Pittsfield Council to Tackle Incentives, Grants, and Infrastructure Matters
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Tuesday's City Council meeting will be a mixed bag of routine matters, infrastructure requests, and a proposal for incentives to support a housing development.
After receiving support from the Subcommittee on Community and Economic Development, an order to amend the Housing Development Zone and for a 10-year tax increment exemption for 100 Wendell Ave. will come back to the full body.
Both items are for the state Housing Development Incentive Program which aims to provide gateway cities with financial incentives to diversify the housing stock and facilitate economic growth in neighborhoods. Pittsfield was an early adopter and, to date, has approved eight projects that created a total of 144 units.
AM Management wants to convert a commercial building into "The Pointe" with 28 units, six of them designated affordable. The $3.8 million redevelopment would bring the assessed value of the property from about $517,000 to more than $1.8 million.
The TIE forgives 100 percent of taxes the first year and decreases by 10 percent each subsequent year. The estimated taxes paid over 10 years will be more than $239,000 and will have an estimated savings of $147,000.
The city adopted an HDIP zone several years ago around the downtown area and has expanded it to Tyler Street and other locations with updates in 2017, 2018, and 2020. This amendment incorporates the Wendell Avenue property and 55 Linden St., which also has the potential for housing development.
In response to Councilor at Large Kathy Amuso's petition requesting an update on roadwork expenditures, Commissioner of Public Services and Utilities Ricardo Morales submitted a breakdown of the last few years.
In fiscal year 2022, the city appropriation for roadwork was $2.5 million with more than $1.3 million was in Chapter 90 road funds. A total of nearly $3.7 million was spent on accepted streets and about $151,000 was spent on in-house work for mostly unaccepted streets.
In FY23, the city appropriation was more than $3.2 million with another $1.3 million in Chapter 90 funds and about $653,000 in Chapter 90 WRAP (Winter Recovery Assistance Program) funds. More than $4.4 million was spent on accepted streets including $997,468 in WRAP funds, about $391,000 in in-house work, and more than $1.6 million on sidewalks.
In FY24, the city appropriation was $7.5 million with again $1.3 million in Chapter 90. A total of more than $8.4 million was spent on accepted streets, about $216,000 on in-house work with an additional $108,111 encumbered, and about $749,236 was spent on sidewalks.
Morales also provided a chart that showed a significant increase in paved miles in 2024 and a list of roadwork completed over the last three years by street.
"Our street and sidewalk project prioritization is a data-driven process, Using data collected by StreetScan. This technology evaluates every street and sidewalk, providing us with comprehensive stress levels to calculate the Pavement Condition Index (PCI) and Sidewalk Condition Index (SCI). These indices, ranging from 0 to 100, objectively reflect the current state of our infrastructure," he wrote.
"With an expected budget of $4 million for the next project, our work now is focused on analyzing this data to prioritize areas in need of repair. Our approach goes beyond the PCI and SCI scores; we also consider factors like traffic volume, pedestrian usage, and strategic relevance within the network. This ensures a balanced and equitable allocation of resources, addressing critical needs while planning for long-term infrastructure sustainability. Our strategy is not just about fixing the worst first but making strategic investments for maximum impact and safety."
Ward 7 Councilor Rhonda Serre and Amuso submitted a request to install solar-powered flashing stop signs at the intersection of Highland Avenue and Hancock Road and at the crossing of Lakeway Drive at Valentine Road. This was automatically referred to the traffic commission under Rule 27.
Also under Rule 27, Councilor at Large Earl Persip III submitted a petition to use $1 million in free cash for stormwater infrastructure work. Persip has been vocal about the city's need to address road repairs, pressing about insufficient patchwork that contractors have done at the last council meeting.
The council is also staged to accept several grants: $409,382.80 for the FY24 Senator Charles E. Shannon Jr. Community Safety Initiative Grant, $64,942.47 for the FY24 Violence Against Women's Act STOP Grant, and $637,500 from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for the Long Island Sound Futures Fun.
Mayor Peter Marchetti also submitted an order to accept a donation of materials to construct picnic tables and patio space at the Pittsfield Municipal Airport from Connor and Benjamin Westlake and John's Building Supply, LP Adams, Holiday Brook Farm, Pittsfield Lawn and Tractor, and Lyon Aviation.
The project was brought forward by two local Boys Scouts and aviation enthusiasts Connor and Benjamin Westlake, who are working toward Eagle Scout rank. After a year of planning, collecting donations, and coordinating, it has been completed.
"The patio on top of the hill at the Pittsfield Airport was built to provide a nice seating area for those who want to watch aircraft and have a nice place to sit outside and enjoy the weather rather than in their cars. The tables and benches were built to provide seating for people on the patio. The tables have an extended side for those who are in wheelchairs so they can also enjoy the area," the two wrote.
"After many years of seeing people on the hill watching aircraft and only having one picnic table sitting in the tall grass, my brother and I decided to make a nice area to benefit those who like to watch. The patio provides a nice durable surface for people to enjoy so they aren't sitting in the grass. The new tables don't have worn down wood and won't give people splinters as easily. The flowers add some color to the area to brighten it up a bit."
Tags: road work,
