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Artwork and readings that address street harassment were displayed at Park Square earlier this year in observance of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Art installations are not listed as being restricted in the policy.

Pittsfield Parks Commission Approves Sign Policy, Events

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Parks Commission approved three events and a new sign policy on Tuesday during a swift, 30-minute meeting.

The policy aims to address signage only in Park Square.  

It states that signage or displays related to event promotion, solicitation, or advertising are not permitted.  Additionally, all installations and signage placed in the park are done under the commission's authority, which will review and vote on them.

"The thought was to keep it limited to Park Square, this policy specifically to Park Square," said Commissioner Anthony DiMartino, who drafted it.  "Give us and reinforce that the commission has the jurisdiction over anything that goes in there and that specifically speaks to signage that would not be allowed."

Last month, the panel discussed a possible policy and motioned to draft one.  Some commissioners agreed that signs should be kept out of Park Square with exceptions such as art installations with signage.

Park, Open Space, and Natural Resource Program Manager James McGrath noted that all proposals first come before city staff, and it would be helpful to have a set policy to reference when talking to applicants.

McGrath said that it is clear and gives the commission discretion.

"It sort of allows you to circle back around and consider something that's maybe advertising. If it's this acceptable idea that is community supported and more importantly, commissioned supported, it gives you an opportunity to weigh in on it," he added.

The third annual Dave Zerbato Memorial Wiffle Ball Tournament was approved for Nov. 5 at Deming Park from noon to 4:30 p.m.  All proceeds will go towards scholarships for graduating seniors at Pittsfield High School and Taconic High School in honor of the late Dave Zerbato.
 
"We started this back in 2017, that's when Dave passed away suddenly. Dave was a mentor and a friend of mine and at first, he wanted to do something to give back to the family to help cover some medical bills so we had an event. We had a skills competition down at Demming, raised some money we gave all the proceeds to the family," event producer Justin Hopkins said.

"And then the next year we added on to that and we started a scholarship in his name. So since 2018, we've handed out about 15 scholarships, close to $7,000 in scholarships.  Each year, we award them to graduating seniors from Pittsfield and Taconic High School. And this is our big fundraiser we hold every year this is going to be the third world wiffle ball tournament we have.  Last year we had about 20 teams show up and we doubled our profits from the year before, so we're really excited about that."

The event consists of four different age groups, a raffle, and will have pizza provided by Papa John's.



Hopkins said that giving back to the community was important to Zerbato as well as bringing kids together, playing baseball, and having a good time.

The Berkshire Pride Parade and Festival was approved for June 3 at The Common from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.  This will be the sixth year of the event, which is Berkshire Pride's annual LGBTQ+ festival.  

The family-friendly event will feature live entertainment, speakers, food trucks, and other vendors.

Hundreds gathered along Eagle Street and Fenn Street and applauded the parade during the 2022 Berkshire Pride festival.

A Halloween Skate Jam hosted by The Garden was approved for Oct. 29 at the skate park on East Street.  There will be prizes, giveaways, and music through a PA system.

Commissioners asked the skate shop's owner Bill Whittaker how the park has been since it was expanded.

"It's been really, really great," he said.

"We've seen people coming in from all over using the park.  People are coming from far just to skate it and we've got some plans for future projects down there too, so looking forward to doing more, just continuing making it better down there and moving forward."
 
In other news:

  • It was reported that a boat wash station proposal for Community Preservation Act funds has been scaled down to a portable diesel-powered wash.  It was found that there are only about six boats per year that come to the boat ramp infested with zebra mussels.  The original proposal was going to cost over $250,000 and this one will cost about $75,000 with a CPA ask of $60,000 if deemed eligible.
     
  • Two historic stone piers at Springside Park will be subject to a CPA application.  They sit at the southwest corner of the park across from the intersection of Weller Avenue and need to be repaired and cleaned.  McGrath will meet with a mason to determine the cost of the repair.

Tags: Halloween,   signage,   tournament,   

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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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