The improvements will be funded by a $6,000 Safe Routes to School grant accepted by the City Council on Tuesday. The public schools have partnered with the state Department of Transportation program since 2016 and more recently was the recipient of a $622,000 project to reconfigure the entrance and sidewalks to the Northern Berkshire Family YMCA and Brayton Elementary. The application for this latest grant from the federally funded program was accepted last fall. The Signs and Lines program is for low-cost infrastructure around elementary and middle schools. A committee of school and city personnel made plans for the grant that have been approved by the Traffic Commission earlier this month. The city is responsible for implementing the plan and then applying for reimbursement from the grant.
LENOX â Whatâs missing from the rapidly greening Berkshire landscape? Daffodils, tulips, cherry blossoms, apple blossoms, pear trees, dogwoods and forsythia abound.
But, the usual, easily spotted âfor saleâ signs in front of homes are few, even though springtime is normally high season in the real estate market. Thatâs because âinventory,â as the brokers call it, is at near-record lows and the mostly expensive homes that are listed are being snapped up, often at or above the asking price.
The countyâs Board of Realtors states that only about 300 houses are on the market throughout the Berkshires, compared with the typical 800 at this time of year, pre-pandemic. In Pittsfield, only 40 active listings are available, apparently an all-time low.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. 1Berkshire and Berkshire Regional Planning Commission have launched a survey to ask businesses about the technical assistance they would benefit from in recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic and building resiliency for the future. All businesses and non-profits in the Berkshires are encouraged to provide their feedback to this short survey, which will help inform a comprehensive technical assistance program being organized by the two agencies. Businesses should share their feedback by completing the survey as soon as possible. It can be accessed here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BERPsurvey2 This program will in turn identify subject matter experts to provide no-cost technical assistance to help businesses improve their capacities around needs identified through the survey. Ben Lamb, Director of Economic Development at 1Berkshire, explained
Jim Hamilton, a Department of Housing and Urban Development-certified counselor who works for the Berkshire County Regional Housing Authority in Pittsfield, provides free counseling to homeowners facing foreclosure. EAGLE file photo
A year ago, a wave of foreclosures seemed imminent. People were losing jobs in the Berkshires as the economy turned turtle. One local housing official warned that a foreclosure âtsunamiâ could flatten homeowners on the financial edge.
Remarkably, that didnât happen, mainly because of government-imposed âforbearanceâ orders still in effect. But, those protections do not forgive debt.
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âIt has grown greatly. And itâs more complex.â
â Jim Hamilton, a housing counselor, speaking of his work to help homeowners in financial distress cope with mortgages that have fallen behind
ADAMS, Mass. — John Duval wants to finish what he started. "There are still a lot of projects that I would like to see to completion while keeping the financial situation.