Pittsfield 2023 Year In Review: Transformation
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The year 2023 was one of transition for the city with a selection of new leaders and multiple transformative projects underway.
The municipal election gave Pittsfield a new mayor, city councilors, and School Committee members. More than 31 percent of voters cast their ballots on Nov.7.
Former City Council President Peter Marchetti was victorious over John Krol in the general election with 60 percent of the vote. Marchetti was sworn into office on Jan. 2, 2024, replacing former Mayor Linda Tyer after she did not seek a third term and leaving behind a 35-year career with the Pittsfield Cooperative Bank.
Controversies arose for both candidates before the general election, as Krol was accused of misusing about $7,000 from a nonprofit cat rescue and Marchetti was named in a lawsuit from a former employee.
There is new leadership in three of the city's wards after two councilors did not seek re-election and one was ousted by their challenger. Brittany Bandani was voted Ward 2 councilor and Matthew Wrinn for Ward 3, replacing Charles Kronick and Kevin Sherman, respectively. Rhonda Serre won the Ward 7 seat over incumbent Anthony Maffuccio.
Returning are Ward 1 Councilor Kenneth Warren, Ward 4 Councilor James Conant, Ward 5 Councilor Patrick Kavey, and Ward 6 Councilor Dina Lampiasi.
Newcomer School Committee members Diana Belair, William Garrity Jr., and Dominick Sacco joined incumbents William Cameron, Daniel Elias, and Sara Hathaway.
Pittsfield Mourns Galliher
The holidays approached on a somber note as the community welcomed fallen Air Force Staff Sgt. Jacob Galliher home.
Galliher, 24, was killed on Nov. 29 when the Osprey aircraft he was on crashed off the coast of Japan along with seven other crew members. The Taconic High School graduate left behind his wife, Ivy, and 2-year-old and 6-week-old sons.
In mid-December, hundreds stood with flags in their hands and tears in their eyes in various locations as members of the Pittsfield Police and Fire departments, the Berkshire County Sheriff's Office, the State Police, and the Dalton American Legion Riders escorted him home from Westover Air Force Base.
Tyer was in procession of some 60 vehicles along with other local officials and Gov. Maura Healey met the family at Westover.
The next week, hundreds attended his wake and he was laid to rest with honors the following day.
Attendees included members and officers of Galliher's unit, the Japanese consul, U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, state Sen. Paul Mark, Sheriff Thomas Bowler, state Reps. William "Smitty" Pignatelli, Tricia Farley-Bouvier, and John Barrett III, his Taconic football teammates, firefighters, police, and other local leaders and representatives from veterans organizations.
Projects
The grandstand at historic Wahconah Park was closed in 2022 due to structural deterioration and the park's restoration committee kicked off 2023 with an owner's project manager to oversee its revitalization.
A few months later, a designer was chosen and the committee was one step closer to seeing a new park come to fruition. A public comment period including hearings and a survey solicited feedback from residents before the team saw designs.
In July, Congressman Neal traveled to Pittsfield to tout a $3 million earmark for the project as part of a $1.7 billion omnibus spending bill that passed late last year through Congressionally Direct Spending from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The next week, the committee saw possible designs that included a renovated and elevated option.
While retaining the existing roof, the renovated design rebuilds much of the existing program in a similar location, attempts the smallest footprint to meet program and current codes, and features an accessible press box and Pittsfield Suns' offices.
The elevated option raises all program spaces above the flood pain and has a fully accessible lower and upper concourse. While the roof on this design is not original, it maintains its character.
Originally, planners estimated that the cost of the project would be $10 to $15 million but it's wound up being twice as much. In September, the committee voted to move forward with a $30 million elevated design.
Now, the team must look to cost savings on the design and solicit funds from every avenue possible. During his inaugural address, Mayor Peter Marchetti spoke in favor of the effort and it was widely supported by City Council candidates during the election.
The city also went into the new year with a contractor for the revitalization of Site 9, the largest parcel at the William Stanley Business Park that was formerly utilized by General Electric.
The Pittsfield Economic Development Association held a special meeting on the last business day of 2023 to award a $9.8 million bid to William J Keller & Sons Construction.
The Castleton-On-Hudson, N.Y., company plans to have the rough surface ready for development in October and will start in mid-January.
The 16-acre parcel at the corner of Woodlawn Avenue and Tyler Street Extension previously housed a General Electric factory and is the largest and most prominent section of the William Stanley Business Park.
Final plans include green space and roadways for traveling within the parcel.
In February, it was announced that the gap in funding for the $10.8 million redevelopment has been closed. The last of the funding includes $400,000 of PEDA foundation funds, $1.3 million in GE landscaping funds, and $4.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds.
After reconvening in 2022, the School Building Needs Commission made strides in the Pittsfield Public School Restructuring during 2023. The team is examining the physical and educational structure of the district with possible outcomes including different grade alignments and consolidation of schools.
