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The City Council accepted a raft of state and federal grants on Tuesday.

Pittsfield Receives Contingency Funds For Dam Removal

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The City Council accepted a $113,316.12 grant from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs to go toward the demolition of the Mill Street dam.
 
Parks and Open Spaces Manager James McGrath told the council Tuesday that the grant funds will go toward the dam removal contingency but that there is still a ways to go to hit the 10 percent contingency goal.
 
"It's a small contingency for a large project like this but there was a recognition that additional funds were needed," he said. "That is why these funds form the commonwealth are coming toward us for contingency."
 
The deteriorating dam is attached to the Hawthorne Mill Building, which used to house the Tel-Electric Piano Player Co. factory. Nearly 20 years ago, the Massachusetts Office of Dam Safety labeled the dam as in hazardous condition.
 
The project bids came in higher than expected at $2.8 million — quite a bit more than the $1.9 million estimate.
 
McGrath said currently the city has around $40,000 in project contingency but noted it should have "several hundreds of thousands."
 
He said he recently submitted a grant application to the Executive office of Energy and Environmental Affairs' Dam and Seawall Repair or Removal Program among others.
 
"We are reaching out to where we can for contingency funds," he said.
 
McGrath said typically the city likes to have 10 percent of the total project cost in contingency but because there was such an urgency to start, the state scrambled and came up with a portion of the contingency funds needed to go out to bid.
 
"The commonwealth could not come up with the full 10 percent of contingency funds," he said. "They granted us just enough funds to get us out to bid." 
 
Councilor at Large Melissa Mazzeo asked if there was a Plan B if this money did not come in and the project ran over. She wanted to know if the city would be on the hook. 
 
McGrath said the state is spearheading the project and it is highly unlikely it would leave the city hanging.
 
"If additional funds are needed there will be a conversation with the executive office," he said. "There is a commitment and they want to see this project through on deadline. If there is a need for additional funds for an unforeseen reason, I have high confidence that we will get there."
 
Ward 4 Councilor Christopher Connell asked about Bel Air Dam, which he noted was also in poor condition.
 
"It is a dangerous situation over there and I am not sure how many more winters it will last," he said.
 
McGrath said this dam has also been identified by the state as a possible demolition project.
 
The council also accepted $2,000 from the Walmart Foundation to support the Taconic High School's track and field program.
 
McGrath said his department is working with the school to find more funds to revamp the track so events could be again held at the school. 
 
The City Council accepted $28,719 in grant funds from the U.S. Department of Justice, $15,500.00 from the state Executive Office of Public Safety and Security and a $650 MED-Project (medication education and disposal) grant.
 
The DOJ's  Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant will be used to support overtime for officers training citizens in personnel safety ($15,500) and for equipment and supplies for the Rape Aggression Defense program and the Community Academy ($13,219). The state Emergency Management Planning funds will be used for rescue gear and trauma kits in case of a mass casualty event. 
 
The council also accepted $1,500 from the state Department of Environmental Protection for a Sustainable Materials Recovery Program to support recycling; $12,047 from the Corporation for National and Community Service for the city's Retired Senior Volunteer Program as three-month bridge money for moving the grant cycle and another $7,500 as an increase in the annual grant baseline; and $26,000 from the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, part of an earmark secured by state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier for handicapped accessibility improvements at the Wild Acres conservation area. 

Tags: dams,   grants,   

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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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