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Pittsfield Council To Hold Hearing On Capital Improvement Plan

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city is looking to spend some $23.5 million on capital projects next year.
 
Mayor Linda Tyer has submitted a capital budget of $9.1 million for city projects and $14.4 million for water and sewer. The debt incurred from the $9.1 million would be paid for through the city's annual budget while the $14.4 million would come from enterprise accounts. A public hearing is scheduled for the City Council meeting on Tuesday.
 
The largest project is $8.4 million to replace primary pumps at the wastewater treatment plant. The project was identified in 2007 because the force main, constructed in 1963, is at risk of failure, according to the capital plan. 
 
"The force main is constructed of pre-stressed concrete cylinder pipe (PCCP) which is susceptible to sulfide corrosion. Also recent collapses of PCCP at other installations in the country have raised concerns over the integrity of the reinforcement of this pipe," reads the project description. "A complicating factor is that the force main is partially inaccessible due to its location beneath the existing digester building. As such repair of a leak or collapse in the force main would be difficult to impossible."
 
The description warns that "failure of the force main is potentially catastrophic as it would effectively disable" the plant. 
 
Other enterprise expenses include water main improvements on West Housatonic Street, improvements to the dam at the Upper Sackett Reservoir, new water tank and main on West Street near Berkshire Community College, infiltration rehabilitation in the sewer system, siphon repairs to the sewer system, and a one-ton utility truck with a plow.
 
The enterprise accounts are funded through the water and sewer fees collected from users. 
 
As for capital projects funded out of the city's budget, the largest project is $3 million to convert all 5,236 street lights to LEDs and another $2.5 million for street improvements, which includes a design of another streetscape project.
 
The vast majority (80 percent) of spending is anticipated in the Department of Public Services, which has responsibility for a wide range of expensive capital assets, such as roadways, sidewalks, streetlights, parks, vehicles, and equipment," reads the overview.
 
The plan says through utility rebates and saving in energy costs, the $3 million would be paid back within nine years. The Public Service Department will also be replacing a number of vehicles.
 
The plan does include $150,000 for the Capitol Theatre marquee, which the City Council had asked the mayor to include in the plan. The plan also includes the development of a new master plan at the airport for $300,000.
 
"It is outdated, airport tenants are looking to erect a new hangar and MassDOT would like to replace the terminal. Both projects require an updated master plan for location purposes. The most recent plan was completed in 2001. The FAA requires updates every 5 years. This project had been put on hold while the expansion project was completed. This project will be more comprehensive than a typical update since the airport facility has been significantly altered with the expansion project," the capital plan reads.
 
The plan calls for $80,000 to repair athletic courts at schools and parks; $80,000 to construct bathrooms at Durant Park; $130,000 to replace the rooftop ventilation units at both Conte and Morningside Schools; $125,000 to replace carpeting at Morningside School; $175,000 for a match to a grant to develop the Westside Riverway Park.
 
"Installation of the park walkways and other features follows the soil remediation and site preparation which shall conclude in early 2017," the plan reads about the Westside Riverway project.
 
The plan includes the third and final year of replacing turnout gear for firefighters at a cost of $70,000 and upgrade the disease exhaust system at all five fire stations at a cost of $35,000.
 
In the Police Department, the plan calls for a $200,000 project to replace all of the radios and $175,000 for replacement cruisers. The plan also calls for the replacement of tasers, computers, ballistic vests, and support vehicles.
 
The city is looking to spend $110,000 on new voting machines. The current machines will not longer be supported by the manufacturer in a few years and the parts are already no longer available.
 
The capital plan is slightly higher than last year on the general fund side. Last year the city authorized $8.3 million for borrowing for non-enterprise fund projects. 
 
"The city plans to fund the majority of the FY2018 capital projects using general fund debt. Approximately 4% of the $9 million will be paid with current dollars and 8 percent with other sources including for example grants, dedicated revenue funds, and bond premiums," reads the plan. 
 
The big difference is in the enterprise funds. Last year the city authorized $3.5 million on the sewer system, significantly lower than the $14.4 million eyed for enterprise accounts this year. 

