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This house at 11 Goodrich is slated to be demolished along with three other properties.

Four Pittsfield Properties Set For Demolition

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Four properties are slated to be demolished in the coming week.
 
The city will be razing 14 Parker Ave., 33 Francis Ave., 35-37 Circular Drive, and 11 Goodrich St. in an effort to combat blight.
 
"My administration is committed to the work of fighting blight in the City of Pittsfield. The demolition of property is not an action that we take lightly. There are many steps that have to occur before demolition is slated," said Mayor Linda Tyer. "That said, we know that business and neighborhood blight diminishes property values, and that impacts the well-being of our community as a whole. It's vitally important that we continue to be proactive about this issue to ensure our city’s continued success."
 
The properties were chosen by the city's "code enforcement team" consisting of the building inspectors and Fire, Health, and Engineering departments. The team meets monthly with representatives from Community Development, the city solicitor, and the Purchasing Department. 
 
"These properties rose to the top of the list because they posed major concerns," Laurie Mick, the city's community development specialist, said. "The city gives the owner every opportunity to do the right thing and maintain the property, but when that doesn't happen, we have to set our sight on keeping the neighborhood safe."
 
These demolitions are being paid for through the federal Community Development Block Grant program. Last year, five other properties saw the wrecking ball through this process.
 
"It is good to see the city departments working in a cooperative spirit in order to fight blight in our community. Our first order of business is not to eliminate housing, but to preserve the current housing stock. This is why every property is carefully scrutinized by the board before action is taken to demolish a property," Building Inspector Gerald Garner said. 
 
"If possible, we try to encourage individuals to renovate homes by directing them to economic resources if available, or redevelopment through our receivership program."
 
The city is also working on developing the next round of properties, which will come down later this year.

Tags: blight,   demolition,   

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Central Berkshire School Officials OK $35M Budget

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
DALTON, Mass. — The Central Berkshire Regional School Committee approved a $35 million budget for fiscal 2025 during its meeting on Thursday.
 
Much of the proposed spending plan is similar to what was predicted in the initial and tentative budget presentations, however, the district did work with the Finance subcommittee to further offset the assessments to the towns, Superintendent Leslie Blake-Davis said. 
 
"What you're going see in this budget is a lower average assessment to the towns than what you saw in the other in the tentative budget that was approved," she said. 
 
The fiscal 2025 budget is $35,428,892, a 5.56 percent or $1,867,649, over this year's $33,561,243.
 
"This is using our operating funds, revolving revenue or grant revenue. So what made up the budget for the tentative budget is pretty much the same," Director of Finance and Operations Gregory Boino said.
 
"We're just moving around funds … so, we're using more of the FY25 rural aid funds instead of operating funds next year."
 
Increases the district has in the FY25 operating budget are from active employee health insurance, retiree health insurance, special education out-of-district tuition, temporary bond principal and interest payment, pupil transportation, Berkshire County Retirement contributions, and the federal payroll tax. 
 
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