image description — Airport Manager Daniel Shearer explains to the City Council the need for a taxi lane and how it will be funded.

Pittsfield Council OKs Million-Dollar Borrowing for Airport Taxi Lane

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
12:37PM / Sunday, February 02, 2025Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Pittsfield Municipal Airport will build a new taxi lane with help from federal, state, and local funds.

On Tuesday, the City Council approved a $1,040,000 borrowing for a paved way that enables access to additional developable land. Because the local share is only 2.5 percent, or $26,000, Rule 27 was waived.

A taxi lane is a path that connects aircraft parking areas to taxiways. Airport Manager Daniel Shearer said it will "substantially" open up a new area that is yet to be developed, providing access to a new hangar.

"This is the taxi lane for the development area that we've been working towards and signed a lease for. We had intended to start this a couple of months ago, the federal fiscal year put us a little behind on that so we're trying to get that work underway so we can pave as soon as the asphalt plant opens up in the spring,"

"This will line up with the completion of the first hangar in that area and will provide access to that space."

He added that ground lease revenue will come in as soon as the lane is finished.

Ward 5 Councilor Patrick Kavey pointed out that the current hangar has a dirt floor.

The first lease to construct a new hangar on this land was approved by the Airport Commission and council in 2023. Last year, the council authorized borrowing for the engineering services portion of this project.

This borrowing covers the construction phase and will be funded 95 percent by the Federal Aviation Administration ($988,000,) and 2.5 percent from both the state and city.

"Construction of this taxi lane will be funded principally through grant funds from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Massachusetts Department of Transportation Aeronautics Division (MassDOT,)" Shearer wrote to the council.

"In this case, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) Airport Infrastructure Grant (AIG) program. These funds have been awarded to the Airport and allocated to this project through the Airport Capital Improvement Planning (ACIP) process with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Massachusetts Department of Transportation Aeronautics Division (MassDOT Aeronautics)."

The bid for the project comes to $906,960 and combined with engineering services and administrative costs, the grant for the construction phase totals $1,040,000.

"Due to the type of grant, application deadlines, and construction schedules, it is necessary that the project be funded locally through a borrowing authorization before the grant is awarded; however, once awarded the city will only be responsible for its 2 1/2 percent local share," Shearer clarified.

Last year, the Airport Commission approved a new logo with a cleaner design that depicts a jet flying over a green mountainscape. It is a far cry from the former branding, which had more than 10 saturated colors.

Tags: pittsfield airport,

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Fenton: Governor's Council Must Deliver for the Berkshires

Community submissionGuest Column
10:22AM / Friday, August 28, 2026

I am a Springfield lawyer running for Governor's Council and I am asking for Berkshire County residents to support me over an incumbent from North Adams.

Here's why: Last year I learned about staffing issues in our regional courts that I could not ignore. In 2025, it was reported that four of Western Massachusetts' 11 Superior Court judgeships were vacant, all at the same time. A few weeks later, that grew to five vacancies. This meant there were only six Superior Court judges serving all of Western Mass at a time when Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin, and Hampden counties had more than 100 pending homicide cases.

Those numbers were alarming to me, so I started to engage with leaders in the community who work most closely with the court system and I came to learn that these vacancies were only the tip of the iceberg here in Berkshire County.

I learned that no Superior Court or District Court judge had been appointed from the Berkshires since the current incumbent took office. As a result, there is not a single Superior Court judge who lives in the Berkshires today, and several of the District Court judges drive in from other counties to support Berkshire courts in Pittsfield, Great Barrington, and North Adams. Court staff also informed me about severe staffing shortages at the Berkshire Clerk of Courts office resulting in other counties needing to loan staff to the Berkshires just so hardworking employees can take a brief and planned summer vacation. This is not normal. These issues are a reflection of genuine problems with the Berkshire County court system and show a lack of proactive attention from our Governor's Councilor.

Instead of focusing on regional equity, I watched as the current incumbent celebrated that she has voted against the governor's nominees more than any other councilor, without much explanation as to why. Most recently, she voted against two extremely qualified former prosecutors for the Parole Board. This was despite an in-person plea from the governor and a letter of support from all the three of the district attorney's from Western Mass. Those votes do not show independence or standing up for principles, they demonstrate naivete, and an unwillingness to work with the key stakeholders.

I had seen and heard enough. I decided to jump in the race and challenge the incumbent to address these problems head-on.

I am a partner of a regional law firm. I understand our courts and the importance of having qualified, fair and hardworking judges. And I know how important it is to have judges from the Berkshires serving the Berkshires. To achieve that, you need strong relationships with the legal community and local stakeholders. You need to know how to use the power of the Governor's Council to fight forcefully for our region. And you need to be laser focused on identifying vacancies before they occur so that they can be filled quickly with local candidates.

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