Pittsfield Welcomes New Mayor, Council on Tuesday

Peter Marchetti will be sworn in to a four-year term as the new mayor of Pittsfield on Jan. 2. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city will inaugurate a new mayor and swear in city councilors on Tuesday morning at City Hall.

Peter Marchetti will be sworn in for a four-year term as mayor, replacing Mayor Linda Tyer who did not seek a third term.

After unsuccessfully running for mayor in 2011, this second time was a charm for Marchetti. In November, he was victorious over John Krol in the general election with 60 percent of the vote.

The incoming mayor has a decades-long tenure with the city, serving as council president for the last eight years, and will leave behind a more than 35-year career with Pittsfield Cooperative Bank.

His administrative team will include Catherine Van Bramer, who will continue her role as director of administrative services, and Brittany Walsh will be  his executive assistant.  

Several new faces will be sworn into the City Council and School Committee.

Kathleen Amuso and Alisa Costa will join incumbent at-Large councilors Earl Persip III and Peter White.

This will be Amuso's second time as a councilor. She served two terms at large after 10 years on the School Committee until deciding not to run again in 2017, though she has been active on other boards and committees. This Costa's first election but she has been involved in a number of civic boards and was four years the initiative director for Working Cities Pittsfield.

Both Marchetti and Karen Kalinowksy eschewed re-election for councilor at-large to instead run for mayor; Kalinowski did not make it past the preliminary election.

Newcomer School Committee members Diana Belair, William D. Garrity Jr. and Dominick C. Sacco will join incumbents William Cameron, Daniel Elias and Sara L. Hathaway.

City Clerk Michele Benjamin will also be sworn in.

The public is invited to join the inauguration ceremony in council chambers at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 2, and the event will be streamed on Pittsfield Community Television. Following the ceremony, Marchetti is hosting a public reception at Hot Plate Brewing Co. with light hors d'oeuvres from Otto's Kitchen and Comfort.
 

Dalton Board Signs Off on Land Sale Over Residents' Objections

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
05:50AM / Tuesday, December 23, 2025

Residents demanded the right to speak but the agenda did not include public comment. Amy Musante holds a sign saying the town now as '$20,000 less for a police station.'

DALTON, Mass. — The Select Board signed the sale on the last of what had been known as the Bardin property Monday even as a handful of residents demanded the right to speak against the action. 

 

The quitclaim deed transfers the nine acres to Thomas and Esther Balardini, who purchased the two other parcels in Dalton. They were the third-highest bidders at $31,500. Despite this, the board awarded them the land in an effort to keep the property intact.

 

"It's going to be an ongoing battle but one I think that has to be fought [because of] the disregard for the taxpayers," said Dicken Crane, the high bidder at $51,510.

 

"If it was personal I would let it go, but this affects everyone and backing down is not in my nature." 

 

Crane had appealed to the board to accept his bid during two previous meetings. He and others opposed to accepting the lower bid say it cost the town $20,000. After the meeting, Crane said he will be filing a lawsuit and has a citizen's petition for the next town meeting with over 100 signatures. 

 

Three members of the board — Chair Robert Bishop Jr., John Boyle, and Marc Strout — attended the 10-minute meeting. Members Anthony Pagliarulo and Daniel Esko previously expressed their disapproval of the sale to the Balardinis. 

 

Pagliarulo voted against the sale but did sign the purchase-and-sale agreement earlier this month. His reasoning was the explanation by the town attorney during an executive session that, unlike procurement, where the board is required to accept the lowest bid for services, it does have some discretion when it comes to accepting bids in this instance.