Pittsfield Community Preservation Committee Starts Reviews FY22 Applications
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Community Preservation Committee on Monday got a closer look at six of the 11 Fiscal 2022 Community Preservation Act applications ranging from $7,500 to $150,000.
The panel received presentations for Morningside Community School's playground planning, stained-glass window restorations at St. Stephen's Church, and four applications from the city of Pittsfield.
These included the relocation and restoration of a Vietnam War memorial mural on East Housatonic Street, repairs on Clapp Park's Little League buildings, phase two of West Part Cemetery restorations, and improvements to the Kirvin Park Disc Golf course.
Committee members' scoring of the projects will be tabulated later this month and the City Council will tackle the proposals for a final vote in June.
Morningside Community School is asking for $24,000 for playground planning.
Principal Monica Zanin explained that the school would like to develop a recreation area in the open space behind the school that is accessible to all and also gives back to the community.
Ideas for the plan are being generated through collaborative work within the school and with the adjoining neighborhood.
In late 2020, the school raised about $5,000 to benefit students through a virtual jazz party hosted by five-time Grammy Award-winning musician Questlove, who is the frontman for "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon's" in-house band The Roots and just won an Oscar as well.
The event titled "Rent Party Jazz" was inspired by the children's book of the same name by author William Miller about New Orleans in the 1930s. "Rent Party Jazz" is required reading in Morningside's curriculum, as it deals with issues such as poverty, racial inequalities, and eviction.
When the children were asked how they would like to use the money to give back to the community most of the ideas came back to improving the school's grounds with better recreation equipment and a large open area for all to enjoy.
"We wanted to come back here just to talk to you a little bit about the proposal for doing the amount of work that would be necessary to really bring a community together and have lasting effects based on this experience," Zanin said.
"And making wrongs right and what the kids learned and how we can, as them living in the community and having family members in the community, how they can come back and continue to use that space forever."
The school is looking to kick off master planning -- including surveys with students, the community, and teachers -- in September with a plan set by January 2023. Shortly after that, they would like to apply for construction funds.
"We're looking to undertake all the public input and sort of design development of the concept designs in the fall but also in the fall I know the next opportunity for CPA applications is in the fall of 2022," Park, Open Space, and Natural Resource Program Manager James McGrath explained.
"I think the idea was for Morningside School to submit an application with a certain amount of construction funding, almost as a placeholder so that when the project gets to this point, it will be well fleshed out and Berkshire Design Group will have developed a definitive construction plan or cost estimates for these improvements, so I think the school was looking to use the November 2022 application process for this project, sort of advancing it a little quicker than the next following round."
Zanin also mentioned that she would like to work with the Berkshire County Sheriff's Department to remove barbed wire fencing and window bars from the former jail on Second Street that abuts the school.
One of the largest CPA requests, St. Stephen's Episcopal Church seeks $150,000 to preserve its stained glass windows.
Property Manager and vestry member John Garinther explained that the church would like to install protective glazing on 14 of its stained-glass windows: one balcony window, 11 nave windows, and two chapel windows.
The balcony window and nave windows were crafted by Louis Comfort Tiffany, Mary Elizabeth Tillinghast, and an unknown English artist.
The chapel windows were designed and installed by J. Wippell & Co. of Exeter, England, in the 1930s.
To protect windows, the church would like to install frames that mimic the lines of the stained glass as best as possible. Some repairs on deteriorating window frames are also needed.
Garinther said the project will cost about $165,000. If the church is granted the CPA monies, its endowment fund will cover the difference.
He also outlined the ways that St. Stephen's benefits the community. The church has three current tenants: The Cathedral of the Beloved, the Berkshire Immigrant Center, and the Jewish Family Service, which have been supporting Afghan refugees.
The church has a full kitchen that serves 150 meals a week and also lends its space for community groups and performances.
"We have a lot of activities going on and our space needs to be maintained on a regular basis for this reason," Garinther explained.
"And as you can imagine, in a space this big it costs us a lot of money, a significant amount out of our budget, and anything that we can receive from this grant would allow us to spend more on the other areas that need to be maintained."
There was some question about the eligibility of this project because of a state anti-aid amendment that prohibits the use of public funds to private entities for private purposes. City Planner CJ Hoss agreed to consult City Solicitor Stephen Pagnotta on the matter.
There is no definite determination yet but Hoss said he doesn't see an issue with the application because of the structure's historic nature. He will soon consult with Pagnotta.
The city is seeking $9,000 in funding to replace the roof of Clapp Park's Little League building that was constructed in 1985. The building maintenance department will replace the roof in the fall after the baseball season and before wintertime.
"It serves a number of uses for the Little League, it houses restrooms, there is a concession window where soda and chips and water are sold from and that helps to support the league, there's a small area where the league can store tools and equipment to maintain the fields," McGrath explained.
"The second floor of the building is primarily an enclosed space where they can open up sort of a large window area and they can view the field and that's where the game scores and announcers are housed overlooking the fields and then, of course, there is a roof deck for viewing and that's visible on the south side of the building from this vantage."
He added that the roof has not been repaired in a number of years and is compromised with leaks and spaces for animals to get inside.
The funding would be entirely to purchase supplies such as roofing shingles, new plywood, and drywall for the ceiling.
"There is just, I think, a strong ethos that young boys and girls in our community deserve to be a part of programs that foster teamwork and athleticism and all of those things that we hope kids get on the field and it really all comes down to the moms and dads and others who are helping to run these programs and they do it all as volunteers," McGrath said after a board member speculated that the city has great baseball teams.
"And major kudos should be given to them because there's very little involvement from the city and the Parks Department and the little league programs, of course, we're strong supporters and we always answer the phone when they call and assist where we can but this is an all-volunteer program that has been operating not only in Pittsfield but across our country for many, many, many years,"
"It's super successful, and I think is an integral part of sort of being a Pittsfielder."
The panel also received an update on the "Lest We Forget" Vietnam veterans' memorial project from
Director of Cultural Development Jennifer Glockner. The city is looking to move it from the corner of West Housatonic and South Street to a new location for better visibility and applied for $15,000 in CPA funds.
Glockner on Monday revealed that the mural will be recreated using as much restoration as possible and that the city is eyeing a spot for its relocation.
"We're using the word 'restore' because we really want the same artistic integrity but when it comes down to it, we're going to be redoing the mural we think," she explained.
"There is a sign company and an artist involved and so it's going to be recreated using as much restoration as we can."
The hope is to move it to 50 Pearl St. near the James E. Callahan Chapter 65 Vietnam Veterans building. The owners of the building have not yet committed to displaying the mural but Glockner reported that they are in touch with the city and are very much a part of the project.
"It's the cart and the horse right now, we're trying to get all the funding in place to make this happen before the approval of the property owner," she said.
"So we're feeling very good about it, very optimistic with all of the veterans' organizations involved and this, again, would just get us kind of over the hump."
The CPA applications reviewed at this meeting are:
• City of Pittsfield Cultural Development/Lest We Forget mural, $15,000
• St Stephen's Church/Stained Glass Window restoration, $150,000
• Morningside School/Playground Planning, $24,000
• City of Pittsfield DCD/Clapp Park Little League Buildings, $9,000
• City of Pittsfield DCD/West Park Cemetery restoration, $13,325
• City of Pittsfield DCD/Kirvin Park Disc Golf, $7,500
Full project details can be found on the city's website.
Tags: CPA,
