CHESHIRE, Mass. — The town has received permission from the state to go forward with emergency repairs to the fire station roof and work has begun.
"Roof repairs on the fire station roof has started," Selectwoman Carol Francesconi said Tuesday.
A portion of the Fire Department roof had collapsed during the summer prompting the town to seek an $85,000 reserve fund transfer to make the emergency repairs and rebuild the section of the roof. A special town meeting granted this transfer earlier this month.
Town Administrator Mark Webber said the town has been given an emergency waiver from the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance to make these repairs without having to go through the public bidding process. The town needs to make these repairs before winter.
"So we are good to go with all bases covered so when inquisitive minds do ask why we didn't go out for a formal bid, the answer is we didn't have to," Webber said.
The Selectmen also met with Berkshire Regional Planning Commission Planner William Sikula to discuss the town's Housing Rehabilitation Grant.
He said although they cannot officially act on applications, people can start the application process.
"We are accepting applications already, we just can't act yet," Sikula said. "We have the applications so just refer them to us we can give them one."
In Highway Superintendent Blair Crane's report, he said he has been facing issues with the Cheshire Elementary School heating system.
He said the heat was turned down last year to a minimal level and now that there are tenants in the building, he needs to bring it back up to a comfortable temperature. However, the thermostat seems to not be communicating well with the boiler.
"The thermostats aren't calling for heat very well and the rooms that are farther away from the boiler system have the tendency to cool off first," he said. "Since the system is linked together, I have had to go over and bypass the thermostatic system and turn the boilers on."
He said he will continue to monitor it but it takes up his time.
"It has been a time-consuming effort over the past week but needless to say they are all happy," he said. "I just need to babysit it two or three times a day for a considerable amount of time."
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.
Your Comments
iBerkshires.com welcomes critical, respectful dialogue. Name-calling, personal attacks, libel, slander or foul language is not allowed. All comments are reviewed before posting and will be deleted or edited as necessary.
No Comments
Pittsfield Council Takes Up $243M Fiscal 2027 Budget
By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Mayor Peter Marchetti detailed the city's $243 million spending plan during the first budget hearing of the season on Tuesday.
The proposed operating budget for Pittsfield in fiscal year 2027 is $232,782,090, a 2.9 percent increase from this year. Marchetti compared that to hikes in fixed costs: a 9 percent increase in health insurance, a 7 percent increase in debt service, and more than a 5 percent increase in retirement contributions.
"We needed to make reductions in other places," he explained.
The total proposed budget is $243,234,868. It breaks down into $145,927,029 for the municipal operating budget, $86,855,061 for the schools, and $10,452,778 for proposed state assessments and overlay.
To balance the budget, the administration will not fill several vacant positions, is funding police social workers and co-responders through opioid settlement funds, and reduces the library's Thursday hours.
"Probably one of our most painful cuts that we have produced: The overall [Department of Public Services] budget has been reduced by $738,000 from fiscal year 26 to 27, with a reduction of five positions that are currently vacant, have been vacant for some time, and we believe the reason that those positions are vacant is based on our salaries," Marchetti explained.
"So once we are able to successfully negotiate a contract with the teamsters, we will be back looking to be able to fund these positions from a later appropriation. It is not our intent to let them go vacant all year, but it's impossible to budget when we know we can't fill them, and we don't know what salary at this current stage to use."
The budget includes $2 million in free cash to offset the tax rate, $19,791,219 from water & sewer enterprise funds, $81,959,322 from state aid ($68,855,061 in Chapter 70 School Aid), and $15,388,750 in local receipts.
Jason Codey struck out 13, walked two and allowed just an infield single as the Generals earned a 7-1 win over Wahconah to claim their third straight regional title. click for more
Gracelyn Wright struck out eight, and Genevieve Lagess went 3-for-5 with four runs batted in as the Hurricanes beat Monson, 17-3, to claim their first Western Mass title in four years. click for more
For the boys, Ward Bianchi helped lead the way with a win in the shot put and a second place in the javelin as the Mounties finished 16 points ahead of runner-up Pittsfield (pending the results of the pole vault, which were unavailable at 11 p.m. Friday night). click for more
Brady Auger Friday scored five goals to lead the Mount Greylock boys Lacrosse team to a 16-14 win over Hoosac Valley in the title game of the Western Massachusetts Class C Tournament. click for more
Brooke Harrington scored four goals, and Abigail Rodhouse had a hat trick as Wahconah won its second straight Western Mass title and the rubber match against the Mounties in the third one-goal game between the teams this spring. click for more