Pittsfield Airport Navigation Easement Acquisitions Almost Closed

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Gale Associates updated the Airport Commission on the status of various projects during its meeting last week.  
 
The Runway 14 navigation easement acquisitions are almost closed. Gale Associates submitted the forms along with all the necessary backup documentation to the state Department of Transportation on March 10.
 
Once the city is reimbursed for the outstanding MassDOT balance, the project will be removed from Gale's update, civil engineer Mark Ottariano said. 
 
The permit design for tree clearing went out to bid starting March 29 and will remain open for three weeks, he said. 
 
The bids will be opened at City Hall on April 19 at 2 p.m. instead of 11 a.m. That was a recent change.
 
At the time of the meeting, there was one bidder who had pulled plans. Ottariano said Gail Associates will reach out to some of the contractors that it has worked with in the past to inform them of the project in case they missed the advertisement. 
 
The construction for the project was originally budgeted for $165,000. There were a couple of permitting things that drove the budget up to 200,000, including the added cost for herbicide. 
 
The $200,000 is a conservative estimate, Ottariano said. A more accurate construction cost will be available in a couple of weeks.
 
The Federal Aviation Administration split the removal project into a design only and construction phase. 
 
Gale Associates recently submitted its scope of services and fees for the construction phase of the projects and were sent out on for a Independent Fee Estimate on March 29. 
 
Once the IFE is returned and negotiations complete, the scope and fee will be finalized and will be submitted along with the construction costs based on the April 19 bids to the grant application that is due on May 5. 

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North Adams Man Indicted on Murder, Arson Charges

Staff Reports
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Darius Hazard was arraigned in Berkshire Superior Court on Thursday on two counts of first-degree murder related to deaths of his parents last November. 
 
Hazard, 44, pleaded not guilty to the charges and to a third charge of arson of a dwelling house.
 
He is being held without bail at the Berkshire County House of Correction, where he has been housed since Nov. 25. 
 
Hazard is accused of assaulting his parents, Donald Hazard, 83, and Venture Hazard, 76, on Nov. 24, 2025, and setting fire to the family on Francis Street. 
 
The bodies of his parents were discovered in the home by firefighters. 
 
North Adams Police said Hazard allegedly confessed to the assaults and the arson when he was taken into custody that day.
 
Hazard was initially arraigned in Northern Berkshire District Court on Nov. 26 and was to appear for a pretrial hearing on March 3. That hearing was postponed but he was indicted March 23 on the felony charges and his case removed to Berkshire Superior Court. 
 
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