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A plan to spend an additional $2.6 million on the airport was hotly debated in part of the budget hearing.

Pittsfield Approves $11.8 Million in Capital Spending

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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Fire Chief Robert Czerwinski explained why the department needs a new ladder truck and two new command vehicles.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The City Council approved Thursday a $11.8 million capital plan, which is just $50,000 less than what the mayor had proposed.
 
The capital budget calls for the borrowing of $11,948,000 for capital expenses, which is about $1.7 million more than this year. The largest portion of the plan will go to the Department of Public Works with $3,650,000 eyed to be borrowed for repairs to the streets and stormwater systems as well as the purchase of a new truck and vibratory roller for paving.
 
A total of $2.5 million will go toward the streets. A 2014 report showed the city should be investing $3.5 million each year in maintaining the streets and since then the borrowing authorization had increased slightly toward that amount. Potholes and the conditions of the street became a major talking point for the council in spring of 2014 and when that budget came before the council, it voted to increase the borrowing authority to $3 million from just $1 million. The following year, former Mayor Daniel Bianchi had proposed $1.5 million and the council bumped that up to $2.5 million.
 
That $2.5 million figured remained in Mayor Linda Tyer's proposal for fiscal 2017. That money is coupled with state Chapter 90 for contracts typically awarded in the spring of the following year — so for the budget approved Thursday, the work would be done in early 2017.
 
The council seems content with that and passed it with little debate, except for Ward 7 Councilor Anthony Simonelli advocating for his ward to receive its "fair share" of the work. He vowed to vote against the authorization in the future if his ward doesn't see enough road repair.
 
 "I will not support one penny next year if the fair share doesn't come to Ward 7," Simonelli said.
 
The roads portion passed easily this year as the focus switched to building maintenance, which the council toyed with increasing by a half-million dollars, and Ward 4 Councilor Christopher Connell's main target throughout the budget session, the airport. The airport is asking for another $2.6 million for reconstruction of and two runways. 
 
"I don't want to support the reconstruction of the runway at the airport at this time," Connell said. "In my opinion, we are just improving and repairing the airport for the fixed-based operator for the most part and I just don't think it is right."
 
That project is tied in with a $3.5 million authorization approved last year. Then the plan was to renovate the main runway, a project that was pulled out of the massive $21 million runway expansion project just a few years ago. Once engineers began planning for the project it was found that there is a line-of-sight issue potentially impacting pilots' ability to see others on the cross-section runway and the grade at the intersection of the two is right on the cusp of breaking Federal Aviation Administration regulations, according to Airport Commission Chairman Chris Pedersen.
 
The FAA and the state reimburses the city 95 percent for the project, meaning in the end, the city's capital authorization will result in about $130,000 in actual spending plus the $175,00 from the last authorization. Pedersen said since the FAA is now spending close to $6 million to regrade and pave both runways, the agencies want it done right. The breakdown is that the FAA pays 90 percent, the state 5 percent, and the city 5 percent.
 
"The FAA looked at it and said if we are going to do all this, they came up with a concern with an alignment," Pedersen said.
 
He later said, "the FAA certainly wants to protect the airport and that is why the reimburse it at such a high amount."
 
The runways are 25 years old and the average lifespan in 20 years, Pedersen said, and their renovation has been on the "backburner" since being pulled out of the expansion project. The expansion project was just that, expanding the runway to be long enough for larger aircraft as well as providing additional safety measures. The renovation of the entire runway was planned to be in that but was pulled out.
 
"Just like we have a budget, the FAA has a budget. They only have a certain amount of money they could spend on this project on an annual basis," Airport Manager Robert Snuck said.
 
Director of Finance Matthew Kerwood said $175,974 of the previous year's authorization was already spent on the engineer and the project has grown to include the second runway. Connell had proposed to cut that item out completely, and should that happen, Pedersen said the cost of maintaining the runways would grow dramatically. Previously the airport was spending upward of $15,000 a year in upkeep but that budget had been scaled back. The FAA has specific limitations on the condition of the runways including the depth of any potholes, the length of cracks, and even restricts the use of salt during the winter because it could damage an airplane engine.
 
The issue some councilors have with the system is that the FAA writes into the grants conditions for upkeep and if the city fails to live up to expectation the FAA can ask for the money back, according to Pedersen.
 
"It seems like the city will never get out from under the rock of the FAA. We can never stop accepting money," Simonelli said.
 
Councilor at Large Peter White asked what would happen should the city completely shut down the airport; Pedersen said there'd be major legal hurdles. He said not only could the FAA ask for its money back but also there are leases in place with private companies, companies that have built infrastructure there which are only worth anything if the airport is open. 
 
"You have a large employer with 75 people out there, they have built an infrastructure there," Pedersen said.
 
White is supportive of the project, saying "I think we've seen through doing road management that it is better to maintain than to let crumble further."
 
Another issue Connell has with the airport is that the city is spending between $85,000 and $90,000 this year to subsidize operations. Connell believes the airport should be self-funding and it hasn't been for years. Council Vice President John Krol and Ward 3 Councilor Nicholas Caccamo, however, believe the cost is minor compared to the return.
 
"It seems to be a reasonable number due to what we get out of that airport," Krol said. "To me, ultimately this is a project that needs to be done to keep our airport up to snuff."
 
The city has owned the airport since 1932 and said it is not just about the millions in economic activity generated from it, but also the role it serves in the nation's transportation system. He said companies use it for deliveries, law enforcement uses it for operations, firefighters battle forest fires, search and rescue operations with aerial views, jets can land in an emergency situation, the military can use it, and surveying and observations are also done on top of the tourism and businesses which fly in and out of the airport.
 
