Plans for Lanesborough's Tour de Greylock Bike Ride Nearing Finalization

By Brian RhodesiBerkshires Staff
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LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The Economic Development Committee was updated on the Sept. 24 Tour de Greylock bike ride and plans to finalize details soon and begin registrations.

The ride will take bikers around the entire base of Mount Greylock and back to Lanesborough. The exact bike route, as well as promotional and registration materials, are nearing finalization.

The committee expects to have more information finalized by the next meeting. Recording Secretary Patricia Hubbard briefed the committee on the ride on Tuesday.

"Most of what you updated us on covers just waiting on the hard copy of the logo and all paperwork, the registration, ironing out the location," said board Chair Barbara Davis-Hassan. "And then we'll move things next meeting and have a little bit more information to report on."

The committee expects 50 to 100 riders to register and plans on needing about 20 volunteers to run the event.

In other business, the committee has planned the next business-to-business networking event, set from 5 to 7 p.m. on April 12 at Lanesborough Local. The board also discussed doing more similar throughout the rest of the year.


Davis-Hassan said she is excited to begin holding business-to-business events again, as the COVID-19 pandemic limited the ability to run them.

"It's a meet and greet and networking. It's going to be great to be back to doing this," she said.

In addition to the networking events, the committee is also drafting a letter to send to new businesses when they begin operating in town.

"[It's a] welcome and, 'we'd like you to stay and be successful' and 'what we can do to help you? Feel free to mention anything we can do that makes your business thrive better that we can help with,'" Davis-Hassan said.

The committee also discussed the vacant seat previously held by Joe Prince, who resigned due to schedule conflicts. Davis-Hassan said she has worked to get the word out on the vacancy.

"I was at a Selectmen's meeting during the general public comment period, and I did make an announcement that we did have a vacancy there," she said. "And I also gave the information to the town Secretary so it could be posted online. So if and when they do see any applications, I will make sure to bring them forward to this board."


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Pittsfield Reviews Financial Condition Before FY27 Budget

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The average single-family home in Pittsfield has increased by more than 40 percent since 2022. 

This was reported during a joint meeting of the City Council and School Committee on March 19, when the city's financial condition was reviewed ahead of the fiscal year 2027 budget process.

Mayor Peter Marchetti said the administration is getting "granular" with line items to find cost savings in the budget.  At the time, they had spoken to a handful of departments, asking tough questions and identifying vacancies and retirements. 

Last fiscal year’s $226,246,942 spending plan was a nearly 4.8 percent increase from FY24. 

In the last five years, the average single-family home in Pittsfield has increased 42 percent, from $222,073 in 2022 to $315,335 in 2026. 

"Your tax bill is your property value times the tax rate," the mayor explained. 

"When the tax rate goes up, it's usually because property values have gone down. When the property values go up, the tax rate comes down." 

Tax bills have increased on average by $280 per year over the last five years; the average home costs $5,518 annually in 2026. In 2022, the residential tax rate was $18.56 per thousand dollars of valuation, and the tax rate is $17.50 in 2026. 

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