Pittsfield To Hire Extra Help For Pothole Season

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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Potholes have already formed in many city roads. And officials are expecting a whole lot more as the spring rolls in.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city is looking to hire two additional crews to help patch potholes.
 
The city typically has about 10 people from the House of Correction and about eight in the Highway Department working on the holes. Those will be complemented by two additional crews the city will contract.
 
"We expect this year is going to be a particular challenge because of the cold," Mayor Daniel Bianchi said. "With two additional crews, we should do a bang up job."
 
The freezing temperatures of this last winter are expected to cause more frost heaving and potholes than in other years. Water soaking into the soil underneath pavement freezes and expands. When it melts, the road erodes.
 
On top of the frigid weather this winter, the city hadn't done a major repaving project on roads in the late summer and fall because the funding wasn't in place. Bianchi and the City Council hadn't come to terms on the borrowing authority in time for a late summer bid last year.
 
Bianchi says now more than $3 million in road work is expected to go bid in the coming weeks and the city is using a bump in Chapter 90 highway funds to pay for the additional pothole patching work.
 
"We hoped for the middle of February [to put the road bid out] but it looks like another week or so," he said.
 
Highway crews will be looking for the worst potholes on main roads first. Then they'll move to the neighborhood roads. The mayor says residents should report any holes they see.
 
Meanwhile, road paving construction will begin on others.
 
"Road work in the Northeast is never-ending," Bianchi said.
 
In other business, the mayor said the city is in negotiations for leasing terms on a garage for Highway Department vehicles. The previous lease had expired and the city went out to bid a second time for a new lease.

Tags: Chapter 90,   potholes,   

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Central Berkshire School Officials OK $35M Budget

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
DALTON, Mass. — The Central Berkshire Regional School Committee approved a $35 million budget for fiscal 2025 during its meeting on Thursday.
 
Much of the proposed spending plan is similar to what was predicted in the initial and tentative budget presentations, however, the district did work with the Finance subcommittee to further offset the assessments to the towns, Superintendent Leslie Blake-Davis said. 
 
"What you're going see in this budget is a lower average assessment to the towns than what you saw in the other in the tentative budget that was approved," she said. 
 
The fiscal 2025 budget is $35,428,892, a 5.56 percent or $1,867,649, over this year's $33,561,243.
 
"This is using our operating funds, revolving revenue or grant revenue. So what made up the budget for the tentative budget is pretty much the same," Director of Finance and Operations Gregory Boino said.
 
"We're just moving around funds … so, we're using more of the FY25 rural aid funds instead of operating funds next year."
 
Increases the district has in the FY25 operating budget are from active employee health insurance, retiree health insurance, special education out-of-district tuition, temporary bond principal and interest payment, pupil transportation, Berkshire County Retirement contributions, and the federal payroll tax. 
 
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