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The City Council approved the funding on Tuesday.

Two Pittsfield Parks Getting New Playgrounds

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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Parks and Open Spaces Manager Jim McGrath briefed the City Council on the projects Tuesday night.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Two city parks are receiving upgrades this summer.

Ray Crow and Dorothy Amos Parks are receiving brand-new playground structures.

The City Council accepted a $200,000 grant from the state Office of Energy and Environmental affairs and is matching it with $50,000 of the city's federal Community Development Block Grant allocation.

"The grant is allowing us to replace playground structure in two parks," said Parks of Open Space Manager James McGrath. "Both of these parks have very aged playground structures... They are beyond their useful life."

The work was expected to be completed during a week in the fall but two City Councilors — Councilor At Large Kathleen Amuso and Ward 2 Councilor Kevin Morandi — advocated for the work to begin in July. McGrath said he will try to move the construction date up.

"The kids and the families in the neighborhoods would have all summer to use it," Morandi said.

The parks will feature "age appropriate" equipment, McGrath said. The installation is expected to only last a week or so.


The state has recently invested heavily in parks, creating more than 170 new or renovated parks across the state. The city has been the recipient of some $4.6 million to renovate the First Street Common.

These funds are part of the Gov. Deval Patrick's recently launched program "Our Common Backyards" in which the state aims to build 54 new parks in urban areas across the state. The program is eyed to boost park accessibility in "environmental justice" areas. That designation is given to communities with low-income, high minority populations that lack environmental assets.

Dorothy Amos and Ray Crow both fall into that category and in areas qualified for the federal Community Development Block Grants. Ward 4 Councilor Anthony Simonelli advocated for repairs to Highland Park as well, but that falls outside of the area for this particular grant program.

"We've been discussing within the department on how best to address the Highland Park needs," McGrath responded. "We understand there is a need."

Ward 6 Councilor John Krol asked if there would be any funds to repair the basketball court at Pitt Park, to which McGrath said maybe. There is expected to be some CDBG funds remaining after the construction so there is a possibility that those funds could be reallocated there.

McGrath added that the department is planning to do a full inventory of the condition of basketball courts throughout the city.


Tags: parks & rec,   public parks,   

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Pittsfield CPA Committee Funds Half of FY24 Requests

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A few projects are not getting funded by the Community Preservation Committee because of a tight budget.

The projects not making the cut were in the historic preservation and open space and recreation categories and though they were seen as interesting and valuable projects, the urgency was not prevalent enough for this cycle.

"It's a tough year," Chair Danielle Steinmann said.

The panel made its recommendations on Monday after several meetings of presentations from applications. They will advance to the City Council for final approval.  

Two cemetery projects were scored low by the committee and not funded: A $9,500 request from the city for fencing at the West Part Cemetery as outlined in a preservation plan created in 2021 and a $39,500 request from the St. Joseph Cemetery Commission for tombstone restorations.

"I feel personally that they could be pushed back a year," Elizabeth Herland said. "And I think they're both good projects but they don't have the urgency."

It was also decided that George B. Crane Memorial Center's $73,465 application for the creation of a recreational space would not be funded. Herland said the main reason she scored the project low was because it didn't appear to benefit the larger community as much as other projects do.

There was conversation about not funding The Christian Center's $34,100 request for heating system repairs but the committee ended up voting to give it $21,341 when monies were left over.

The total funding request was more than $1.6 million for FY24 and with a budget of $808,547, only about half could be funded. The panel allocated all of the available monies, breaking down into $107,206 for open space and recreation, $276,341 for historic preservation, and $425,000 for community housing.

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