Berkshire Colleges Receive $12M in American Rescue Plan Funds

12:24PM / Wednesday, May 12, 2021Print Story | Email Story

BOSTON. — Berkshire Community College, Williams College, and the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts will receive more than $12 million in American Rescue Plan Funds.

On Tuesday, U.S Rep. Richard Neal announced that Berkshire Community College, Williams College, and Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts will all receive a slice of the nearly $90 million in emergency funding for colleges, universities, and students in Massachusetts' First Congressional District under the American Rescue Plan.

"The success of our local colleges and universities is critical to the success of our students and to the strength of our community," said Neal in a press release. "Educational institutions here in Western and central Massachusetts and across the country have been steadfast in their mission of delivering quality education in the face of this pandemic. The American Rescue Plan makes a historic investment that will secure the future of these valued institutions and provide struggling students with urgent relief that will allow them to stay on track and complete their education."

BCC will receive $3,969,913, Williams College will receive $4,200,741, and MCLA will receive $3,942,592.

The funding will help local institutions cope with the financial fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and continue serving their students safely. At least half of the funding each institution receives will be distributed in the form of emergency cash assistance grants to students who are facing hunger, homelessness, and other hardship.

The American Rescue Plan provides $36 billion for nearly 3,500 public and private, nonprofit colleges and universities nationwide.

Tags: BCC, federal funds, MCLA,

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Pittsfield Seeks $28M Borrowing for Water, Sewer Infrastructure

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
04:32PM / Saturday, February 28, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city is seeking a total of $28 million in borrowing authorizations to upgrade its drinking and wastewater infrastructure.

This includes $13 million for upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant and $15 million for upgrades to the Cleveland and Ashley Water Treatment Plants, which are located outside Pittsfield. The City Council referred the $15 million borrowing request to the Finance Subcommittee on Tuesday.

The full drinking water project is expected to cost $165 million over the next 8 years, with $150 million for long-term construction and $15 million for near-term needs. The initial ask would fund the final design and permitting for Phases 1-3, Phase 1 of interim updates, allowances, and contingency.

After the meeting, Commissioner of Public Services and Utilities Ricardo Morales explained that these are needed repairs so the current infrastructure can be stretched a little longer while design work is underway.

Pittsfield's two Krofta drinking water treatment plants were installed in the 1980s. The city says they are beyond anticipated useful service and at risk for catastrophic failure that could leave Pittsfield with a shortage of potable water.

Krofta is a compact filtration system that Pittsfield will continue to use. There are four units at the Cleveland WTP and two at the Ashley WTP. Morales said the system is "very good" but needs to be upgraded.

"We were one of the first to use that type of technology in the 80s, and it's outdated now, and getting parts and getting repairs to it is very costly because of the outdated technology that it's using, and we can replace that with better infrastructure," he explained.

"We need to build a chemical facility on the Cleveland side. We already have that done at Ashley with [American Rescue Plan Act] funds, largely, and then we need to build better tank holding systems at the plants to allow for fluorination to happen at the plant, instead of on its way down to Pittsfield."