PITTSFIELD — Mayor Peter Marchetti launched his biweekly broadcast on Monday with the first installment of “One Pittsfield.”
The inaugural episode of the PCTV show saw the mayor reviewing his first couple weeks of work, setting a tone for his relationship with the new city council and putting some dates and dollars to several campaign promises.
Here are some highlights from the first show:
Free cash
This much discussed pot of money still had question marks around it on Dec. 12 when the former City Council was establishing property tax rates for the current fiscal year. Marchetti said during his show on Monday that free cash was certified at $8.1 million. State certification records show the money was certified for use on Dec. 14.
Marchetti’s comments came in response to a petition from Council Vice President Earl Persip III who requested that $1 million in free cash be used for stormwater infrastructure repairs. Marchetti said “my concern is: Is free cash the right appropriation for that?”
The council voted in its first meeting to direct about $500,000 from free cash to the establishment of an opioid settlement fund. That money was given to the city as part of a nationwide settlement agreement with several large pharmaceutical companies for their part in the opioid epidemic but had not yet been transferred to an account.
The mayor said that along with moving that money, he expects to ask the council to put $2.5 million in free cash towards roadwork for the coming year. He added he’s considering replacing two fire department command vehicles at about $80,000 a piece as well. Those expenditures would put the free cash account just under the $5 million mark.
Small business trust
Also during the first meeting, the council accepted $8 million to the Pittsfield Economic Development Fund. General Electric was required to give that money to the city as part of its responsibilities under the Rest of River settlement agreement. That account was down to just over $1 million.
Marchetti said he already has an idea about where some of that money would go. The mayor said during his campaign that he plans to use $500,000 from the fund to reignite the small business trust fund set up under former Mayor Daniel Bianchi. During his One Pittsfield show, Marchetti said that appropriation request would be made during the council’s first meeting next month, on Feb. 13.
A new task force
More details are emerging around Marchetti’s proposal to create a mental health and substance use disorder task force. Marchetti said there will be an introductory meeting “of all stakeholders involved that have some kind of desire to be part of that process” in February.
Along with representatives from local social service agencies, the mayor’s office is looking for people who either have lived experience with either mental health or substance use disorder or have friends or family who have that experience to serve as a member of the group.
The mayor also said he’s meeting with the city’s American Rescue Plan Act team to see if any of those dollars can help fund the task force. The city has a little more than $373,000 of the original $40.6 million that has yet to be earmarked for specific projects, according to the latest data from the city.
Downtown
Marchetti said he’ll be meeting with local business owners and residents in “early February” to talk about the state of downtown.
“I don’t want that meeting to be criticism after criticism after criticism,” Marchetti said on his show. “I think we all recognize the fact that our downtown needs some attention. I think we can look at our downtown and just say from an aesthetic point, it needs some work.”
The mayor said the city has a plan in place with Downtown Blooms that will answer some of the aesthetic problems come April 1.