"It is a public interest infrastructure much the same way the interstate system is," Caccamo said.
 
Connell's motion to reduce the airport spending failed.
 
The plan also calls for $250,000 for site analysis and design for a new police station, another piece of Mayor Tyer's focus on improving the city's public safety. The city had already spent $30,000 on a feasibility study that identified eight locations for a station and provided general renderings. This new set of funds would create construction documents to make the project shovel ready.
 
"If we go to any funding source without documents in our hands we have a very low chance of getting funding for any project," Director of Maintenance Dennis Guyer said.
 
Guyer says the hope is to get federal or state funding to help construct the station and the first step is to get a project ready to receive funding.
 
Simonelli later took aim at Guyer's authorization to replace sidewalks at Pittsfield High School and Egremont. Simonelli said those sidewalks are in good condition so the capital expenses isn't a need, but a want.
 
"I just don't see $50,000 worth of work on those two," Simonelli said.
 
Guyer disagrees, saying the sidewalks pose accessibility problems.
 
"There are small issues that may not look to you and I to be a big problem but to someone in a wheelchair or using a walker, and a lot of residents who go into these buildings, are a problem," Guyer said.
 
The plan also calls for $40,000 to replace doors at schools because, "it is a constant battle, the doors get broken routinely," Guyer said.
 
The City Council did, however, take out a $50,000 request to purchase a parcel directly in front of Wahconah Park. According to Director of Community Development Janis Akerstrom, the purchase would prevent another entity from buying it and building something that blocks the view of the ballpark. The property is currently owned by the Berkshire Environmental Action Team and the organization is offering a discounted price to the city.
 
"Something can be built there if purchased by somebody else and thereby blocking the view to the stadium," Akerstrom said. "The seller has two other offers but the seller has interest in helping the city."
 
Councilor at Large Melissa Mazzeo doesn't believe it though.
 
"Who in their right mind would buy that and build a house?" she said.
 
Connell said he'd rather see something be done with it by a private individual or agency rather than having another piece of land to maintain without generating any income. Wahconah Park is eyed for significant investment in the coming years as it approaches its 100th anniversary. 
 
"We are going to invest some money in upgrading Wahconah park to bring it back to its historic grandeur," Guyer said.
 
White says with that, the city should be adding to the parks system. He said he was speaking with an avid baseball fan at the park recently who was excited about the future plans. White believes the city should buy the parcel in part of its efforts to invest in the ballpark.
 
Krol and White were the only two to object to the reduction.
 
Councilor at Large Kathleen Amuso later proposed adding $500,000 to the Maintenance Department for further upkeep of the buildings. The capital plan calls for $945,000 in building maintenance, $250,000 of which is for the new police station design. Amuso says the school buildings in particular are in poor condition and the $570,000 allocated for schools simply isn't enough to overcome decades of differed maintenance.
 
"We haven't maintained our schools," Amuso said.
 
Guyer said there are certainly enough projects to be done, the matter is merely what level of funding the council will give the department to do them.
 
Ultimately, the motion was defeated. Because capital improvements can be brought up at any point, Council President Peter Marchetti suggested a working group be formed to identify the exact projects. Guyer also called for a longer term plan for the buildings, saying he'd love to know how the city is going to use, or not use, them before investing money into them. He called for looking into redistricting to possibly close a school.
 
"It's been 20 years since this city has redistricted the schools," Guyer said.
 
The approval also calls for $775,000 for new equipment for the Fire Department. The majority of that money is for a ladder truck, which Chief Robert Czerwinski says will be a used one and one that the city needs based on calls. A new truck would cost somewhere around $1.2 million, he said.
 
"I'm looking to spend half that money on a clean, used ladder truck," Czerwinski said,
 
The plan also calls for the replacement of two command vehicles, one of which Czerwinski said is in the shop. 
 
"They are no different than a police vehicle. They are used hard, they are driven constantly in high speeds, going off road, they aren't your family SUV," Czerwinski said.
 
The plan needs final approval from the City Council on Tuesday night.
 

Pittsfield FY17 Capital Plan


Tags: capital spending,   fiscal 2017,   pittsfield airport,   pittsfield_budget,   

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MassDOT Project Will Affect Traffic Near BMC

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Prepare for traffic impacts around Berkshire Medical Center through May for a state Department of Transportation project to improve situations and intersections on North Street and First Street.

Because of this, traffic will be reduced to one lane of travel on First Street (U.S. Route 7) and North Street between Burbank Street and Abbott Street from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday through at least May 6.

BMC and Medical Arts Complex parking areas remain open and detours may be in place at certain times. The city will provide additional updates on changes to traffic patterns in the area as construction progresses.

The project has been a few years in the making, with a public hearing dating back to 2021. It aims to increase safety for all modes of transportation and improve intersection operation.

It consists of intersection widening and signalization improvements at First and Tyler streets, the conversion of North Street between Tyler and Stoddard Avenue to serve one-way southbound traffic only, intersection improvements at Charles Street and North Street, intersection improvements at Springside Avenue and North Street, and the construction of a roundabout at the intersection of First Street, North Street, Stoddard Avenue, and the Berkshire Medical Center entrance.

Work also includes the construction of 5-foot bike lanes and 5-foot sidewalks with ADA-compliant curb ramps.  

Last year, the City Council approved multiple orders for the state project: five orders of takings for intersection and signal improvements at First Street and North Street. 

The total amount identified for permanent and temporary takings is $397,200, with $200,000 allocated by the council and the additional monies coming from carryover Chapter 90 funding. The state Transportation Improvement Plan is paying for the project and the city is responsible for 20 percent of the design cost and rights-of-way takings.

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