Woodlands Partnership Hosts Survey, Listening Sessions on Emergency Response

03:14PM / Tuesday, January 28, 2025Print Story | Email Story

WINDSOR, Mass. — The Woodlands Partnership of Northwest Massachusetts is embarking on a public safety services study of the 21-town region with the Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center for Public Management at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

The Collins Center will focus on municipal services in the Woodlands Partnership region as they relate to increasing tourism, use and accessibility of public forests, diminished tax base, and the ability of first responders to provide emergency services.

Funded by a grant from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, the study is intended to provide towns with direction and support in receiving additional funds and identifying strategies for municipal financial sustainability, as well as inform state policy and procedure related to Payment-In-Lieu-of-Taxes (PILOT) on state-owned land and other programs.

Three listening sessions will be held for community members and emergency responders to provide feedback about experiences and suggestions for improvement. The sessions will be held:

Thursday, January 30, 2025, 6-7 pm by Zoom (online)
Wednesday, February 12, 2025, 6-7 pm by Zoom or at Windsor Town Hall (hybrid)
Thursday, February 27, 2025, 6-7 pm by Zoom or at Shelburne Fire Dept (hybrid)

For more information and to learn how to attend, please visit woodlandspartnership.org/events. Can’t make it? Take the surveys here. First Responders: https://tinyurl.com/3vp3eat7; Community Members: https://tinyurl.com/bddvv52x. Email kconlin@newenglandforestry.org for a paper copy.

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Neal Tours Berkshire Innovation Center as Pittsfield's Tech Economy Grows

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
05:38PM / Thursday, October 15, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. —Congressman Richard Neal visited the Berkshire Innovation Center Thursday to highlight $735,000 in federal funding secured for a new cybersecurity training and testing facility.

"The number one job of the federal government is to provide for the security of its people. I mean, we should never lose sight of that, whether it's China or Russia, every single day there are these belligerents that are attempting to infiltrate national security here in the United States, and we should not be naive about it," Neal said. "I mean, we can have an argument about proportionality; we can do a lot of different things, but not to miss the point of what they're trying to do every day."

The new cybersecurity facility will provide regional manufacturers and businesses with research and design equipment, specialized lab space, and training facilities and is planned to be housed in a to-be-redeveloped space across the street from the Berkshire Innovation Center (BIC), located at 45 Woodlawn Ave.

The derelict property, formerly owned by General Electric, is now known as the William Stanley Business Park.

The project is a $7.2 million dollar investment from the state, $5.2 million from the tech collaborative, $2 million from bond funding secured by Neal, and $1 million that will be split into two phases: $500,000 for BIC to begin building and $500,000 for Myrias Optics to start production in Pittsfield, said Mayor Peter Marchetti.

BIC Executive Director Ben Sosne said manufacturers often highlight the need for help with cybersecurity, particularly in meeting the security requirements necessary to conduct business with General Dynamics and other major contractors.

Collaborators in the field and the public sector have recognized the need that has only grown since technology has advanced and is a great career opportunity, Sosne said.

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