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The reconstruction of the 1919 Wahconah Park took its next step with the selection of a designer.

Wahconah Park Committee Recommends Designer

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The reimagining of historic Wahconah Park is one step closer with a designer being put forth to the city. 

The park's restoration committee on Wednesday recommended S3 Design Inc. for the job after the firm scored highest against two competitors.

The recommendation will go to Mayor Linda Tyer and then to the Parks Commission, who will communicate the vote back to the purchasing agent so that they can ask for a scope and price proposal.

The Braintree company proposed a workshop-based process to assist the owner's project manager Skanska USA, the committee, and the city with the project. It includes a feasibility study with four phases of workshops, a schematic design, bidding and the award, and the construction administration.

Last week, a subcommittee interviewed three firms and was most impressed with S3 Design's presentation, though all were seen as good contenders.

"All of them brought substantial experience, they brought multiple team members with extensive experience and proposal plans for floodwater management as well as stadium design and alternate uses, different revenue streams, different park plans and amenities that they have done. They showed projects that were at least of similar scope and size to this," member Anthony DeMartino explained.

"Each of these two did have a plan and articulated a pretty good plan in regards to a building consensus and from the public, listening to public input and, listening to stakeholder input, and being sensitive to the city's situation not just financially but just in the scope of the project,"

"The S3 group did that significantly better."

DeMartino liked that the firm wanted to meet immediate and future needs and its plan to evaluate the importance of all design aspects.

Based on other niche projects that S3 Design has worked on, the ballpark cost is about $10 million to $15 million.


Reportedly most of the firms speculated that rebuilding the facility may be cheaper than renovating but would rely on the feasibility study to determine that.

The city has secured about $5 million for the endeavor so far.

"Currently there's a $2 million capital appropriation from the past fiscal year and the City Council just authorized the acceptance of a $3 million earmark grant," Parks, Open Space, and Natural Resource Program Manager James McGrath.

"So there's $5 million available right now. We're spending some of that down for expenses associated with the OPM Skanska and of course, we will negotiate a contract with the selected designer and will begin incurring costs there."

The OPM The team anticipates the design being complete by February or March of next year and bidding and work by August of 2024 after the Pittsfield Sun's season. This would result in a new ballpark that is open for use by the summer of 2025.

Four proposals were received in response to an RFP and three including S3 were accepted for interviews: Bargmann Hendrie and Archetype Inc. and Clough, Harbour & Associates.

The panel queried the firms on the costs, options to generate additional revenue at the park, seating, future appearance, flooding issues, and the schedule.  

The recommendation to the mayor was ranked in priority with S3 Design first, CHA second, and BH&A third.

McGrath said a single-topic Parks Commission meeting may be called to endorse the recommendation after it comes back from the mayor so that a contract can be underway.

"We are already a couple of weeks behind schedule and time is of the essence with this," he said. "So we want to proceed swiftly and efficiently but responsibly."

Wahconah Park Design Proposal by iBerkshires.com


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Crosby/Conte Statement of Interest Gets OK From Council

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Architect Carl Franceschi and Superintendent Joseph Curtis address the City Council on Tuesday.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — With the approval of all necessary bodies, the school district will submit a statement of interest for a combined build on the site of Crosby Elementary School.

The City Council on Tuesday unanimously gave Superintendent Joseph Curtis the green light for the SOI to the Massachusetts School Building Authority by April 12.

"The statement I would make is we should have learned by our mistakes in the past," Mayor Peter Marchetti said.

"Twenty years ago, we could have built a wastewater treatment plant a lot cheaper than we could a couple of years ago and we can wait 10 years and get in line to build a new school or we can start now and, hopefully, when we get into that process and be able to do it cheaper then we can do a decade from now."

The proposal rebuilds Conte Community School and Crosby on the West Street site with shared facilities, as both have outdated campuses, insufficient layouts, and need significant repair. A rough timeline shows a feasibility study in 2026 with design and construction ranging from 2027 to 2028.

Following the SOI, the next step would be a feasibility study to determine the specific needs and parameters of the project, costing about $1.5 million and partially covered by the state. There is a potential for 80 percent reimbursement through the MSBA, who will decide on the project by the end of the year.

