Pittsfield Gives Preliminary Nod To Mayor's Capital Budget
 The City Council gave the mayor a preliminary approval. But, asked him to return with some changes. |
While the council approved the figure for a number of projects as presented, the council asked Mayor Daniel Bianchi to write another plan, which will incorporate an additional $1 million for road repairs.
Previously, the council had asked the mayor to increase spending in the Public Works budget as well for more street maintenance repairs — though those are mostly potholes and sidewalks while the capital is for larger projects.
"There were requests for $21.5 million for various projects. We wrestled with this a great deal, we met with department heads, and we prioritized," Bianchi said.
Bianchi said he would revamp the capital plan, which is funded through borrowing mostly, and return for final approval. He, too, said he wasn't comfortable with his initial funding level for road reconstruction but presented a $1.5 million request because there were other projects that needed to be completed.
"I know this is low from where we had been last year or the year before. Over the last 10 years, we've averaged $2 million. I am committed to the pavement management but I just had some things to do this year," Bianchi said. "I had a little bit of a discomfort level being at $10 million. ... I was hoping to keep our budget in the range of $7 million."
Of that $10.2 million, $3.5 million is eyed for the repaving of the main runway at the airport. However, 90 percent of that is going to be reimbursed by the Federal Aviation Administration, so the total borrowing would be closer to $7 million as presented.
That project, according to Airport Commission Chairman Chris Peterson, replaces 25-year-old pavement on the runway. The airport had just gone through a $22 million reconstruction to expand and widen the runway but it didn't put more asphalt down, Peterson said.
"The runway safety project did take over 10 years to complete. Why they didn't include it? I don't know." he said.
Nonetheless, the city will borrow the money and the FAA will pay it back to complete the project.
Councilor at Large Kathleen Amuso was the one to request an additional $1 million for street repairs, which would bring the total borrowed to $1.5 million. That is coupled with state Chapter 90 funds to reconstruct a number of roads based on the pavement management system the city recently launched. The consultants implementing the management plan suggested $3.5 million be put toward the roads each year.
She asked the mayor to also include money for a comprehensive study on the condition of City Hall, as was discussed in a recent subcommittee meeting.
While Amuso hoped to up the level for those items, other councilors had items they want off the list. Ward 7 Councilor Anthony Simonelli's motion to cut $500,000 indiscriminately from the budget failed.
"I personally just think that in some place in here," Simonelli said. "In my opinion, some of these things aren't needed this year."
He was one of three to vote against the budget, saying that the City Council hadn't done enough to cut the spending plan and lower tax rates. He was joined by Churchill Cotton and Barry Clairmont, both at-large councilors, in voting against it.
"It seems a lot of these numbers are placement numbers. You want to do things but you don't know what it is going to cost," Cotton said of the 34 items proposed by the mayor.
Cotton said he wanted the mayor to come back to the council with more details before they approve the borrowing. Clairmont voiced favor of many of the projects but refused to support the entire budget as long as it contained a $60,000 request to make the Berkshire Innovation Center a community anchor for the Massachusetts Broadband Initiative.
According to Director of Community Development Douglas Clark, the city has applied for a federal grant for some add-ons to the BIC to help make the rest of the park more developable. One part of that is to extend the Massachusetts Broadband Institute's "middle mile" fiber optic network to the BIC. That will offer a higher-speed Internet at a lower cost for any companies that develop near it, Clark said.
"PEDA could become, essentially, the last-mile provider," Clark said, adding that companies nearby like SABIC or General Dynamics might want to link up to the system. "They might want a redundant connection and these are a much higher-speed connection through the Mass Broadband than you can get through commercial providers."
He thinks it could be one of the tipping points to attracting more business. Clairmont, however, said the city has already spent enough taxpayer money on the Berkshire Innovation Center and that the Pittsfield Economic Development Agency should be using their funds for projects like that.
"I can't vote for the capital budget with this in there," Clairmont said. "This is taxpayer funds that is largely being used for for-profit businesses."
Although Vice President Christopher Connell voted in favor of the budget, he also called on the mayor to look at the purchase of two pickup trucks that were in the plan. There are enough trucks already and that moving from department to department could provide all of the workers what they need, he said.
"I would like to see us consolidate between departments," Connell said. "I don't know why we are asking for them when we can try to get you something from another department."
Overall, Ward 6 Councilor John Krol said the capital plan was "reasonable" and there weren't any items that stood out to him as excessive. Ward Councilor Jonathan Lothrop agreed.
"This is not a perfect capital budget but at least it is an effort in the direction of providing some maintenance," Lothrop said.
Those "maintenance" items include replacing a 50-year-old boiler at Crosby Elementary School and rehabilitating a 25-year fire truck, Lothrop cited.
 Fire Chief Robert Czerwinski's request for a new truck last year was part of the reason the City Council and the mayor could not come to terms on a capital plan. That truck was supported by both sides this year. |
Czerwinski responded by saying the truck is the reserve ladder truck, which could have a few firefighters on the ladder so he wants the "safest truck possible." But, he doesn't know the level of refurbishment needed right now.
"We're going to try to get a little bit more time out of this truck," Czerwinski said.
The Fire Department is also getting the truck that raised contention last year. The mayor included a new engine for $500,000; last year, he had proposed buying smaller vehicles for medical calls instead.
The Council and Czerwinski both said they would rather have a fire truck than smaller trucks. When the council and mayor failed to come to terms on a capital budget, the chief got neither.
Some of the other capital projects include replacement lighting and fire curtain in the Pittsfield High School auditorium; renovation to some of the special education rooms in various city schools; a street sweeper and scrubber for the McKay Street Parking Garage; design for the next North Street Streetscape phase; the renovation of the basketball court at Pitt Park and some work on the court in the next-worse condition; and repairs to Springside House.
Tags: #PittsfieldBudget, capital budget, fiscal 2016,
