Wheels Moving on Springside Pump TrackBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
05:56AM / Sunday, October 22, 2023 | |
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Wheels are once again spinning on the proposed Springside pump track with a hopeful completion in 2025.
On Tuesday, the Parks Commission heard an update from Alison McGee of the Berkshire New England Mountain Biking Association, which is leading the project.
The panel voted to add two other organizations, the Shire Shredders and the Berkshire Mountain Bike Training Series, to the memorandum of understanding to better support NEMBA's maintenance responsibilities. The addendum will go to City Solicitor Stephen Pagnotta and then return to the commission for approval.
The organizations have been in support of the pump track and bike skills park since it was first proposed in 2020 and have officially stepped in to make the upkeep sustainable.
"I think what it does essentially is provide more security to the city," McGee said. "Because I've talked about this over the years if I'm not here and NEMBA is not running as efficiently, there are still two other organizations that will be able to uphold their side of the agreement."
Earlier this year, the city and NEMBA agreed to an MOU that places the facility's maintenance on the organization. Funds raised for the demolition of the park will be held in a city fund with half of the initial cost given back in a five-year period and the remaining 50 percent given back in a 10-year period if not used.
McGee explained that there will be a detailed maintenance attachment that can be updated if leadership changes. A paved pump track was chosen because it requires less care.
She hopes for the project to be completed in the Spring of 2025, keeping in mind the permitting and bidding processes that lay ahead.
Commissioner Anthony DeMartino explained that the MOU is focused on fundraising and maintenance. During the meeting, the panel also supported the proponents submitting an eligibility application for Community Preservation Act Funding.
Of the $400,000 price tag, NEMBA has raised over $17,000.
Over the years, there have been opponents of the project, believing that Springside Park is not the place for mountain biking. At the beginning of the meeting, Daniel Miraglia voiced of environmental concerns and asked that the application for the pump track be withdrawn at the beginning of the meeting.
Parks, Open Space, and Natural Resource Program Manager James McGrath said that there has been some misinformation about the project over its tenure.
"This project has been brought forward by NEMBA and now there are additional participants that are willing to design, raise funds for, and maintain a facility, which is to be built at Springside Park on a site that the commission has agreed to," he clarified.
"This ultimately will be an asset of the city because it's an improvement on city land so ultimately the city owns whatever improvements are made. There will be an agreement in place for the partner organizations in the MOU, again, to maintain the facility but it is not a facility that is exclusive to NEMBA or the Shire Shredders or the mountain bike training series. This is an asset that is open to the community and is provided for the enjoyment of the community but there are special agreements that the city has with the folks around this table to maintain this into perpetuity via an agreement."
He explained that the city is not turning over, selling, or giving away this part of the park to the organizations and it will not be exclusively used by them. Similar to the skate park, if the organizations would like to exclusively use the facility for an event they have to put in a request with the park commission as any other entity would.
"I wanted the community to understand that this is an open, public, free asset that will ultimately be owned by the city and maintained under agreement with the commission and with others involved," McGrath said, adding that it is not a special interest and the city is taking an opportunity to work with partner organizations.
DeMartino said that this is the synopsis of about two and a half years of agreements.
McGee reported that $17,500 has been raised for the project through fundraisers and donors.
"Moving forward, and some of this may change as we get more established but we had already brainstormed a list of about 50 Berkshire organizations and businesses that we think would be able to donate at those higher levels so with a new upgraded committee working on that we're hoping to really strengthen outreach to that," she said.
"We've already been in contact with about four of the larger potential donors but I think as we've gone through this process, it's going to be easier to secure those funds now because we're in a better place. We're also going to pursue the grants and matching."
When McGee first brought the project forward she had CPA funds in mind. Now that the project is on track she wants to secure them.
Because it is taking place on public land, the commission had to endorse the submission.
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