Early in the year, a firm was chosen to lead the effort and got to work analyzing the district. Pittsfield High School, Conte Community School, Crosby Elementary School, and Morningside were identified as needing a significant amount of capital work.
Over the summer, there was a series of public hearings and a survey was opened to the wider community.
Possible solutions were presented in October, revealing that a decline in Pittsfield's population has planners reviewing the size and number of the city's elementary schools, their grade configurations, and the curricular offerings of the middle and high schools.
Six potential alignments have been proposed that include the current three-school progression with and without universal pre-kindergarten, a four-school progression, and a five-school progression. Every option proposes a reduction in total facilities from the 12 elementary, middle, and high schools.
By November, the restructuring survey garnered more than 2,800 responses from students, parents, staff, and community members and planners were pleased with the amount of engagement.
Also in 2023, the state fully funded a grant request for the revisioning of Pontoosuc Lake Park, a well-loved gem for sightseeing and recreation. The $500,000 boost is being matched by city funds, totaling $1 million, and construction is expected to begin in the summer.
The city completed a master plan for the park in 2020 and in 2021, began a public engagement process to hear what residents value about the park. The location's "iconic" white pine trees were highlighted as a positive attribute and accessibility as an area that could be improved.
Last year, plans for the park were released for the public feedback.
Additionally, the state came through with $20 million in state American Rescue Plan Act funds in December to remove the deteriorating Bel Air dam.
It has been an area of concern for over a decade, with the city and the state Department of Conservation and Recreation conducting inspections, maintenance, and repairs. In 2020, it was identified as a high-priority project because storm events are delivering higher volumes of precipitation that are putting significant pressure on dams, culverts, and other drainage infrastructure.
Soon after, a public forum was held at the Polish Falcon Club where community members heard the plans and voiced input.
Housing
The city continued to grapple with the housing crisis in 2023, making some strides with state monies and a board dedicated to affordable housing.
The Affordable Housing Trust, established in 2022 with $500,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds, got to work analyzing the city's housing needs early in the year. The board aims to help the city address housing needs that disproportionately affect under-resourced residents. It will help to provide rental assistance programs, first-time homebuyer programs, and workforce housing programs for those who need them.
The trust explored many areas of affordable housing including leveraging monies to provide quality units and the relationship between energy efficiency and affordability.
In June, a listening session was held at Conte Elementary School where members heard of residents' struggles with housing that ranged from homelessness to being locked into long-term renting because they cannot afford a home.
The trust also hosted two housing resource fairs and launched a survey to get a better understanding of community needs.
Now, the panel is looking to offer its expertise for Community Preservation Act applications related to housing.
In October, Gov. Maura Healey traveled to Pittsfield to announce the Affordable Homes Act, a $4 billion plan to jumpstart the production of homes and make housing more affordable in the state. The package combines spending, policy, and programmatic actions.
Standing on the steps of the Morningstar Apartments on Tyler Street, she explained that combined with the $1 billion tax relief package signed earlier in the month, the act is expected to create 12,000 homes for middle-income households, rehabilitate 12,000 homes for low-income households, support more than 11,000 moderate-income households, and fund accessibility improvements for 4,500 homes.
What's happening downtown?
The city gained a downtown brewery in early 2023, Hot Plate Brewing Co. Owned by Brooklyn, N.Y., transplants Sarah Real and Mike Dell'Aquila the microbrewery is utilizing local raw materials for ingredients and is located in the Onota Building. It's opening was aided by a $140,000 allocation of the city's economic development funds and it has found success over the last year with a variety of events and its central location.
Marchetti hosted a reception at the brewery following his inauguration.
The City Council also continued to mull North Street's bike lanes, which have been a controversial topic since they were implemented over three years ago.
In January, the council voted in favor of Councilor at Large Karen Kalinowsky's petition to place a question on the general election ballot to return North Street to four lanes of traffic with turn lanes. But in February, a charter objection halted conversation on the proposal.
In March, the council voted against sending the question to City Clerk Michele Benjamin and Councilor at Large Peter White motioned to table with the intent to rescind in two weeks. There was a perceived understanding that it would be referred to the city solicitor for revisions and returned to the council at its next meeting.
The proposal was put to rest later that month when the January vote was rescinded.
Residents gathered around the city's first permanent Christmas tree in decades in early December for the annual tree lighting in Park Square. The young tree is around 9 feet tall and is expected to grow up to 50 feet in time.
There were mixed reactions, as some were disappointed in the planting's small size and others were excited to watch it grow over the years.
Talk of a permanent Christmas tree began publicly in January as part of a tree plan that was endorsed by the Parks Commission.
In prior years, the donation, transportation, and installation of an over 20-foot tree was a big to do and the permanent tree prevents another from being cut down.
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