Pittsfield Council Mulls Mental-Health Responder Solutions

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Mental health supports were a reoccurring topic at the City Council meeting on Tuesday.

The panel took up three new petitions that strive to answer the community's ask for improved responders for residents who are in crisis. The city's deficiency of mental health responders was brought to light after Miguel Estrella died at the hands of Pittsfield Police in late March.

During open microphone, residents also said the city's nearly $12 million police budget, which was passed last week, needs to reflect such efforts. 

"I was quite shocked, actually, after four years of being on the council and going through the budget process to read in the paper that the police budget had been passed on the first night of budget debates," former Ward 1 Councilor Helen Moon said.

"It's never, in my experience, been so upfront in the schedule and so I know that there are many people in the community that were really disappointed to not be a part of that conversation, to join you in this council chamber to discuss that."

Estrella's sister Elina Estrella also stated that she wished there was a follow-up communication from the council so that they could discuss the police budget.

A petition from President Peter Marchetti, at-Large Councilor Pete White, Ward 3 Councilor Kevin Sherman, and resident Tonya Frazier requests that the state and federal delegation assist with finding additional funding and resources to improve the Mental Health services in Pittsfield was approved.

"In this community, we hear loud and clear, and many of us feel loud and clear from people that we know, that the mental health services that we have in Pittsfield are not adequate, we need more funding and we need more resources," White said.

"And when we say funding, it's not a resources issue necessarily that the city could solve, we need to make sure that when agencies are hiring their staff, their staff is being paid at a level that will keep them here that will attract new staff, and that we can have consistency in the mental health care that is provided here, and then with more funding and more resources from our state and federal delegation, more alternatives can be enacted beyond the Brien Center's crisis team, we need more services at the hospital."

He added that the city needs more than what it can provide through the budget and that the state needs to provide such resources "first and foremost."

Sherman said mental illness touches most people's lives in some way and highlighted the importance of addressing it.

"This is a huge issue in the city that crosses all boundaries it's not exclusive to one area, one demographic, all of us have been touched by it, perhaps more than COVID, cancer any other disease there is, we've all been touched our families ourselves by the mental health crisis that's going on throughout," he explained.

"And we talk a lot about funding, funding what can the city do? We're trying to put our money where our mouth is, our last budget meeting in regards to responders, in regards to mental health professionals within the city walls,"

"The state, however, controls much of what happens in regards to the mental health services throughout the state, throughout our city, and we need the help of our delegation, they're great partners, we need to reach out to them."

Sherman said this is a step and will not solve anything but will begin conversations with actions that follow.

A petition from Ward 1 Councilor Kenneth Warren requesting $75,000 be appropriated for the purpose of evaluating the creation of an Alternative for Community Emergency Services was referred to Mayor Linda Tyer and the committee of the whole.



Warren also wants to invite Amherst officials to discuss topics such as the investigation, the creation, the availability of grant funding, and the operation of an alternative program because the town is in the process of implementing one.  

The price tag of $75,000 is an estimate.

Warren's other petition to support the enactment of H2519 an Act to create Alternatives for Community Emergency Services at the request of the local Berkshire County branch of the NAACP was approved and sent to the state delegation and the Committee of the Whole.

At the time of the meeting, the bill was still awaiting approval.

The council also spoke about the use of nonlethal weapons with Police Lt. Gary Traversa after it was revealed that the BolaWraps purchased with an Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance grant have not been used and are not carried on police. 

The fiscal 2021 grant of about $40,000 was used to purchase 15 BolaWraps, 35 tasers, and BolaWrap cartridges.

Traversa described the restraint devices as being similar to lassos and reported that none of them have been deployed. The devices, which are similar in size to a wallet, reportedly don't fit on the police toolbelts and are kept in the cruisers.

White speculated that the wraps were seemingly oversold, as he was under the impression that they would do more. He wants to look at the policies behind the devices.

"We're looking at trying to find solutions to some of the things we've had happened in our community and we all had high hopes on these BolaWraps being deployed more often in situations of disarmament," White said.

"And if they're not going to be useful, maybe we have to look at what the next thing is and see if we can find those instead of looking at maintaining these and any money that goes towards potentially buying new ones when they haven't been deployed in a year."

A preliminary investigation by the Pittsfield Police Department has found the responding officers to have been in compliance with established guidelines for use of force. The incident is also under a separate investigation by the State Police.

Earlier this month, the city voted to endorse body cameras on Pittsfield Police Officers.

The Police Advisory and Review Board is also reviewing the situation and brainstorming solutions.


Tags: community policing,   mental health,   

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Crosby/Conte Statement of Interest Gets OK From Council

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Architect Carl Franceschi and Superintendent Joseph Curtis address the City Council on Tuesday.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — With the approval of all necessary bodies, the school district will submit a statement of interest for a combined build on the site of Crosby Elementary School.

The City Council on Tuesday unanimously gave Superintendent Joseph Curtis the green light for the SOI to the Massachusetts School Building Authority by April 12.

