image description — The new administrator is expected to start in December.

BRTA Advisory Board Discusses New Administrator Contract

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
05:32AM / Tuesday, September 30, 2025Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Regional Transit Authority Advisory (BRTA) Board met Thursday to discuss the acceptance of the new administrator and their contract.

The board recently offered the position to Kathleen Lambert, former American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) project manager for Haverhill. Lambert has accepted pending contract negotiations.

The board met to discuss her three-year contract. Lambert is expected to start in December, and work with Malnati until mid-March.

The board discussed a salary range of $145,000 with room to negotiate.

The table also discussed if Lambert would have her own vehicle, which many thought wasn't needed. They also discussed reimbursing mileage or using agency vehicles. Ultimately, they referred to using the existing BRTA travel policy at the end.

During the conversation board member Rene Wood acknowledged she planned to file an open meeting violation complaint due to the contract discussion not being on the agenda.

Administrator Robert Malnati discussed the Link 413 project. The BRTA is expecting two buses. The retired busses are from Pennsylvania. These buses will help start two new routes: one will go from North Adams to Greenfield and the other will go from Pittsfield to Northampton.

Malnati also discussed BRTA ridership and said that numbers were higher than last year, also equating the higher number to the fare free program currently running. July had 67,000 riders, and August had 65,000. The BRTA plans to continue to be fare free through June next year.

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Neal's Office Among Those Targeted by Suspicious Mailings

Staff Reports12:28PM / Wednesday, October 21, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — U.S. Rep. Richard Neal was among congressmen apparently targeted by someone mailing suspicious envelopes.

According to a report in The Berkshire Eagle, an envelope containing a powdery substance was discovered by postal inspectors before reaching Neal's Pittsfield office in the Silvio O. Conte Federal Building.

Nearly 40 members of Congress have received envelopes containing white powder, according to The Guardian. More than 100 letters are thought to be in the U.S. mail system and the FBI, Capitol Police and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service were investigating the mailings that have also been sent to elections officials in various states.

The mailings have been sent to both Republican and Democrat officeholders and several congressional district offices had to be evacuated in the last week or so after envelopes were opened in them.

Earlier today, my Bronx district office received an envelope delivered by mail that contained a suspicious substance. Local law enforcement responded swiftly and, after investigating, determined the substance to be non-hazardous.
— Rep. Ritchie Torres (@repritchie.bsky.social) October 16, 2026 at 3:10 PM

The Guardian reported that the FBI is warning officials to look for envelopes processed through a north Texas center and that carry a postmark or stamp stating "Thinking of You."

The Eagle states that Neal's office was alerted on Saturday that it might be getting a suspicious package; inspectors seized the envelope at the Fenn Street post office on Monday.

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