Pittsfield Annual Fishing Derby Being Held at Wild Acres

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Conservation Commission, in collaboration with Lyon Aviation, will sponsor a free fishing derby for youth 14 and under Saturday, May 21, at the Wild Acres Conservation Area.
 
The event is rain or shine.
 
The derby will be held 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 
 
The accessible trail down to the pond is open. The first 100 children will receive a free food voucher (food will also be available for purchase from Ozzie's Steak & Eggs). 
 
Volunteer support will be provided by the Onota Fishing Club to assist with dressing fish, providing fishing tips and techniques, baiting, and other related activities. Bait will be provided. Trophies will be awarded to those who catch the largest fish (length and weight); trophies will be awarded at noon.
 
Wild Acres is located off South Mountain Road.
 
For more information, contact Becky Manship at 413-499-9371.

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Pittsfield CPA Committee Funds Half of FY24 Requests

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A few projects are not getting funded by the Community Preservation Committee because of a tight budget.

The projects not making the cut were in the historic preservation and open space and recreation categories and though they were seen as interesting and valuable projects, the urgency was not prevalent enough for this cycle.

"It's a tough year," Chair Danielle Steinmann said.

The panel made its recommendations on Monday after several meetings of presentations from applications. They will advance to the City Council for final approval.  

Two cemetery projects were scored low by the committee and not funded: A $9,500 request from the city for fencing at the West Part Cemetery as outlined in a preservation plan created in 2021 and a $39,500 request from the St. Joseph Cemetery Commission for tombstone restorations.

"I feel personally that they could be pushed back a year," Elizabeth Herland said. "And I think they're both good projects but they don't have the urgency."

It was also decided that George B. Crane Memorial Center's $73,465 application for the creation of a recreational space would not be funded. Herland said the main reason she scored the project low was because it didn't appear to benefit the larger community as much as other projects do.

There was conversation about not funding The Christian Center's $34,100 request for heating system repairs but the committee ended up voting to give it $21,341 when monies were left over.

The total funding request was more than $1.6 million for FY24 and with a budget of $808,547, only about half could be funded. The panel allocated all of the available monies, breaking down into $107,206 for open space and recreation, $276,341 for historic preservation, and $425,000 for community housing.

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