 

2018-2022 Pittsfield Capital Improvement Plan by iBerkshires.com on Scribd

 


Tags: capital budget,   fiscal 2018,   pittsfield_budget,   public hearing,   

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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.

Ward 6 Councilor Dina Lampiasi said the walkthrough was "striking" at points, particularly at Conte, and had her thinking there was no way she would want her child educated there. She recognized that not everyone has the ability to choose where their child goes to school and "we need to do better."

"The two facilities that we are looking at I think are a great place to start," she said.

"As the Ward 6 councilor, this is where my residents and my students are going to school so selfishly yes, I want to see this project happen but looking at how we are educating Pittsfield students, this is going to give us a big bang for our buck and it's going to help improve the educational experience of a vast group of students in our city."

During the tour, Ward 5 Councilor Patrick Kavey, saw where it could be difficult to pay attention in an open classroom with so much going on and imagined the struggle for students.

Councilor at Large Alisa Costa said, "we cannot afford not to do this" because the city needs schools that people want their children to attend.

"I know that every financial decision we make is tough but we have to figure this out. If the roof on your house were crumbling in, you'd have to figure it out and that's where we're at and we can't afford to wait any longer," she said.

"We can't afford for the sake of the children going to our schools, for the sake of our city that we want to see grow so we have to build a city where people want to go."

Councilor at Large Kathy Amuso, who served on the School Building Needs Commission for about 18 years, pointed out that the panel identified a need to address Conte in 2008.

Curtis addressed questions about the fate of Conte if the build were to happen, explaining that it could be kept as an active space for community use, house the Eagle Academy or the Adult Learning Center, or house the central offices.

School attendance zones are a point of discussion for the entire school district and for this project.

"At one time I think we had 36 school buildings and now we have essentially 12 and then it would go down again but in a thoughtful way," Curtis said.

Currently, eight attendance zones designate where a student will go to elementary school. Part of the vision is to collapse those zones into three with hopes of building a plan that incorporates partner schools in each attendance zone.

"I think that going from eight schools to three would be easier to maintain and I think it would make more sense but in order to get there we will have to build these buildings and we will have to spend money," Kavey said, hoping that the city would receive the 80 percent reimbursement it is vying for.

This plan for West Street, which is subject to change, has the potential to house grades pre-kindergarten to first grade in one school and Grades 2 to 4 in another with both having their own identities and administrations. 

The districtwide vision for middle school students is to divide all students into a grade five and six school and a grade seven and eight school to ensure equity.

"The vagueness of what that looks like is worrisome to some folks that I have talked to," Lampiasi said.

Curtis emphasized that these changes would have to be voted on by the School Committee and include public input.

"We've talked about it conceptually just to illustrate a possible grade span allocation," he said. "No decisions have been made at all by the School Committee, even the grade-span proposals."

School Committee Chair William Cameron said it is civic duty of the committee and council to move forward with the SOI.
 
He explained that when seven of the city's schools were renovated in the late 1990s, the community schools were only 25 years old and Crosby was 35 years old.  The commonwealth did not deem them to be sorely in need of renovation or replacement.
 
"Now 25 years later, Crosby is physically decrepit and an eyesore. It houses students ages three to 11 in a facility meant for use by teenagers,"
 
"Conte and Morningside opened in the mid-1970s. They were built as then state-of-the-art schools featuring large elongated rectangles of open instructional space. Over almost half a century, these physical arrangements have proven to be inadequate for teaching core academic skills effectively to students, many of whom need extra services and a distraction-free environment if they are to realize their full academic potential."
 
He said  the proposal addresses a serious problem in the "economically poorest, most ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse area" of the city.
 
Cameron added that these facilities have been deemed unsatisfactory and need to be replaced as part of the project to reimagine how the city can best meet the educational needs of its students.  He said it is the local government's job to move this project forward to ensure that children learn in an environment that is conducive to their thriving academically.
 
"The process of meeting this responsibility needs to begin here tonight," he said.
 
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