PITTSFIELD â Some Pittsfield city councilors said Wednesday they arenât ready to decide whether to support a proposal to reform trash collections. And with that, a majority agreed Wednesday that any such program should not begin before summer 2022.
At a Committee of the Whole meeting, councilors voted 8-3 to set July 1, 2022, as the earliest date on which such a proposal would go into effect.
The council agreed it needs more time weigh the modified âpay-as-you-throwâ proposal and hear more from residents.
With the vote, âwe let people know that they have over the next year to talk to us,â said At-Large Councilor Pete White, who introduced the proposal with fellow at-large councilors Earl Persip III and Peter Marchetti, also council president. Councilors debated reforms in how the city handles solid waste collection. They then tabled the measure, which Marchetti said would be revisited later.
The City Council voted 7-4 to cap meetings at four hours and to start an hour earlier. The votes followed about an hour of debate and a number of amendments. Ward 2 Councilor Kevin Morandi, Ward 4 Councilor Chris Connell, Ward 5 Councilor Patrick Kavey, and Ward 7 Councilor Anthony Maffuccio voted against the time limit. Council President Peter Marchetti, Morandi, Connell, and Ward 1 Councilor Helen Moon voted against starting meetings at 6 p.m. The four-hour limit will go into effect at the next meeting on Feb. 23 and 6 p.m. schedule will begin April 1 to give the public and council members time to prepare for the modification.
That is, if the coronavirus pandemic is under control, locally, within three months.
The all-volunteer group is ramping up efforts to secure marching units and get a head start on raising money for the 2022 edition of the Independence Day event.
âThe 2021 parade is already paid for. We estimate the cost will be $80,000,â parade committee President Peter Marchetti told The Eagle on Monday.
He says enough money left over from the 2019 parade and money raised for, but not used, in 2020 will pay for this yearâs parade.
As for the 2022 fundraising goal, Marchetti says it has been set at the standard $85,000 mark, but solicitation will begin later than usual. For example, fundraising letters will go out April 1, instead of March 1.
PITTSFIELD â The cityâs leadership this week will delve into a traffic project and waste management proposal that are already generating strong opinions in the community.
The city has for years been looking for ways to rein in curbside waste disposal costs, and the newest proposal aimed at achieving just that will be outlined and no doubt scrutinized at Wednesdayâs 7 p.m. Committee of the Whole meeting.
At-Large Councilors Peter Marchetti, Earl Persip III and Pete White proposed a bag-based âpay-as-you-throwâ system for curbside waste disposal that subsidizes what shakes out to two 15 gallon bags per week and compliments a recycling incentive program, which the councilors estimate would produce around a half-million in savings and increase rates of recycling. The proposal has already drawn criticism.