Earlier this month, city officials took a tour of both schools — some were shocked at the conditions students are learning in.

Silvio O. Conte Community School, built in 1974, is a 69,500 square foot open-concept facility that was popular in the 1960s and 1970s but the quad classroom layout poses educational and security risks.  John C. Crosby Elementary School, built in 1962, is about 69,800 square feet and was built as a junior high school so several aspects had to be adapted for elementary use.

Ward 6 Councilor Dina Lampiasi said the walkthrough was "striking" at points, particularly at Conte, and had her thinking there was no way she would want her child educated there. She recognized that not everyone has the ability to choose where their child goes to school and "we need to do better."

"The two facilities that we are looking at I think are a great place to start," she said.

"As the Ward 6 councilor, this is where my residents and my students are going to school so selfishly yes, I want to see this project happen but looking at how we are educating Pittsfield students, this is going to give us a big bang for our buck and it's going to help improve the educational experience of a vast group of students in our city."

During the tour, Ward 5 Councilor Patrick Kavey, saw where it could be difficult to pay attention in an open classroom with so much going on and imagined the struggle for students.

Councilor at Large Alisa Costa said, "we cannot afford not to do this" because the city needs schools that people want their children to attend.

"I know that every financial decision we make is tough but we have to figure this out. If the roof on your house were crumbling in, you'd have to figure it out and that's where we're at and we can't afford to wait any longer," she said.

"We can't afford for the sake of the children going to our schools, for the sake of our city that we want to see grow so we have to build a city where people want to go."

Councilor at Large Kathy Amuso, who served on the School Building Needs Commission for about 18 years, pointed out that the panel identified a need to address Conte in 2008.

Curtis addressed questions about the fate of Conte if the build were to happen, explaining that it could be kept as an active space for community use, house the Eagle Academy or the Adult Learning Center, or house the central offices.

School attendance zones are a point of discussion for the entire school district and for this project.

"At one time I think we had 36 school buildings and now we have essentially 12 and then it would go down again but in a thoughtful way," Curtis said.

Currently, eight attendance zones designate where a student will go to elementary school. Part of the vision is to collapse those zones into three with hopes of building a plan that incorporates partner schools in each attendance zone.

"I think that going from eight schools to three would be easier to maintain and I think it would make more sense but in order to get there we will have to build these buildings and we will have to spend money," Kavey said, hoping that the city would receive the 80 percent reimbursement it is vying for.

This plan for West Street, which is subject to change, has the potential to house grades pre-kindergarten to first grade in one school and Grades 2 to 4 in another with both having their own identities and administrations. 

The districtwide vision for middle school students is to divide all students into a grade five and six school and a grade seven and eight school to ensure equity.

"The vagueness of what that looks like is worrisome to some folks that I have talked to," Lampiasi said.

Curtis emphasized that these changes would have to be voted on by the School Committee and include public input.

"We've talked about it conceptually just to illustrate a possible grade span allocation," he said. "No decisions have been made at all by the School Committee, even the grade-span proposals."

School Committee Chair William Cameron said it is civic duty of the committee and council to move forward with the SOI.
 
He explained that when seven of the city's schools were renovated in the late 1990s, the community schools were only 25 years old and Crosby was 35 years old.  The commonwealth did not deem them to be sorely in need of renovation or replacement.
 
"Now 25 years later, Crosby is physically decrepit and an eyesore. It houses students ages three to 11 in a facility meant for use by teenagers,"
 
"Conte and Morningside opened in the mid-1970s. They were built as then state-of-the-art schools featuring large elongated rectangles of open instructional space. Over almost half a century, these physical arrangements have proven to be inadequate for teaching core academic skills effectively to students, many of whom need extra services and a distraction-free environment if they are to realize their full academic potential."
 
He said  the proposal addresses a serious problem in the "economically poorest, most ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse area" of the city.
 
Cameron added that these facilities have been deemed unsatisfactory and need to be replaced as part of the project to reimagine how the city can best meet the educational needs of its students.  He said it is the local government's job to move this project forward to ensure that children learn in an environment that is conducive to their thriving academically.
 
"The process of meeting this responsibility needs to begin here tonight," he said.
 
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