit more transparent.”