Pittsfield Approaching Last Year to Spend ARPA Funds

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The last year to spend Pittsfield's American Rescue Plan Act funds is approaching; nearly $30 million of the $41 million has been expended. 

The city had until the end of 2024 to allocate all of the $40.6 million it received, and the funds must be spent by the end of 2026. By the end of June, $29,836,419 of the ARPA money had been spent, and 66 percent of the 84 awarded projects were completed, and several more are expected to wrap up by the third quarter. 

More than $17.3 million has been spent addressing negative economic impacts, $5.8 million on infrastructure, and nearly $4.6 million on public health. The rest was spent on revenue replacement and administration, about $2 million. 

The federal American Rescue Plan Act brought about $8.7 billion to Massachusetts through the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds.

The Pontoosuc Lake Park renovation was boosted by $690,000 in ARPA funds for picnic tables and benches, to improve handicap accessibility with a new promenade and paved paths, and to restore the wetland and bank area. 

That project is well underway, with a wooden boardwalk stretching across the shoreline and new stairs leading down. Water access points are planned for approximately 24 percent of the shoreline, following community members' assertion that bank plantings limited access for swimming and fishing. 

Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires Honors Leaders, Volunteers

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
09:07AM / Sunday, May 24, 2026

Liana Toscanini presented the Founder's Choice Award to Smitty Pignatelli for his years of support as state representative. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires held its ninth annual nonprofit awards last week honoring the contributions of those who have helped the community in their own way.

 

The gathering at the Country Club in Pittsfield on Tuesday included the introduction of new nonprofit Executive Director Samantha Anderson, who steps in for retiring founder and director Liana Toscanini. State Reps. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, John Barrett III and Leigh Davis attended the event.

 

Toscanini, who created NPC in 2016, was honored at the conclusion of the evening to mark her decade leading the organization. 

 

"Founders don't just lead organizations, they are the organization in the deepest sense," said NPC Board President Emily Schiavoni. "Their relationships, their instincts, their fingerprints are on everything, and when someone has poured a decade of herself into building something from the ground up, the act of stepping back is not a simple handoff, it's an act of extraordinary trust and courage that brings me to what Leanna actually built." 

 

NPC became something of a chamber of commerce for nonprofits under Toscanini's guidance, creating a hub of support for leadership and networking for the small and large nonprofits that fuel much of the activity within the Berkshires. 

 

She developed more than two dozen programs, including Get on Board, which helps connect community members with nonprofit boards, and a giving-back guide, volunteer fairs, and a resource directory.

 

Schiavoni described Toscanini as a great mentor who has had a big impact in strengthening local nonprofits.