image description — The town would have to determine which circuit to tie into if it moves forward with a photovoltaic array. This shows the 18C BERKSHIRE circuit.

Dalton Green Committee Aims to Obtain Data for Town Solar PV Arrays

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
05:29PM / Saturday, March 30, 2024Print Story | Email Story

DALTON, MASS. — The Green Committee is working to obtain information from Eversource to inform the possibility of developing solar polar photovoltaic arrays in town.

The committee approved using $250 during its meeting last week for a pre-application to Eversource. This application will provide data that will inform how to develop a solar PV array in town.

The efforts to develop PV arrays is supported by the state Department of Energy Resources' Green Communities initiative and has been part of the town's master plan since 2016.

One of the master plan's goals in the infrastructure section is to improve the town's energy efficiency.

To minimize the tax impact of this goal, one of the objectives is to "support the development of solar farms on town property to reduce the cost of electricity for the town."

Upon submitting a pre-application, Eversource is required to send back a range of data within 10 business days otherwise it's free.

The town needs to determine how much it can load the two circuits available. There are two lines that come into Dalton — 18C BERKSHIRE and 19A DOREEN.

According to a Eversource representative, the company cannot provide that information without submitting the pre-application.

Eversource's DC Hosting Capacity map does not have all the information needed to inform future projects and is inaccurate because it represents people who submitted applications but may not have a live PV array, Green Committee member Todd Logan said later.

The Green Committee will use the Senior Center as a mock location for a 375-kilowatt solar array in its pre-application because the two circuits border the center. The 18C BERKSHIRE circuit is located on High Street and 19A DOREEN on Glennon Avenue. Dalton would have to determine which circuit to connect to.

Since the Green Committee is not proposing building a solar array on the land in front of the Senior Center, this gives the town "the opportunity to figure out which circuit would be best suited for an income generating and power generating PV array," Logan said.

The pre-application will provide data, including the substation transformer rating, the substation's circuit voltage and name, the phase available near the site, and the distance from the phase service if it's a single phase.

It also includes standards for the interconnection of distributed generation, including information on aggregate connected facilities that have not yet been interconnected, the interconnecting customer's network types and nearby feeders, and potential system constraints that may impact the proposed facility, among other things.

Tags: green committee, photovoltaic, solar array,

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Pittsfield Outreach Program Sees Manager

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:29AM / Monday, August 17, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass.— The Health Department's outreach program has a manager and is seeking two outreach workers.

Earlier this month, Director of Public Health Andy Cambi updated the Board of Health on the creation of a new initiative that connects individuals on the streets with needed services.

He reported that Community Health Worker Gabrielle DiMassimo was tapped as the Community Health Program Manager a couple of weeks prior after it was posted internally. DiMassimo has been reaching out to unhoused people in encampments with the Parks Department and co-responders, and other staff this summer.

"She's been with the department for a couple years, holds a bachelor's degree in public health, and has been doing a lot of this work," Cambi said.

"Even in her college years, she was doing encampments and outreach with Worcester Public Health Department, so she really fit the bill for this position."

The position oversees Pittsfield's peer outreach initiative while advancing the long-term vision for the health department to be a more proactive, community-centered public health agency, as well as the health department's evolving responsibility to address prevention, access to services, social determinants of health, and community well-being through coordinated outreach and engagement.

Last year's controversial camping ordinance was sent to the Board of Health, and they determined it is not the best approach for Pittsfield. It was officially scrapped by the City Council earlier this year and replaced with a peer outreach program that provides harm reduction support services, navigation, and relationship-building with vulnerable residents.

The program director and outreach worker positions were approved by the City Council earlier this season. The outreach worker positions were posted internally, received applicants, and will soon go external to expand the candidate pool.

Cambi reported that the encampment group has been conducting outreach with DiMassimo. Workers speak with people at the encampments, tag the equipment, give the people an opportunity to relocate, and connect them with available resources.

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