Pittsfield to Study Feasibility of Police Station at Morningside
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city has been exploring a police station at the now-retired Morningside Community School for some time, and the price tag is still unknown.
On Tuesday, the City Council accepted the mayor's response to Ward 2 Councilor Cameron Cunningham's request to explore turning the 100 Burbank St. campus into the Pittsfield Police Department's headquarters.
Pittsfield will move forward with a feasibility study; a request for proposals seeking a designer was issued the following day.
"There are a lot of things that will need to take place if we're able to make this the police station. Number one, the entire first floor, with the glass windows the way they are, can't stay. Number two, the existing police station has a sally port where they drive in, close the doors, and transfer the prisoner from the car into the cells. Morningside doesn't have one. One will need to be built," Mayor Peter Marchetti said.
"In that process, where in that building are you putting a communication center? Where in that building are you putting the cells? So there are many, many unanswered questions, and I think the only way that we're going to achieve the answers is by going to the feasibility study."
In April, the School Committee voted to retire Morningside at the end of the academic year, and students were reassigned to Allendale, Capeless, Egremont, and Williams elementary schools.
Pittsfield, along with many other Berkshire communities, has cited issues with outdated public safety facilities, namely, the police station on Allen Street.
During conversations about the closure of Morningside, there was expressed support for turning it into a community center rather than a police station, which Marchetti confirmed is one of the options for the building.
Officials toured the school a few weeks ago to assess the building for reuse.
Cunningham petitioned for a public safety and community resource hub on the site over the summer. The administration has also proposed community space on the campus; Morningside is the Ward 2A voting location and home to a summer lunch program, which Marchetti said should remain there because many summer lunch program locations don't have a kitchen.
"Part of it is that I don't know what we can and can't afford because we haven't done the feasibility study so I know what the cost is," he explained.
"So I could hope and pray that the cost would come back as easy as $5 million. It can come up as high as $40 million. I don't know what I'm planning for without the feasibility study."
Ward 6 Councilor Dina Lampiasi relayed a constituent question she has been unable to answer: What inspired the exploration of Morningside as the police station? Marchetti confirmed that the city had considered it before, that it was not charged by Cunningham's petition.
"I think if you go back and listen to debates in 2023, I think I said something along the lines of, 'If Morningside ever became vacant, we could look into making it a police station,' " Marchetti added.
In 2014, Pittsfield hired a consultant to find a site for the police station. There were six sites put forward, one of them a stone's throw from the existing Morningside, Marchetti reported. At the time, the cost to build any of those options wasn't viable, he said.
Before a contract is awarded, the council will have to authorize funding. Invitations for bid will open on Nov. 4 at 2 p.m. The RFP asks for the incorporation of community spaces in the design.
The chosen designer will hold a public meeting where residents can express how they think that space should look, and discuss the impact of siting a police station in that area. Marchetti noted that during this time there is still no design, and "we don't even know if it can all pan out."
Ward 5 Councilor Patrick Kavey asked how this falls into Pittsfield's master plan, the policy guide for physical development.
The city has other large projects in progress, as it is seeking funds from the Massachusetts School Building Authority for a new elementary school and repairs to Pittsfield High School. Marchetti said by design, the Crosby/Conte school would be first, the police station second, and repairs to PHS third.
There is no guarantee that PHS will be invited to the eligibility phase, he said, and the city will not know until December.
Cunningham said he wrote an unpublished paper that explains different alternatives for the building. He said he finds it sensible to move something along to understand what is possible.
"That's what I was looking to do with this petition. I just wanted the mayor to move on that because I know a lot of my constituents were saying to me they really do not want a vacant building, but they also understood Morningside just wasn't a very strong school because of its layout," he said.
Councilor At Large Alisa Costa recognized that people of the Morningside neighborhood can feel over-policed, while some might want more police presence. She said she wishes the community engagement began with initial thoughts on what was wanted.
"I'm glad you're doing the community engagement. I think we should keep open the possibility that maybe a police station isn't the best use. There might be a better use," she said.
The bulk of Tuesday's discussion was centered on the renaming of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to the Office of Equity, Access, and Opportunity. Costa pointed out that the newly renamed office would be great to collaborate with so that they can consider the proposal's disproportionate impact on different populations and ensure everyone is heard.
Tags: Pittsfield Public Schools, police station,
