Pittsfield Council to Vote on Crosby/Conte Feasibility Contract

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
02:19PM / Tuesday, November 25, 2025Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The City Council will take a vote on the Crosby/Conte feasibility study agreement on Tuesday.

Throughout the 2025 municipal election season and previous votes, there has been resounding support for the proposal to rebuild and consolidate John C. Crosby Elementary and Silvio O. Conte Community School on the Crosby property.

School officials in 2024 toured the 69,500-square-foot Conte that opened in 1974 and the 69,800-square-foot Crosby that opened in 1962. At Conte, they saw an open concept community school that is not conducive to modern-day needs, and at Crosby, they saw a facility that was built as a middle school and in need of significant repair.

In June, the council voted to authorize borrowing up to $2 million for the feasibility study estimated to cost $1.5 million. The city is seeking reimbursement funds through the Massachusetts School Building Needs Authority, a quasi-independent government entity that helps fund the construction of school buildings.

"$1,579,000.00 is the maximum amount of funding that the District may receive from the Authority for the Feasibility Study," the contract reads.

The feasibility study will investigate potential options for the merging of the outdated schools and rebuilding, as well as a cost estimate and schedule. The Pittsfield Public Schools will need to procure a designer and an owner's project manager.

The contract stipulates that the feasibility study may not result in a school construction, renovation, or repair project that is eligible for funding by the MSBA. Regardless, it is required.

In September, the School Committee endorsed the district and MSBA's examination of a three-zone, long-term option for reorganizing and consolidating the elementary level. When reviewing a map that roughly estimates the attendance zones, concern arose when it was observed that Stearns Elementary, on Lebanon Avenue, is an outlier and would be absorbed into the new building.

It was then clarified with MSBA that Stearns isn't included in the plans, but that could be explored. While enrollments submitted in the original statement of interest included the school's population, it wasn't included in the originally submitted narrative.

Running parallel to the Crosby/Conte project is the district's middle school restructuring effort, which is nearing its December checkpoint to determine if it will be pushed off for a year or begin in the fall of 2026.

Over the summer, the School Committee voted to create an upper elementary school for Grades 5-6 and a junior high school for Grades 7-8 by the 2026-2027 academic year. A stipulation was added that if goals in the Middle School Restructuring Committee's timeline are not met by the December meeting, it will be delayed one year.

The committee then decided that Herberg will house Grades 5-6, and Reid will be home to Grades 7-8 when the middle schools restructure.

Tags: grade reconfiguration,

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Lanesborough Property Tax Rate Up 5%

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
01:25PM / Wednesday, November 11, 2026

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The Select Board on Monday approved a single tax rate that will increase the average homeowner's property bill by at least $670.

With a rate of $18.20 per $1,000 valuation, the average single-family home valued at $373,784 will see a $668 increase, and the average commercial property, estimated at a value of $577,990, will increase by $1,125 per year. This rate is 91 cents higher than last year's $17.29 per $1,000 valuation.

"Historically, as part of their annual budget policy, the Select Board and Finance Committee has endorsed a single tax rate option, providing no exemption or discount to a particular property class or group, voting a residential factor of one, which is what we'll do tonight, affirms a single tax rate and proportionate sharing of the tax levy burden between all classes of property," Principal Assessor Ross Vivori explained during the joint meeting with the Finance Committee and Board of Assessors.

This year's levy is $11,760,845, which is a 11.28 percent increase from last year, or $1,192,521.

The town's total taxable value is $648,200,324; about $541 million in residential, almost $9 million in industrial, about $52 million in commercial, and about $44 million in personal property. It is 5.7 percent higher than the previous year.

For fiscal 2027 the max allowable levy is $12,313,803, the town is levying $11,760,845, leaving an excess levy capacity of $552,957. There was more than $6.5 million in new growth, which was described as contributing about $112,855 in tax revenue at the prior year's rate.

Finance Committee member Al Terranova suggested that the rate may change if revenues, such as from the state, changed.

"I just don't want people to look at this and, 'Oh my goodness, I'm going to pay $600 more a year,'" he said. "They would just pick out that one number, because you don't know what the actual number is."

Select Board Chair Deborah Maynard said all the figures are based on the tax recapitulation sheet, which includes estimated revenues and state cherry sheet numbers.

"But there's no way around that, that's the number we're paying," added Select Board member Jason A. Breault. "That's the tax rate."

Ross said property values are rising because people are paying more for homes, but that's not driving the tax rate — town spending is.

"If the [property] value goes up and nothing else changes, the tax rate stays the same," he said. "What's driving the tax rate up is the budget ... everything's gone up and you've got raise the money to operate the town. It is what it is."

In better news, the board accepted what Accountant Angela Garrity agreed was a "healthy" amount of free cash at $949,833.

The board also heard from the public about putting a moratorium on data centers and battery storage facilities at its next meeting as well as Old State Road residents asking about the speed bump removed at the intersection of Target and Old State Road.

The residents said two years ago they had asked for the speed bump and were wondering why they were not warned it was being removed.

The three people said they were afraid to cross the street for their mailbox or walk their dogs. They also said it is very hard for them to leave their driveway at the intersection.

The Select Board could not respond during public comment, but at its last meeting, it decided to remove the speed bump based on information from police that it was "useless" as a deterrent and from Emergency Medical Services Director Jen Weber that it was dangerous when transporting patients.

An ad hoc committee with Weber and Police Chief Robert Derksen and board members Breault and Jeff Walters to discuss the best options on reduce speeding in some areas. Maynard reminded people that community members wanting to serve are being asked to submit citizens' interest form with the town.

Lastly, Alison Dixon from Berkshire Regional Planning Commission and Berkshire Environmental Action Team's Executive Director Brittany Ebeling presented two Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness action grant projects.

One project is the road stream crossing prioritization and assessment program for town-owned bridges and culverts to prioritize crossing replacements. Dixon explained that undersized culverts were identified as a vulnerability in the town's MVP and hazard and mitigation plan. The project is expected to span two years and will notify nearby landowners before field crews work around culverts and bridges. Community members were also invited to share knowledge about crossings they believe have been problematic.

The second project will cover ghost dams. BEAT and BRPC will be working with watershed organizations and a youth team from Greenagers over the next two years locating and documenting unmapped, human-made dams, also called ghost dams, which may pose flood risks. The goal is to create a Berkshires-wide map and connect towns and landowners with information and resources for flood-resilience planning.

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