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Councilor Kathleen Amuso has spent 14 years in public office.

Pittsfield Councilor Kathleen Amuso Won't Seek Re-election

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Councilor at Large Kathleen Amuso will not seek re-reelection.
 
Amuso sent out a statement Tuesday morning saying that she believes "it is the right time for me to step away" after 14 years in public office.
 
Amuso was first elected to the School Committee in 2003 and left in 2013 to succesfully run for the City Council. She has served two terms on the council. As she began to think about the next election in the fall, she decided it was the right time to step aside and find other avenues to help the city.
 
"I wanted to step down early enough so if people are thinking about running, they know at least one incumbent is not running," Amuso said on Tuesday. 
 
She plans to finish out her term. One of her largest accomplishments is her work of 12 years on the School Building Needs Commission, a role she said she plans to continue even after her council term is up, which has led to the construction of a brand new Taconic High School.
 
"It has taken us quite a few years to get to where we are," Amuso said, later adding, "I think it's been a great project for the city."
 
That process included a year of looking at regionalionization, lengthy debates about whether the city should have one school or two, working through the Massachusetts School Building Authority's system to get funding, and hundreds of public meetings. She played a role in determining the vocational offerings of the new school and said the committee has "really made excellent choices in our partners" who are heading the construction.
 
"I think we came together as a community," Amuso said.
 
During her time on the School Committee, she said is particularly happy with her efforts to align curriculum throughout schools. She said early in her time as a member different schools and different grades were using disparate curriculum, often leaving gaps. She said she worked to take those several different programs and bring them into a more cohesive curriculum for the entire district.
 
"We spent a few years looking at the continuity of the programs," Amuso said.
 
On the City Council, Amuso had been aggressive in advocating for reductions to the budget, particularly last year. At the same time, she said she was proud to support public safety initiatives to make the city safer.
 
"I really supported safety which we needed to approve and I'm fiscally conscience," Amuso said. "I think I really have been fiscally responsible with how I handled the budget and will continue to do so."
 
While she may not be seeking another term on the council, Amuso says she will still remain active in the community. She'll miss the initiatives she has been a part of to help the city, but says she'll find other ways to fill that niche.
 
She already plans on continuing with the School Building Needs Committee, as a trustee at the Berkshire Athenaeum, and as a committee member for the Children's Holiday Extravaganza at the Colonial Theatre. 
 
"My experience on both the City Council and School Committee has been rewarding and challenging. It has been a privilege to serve the people of Pittsfield as an elected official.  I want to thank everyone, especially my family, for all of the support I have received. I will serve the remainder of my term with the same vigor and energy that the people of Pittsfield deserve," Amuso wrote in the statement she released Tuesday morning. 
 
"I will continue to serve as the co-chair of the School Building Needs Commission and as a trustee at the Berkshire Athenaeum.  I will also investigate other opportunities where I can serve this great community."
 
While she still plans to remain active in city affairs, she says she'll really miss the people she worked with in various capacities the most. 
 
"I'll miss the people I am working with.... It's really been a great experience and it was a difficult decision," she said. 

Tags: election 2017,   Pittsfield city council ,   


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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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