BRTA Advisory Board Discusses New Administrator Contract

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Regional Transit Authority Advisory (BRTA) Board met Thursday to discuss the acceptance of the new administrator and their contract.

The board recently offered the position to Kathleen Lambert, former American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) project manager for Haverhill. Lambert has accepted pending contract negotiations.

The board met to discuss her three-year contract. Lambert is expected to start in December, and work with Malnati until mid-March.

The board discussed a salary range of $145,000 with room to negotiate.

The table also discussed if Lambert would have her own vehicle, which many thought wasn't needed. They also discussed reimbursing mileage or using agency vehicles. Ultimately, they referred to using the existing BRTA travel policy at the end.

During the conversation board member Rene Wood acknowledged she planned to file an open meeting violation complaint due to the contract discussion not being on the agenda.

Administrator Robert Malnati discussed the Link 413 project. The BRTA is expecting two buses. The  retired busses are from Pennsylvania. These buses will help start two new routes: one will go from North Adams to Greenfield and the other will go from Pittsfield to Northampton. 

Malnati also discussed BRTA ridership and said that numbers were higher than last year, also equating the higher number to the fare free program currently running.  July had 67,000 riders, and August had 65,000. The BRTA plans to continue to be fare free through June next year.

Pittsfield Council Says 'Yes' to Soccer at Crane Park

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
06:35AM / Saturday, June 13, 2026

The pitch will have the logos of the city and the US. and Massachusetts soccer associations. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city is gladly accepting a "mini-pitch" from the U.S. Soccer Foundation to bring games back to Crane Park. 

Fueling excitement around the World Cup, U.S. Soccer has been working with the Massachusetts Youth Soccer League to make these facilities available to 20 communities — one of which will be at the park at the intersection of Benedict Road and Springside Avenue. 

The City Council accepted the gift on Tuesday during its regular meeting. 

A mini pitch is a compact, modular field typically used for soccer, and it can also accommodate inline skates. It has a galvanized steel border with built-in goals and a rubber plastic surface that is clicked together; installed on the existing inline hockey court. 

Ward 2 Councilor Cameron Cunningham said he has gone door to door speaking with nearby residents, and they are "really excited" about the upgrade. He also sees it as a great addition. 

"They say that nobody really uses the court a ton now, and they are excited to see kids back on there playing," he said. 

Decades ago, the Crane Park facility was a wading pool. It closed in 1980, and before the turn of the century, it was filled in and marked for hockey. 

Parks, Open Space, and Natural Resources Manager James McGrath explained that the wooden border around the rink is showing its age, has been vandalized and tagged, and the facility is seeing a "real decline" in use. 

"This would seem to be an appropriate spot for us to remove the board system that's in place and install the mini pitch system through this grant," he said.