BATH HOUSE

Since its acquisition by the AMC in 1931, Noble View has been a rustic destination. For the many years that a tight-knit community of Berkshire Chapter members enjoyed Noble View, the absence of sanitary plumbing and washing facilities wasn’t detrimental to folks’ enjoyment of the property.

We began to spread the news about Noble View throughout the AMC and our local community in an effort to make the property available to a larger population of potential guests and users. The ease of travel to Noble View makes it accessible to many who wouldn’t choose a remote destination, and their expectations are higher. Many people aren’t interested in spending a weekend at a facility that has no potable water or sanitary facilities.

It became apparent that we would have to build a bath house and ensure a supply of potable water if we expected to serve the type of population who’d be likely to use the facility.

The southwest corner of Noble View was affected by fires caused by a lightning strike in 2002, and local authorities came onto the property. At the same time, the AMC was conducting risk management audits of all its properties. It was evident that there were some health and safety code issues that we’d have to correct. Funding was also an issue.

The Conservation Restriction

Gary Forish, past Noble View chair, had the idea that we could generate funding for building a bath house and renovating some of our buildings by selling a conservation restriction. Through a conservation restriction, a land owner sells its right to develop or use its land in specific ways.

Several years of effort and an extraordinary partnership between the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, Russell Select Board, Planning Commission, Conservation Commission, Springfield Water Commission, Winding River Land Conservancy, Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, and AMC staff and volunteers culminated in the closing of the conservation restriction sale on May 24, 2008.

The conservation restriction permanently protects most of Noble View’s 358.5 acres from development, and it generated $675,000 in funding to the AMC. With the permission of the AMC's Board of Directors, Noble View will be able to draw on these funds to move forward with renovations. The Town of Russell's share of the conservation restriction was fully funded by a Self-Help Grant of $472,500, announced by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs in December 2007. The remaining share of the conservation restriction was funded by the Springfield Water Commission.

We express our deep gratitude to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs and the Springfield Water Commission; the people of the Town of Russell and the Russell Select Board, Planning Commission, Conservation Commission; Winding River Land Conservancy, Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, and AMC staff members Roger Scholl, Paul Cunha, and Joe Carper. Many thanks especially to Gary Forish, whose idea this was, and whose commitment and perseverence is largely responsible for producing these fantastic results.

Together, we’ve achieved:

• The permanent protection and preservation of the open space at Noble View through a conservation restriction.
• The permanent protection of that part of Noble View that lies within the Springfield Water Commission’s watershed.
• Funding for ongoing renovations at Noble View, including the new bath house.

Bath House Plans

The bath house will be equipped with two toilets and two showers on both the men's and women's sides, and with a fully handicapped-accessible toilet, sink, and shower room. There will also be two sink areas for washing dishes.

The building will utilize the latest design standards for passive solar construction, including "Solar Wall" technology to pre-heat fresh air used for ventilation. Solar panels on the roof will generate a portion of the electricity, and on-demand hot water heaters will minimize energy use.

Download the floor plan.

Here's an architect's rendering:

Many thanks to Erica Gees of Kuhn Riddle Architects for her fantastic work on this design project.

Bath House Construction

In 2007, we blasted for the sepic tanks, septic field, and bath house foundation, and we poured, insulated and backfilled the foundation, and installed underground plumbing, propane, and electrical work. Construction was put on hold for the winter, with the hope that we'd be able to proceed at full speed once the ground thawed in the spring of 2008.

However, a May 1, 2008 change in the regulations governing water supply and septic systems forced a revision of plans. Under the new regulations, our existing well was too close to the buildings, making it necessary to drill a new one. Additionally, the septic field needed to be re-designed and relocated.