Pittsfield Council Meets for 3 MinutesBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
04:15PM / Wednesday, October 23, 2024 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass.— The City Council had what is likely to be its shortest meeting to date.
On Tuesday, councilors met for three minutes in Room 203. Before even getting settled into their seats, the 8-item agenda was completed.
Two sizable grants were accepted: $73,147.00 from the Massachusetts lnterlocal Insurance Association and $59,977.50 from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and
Security's National Traffic and Safety Administration.
The MIIA grant will go toward the installation of security cameras at all of the city's firehouses and at the two splash pads that were vandalized last winter. Any additional funds required will come from the city's capital improvements line item in the unclassified budget.
Last winter, Clapp Park on West Housatonic Street, and the Common on First Street experienced acts of vandalism that included the destruction of the bathroom fixtures and the control room.
Major components of the splash pads were stripped and copper was taken from both locations. The metal is commonly stolen and sold for profit.
Damage was said to be extensive, as the city had to obtain replacement parts and pipes to properly operate the bathrooms and splash pads. It also had to purchase, repair, and install new doors, locks, toilets, sinks, dispensers, and mirrors in the buildings.
Both splash pads were switched on just in time for the June heat wave after repairs were made.
The nearly $60,000 grant, awarded to the Pittsfield Police Department, will cover the FY25 Municipal Road Safety Program aimed to address local traffic safety issues. The program provides funding beyond enforcement to include equipment options and developing novel traffic safety programs.
The goal is to support traditional enforcement activities and develop new strategies to reduce roadway crashes, injuries, fatalities, and associated economic losses in Massachusetts.
In the city's application, Lt. Marc Maddalena said the city's biggest challenges are responding to the many requests for speed enforcement and pedestrian safety.
In 2023 the department reported 1,187 speed citations and 275 failures to yield to a pedestrian in the crosswalk citations.
"With the roadways more chaotic now than ever with cars, bicycles, ebikes, scooters, pedestrians, cyclists, distracted driving, road rage driving, etc all happening on our roadways simultaneously, traffic safety is more important than ever," he wrote.
"We need to continue to attempt to change driving behavior and make our roadways safer for all. But in addition to this, traffic safety allows for community interaction and with the environment of policing being what it is today, and how it is viewed, these interactions can go a long way in confirming or changing a citizen's perception of their department and policing as a whole. The ability to recognize an infraction and communicate this infraction with a citizen in a positive and respectful manner will hopefully translate into future awareness for that operator."
He said the Police Department renewed its commitment to traffic safety 15 years ago when it re-established a full-time traffic unit after about 20 years of not having this dedicated unit. Due to manpower, the unit still exists but has been absorbed back into patrol.
.
"Currently with these officers as part of patrol, they still maintain their traffic unit status and focus on traffic enforcement when on shift and between calls for service," Maddalena explained.
"When shift staffing allows, (more than 6), the traffic unit officers are assigned to their traffic enforcement beats to spend their shifts solely on traffic safety and enforcement. As such, with these officers and a full time traffic Sgt. we are able to dedicate well over 20 hours a week to traffic enforcement."
The grant breaks down into $41,700 for traffic safety overtime, $5,277.50 for traffic safety equipment, $9,000 for pedestrian and bike enforcement overtime, and $4,000 for non-enforcement safety activities.
The council met in Room 203 because early voting is set up in Council Chambers.
|
MEMBER SIGN IN
