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The new building is built more for retail.
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Pittsfield Lawn and Tractor has a New Name and Space

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
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PITTSFIELD, Mass – Pittsfield Lawn and Tractor (PLT)  recently moved their location and changed their name to Western Mass Power Equipment.

The new location, 1685 West Housatonic Street, is just up the road from their former spot.

The business is still owned by the Wojtkowski brothers. The name, website, and phone number were bought by United Rentals, prompting Pittsfield Lawn and Tractor to rename.

"One of the owners has a niece that's in the advertising business out in Chicago, so she came up with name, logo, stuff like that. So that's where Western Mass Power Equipment came from. We are still owned by the Wojtkowski family. That the ownership has not changed, just the name has changed, the address and and the phone number," said the store's general manager, Chris Gingras.

United Rentals is also renting out Western Mass Power Equipment's former building. Because of the sale, Western Mass Power Equipment will no longer do rentals and heavy construction equipment sales. 

"Pittsfield lawn and tractor was founded by the Wojtkowski brothers in 1986, and grew over the years. And the decision was made last year to sell the rental portion of the business and the heavy construction equipment sales to United rentals," Gingras said.

The new building is built more for retail.

"This building was built for retail. You know, there's, even though we're currently only using one, it has two showrooms. It has gobs of space back there for parts and service. Has the ability to have us on one property and under one roof, which we were and we weren't before." Gingras said, "Sales, parts, and service was all on the property up the street. Service was in a separate building, but we had our trailer display law across the street, and so now we're going to be all under one roof. The guys are still servicing in the building we own across the street from the old PLT, that's where we moved our service department back in December. But that's not permanent."

The new building was bought by one of the owners three years ago with their son, making it the most logical place to move,

Western Mass Power Equipment started moving into the new location in December and about a month ago they were finally able to open their doors after securing a certificate of occupancy from the city. 

The store provides lawn equipment like mowers, chainsaws, snow blowers, ATVS and more. They also service equipment and vehicles.

The store is open Monday through Saturday from 8 am to 5 pm and 8 am to 1 pm on Saturdays.

Their new website is https://www.wmape.com/ the new phone number is 413-344-8777.

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Pittsfield Council OKs $15M Borrowing for Drinking Water System

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The City Council last week approved borrowing $15 million for drinking water system upgrades, and heard a commitment from the Department of Public Works to consider solutions for the intersection of Onota and Linden Streets. 

Last month, the council supported the borrowing for the city's two drinking water plants during its regular meeting. 

Commissioner of Public Services Ricardo Morales explained that the decades-old filtration units need to be babysat "much more" than usual, and the city is due for new technology. 

Pittsfield's two Krofta water treatment plants were installed in the 1980s and are said to be beyond anticipated useful service and at risk for catastrophic failure that could result in a shortage of potable water. Krofta is a compact filtration system that Pittsfield will continue to use, with four new units at the Cleveland WTP and two at the Ashley WTP.  

"When the Krofta was built in 1980, I was there on the council, and here we are looking to repair or replace certain parts," Ward 1 Councilor Kenneth Warren said. 

"So 40 years later, I think we need to do that." 

The full drinking water project is expected to cost $165 million over the next eight years, with $150 million for long-term construction and $15 million for near-term needs. The initial ask would fund the final design and permitting for Phases 1-3 and Phase 1 of interim updates. 

The $15 million borrowing breaks down into $9.2 million for the design and permitting, $2.4 million for the construction of Phase 1, and $1.4 million in city allowances, including owner's project manager services, land acquisition, legal fees, and contingency. 

Pittsfield's water system includes six surface water reservoirs, five high-hazard dams, one low-hazard dam, two water treatment plants, two chlorinator stations, and gravity flow from the plants to the city. It serves Pittsfield, Dalton, Lenox, and the Berkshire Mall property. 

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