PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Community Preservation Committee has given the city its blessing to continue working toward a Pontoosuc Lake beach.
Parks and Open Spaces Manager James McGrath asked the committee Monday for permission to spend down the balance of the city's Community Preservation Funds to find a new location for the beach.
"I think it is just too important to the city and is a valuable park space," McGrath said. "This is a site that I think is not living up to its full potential and, at one point in time, that was a premier location."
Over a year ago, Friends of Pontoosuc Lake were approved for $15,000 from the Community Preservation Act funds to re-establish a city beach at Pontoosuc Lake Park.
McGrath said the city hired SK Design Group to look at drainage issues that have deteriorated the city beach over the years.
"It was a very popular spot where there was in fact a lifeguard station and a changing hut and a series of docks but over time a lot of that went away," he said. "What we were left with was simply an old beach at the bottom of an old staircase … there is no more and over time this was taken over as grass and maintained as grass.
McGrath said the project would help the city understand drainage issues that led to the deterioration of the beach. He said the study would inform new drainage that could intercept the water and drain off in the lake and dry up the area.
SK design did some survey work but ultimately it was found that the proposed beach, which is about 200 feet long, is now a wetland and therefore has to follow wetland restrictions.
"There are now rules that prohibit us from converting this back into a beach," McGrath said. "It would be the taking of a wetland so we are sort of at a stopping point.
There are two ways in which the project can go: forget about it or look for a new location along the waterfront.
McGrath said if allowed to go forward, they would ask permission to spend the remaining $12,000 to continue survey work along the shore in hopes of finding a new location that could support a public beach.
The new beach would have to be connected to the established parking area and thought is for looking eastward to avoid the busy channel.
SK Design would work with the city to get as far as possible in the development of the park with the remaining money. McGrath said additional funds would be sought if needed through another competitive application.
He was asked if there was any interest in letting the area simply stay a wetland and letting it turn into an ecological site. McGrath said the future of this plot is still unknown and this could be looked at. But first, he said, a conversation needs to be had with the community and the Parks Commission. To continue surveying the land would begin this conversation.
People continue to fish, swim, and launch boats from the grassy area and Chairman John Dickson said even if the activity was prohibited there, he thought people would continue doing what they have been doing for years and utilizing the water access.
McGrath agreed and said this beach and Burbank Park are probably the most utilized parks in the city during the summer and he felt developing some kind of beach on Pontoosuc Lake would greatly improve the resource.
"People are not spending the afternoon here at a sandy beach because we don't have that so maybe it is just more undeveloped," he said. "But the views from this location are some of the best in the city over the lake. They can't be beat there is a lot of potential at this park."
The committee unanimously approved the request to continue study and design work.
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Pittsfield 2025 Year in Review
By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city continued to grapple with homelessness in 2025 while seeing a glimmer of hope in upcoming supportive housing projects.
Founders James Shulman and his wife, Jackie, offered it to the city through a conveyance and donation of property, which was met with some hesitation before it was withdrawn.
Now, a group of more than 50 volunteers learned everything from running the ride to detailing the horses, and it is run by nonprofit Berkshire Carousel Inc., with the Shulmans supporting operating costs.
Median and Camping Petitions
Conversations about homelessness resumed in Council Chambers when Mayor Peter Marchetti proposed a median standing and public camping ban to curb negative behaviors in the downtown area. Neither of the ordinances reached the finish line, and community members swarmed the public comment podium to urge the city to lead with compassion and housing-first solutions.
"If you look at this as a public safety issue, which I will grant that this is entirely put forward as a public safety issue, there are other issues that might rate higher that need our attention more with limited resources," said former Ward 7 councilor Rhonda Serre.
Protesters and public commenters said the ordinance may be framed as a public safety ordinance, but actually targets poor and vulnerable community members, and that criminalizing activities such as panhandling and protesting infringes on First Amendment rights and freedom of speech.
Some housing solutions came online in 2025 amidst the discourse about housing insecurity in Pittsfield.
The city celebrated nearly 40 new supportive units earlier in December. This includes nine units at "The First" located within the Zion Lutheran Church, and 28 on West Housatonic Street. A ceremony was held in the new Housing Resource Center on First Street, which was funded by the American Rescue Plan Act.
These units are permanent supportive housing, a model that combines affordable housing with voluntary social services.
Pittsfield supported the effort with $750,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds and some Community Development Block Grant funds. Hearthway, formerly Berkshire Housing Development Corp., is managing the apartments and currently accepting applications.
After the Wahconah Park Restoration Committee completed its work with a formal recommendation in 2024, news about the park was quiet while the city planned its next move.
The ice rink was originally proposed for Clapp Park, but when the project was put out to bid, the system came back $75,000 higher than the cost estimate, and the cost estimates for temporary utilities were over budget. The city received a total of $200,000 in donations from five local organizations for the effort.
Last year, there was $18 million committed between grant funding and capital borrowing.
The Parks Commission recently accepted a negotiating rights agreement between the city and longtime summer collegiate baseball team, the Pittsfield Suns, that solidifies that the two will work together when the historic ballpark is renovated.
It remains in effect until the end of 2027, or when a license or lease agreement is signed. Terms will be automatically extended to the end of 2028 if it appears the facility won't be complete by then.
William Stanley Business Park
Site 9, the William Stanley Business Park parcel, formerly described to have looked like the face of the moon, was finished in early 2025, and the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority continues to prepare for new tenants.
Mill Town Capital is planning to develop a mixed-use building on the 16.5-acre site, and housing across Woodlawn Avenue on an empty parcel. About 25,000 cubic yards of concrete slabs, foundations, and pavements had to be removed and greened over.
There is also movement at the Berkshire Innovation Center as it begins a 7,000-square-foot expansion to add an Advanced Manufacturing for Advanced Optics Tech Hub and bring a new company, Myrias, to Pittsfield.
Voters chose new City Council members and a largely new School Committee during the municipal election in November. The council will be largely the same, as only two councilors will be new.
Earl Persip III, Peter White, Alisa Costa, and Kathleen Amuso held their seats as councilors at large. There were no races for wards 1, 3, and 4. Patrick Kavey was re-elected to Ward 5 after winning the race against Michael Grady, and Lampiasi was re-elected to Ward 6 after winning the race against Walter Powell.
Nine candidates ran to fill the six-seat committee. Ciara Batory, Sarah Muil, Daniel Elias, Katherine Yon, Heather McNeice, and Carolyn Barry were elected for two-year terms.
Katherine Nagy Moody secured representation of Ward 7 over Anthony Maffuccio, and Cameron Cunningham won the Ward 2 seat over Corey Walker. Both are new to the council.
In October, Ward 7 Councilor Rhonda Serre stepped down to work for the Pittsfield Public Schools.
In 2025, the city remained challenged by the homelessness crisis, though the development of new supportive housing offered a promising outlook. click for more
The ribbon was cut on Thursday Dec. 19, on nearly 40 supportive permanent housing units; nine at The First, located within the Zion Lutheran Church, and 28 on West Housatonic Street. click for more
Disrepaired houses at 154 Francis Ave. and 224 Fourth St. will be demolished as part of the city's yearly efforts to address condemned properties. click for more
Our Friday Front Porch is a weekly feature spotlighting attractive homes for sale in Berkshire County. This week, we are showcasing 100 Northumberland Road.
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