PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Two department heads are no longer working for the city.
Mayor Linda Tyer said Commissioner of Public Utilities Bruce Collingwood and Director of Community Development Janis Akerstrom are no longer working for the city but that plans are in place for continuity of service. The mayor said she would not comment any further because it is a personnel issue.
It is not clear whether the two were fired or had resigned.
In an email to the City Council on Friday, Tyer wrote, "I thanked them for their service to the city of Pittsfield. Their tenure with the City of Pittsfield has come to an end effective immediately."
The email went on to read that Tyer planned to assess each position and determine the most effective way to operate the departments.
She followed up with an email on Monday saying she named Commissioner of Public Services David Turocy as the interim head of Public Utilities and Bonnie Galant as the director of Community Development. Galant is the city's Community Development and housing program manager
Collingwood had been with the city for 14 years, being hired in 2002. He served as the commissioner of public utilities and spent years in charge of the Department of Public Works as well.
Akerstrom moved to the city a year and a half ago from Orlando, Fla., to take the job after Douglas Clark resigned to attend to his engineering business.
City Hall has seen a number of personnel changes since Tyer took office just over a year ago. Immediately she replaced the Director of Finance Susan Carmel with Matthew Kerwood; Building Maintenance Director Peter Sondrini with Denis Guyer; and Personnel Director John DeAngelo with Michael Taylor.
City Solicitor Kathleen Degnan and Assistant City Solicitor Darren Lee both quit and Tyer contracted with Donovan & O'Connor for legal services.
Guyer resigned from his position in November as did Airport Manager Robert Snuck, who left after barely a year because of the demands of the job.
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Dalton Select Board Argues Over Sidewalk Article
By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
DALTON, Mass. — A heated discussion concerning sidewalks during Monday night's Select Board meeting resulted in the acting chair calling a recess to cool the situation.
The debate stemmed from the two articles on the town meeting warrant for May 6 at 7 p.m. at Wahconah Regional High School.
One proposes purchasing a sidewalk paver for $64,000 so sidewalks can be paved or repaired for less money, but they will use asphalt rather than concrete. The other would amend the town's bylaws to mandate the use of concrete for all future sidewalks.
The article on concrete sidewalks was added to the warrant through a citizen petition led by resident Todd Logan.
The board was determining whether to recommend the article when member John Boyle took the conversation in a new direction by addressing how the petition was brought about.
"I just have a comment about this whole procedure. I'm very disappointed in the fact that you [Logan] have been working, lobbying various groups and implementing this plan and filed this petition six weeks ago. You never had any respect for the Select Board and …" Boyle said.
Before Boyle could finish his statement, which was directed to Logan, who was in the audience, Chair Joe Diver called point of order via Zoom.
Between disagreements about site design and a formal funding process not yet established, more time is needed before a decision can be made.
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The Ordinances and Rules subcommittee on Monday unanimously supported a pay raise for election workers, free downtown parking for veterans, and safeguards to better protect wetlands.
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A parking study of North Street will be presented at Tuesday's City Council meeting. The design maintains parallel parking while expanding pedestrian zones and adding protected bike lanes. click for more
Amy Schirmer was recognized as the Volunteer of the Year for creating a weekly therapeutic art class at the George B. Crane Center to help those in recovery from substance use. click for more