A regional swat team is available to more than half the towns in Berkshire County in the event of a high-risk incident, such as a hostage situation, according to Chief Anthony Riello of the Pittsfield Police Department.
Riello was instrumental in bringing together many of the county's police departments to form the Berkshire County Regional Strategic Response Team in November 2000. A mutual aid agreement was established amongst the participating cities and towns. It specifies that the team will respond to incidents in those communities when needed, he said.
A $300,000 grant was secured for the growth of the team on December 18, 2000. U.S. Rep. John W. Olver (D-1st District) was instrumental in obtaining the grant for the team, Riello said. The grant money, which is administered through Riello's office and is good for three years, is to be spent on equipment and training and to support the team, including the cost of call-outs for incidents and paying team members, Riello said.
Two vehicles were purchased for the team with the grant money. One is a "very useful, versatile" armored swat truck called The Bear, which cost $175,000 and is garaged in Pittsfield, he said. The other, the team's first response vehicle, is a Ford Expedition with special equipment and a weapons locker.
The team has been called out "half a dozen to a dozen times," Riello said. It is used in high-risk drug raids, he said. The team is comprised of 22 members, 14 of whom are Pittsfield officers. Seven county police departments have officers on the team, including North Adams, Williamstown, Sheffield, Lee and Great Barrington, Riello said.
Pittsfield Police Capt. Cosmo Spezzaferro runs the team, Riello said. Second in command for the team is Lt. Bruce Hugabone. The team trains for four hours usually every other week, Riello said. Role play exercises are one part of their training. An example of a role play they practice is a situation where there is an active shooter or shooters in a school, he said.
The team was modeled after a regional team in eastern Massachusetts, he said.
Other situations that would involve the team include natural disasters, search-and-rescue operations, mob action, civil disturbances, unusual occurrences and any other situation threatening the peace of the jurisdiction, according to a press release from Olver's office.
Prior to regional team forming, the Pittsfield Police Department had its own 14-member swat team, which was absorbed into the regional team and is that team's "nucleus," Riello said. The vehicle that the city purchased was manufactured by Lenco Industries Inc., which has been manufacturing armored vehicles in Pittsfield since 1981. The vehicle is an armored swat truck, a bullet-resistant special response vehicle used in especially hazardous or dangerous police situations, said Len Light, vice president of Lenco.
Describing the truck as a "defensive piece of equipment," he said it has the dual purpose of transporting the police into the situation and rescuing those who need to be rescued, he said. In a hostage situation, the swat truck, which is resistant to high-powered assault rifles, would allow the police to get close to the scene, Light said. It is a user-friendly vehicle, which can fit 30 people in the back and has on board stretcher compartments, he said.
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Greylock School Project Garnering Interest From Bidders
By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A recent walkthrough of the Greylock School site turned out more interest than expected, which school officials and project managers hope will translate into multiple bids.
The project includes the demolition of the 60-year-old elementary school and the construction of a new two-story school directly to its north.
"We don't always expect a lot of them to show when a building is going to be demolished. There's not a lot for them to see," said Tim Alix of Collier's International, the owner's project manager, told the School Building Committee on Tuesday. "But just putting eyes on the site, seeing where the utilities are coming in so they can they've seen them all that information on the documents, but to see it in 3-D and they can start making their plans.
"We're hopeful that that means that we are going to be receiving a number of bids in each category. So that's encouraging."
The subcontracting bids are due Tuesday and the general contractors' on Jan. 14. Alix said there will be plenty of time to review the subcontractor documents before releasing that information so the general contractors can compile their bids. All bidders went through a prequalification process this past fall to be accepted by the Massachusetts School Building Authority, which is covering more than two-thirds of the cost of the project.
Jesse Saylor of TSKP Studio, the school's designer, said there have also been a lot of questions from potential bidders.
"We have received a number of bidders' questions, which are called bid RFIs, and that's normal," he said. "I think it shows participation, you know, bidders who are working on the job, are looking at the documents, and they're finding things that they want to make sure they understand."
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