Lanesborough Winter Fest a Success

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:13AM / Wednesday, February 12, 2025Print Story | Email Story

LANESBOROUGH, Mass.— The town's winter fest had a packed house at the Skyline Antique and Event Center early this month.

Town Administrator Gina Dario reported that the event met expectations — and probably even the capacity of the venue at 405 South Main St., the former Skyline Country Club.

"We had a great turnout. We had probably somewhere between 150 and 200 people," she told the Select Board on Monday.

The Feb. 2 event was sponsored by the Community Development Committee and supported by a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. For a few hours beginning at noon, there was entertainment, food, and activities to gather townsfolk during the cold months.

"Most people came in and kind of stayed for the hour or two, rather than coming in and out," Dario said.

"The Fire Department was there supporting the event in managing the bonfire outside. We had representatives from the Police Department and ambulance there as well."

The festival also garnered interest in the town's Homecoming Heroes project to display banners honoring past and present armed forces members and first responders, with about 30 applications so far. Community members have until the end of the month to submit registrations for this year's program.

This is the second event that the Community Development Committee has facilitated after its rebrand.

"I'm going to give us a pat on the back," Selectman Timothy Sorrell said. "I think we did good by redefining and giving them a different thing to go after."

This is the second event that the Community Development Committee has sponsored since being rebranded.

Last summer, the inaugural Lanesborough Day celebrated the small town and offered a chance for residents to get together under the new pavilion. Bill Laston Memorial Park was filled with food, music, and activities.

The Community Development Committee (formerly the Economic Development Committee) led the effort after the Select Board approved its rebrand earlier last year. Dario took inspiration from gatherings in nearby communities and those of Lanesborough's past.

In other news, Dario reported that the Berkshire Mall has still not paid taxes to the town. In December, principal Jay Jones said he envisions them being paid by February 2025, though he told the Select Board that it could be sooner.

In November, the Lanesborough Fire and Water District filed a suit for more than $105,000 in back taxes and interest. JMJ Holdings, which purchased the mall last year, owes about $211,000 to the town.

Tags: winterfest,

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Pittsfield Schools Get Additional Chapter 70 Funds

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:09AM / Tuesday, August 18, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Pittsfield schools received almost $459,000 in additional Chapter 70 funds, and officials are looking to restore some positions.

On Tuesday, the City Council accepted an additional $458,660 for the Pittsfield Public Schools fiscal year 2027 budget. Mayor Peter Marchetti confirmed that they were Chapter 70 funds, the primary source of state aid for public elementary and secondary schools in Massachusetts.

"What I can tell you is, during the budget process, [State Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier] was talking about two different pots of money that she was looking to get, and so some of this came from the per pupil aid amount. That's what the increase in our funding was for,” he explained when asked about how it will be spent.

"It was her intent, and it was the intent of the superintendent, to save positions. Positions that we were cutting from the budget. But I can't give you a definitive answer because the School Committee has not engaged in the conversation of where that money will go inside the school budget," he said.

The School Committee can appropriate the funds at its discretion. Marchetti, also School Committee chair, agreed to notify councilors where those monies went in the budget, per Ward 7 Councilor Kathy Moody's request.

The Pittsfield Public Schools' original $86,855,061 budget included $68,886,061 in Chapter 70 funding. PPS faced a more than $4 million deficit during this process.

Assistant Superintendent for Business and Finance Bonnie Howland on Wednesday told the School Committee that they have discussed adding at least four paraprofessionals.

"We're going to try to stretch the money as far as we can," she said, explaining that they talked about maintaining the assistant principal of teaching and learning and Reid but were notified that it will be grant-funded.

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