Mayor James Ruberto, MCLA President Mary Grant and BCC President Paul Raverta at the Intermodal Center in Pittsfield.
PITTSFIELD - There's no excuse for missing class now.
On Monday, officials from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and Berkshire Community College joined Mayor James M. Ruberto and members of the Berkshire delegation to unveil a new collaboration that will see students attending college classes at the Intermodal Transportation Center beginning in January.
In an attempt to address the issue of accessibility, the partners selected a central location that can be easily reached by public transportation.
"Access is absolutely critical and this project takes dead aim at access," said Tyler Fairbank, president of the Berkshire Economic Development Corp.
The Berkshire Regional Transit Authority - which operates out of the Intermodal Center - serves 23 Berkshire County communities, 12 with fixed-route service, and boasted an annual ridership of 572,378 passengers in fiscal 2007.
The new educational facility - called the Intermodal Education Center - will feature three classrooms, a computer lab, and a conference area in 3,000 square feet of space on the second floor of the station. Offering for-credit courses in the evenings as well as work-force development programs during the day, the new facility will allow Berkshire County residents to receive an education at their convenience.
"This is all about location, location, location," said BCC President Paul Raverta. "This is exactly where we need to be."
"Now is the time for the people of Pittsfield and the people of the county to take advantage of the offerings here at the facility," said Ruberto.
MCLA and BCC will begin offering courses at the facility for the spring 2008 semester, which begins next month. According to BCC's Dean of Lifelong Learning and Workforce Development William Mulholland, the college will offer criminal justice, English and math courses along with non-credit workshops and classes in English as a second language and computer skills.
MCLA will use the facility as a way to expand its fast-track accelerated degree program.
"Without a well-educated population, we will not be successful," said MCLA President Mary K. Grant.
The new facility will also help further the mission of the Berkshire Compact for Higher Education. According to Andrew Mick, the chairman of the Compact and the CEO of New England Newspapers Inc., the centrally-located Intermodal Center can help address all four of the Compact's major goals, which are:
To raise the aspirations of all Berkshire County residents to view 16 years of education, or greater, as the accepted educational norm.
To improve access to education, training and lifelong learning.
To make Berkshire County a competitive location for the new technology and knowledge-based economy and make Berkshire County residents among the most technologically educated population in New England.
To develop a new "social contract" among employers, employees, and educational institutions that encourages and promotes learning, earning, and civic engagement.
The Compact also determined that a presence for both BCC and MCLA were needed in downtown Pittsfield.
"As the hub for the Berkshire Regional Transit Authority, the center will make it easier for more students to access education opportunities from anywhere within Berkshire County," said Raverta, who helped start the project last year.
"Gosh, this has been a long time coming but it's certainly coming at the right time for Pittsfield and for the Berkshires," said Ruberto, who celebrated his 61st birthday on Monday.
"This is the ultimate birthday for me," he said. "An open, accessible location is a tremendous opportunity for us to see remedial education all the way to fast-track programs, with literacy in the middle. It's really a great day for Pittsfield."
Calling the new programming a "win-win for everybody" and the station "the perfect space," Mulholland said he expected the biggest challenge looking forward was developing the site before the first students arrive. The classes, which will be priced at "community college affordable," will be small initially, he said, but will grow over time.
"I don't remember any other event that had so many key players saying 'This is a good idea,'" Mulholland said. "All the points of the compass are pointing in the right direction."
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Lanesborough Town Meeting to Vote Budget, Bylaws & Vehicle Purchases
By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Tuesday's annual town meeting includes a $14 million operating budget, new short-term rentals, accessory dwelling units and sign bylaws, and free cash article appropriations.
Voters will gather at Lanesborough Elementary School on June 9 at 6 p.m. to decide on 20 warrant articles.
The fiscal 2027 budget is up a little over 10 percent. Some of the main increases are the Mount Greylock Regional School District and McCann Technical School: the McCann assessment is up more than 30 percent based on factors including enrollment and the school renovation project, and Mount Greylock's is up 11 percent.
Article 11 is for the town to vote to approve from free cash the sum of $16,298.48 for the McCann Technical School roof and window replacement project so as not to impact the budget. Article 3 is appropriate $7,586,284 for Mount Greylock Regional School assessment.
Another notable increase was in life and health insurance, showing an increase of about 26 percent.
Ambulance Director Jen Weber is planning 24-hour coverage, which means more staff and a hike in her budget. One of the articles asks the town to appropriate $234,100 to operate the Ambulance Enterprise Fund for salaries and expenses.
Many town departments are looking for new vehicles. The Fire Department is looking to replace its outdated 1996 fire engine. There are two articles related to the truck at a total of $813,366. Article 12 would transfer $225,000 from free cash into the Fire Truck Stabilization Fund; Article 13 would transfer $605,000 from the fund and authorize the borrowing of $208,366.08.
The total includes a $100,000 contingency cost to cover any additional costs if a 2026 model-year chassis cannot be secured before new emissions standards go into effect in 2027.
The board at its last meeting moved the $225,000 transfer to come before the borrowing article, changing the stabilization number. If the $225,000 is not voted on, then they will amend the next article's number on the floor, subtracting the $225,000. This shows the borrowing number significantly lower.
Article 17 asks for the transfer of $80,000 from free cash to replace a police cruiser.
Police Chief Rob Derksen's aim is to replace one vehicle every other year, meaning the oldest vehicle gets replaced about every 10 years.
He stressed that if delayed this year, the town may have to double up in a future year to get back on schedule, and that paying later usually costs more. The article will ask for $80,000 from free cash, the vehicles used to be funded by the BHRD.
Lastly, the Highway Department is looking to replace a 2014 International dump truck that will be a total of $330,000 and will take two to three years to receive.
Money will be used from last year's approval of $250,000 from free cash for the replacement of a 2012 highway front-end loader that was underspent $49,261. Town meeting is being asked to approve a transfer of $53,274.85 from free cash and the use of $227,464 from funds from the Sale of Town Real Estate to fund the balance.
Other free cash proposals include $1,200 to purchase software to support tracking and ongoing maintenance schedules of town-owned vehicles; $42,000 for the replacement of the Highway Department's storage shed roof, $200,000 to reduce the tax levy.
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