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The complex off East Street has three fields and a number of buildings in poor shape through lack of use.

Pittsfield Hoping To Bring Softball Back To The Complex This Summer

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city is currently looking for somebody to run a softball league at the 13-acre complex on East Street.
 
Last summer, with proper notice, the lessee of the city-owned park backed out of the lease in the final year. The building, which served as a concession stand, and the fields have fallen into poor condition. 
 
Purchasing Agent Colleen Hunter-Mullett offered the use of the fields during the day to an interested individual looking to continue a softball league there to finish out the summer, but that ultimately that did not come to fruition. The city was willing to allow that individual to finish the year for free.
 
"Because it is so late in the season, and the City really wants to provide a space for this type of activity for our residents, we are offering them the use of the fields at no cost as long as they are willing to maintain them for the duration of their league. We are looking at our options for future years," Hunter-Mullett wrote in an email last July.
 
This spring, the city issued a request for proposals for somebody else to take it over. But there were no bids. 
 
Now, Hunter-Mullett said she is again working with an individual to get softball leagues up and running again.
 
"Currently, I have a gentleman who is interested in running a softball league at the facility this summer. Once the snow melts we plan to meet with him on site to discuss the limitations of the facility, as well as the do's and don'ts," Hunter-Mullett wrote in an email this week.
 
"I have an e-mail into the Building Inspector's office to see if I can get something in writing as to the number of code violations the building has and what it will take to re-open the snack bar, or not, whichever the case may be."
 
Hunter-Mullett said the interested individual doesn't necessarily need a concession stand but he would like to know what it would take to get it back into compliance with city code.
 
"The gentleman interested in running the league agrees that he does not need to provide a concession stand in order to run a league because there is that great community interest in having the league itself.  But he would like to know what exactly the building needs in case he can come up with the money to fix the building. He plans to provide porta-johns at a minimum this summer," she wrote.
 
For years, Berkshire County Softball Complex Inc. and Jim Bridges ran league among the three fields on the parcel. Most recently, Mark Montemagni signed a lease in 2012 for five years and ran leagues. 
 
The city is now hoping to bring softball back to the complex this summer.

Tags: public parks,   softball,   sports facility,   sports fields,   

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Crosby/Conte Statement of Interest Gets OK From Council

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Architect Carl Franceschi and Superintendent Joseph Curtis address the City Council on Tuesday.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — With the approval of all necessary bodies, the school district will submit a statement of interest for a combined build on the site of Crosby Elementary School.

The City Council on Tuesday unanimously gave Superintendent Joseph Curtis the green light for the SOI to the Massachusetts School Building Authority by April 12.

"The statement I would make is we should have learned by our mistakes in the past," Mayor Peter Marchetti said.

"Twenty years ago, we could have built a wastewater treatment plant a lot cheaper than we could a couple of years ago and we can wait 10 years and get in line to build a new school or we can start now and, hopefully, when we get into that process and be able to do it cheaper then we can do a decade from now."

The proposal rebuilds Conte Community School and Crosby on the West Street site with shared facilities, as both have outdated campuses, insufficient layouts, and need significant repair. A rough timeline shows a feasibility study in 2026 with design and construction ranging from 2027 to 2028.

Following the SOI, the next step would be a feasibility study to determine the specific needs and parameters of the project, costing about $1.5 million and partially covered by the state. There is a potential for 80 percent reimbursement through the MSBA, who will decide on the project by the end of the year.

Earlier this month, city officials took a tour of both schools — some were shocked at the conditions students are learning in.

Silvio O. Conte Community School, built in 1974, is a 69,500 square foot open-concept facility that was popular in the 1960s and 1970s but the quad classroom layout poses educational and security risks.  John C. Crosby Elementary School, built in 1962, is about 69,800 square feet and was built as a junior high school so several aspects had to be adapted for elementary use.

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