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Pittsfield Neighborhoods Weigh In on St. Mary's, Pay Raises
By Joe Durwin, iBerkshires Staff
05:39PM / Tuesday, October 28, 2014
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Councilors Kevin Morandi and Lisa Tully meet with constituents on Monday night. Among hot topics for Wards 1 & 2 are the future of St. Mary's Church and doughnut shop drive-throughs.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Residents from the city's northernmost two wards offered their input on neighborhood and citywide issues at a meeting with their councilors at Morningside Community School on Monday.

Ward 1's Lisa Tully and Ward 2's Kevin Morandi have teamed up a couple of times previously in the past year to bring together constituents from their two neighboring wards on either side of the Tyler Street commercial district, but are now planning on holding these summits monthly on the fourth Monday of each month.

"We had this meeting so we could get your input," prior to Tuesday's City Council meeting and other upcoming meetings, said Tully.

By far the hot topic on the agenda at Monday's session was the uncertain situation surrounding the former St. Mary the Morningstar Church property on Tyler Street, about which there has been widespread confusion and misinformation following the surprise media announcement  one month ago by Dunkin' Donuts developer Cafua Management that it intends to purchase and donate one of several buildings on the church campus to the city, while demolishing two other structures for a  drive-through establishment to replace its current location on Dalton Avenue.

Morandi said they were interested in hearing from their constituents on what usages they would and would not like to see at the 653 Tyler St. location.

Little to no support was heard from the dozen Ward 1 & 2 residents for seeing a new doughnut shop replace the church building at the site. They grilled the two councilors about the alleged revised proposal to subdivide the 2.6 acre campus and have the church be re-purposed to some other beneficial use.

"From conversations I've had with the mayor, the city is not interested in taking the property," said Morandi.

Mayor Daniel Bianchi has nonetheless issued a press release earlier this month, asking any developers or other interested parties with a serious proposal for the former church to contact his office. The two councilors invited ward residents to offer less formal suggestions for things they'd like to see there.

Some suggestions included a new police station, a food center, elderly services, housing, or "giving it to Arlo Guthrie."

It was also noted that the Berkshire Carousel organization may potentially be interested in the building as a permanent home for its long anticipated carousel. The carousel, however, currently has a location in Dalton.

Residents asked what comes next in the process of determining the outcome for that property, and were told that the City Council is being asked on Tuesday to formally accept the withdrawal by Cafua of its original site plan, and expects a new plan will be forthcoming from the Dunkin developer within the next two months.

Regardless of whether some kind of deal is struck to preserve the main church building, Cafua will seek to demolish at a minimum the former rectory and convent buildings on the plot and erect a drive through facility, and for that the city must issue a special permit.

"The City Council has the final say when it comes to a drive through," said Morandi.

Tully said she was also interested in getting input from her residents on what conditions would make a new drive-through at that location more palatable and reduce their concerns about traffic and other neighborhood impacts if the drive-through does come to fruition.

The Ward 1 councilor said speed bumps at the entrances of the proposed Dunkin was one recurring suggestion she'd heard so far.

"I want to hear everything you have to say," Tully told attendees.

Ward 2 resident Peter White said that if developed commercially, one business he would like to see somewhere on the acreage is a pharmacy, something absent from the city's most densely populated Morningside neighborhood.

"I would love to see the [church] building saved," White said. "But I'd also like to see something on the tax rolls."

A secondary issue that will come before the council on Tuesday is a proposed ordinance to increase the salary of Pittsfield's mayor and create small stipends for elected School Committee members, beginning text term.

In particular, constituents wanted to know how the new proposed salary compares to that of other cities in the region.

According to Morandi, Springfield's mayor makes $95,000, while mayors of cities such as Chicopee and Agawam make salaries in the $80,000 range comparable to that currently in place in Pittsfield.

"I haven't seen any mayors in Western Mass. making more than a hundred thousand," said Morandi.

Most of the residents at the meeting did not feel it necessary to increase the mayor's salary so substantially, but some support was heard for the School Committee stipend.

"The mayor doesn't put his life on the line, like the chief of Police and Fire do," said June Stewart.

"I think the School Committee should be paid something," said Michael Lefebvre. "They do a lot, and it's all for our children."

"I've worked with them, and I've seen what they have to do," agreed White in support of the $4,000 annual compensation.

The next joint meeting for Ward 1 & 2 residents will be held at 7 p.m. on Nov. 24.

Coffee and cookies provided were purchased from Donut Man.

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