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PEDA Board Expands to eleven to begin 2013: Mayor brings new expertise in support of Pittsfield Economic Development Authority’s mission
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The Pittsfield Economic Development Authority (PEDA), the quasi-public agency created to redevelop and manage the William Stanley Business Park, has added five new members of the city’s business community to its Board of Directors.
• Paul Dalton, Program Manager with General Dynamics;
• Mike Filpi, Business Manager for the Laborers Local #473 Union;
• Pamela R. Green, Counselor at Law with Parese, Sabin, Smith & Gold, LLP;
• Patrick Reuss, Recruitment and Staffing Leader with SABIC, and
• Larry Tallman, a business consultant with previous industrial development experience.
The William Stanley Business Park is located on 52 acres near the heart of downtown Pittsfield. Named for inventor and owner of the Stanley Electric Manufacturing Co., William Stanley, the park offers construction sites for a range of business uses, including IT, finance, biotech, research & development and light industrial. Currently, the park is home to MountainOne Financial Center, Nuclea Biotechnologies, and the Western Mass. Electric Company’s 1.8-megawatt solar array, the first of its kind in New England.
PEDA was formed in 1998 through a unique partnership with the land’s former owner, GE, the City of Pittsfield, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Mass. Department of Environmental Preservation, and other government bodies and as such, the concept has become a national example of collaborative Brownfield redevelopment. The final land transfer from GE to PEDA was completed in 2012 and the entire William Stanley Business Park has been designated an Economic Opportunity Area (EOA) by the Commonwealth.
PEDA’s Executive Director, Cory Thurston, said four of the five new directors were appointed following approval by the Massachusetts legislature and the Governor, of the city’s request to expand the PEDA board to eleven members last spring. The increase was an initiative of Mayor Bianchi as he perceived the need to add individuals who represented supportive areas of expertise.
“This is a unique property with equally unique advantages and challenges, and that created a need to create subcommittees that can address key tasks, from budgeting to environmental oversight,” he said.
The expanded PEDA board will now consist of 11 members, six of whom will be appointed to two-year terms based on specific knowledge bases in the areas of finance and issuing bonds; environmental matters including land contamination; economic development and planning; law and commercial transactions; industrial site location, and labor representation. At least one member is designated to represent the interests of the city’s neighborhoods.
The new board members join six current members: Pittsfield Mayor Daniel Bianchi; acting Board Chairman Mick Callahan, owner of M. Callahan Inc.; Christina Barrett, director of marketing and student recruitment for Berkshire Community College; retired business owner Gary Grunin; Michael K. Matthews, CEO of Tower Acquisitions, and George C. Whaling, principal of Whaling Properties.
PEDA board members are unpaid volunteers appointed by the Mayor of Pittsfield to oversee the organization’s management of the William Stanley Business Park. For more information, visit http://www.pittsfieldEDA.org.
