Pittsfield Council Accepts $8M in GE Rest of River Funds

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city now has $8 million in PCB pollution settlement funds to support economic development.

The City Council on Tuesday accepted the payment of $8,000,000 from General Electric Corp. per the Rest of River settlement agreement on the cleanup of the Housatonic River. The funds will be put into the city's Economic Development Fund which supports growing businesses in the community.

Mayor Peter Marchetti explained that the cleanup has been making its way south for years.

"Once all the communities in the Berkshires agreed, Pittsfield’s payment was $8 million along with some other items that we've accepted previously including some of the land by GE," he said.

Some of the Economic Development Fund appropriations over the last few years include $960,000 for the extension of water and sewer lines along Dan Fox Drive connecting the lines immediately to Bousquet Mountain, $140,000 for Hot Plate Brewing Co., and $250,000 for Electro Magnetic Applications Inc. to develop a characterization testing chamber.

In February 2020, the Rest of River settlement agreement that outlines the continued cleanup of the Housatonic River from Pittsfield to the Connecticut border was signed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, General Electric, the state, the city of Pittsfield, the towns of Lenox, Lee, Stockbridge, Great Barrington, and Sheffield, and other interested parties.

As part of the agreement, GE was to give $8 million to the city. Formerly called the GE Fund, the account was established in 2000 with $10 million from GE as part of the consent decree for the cleanup of the company's Pittsfield facility and surrounding areas. It also created the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority and conveyed what is now the William Stanley Business Park to the city.

According to the agreement, GE is to pay a total of $55 million to Lenox, Lee, Stockbridge, Great Barrington, and Sheffield to distribute among themselves. In addition to Pittsfield’s $8 million, GE donated the land and building that it owns on Woodlawn Avenue to the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority which is now the William Stanley Business Park.

The council also re-accepted state funds for the revitalization of Pontoosuc Lake Park and received clarification on the process.

"We're coming forward with a borrowing for $500,000 so that we have the money to be able to pay that. I do believe that the order specifically says that when we receive reimbursements we're going to pay off the borrowing."

Ward 1 Councilor Kenneth Warren asked what the cost of the borrowing is and Finance Director Matthew Kerwood explained that it is zero.

"We're receiving a $500,000 grant for the project so therefore, this borrowing will not even take place," he said.

He added that the program requires the legislative body to appropriate the money for the project upfront with the idea that it's then reimbursed.

"If I don't have the borrowing authorization and I don't have the cash flow, then I can't continue the project," Marchetti explained. "So it is there purely as a mechanism to allow us the opportunity if we need to if we don't have cash flow to be able to pay the bills to get reimbursed."

Toys for Tots Bringing Presents to Thousands of Kids This Year

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
12:21PM / Friday, December 05, 2025

Volunteers organize toys by age and gender in the House of Corrections storage facility. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Plenty of toys are on their way to children this holiday season thanks to Toys for Tots.

Christopher Keegan has coordinated the local toy drive for the Berkshire Chapter of the Marine Corps Reserve since 2015 and said he has seen the need rise every year, last year helping more than 6,000 kids.

"This is 11 years I've been doing it, and the need has gone up every year. It's gone up every year, and I anticipate it going up even more this year," Keegan said.

On Thursday, the Berkshire County House of Corrections storage facility was overflowing with toys making it the county's very own Santa's workshop. 

Keegan said Berkshire County always shows up with toys or donations. 

"This county is outstanding when it comes to charity. They rally around stuff. They're very giving, they're very generous, and they've been tremendous in this effort, the toys for pride effort, since I've been doing it, our goal is to honor every request, and we've always reached that goal," he said.

Keegan's team is about 20 to 25 volunteers who sort out toys based on age and gender. This week, the crew started collecting from the 230 or so boxes set out around the county on Oct. 1.

"The two age groups that are probably more difficult — there's a newborn to 2s, boys and girls, and 11 to 14, boys and girls. Those are the two challenging ages where we need to focus our attention on a little bit more," he said.

Toys For Tots has about 30 participating schools and agencies that sign up families and individuals who need help putting gifts under the tree. Keegan takes requests right up until the last minute on Christmas.

"We can go out shopping for Christmas. I had sent my daughter out Christmas Eve morning. Hey, we need X amount of toys and stuff, but the requests are still rolling in from individuals, and I don't say no, we'll make it work however we can," he said.

Community members help to raise money or bring in unopened and unused toys. Capeless Elementary student Thomas St. John recently raised $1,000 selling hot chocolate and used the money to buy toys for the drive.

"It's amazing how much it's grown and how broad it is, how many people who were involved," Keegan said.

On Saturday, Live 95.9 personalities Bryan Slater and Marjo Catalano of "Slater and Marjo in the Morning" will host a Toys for Tots challenge at The Hot Dog Ranch and Proprietor's Lodge. Keegan said they have been very supportive of the drive and that they were able to collect more than 3,000 toys for the drive last year.

Volunteer Debbie Melle has been volunteering with Toys for Tots in the county for about five years and said people really showed up to give this year.

"I absolutely love it. It's what we always say. It's organized chaos, but it's rewarding. And what I actually this year, I'm so surprised, because the amount that the community has given us, and you can see that when you see these pictures, that you've taken, this is probably the most toys we've ever gotten," she said. "So I don't know if people just feel like this is a time to give and they're just going above and beyond, but I'm blown away. This year we can barely walk down the aisles for how much, how many toys are here. It's wonderful."