Pittsfield Paid $80K In Moving Costs to 100 North St.

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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The City Council requested a detailed list of the expenses to move the inspection services to 100 North St.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city spent $80,000 to move the inspection services to 100 North.
 
In response to a request from Councilor at Large Barry Clairmont, Mayor Daniel Bianchi's office provided a detailed account of the expenses to move the health, building, utilities, fire, a community development agent and a conservation agent offices to the mezzanine level of 100 North St.
 
The total was $80,873.91
 
The largest expenditure was $17,150 for information technology services from Comalli Group. That coupled with $5,980 for Comm-Tract to run fiber wire to the units, $4,434 for a port switch/fiber transceiver module from Unified, wireless access point for $1,464 from PC Plus, and remote access licenses from the Bomgar Corp. for $4,412, adds up to $33,441 that came from unclassified budget
 
The Department of Public Works spent $20,658 of its budget, the largest of which was $16,682 for Carlow and Zepka Construction to install a conduit line for communications. A number of expenses include moving boxes for $94, a storage cabinet $85, a book case for $339, a file cabinet $541, and bulletin boards for $107, all from WB Mason; and boxes for the second moving phase for $403 and a $514 safe from NE Office Supply. Signs from Callahan Signs Inc. have yet to be billed but will cost $1,490.
 
The city spent $18,481 from enterprise funds to pay Mullen Movers and Storage $8,341 two times to move the offices. Scarafoni Associates also billed the city $1,800 to install a handicap accessible counter.
 
The Health Department spent $6,834 for installation and $5,525 for furniture from BBE Office Interiors; moving boxes from WB Mason for $108; electrical work from Gable Electric for $501; and $700 in signs from Callahan Signs.
 
Callahan signs has yet to bill the building inspectors $700 for their signs. 
 
The city paid the $171 to have an officer work overtime while workers dug a trench in Allen Street to run the wiring to the building. The Department of Community Development spent $157 for phone services from Telserve LLC., and bought two chairs from NE Office Supply for $412, totaling $569. The Fire Department bought a clock from NE Office Supply for $17.39 for the inspector's office.
 
The first year rent cost the city $105,000, which came from the city's unclassified budget. However, that was not presented in the itemized list.
 
"I was under the understanding that the petition was for the costs associated with the move itself," said Director of Administrative Services Julia Sabourin, who prepared the itemized list.
 
The relocation of the inspections services from City Hall was somewhat controversial because many members of the City Council were not consulted about the move ahead of time. Bianchi issued the request for proposals and negotiated a lease under executive order, which is allowable under the charter. However, councilors said since the move would require future budgeting to pay the lease, they should have been involved in the decision-making process.
 
The mayor cited numerous reasons for the move including poor health conditions in the City Hall basement where the offices were located, which ultimately became part of the collective bargaining with inspectors. The departments can't move back to the basement unless an air-exchange system system is installed. Additional benefits the mayor cited for the move were convenience — it would be easier for current and prospective businesses to get all of the permits they need.
 
Clairmont wanted the expenses outlined, saying that if those expenses are no longer needed then they could be cut from the fiscal 2016 budget.

Tags: inspections office,   move,   

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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.

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