Pittsfield Councilor Requests Dept. of Public Services Restructuring

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:55PM / Saturday, September 07, 2024Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Mayor Peter Marchetti said his administration is working to improve the structure of the Department of Public Services and Utilities.

At the last City Council meeting, Ward 5 Councilor Patrick Kavey presented a petition requesting that Marchetti and Commissioner Ricardo Morales restructure the department.

Specifically, he would like to see the highway division and traffic division merged and update the standard operating procedures to streamline efficiency and improve outcomes in the city.

"As you know from previous documents, we are working to make improvements to the structuring of the department," Marchetti wrote in advance of Tuesday's council meeting.

"While we are not certain that the merging of the two divisions is the answer, we are committed to making the necessary enhancements to ensure efficiency and improve outcomes across the city and will keep you informed of our next steps."

In July, the Personnel Review Board supported the creation of a deputy commissioner in the department that would assist Morales. The full-time position, if approved by the City Council, will have a Grade M-8 pay scale with a yearly salary ranging from $89,247 to $116,021.

Marchetti engaged with a former commissioner shortly after taking office in January and asked for him to offer suggestions about how the department could be run more efficiently. This position was recommended and Morales agreed that changes need to be made to set the department up for success.

According to the FY25 budget, the highway division's major activities include street paving work and pothole repairs, sidewalk installation and maintenance, street sweeping, and stormwater system maintenance. The traffic division's responsibilities include compliance inspection of contractor street work, streetlights and traffic signals maintenance, contracted tree work, traffic signs, and public parking enforcement.

Also on Tuesday's agenda is a grant acceptance of $445,104.00 from the Massachusetts Clean Water Trust for lead service line inventory and replacement planning and $150,840.00 from the United States Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration to fund a portion of the design work for the construction of a new taxi lane at the Pittsfield Municipal Airport.

Marchetti submitted an order to rescind $1,706,634.00 of authorized but yet-to-be-issued debt for projects that are complete or were never advanced.

"The rescinding of these unissued amounts on a regular basis is a critical component of our overall debt management strategy," he wrote.

This includes nearly $260,000 in sewer repairs, nearly $274,000 in water repairs, $150,000 for an elevator replacement at Conte Community School, $178,000 for IT upgrades, $220,000 for a water main replacement on Alfred Drive, and $500,000 for bike path permitting and design.

Councilors will also see a quarterly update on the city's spending of nearly $41 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds, all of which must be obligated by the end of the year.

The city has met this deadline, allocating $40.6 million to public health, negative economic impacts, infrastructure, revenue replacement, and administration.

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Berkshire DA Releases Victim's Name in Fatal Police Shooting

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
02:02PM / Friday, January 09, 2026

An image Biagio Kauvil posted to his Instagram page in happier days.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Biagio Kauvil's family had attempted to secure mental health resources for him before a well-being check on Wednesday that turned deadly.

On Friday, District Attorney Timothy Shugrue identified Kauvil, 27, as the man who was killed by police in a shooting incident at 53 Off South St. on Jan. 7. The New York resident, he said, was expressing "paranoid delusional" thoughts on social media, and in calls to the FBI's National Threat Operation Center and local 911 leading up to the incident.

"This is a horrific scene, and there is a deceased person, and it's a very sad situation. It was a mental health situation," Shugrue said during a press conference at his office around noon, right after he had spoken to Kauvil's family.

The DA elaborated on details provided the prior day, though there are still many questions unanswered, and the investigation remains active. He declined to respond to queries about the officers' decision to breach the bedroom door the man was sequestered behind, details about the approximately 46-second struggle that resulted in Kauvil being shot in the head, or if an officer would be charged for the fatality.

Police say Hinsdale Sgt. Dominick Crupi was shot in the hand by Kauvil, the bullet going through and striking Police Chief Shawn Boyne in his bulletproof vest. Crupi was also shot in the elbow by another officer. He was released from Albany, N.Y., Medical Center on Friday.

Shugrue said his office will not be releasing the names of the officers involved, although he acknowledged that they have been named on social media and elsewhere. He is "not even near" ready to say if an officer will be charged.

"I'm only here today because there's a lot of rumors going around the community. I wanted to straighten that out," he said, clarifying that Kauvil was not wanted by the FBI.

"… I'm sorry I can't give you more information than that, but I really want to be clear about what we know at this stage. But again, this may change once we — I haven't seen the ballistics, I haven't seen the autopsy report. There's a lot of stuff I don't have yet, but I just felt the public deserved to know as quickly as possible what transpired, especially in light of what's happening nationally."

This is the third police shooting in Berkshire County in nearly four years that involved someone in mental distress. Miguel Estrella, 22, was shot and killed on March 25, 2022, at the intersection of Woodbine Avenue and Onota Street in Pittsfield; Phillip Henault, 64, was shot and killed at his Hancock home on Sept. 9, 2023.

In both cases, investigators cleared the officers as both men had advanced on police armed with knives and threatening them.

Based on the investigation so far, there were no mental health co-responders on site. Shugrue doesn't believe the officers knew Kauvil was armed, and cited the lack of mental health resources in the community.

"I hope one thing that comes out of this is that we can talk more about legislative work that needs to be done. We can talk about resources that need to be given to mandate that we have mental health professionals working with police officers and working with individuals that are on the street that haven't been able to get the services that they need," he said.

"And this is unfortunate. I know, speaking to the family, they tried to get services for him. Unfortunately, there's not a lot available, and there's not a lot available in the Berkshires."

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