Page 5 - Christopher Connell News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

The Pittsfield, Massachusetts city council has postponed a proposed overhaul of its trash system until at least 2022.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — City Clerk Michele Benjamin wants City Council meetings to end by 11 p.m.  Council meetings have often stretched into the wee hours of the morning and her request by petition was discussed during Tuesday's meeting — which went 4 1/2 hours.  "I just feel strongly that after 4, 5, and 5 and a half hours of a meeting nobody's thinking clearly when it's midnight or 12:30 in the morning," Benjamin said. "We've gone until 1 in the morning and I just feel strongly that we should be able to process and get through and deliberate and have good strong meetings in four hour...

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Pittsfield will say goodbye to two longtime city councilors this year. Ward 2 Councilor Kevin Morandi and Ward 4 Councilor Christopher Connell simultaneously announced that they would not be running for re-election. The two councilors began together and represented their wards for five consecutive terms over nearly a decade. Both Morandi and Connell find it fitting that they are ending their careers as city councilors together.   "I came in with Connell," Morandi said. "And I think it's been a real pleasure to work with him and I think it's very fitting that we're l...

  Commissioner of Public Services and Utilities Ricardo Morales told the City Council last week that Pittsfield has been short-staffed for contractors. The number of contractors that sign up for work with the city has reportedly dwindled in the past three years, the city faced shortages in 2018, 2019, and 2020.     "It's a demand game," he said. "We offer a rate and if some contractors do not see that as appealing, they won't sign up."   His comments came during an update on the use of alternative-side parking during snowstorms, which first occurred during the storm on Dec. 16.  ...

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Pittsfield received its second allocation of Community Development Block Grants in the amount of $475,103.00. The federally funded program is designed to help small cities and towns meet a broad range of community development needs. In total, the city has received $1,264,444. The first allocation was accepted by the City Council on April 28, 2020. These two allocations are separate and in addition to the city's annual entitlement allocation. At Tuesday's City Council meeting, Mayor Linda Tyer submitted an order to amend the CDBG annual Action Plan for the program yea...