Pittsfield Police Award Station Feasibility Study Contract

Staff ReportsiBerkshires.com
Print Story | Email Story
The city is hoping to replace the outdated Allen Street building.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The feasibility study on a new Police Station will begin next week after Kaestle Boos Associates Inc. has been awarded the contract.

According to Police Chief Michael Wynn, Kaestle Boos was chosen because of "extensive experience" in these type of projects.

Previously, the company has been involved in projects with police departments in Cambridge, Holden, Watertown and Monson. The company was one of four to bid on the contract.

The Kaestle Boos was chosen after an evaluation committee — consisting of Wynn, two Police Department representatives, the city's community Development Department and the Police Advisory Committee — reviewed the proposals and interviewed finalists.

The study is the first step the city has taken toward building a new police station. With the $30,000 contract the company is being asked to develop options, departmental needs and cost estimates — including possible locations — to replace the current 74-year-old station. The study is expected to be completed by June.



Replacing the Allen Street building has grown in priority in recent years. Officers have said the current building is problematic for the organization for an array of reasons.

Also last week, the department hired a new crime analyst. Amanda O'Connor was chosen and will join the staff shortly after the new year.

The two investments made by the city into the department have been cited by the Police Advisory Committee as priority needs. The crime analyst position was cited particularly to help combat gang activity while the station needs have been eyed by city officials for years.


Tags: capital projects,   feasibility study,   Pittsfield Police,   police station,   

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

EPA Lays Out Draft Plan for PCB Remediation in Pittsfield

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Ward 4 Councilor James Conant requested the meeting be held at Herberg Middle School as his ward will be most affected. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency and General Electric have a preliminary plan to remediate polychlorinated biphenyls from the city's Rest of River stretch by 2032.

"We're going to implement the remedy, move on, and in five years we can be done with the majority of the issues in Pittsfield," Project Manager Dean Tagliaferro said during a hearing on Wednesday.

"The goal is to restore the (Housatonic) river, make the river an asset. Right now, it's a liability."

The PCB-polluted "Rest of River" stretches nearly 125 miles from the confluence of the East and West Branches of the river in Pittsfield to the end of Reach 16 just before Long Island Sound in Connecticut.  The city's five-mile reach, 5A, goes from the confluence to the wastewater treatment plant and includes river channels, banks, backwaters, and 325 acres of floodplains.

The event was held at Herberg Middle School, as Ward 4 Councilor James Conant wanted to ensure that the residents who will be most affected by the cleanup didn't have to travel far.

Conant emphasized that "nothing is set in actual stone" and it will not be solidified for many months.

In February 2020, the Rest of River settlement agreement that outlines the continued cleanup was signed by the U.S. EPA, GE, the state, the city of Pittsfield, the towns of Lenox, Lee, Stockbridge, Great Barrington, and Sheffield, and other interested parties.

Remediation has been in progress since the 1970s, including 27 cleanups. The remedy settled in 2020 includes the removal of one million cubic yards of contaminated sediment and floodplain soils, an 89 percent reduction of downstream transport of PCBs, an upland disposal facility located near Woods Pond (which has been contested by Southern Berkshire residents) as well as offsite disposal, and the removal of two dams.

The estimated cost is about $576 million and will take about 13 years to complete once construction begins.

View Full Story

More Pittsfield Stories