"The statement I would make is we should have learned by our mistakes in the past," Mayor Peter Marchetti said.

"Twenty years ago, we could have built a wastewater treatment plant a lot cheaper than we could a couple of years ago and we can wait 10 years and get in line to build a new school or we can start now and, hopefully, when we get into that process and be able to do it cheaper then we can do a decade from now."

The proposal rebuilds Conte Community School and Crosby on the West Street site with shared facilities, as both have outdated campuses, insufficient layouts, and need significant repair. A rough timeline shows a feasibility study in 2026 with design and construction ranging from 2027 to 2028.

Following the SOI, the next step would be a feasibility study to determine the specific needs and parameters of the project, costing about $1.5 million and partially covered by the state. There is a potential for 80 percent reimbursement through the MSBA, who will decide on the project by the end of the year.

Earlier this month, city officials took a tour of both schools — some were shocked at the conditions students are learning in.

Silvio O. Conte Community School, built in 1974, is a 69,500 square foot open-concept facility that was popular in the 1960s and 1970s but the quad classroom layout poses educational and security risks.  John C. Crosby Elementary School, built in 1962, is about 69,800 square feet and was built as a junior high school so several aspects had to be adapted for elementary use.

Ward 6 Councilor Dina Lampiasi said the walkthrough was "striking" at points, particularly at Conte, and had her thinking there was no way she would want her child educated there. She recognized that not everyone has the ability to choose where their child goes to school and "we need to do better."

"The two facilities that we are looking at I think are a great place to start," she said.

"As the Ward 6 councilor, this is where my residents and my students are going to school so selfishly yes, I want to see this project happen but looking at how we are educating Pittsfield students, this is going to give us a big bang for our buck and it's going to help improve the educational experience of a vast group of students in our city."

During the tour, Ward 5 Councilor Patrick Kavey, saw where it could be difficult to pay attention in an open classroom with so much going on and imagined the struggle for students.

Councilor at Large Alisa Costa said, "we cannot afford not to do this" because the city needs schools that people want their children to attend.

"I know that every financial decision we make is tough but we have to figure this out. If the roof on your house were crumbling in, you'd have to figure it out and that's where we're at and we can't afford to wait any longer," she said.

"We can't afford for the sake of the children going to our schools, for the sake of our city that we want to see grow so we have to build a city where people want to go."

Councilor at Large Kathy Amuso, who served on the School Building Needs Commission for about 18 years, pointed out that the panel identified a need to address Conte in 2008.

Curtis addressed questions about the fate of Conte if the build were to happen, explaining that it could be kept as an active space for community use, house the Eagle Academy or the Adult Learning Center, or house the central offices.

School attendance zones are a point of discussion for the entire school district and for this project.

"At one time I think we had 36 school buildings and now we have essentially 12 and then it would go down again but in a thoughtful way," Curtis said.

Currently, eight attendance zones designate where a student will go to elementary school. Part of the vision is to collapse those zones into three with hopes of building a plan that incorporates partner schools in each attendance zone.

"I think that going from eight schools to three would be easier to maintain and I think it would make more sense but in order to get there we will have to build these buildings and we will have to spend money," Kavey said, hoping that the city would receive the 80 percent reimbursement it is vying for.

This plan for West Street, which is subject to change, has the potential to house grades pre-kindergarten to first grade in one school and Grades 2 to 4 in another with both having their own identities and administrations. 

The districtwide vision for middle school students is to divide all students into a grade five and six school and a grade seven and eight school to ensure equity.

"The vagueness of what that looks like is worrisome to some folks that I have talked to," Lampiasi said.

Curtis emphasized that these changes would have to be voted on by the School Committee and include public input.

"We've talked about it conceptually just to illustrate a possible grade span allocation," he said. "No decisions have been made at all by the School Committee, even the grade-span proposals."

School Committee Chair William Cameron said it is civic duty of the committee and council to move forward with the SOI.
 
He explained that when seven of the city's schools were renovated in the late 1990s, the community schools were only 25 years old and Crosby was 35 years old.  The commonwealth did not deem them to be sorely in need of renovation or replacement.
 
"Now 25 years later, Crosby is physically decrepit and an eyesore. It houses students ages three to 11 in a facility meant for use by teenagers,"
 
"Conte and Morningside opened in the mid-1970s. They were built as then state-of-the-art schools featuring large elongated rectangles of open instructional space. Over almost half a century, these physical arrangements have proven to be inadequate for teaching core academic skills effectively to students, many of whom need extra services and a distraction-free environment if they are to realize their full academic potential."
 
He said  the proposal addresses a serious problem in the "economically poorest, most ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse area" of the city.
 
Cameron added that these facilities have been deemed unsatisfactory and need to be replaced as part of the project to reimagine how the city can best meet the educational needs of its students.  He said it is the local government's job to move this project forward to ensure that children learn in an environment that is conducive to their thriving academically.
 
"The process of meeting this responsibility needs to begin here tonight," he said.
 
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