Page 25 - Patrick Kavey News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

PITTSFIELD — What works for Springfield city councilors might not work in Pittsfield. That was the ruling of the City Council’s Ordinances and Rules committee, which voted 3-1 against a proposal Monday to cap council meetings at four hours. But, the committee firmly was behind another proposal — to start meetings one hour earlier. City Clerk Michele Benjamin proposed the four-hour cap, modeled after a recent rule change of the Springfield City Council, after several Pittsfield councilors expressed a desire to make meetings more efficient. Members agreed that holding meetings vi...

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 — To some city councilors, limiting meetings to four hours would encourage efficiency and help attract candidates for office. To others, it risks city business building up into a

  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.  ...

Courtney Gilardi of Alma Street has consistently called into City Council to speak against the cell tower in her neighborhood. She gave a presentation to the Community Development Board on Nov. 5. The city was represented by attorney Anthony Lepore, below.   PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Ward 5 Councilor Patrick Kavey withdrew his petition to establish requirements for cell-tower permitting but assured the abutters affected by the tower at 877 South St. that the fight is not over. This petition was brought to the City Council by both Kavey and Ward 4 Councilor Chris Connell.   "The people who...