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Wahconah Park Restoration Committee Begins Work

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
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The Wahconah Park Restoration Committee meets for the first time this week. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Wahconah Park Restoration Committee met for the first time on Thursday, beginning the process of renovating and redesign of the historic facility.

The panel, which was created by the City Council last month, contains nine members who will assess the current condition of the park, solicit public input, recommend the specifics of the repairs, and make recommendations to the city on the hiring of project agents.

It is expected to issue a preliminary report to Mayor Linda Tyer within 180 days of its appointment and a final report within 270 days.

"This is a moment in time right now for us to create a landmark destination that honors Pittsfield's long and happy relationship with baseball," Tyer said.

Members reviewed a structural study for repairs that put an approximately $9.3 million price tag on just the building's renovation. This would restore it to a safe condition and bring it up to code.

Major issues with the over 70-year-old grandstand include deteriorating support beams, missing bolts, and asbestos materials in the siding and roof.

A new water and sewer line was also recommended.

"My guess is you can probably say 50 percent of this structural steel in the building, is my guess but yes, the whole grandstand wood decking, it's all gonna go, all the siding, all the roofing," architect John Barry said, adding that there are other aspects that can be reused such as the lighting system, some kitchen equipment, a few furnaces, and a sewage protective system.

After a structural evaluation in late 2021 revealed concerns, the city hired a structural engineer and architect to look at it more comprehensively. Their recommendation was for the grandstand to be closed for the 2022 season.

The facilities underneath the grandstand including the bathrooms, locker rooms, maintenance room, and concessions were OK'd for use. Because of the way the building was constructed, they are rather disconnected from the superstructure, warranting no risk.

To supplement seating, large bleachers were brought in.

The city knew this would be a big undertaking, which led to the creation of the committee. Parks, Open Space, and Natural Resource Program Manager James McGrath is the lead of the panel and several other city employees provide support.

"Wahconah Park is sort of our iconic keystone park and it's one that I am really pleased that we're spending some focus time and energy around the planning for," he said.



"It's critical to this community's identity and something to be cherished. There's a lot of history, a lot of story at this place and it's time for us to celebrate it and reimagine what Wahconah Park can be."

To aid the process, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal was able to place a $3 million earmark into the $57 billion Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies funding bill for fiscal 2023.

The city's fiscal year 2023 budget also allocated $2 million for the project.

Members of the committee agreed that they would like to look into addressing the flooding that frequently occurs at Wahconah Park. Barry explained that when you are dealing with a floodplain, where the facility is located, you have to find a storage area for the water so that it doesn't go downstream and flood another property.

Commissioner of Public Services and utilities Ricardo Morales said the city has had preliminary plans to address the flooding since 2009 by repairing the culvert and structure system underneath the parking lot.

The grandstand sits on 8 acres of land that includes a park area to the left of the parking lot. It was recommended that the committee hire a consultant to provide a holistic view of the entire property in the redesign.

Tyer offered her vision for the park at the beginning of the meeting.

"When I think about the opportunity for Wahconah Park, I'm thinking about the downtown corridor, so we have at one end, the Colonial Theatre, which is an anchor institution, an arts and culture organization, Barrington Stage right in the heart of downtown and now with a successful restoration of Wahconah Park, we'll have an anchor at the north end, connecting that experience of the downtown corridor for people who live in our city and visit our city," she said.

"And Wahconah Park, while it may not be an arts and culture organization, it's certainly an outdoor event facility and it's something that's enjoyed by people of all ages and all abilities and all interests so I really encourage the committee as you start this work to take a really wide lens on what are the possibilities at Wahconah Park."

Tyer asked them to think about what will provide the best fan experience, how to provide decent and modern facilities, some other community events that could be held there, how to improve the playing field itself, how to address the parking lot and flooding, and how to create an exhibit space for historical baseball items.

Councilor at Large Earl Persip III was elected as the chair of the panel. The next order of business will be to have a site visit and review the request for proposals (RFP) for the project.


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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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