Letter: Dalton Public Safety Facility

To the Editor:

I must respond to the article: "Dalton Consultant to Assess Police Station" on 12/11/2025.

I do not know why the town has never pursued the option of renovating Town Hall to accommodate the needs of the Police Department and improve access to town offices.

There was $82,000 in ARP funds that could have already jump-started the process.

The following is my letter that iBerkshires published on 9/29/2025. This viable plan that I presented was tabled without any further discussion or consideration by the Select Board or by the Advisory Committee.

• Purchase the bank building located on the corner of Main Street and South Carson Avenue. Extend the building toward Main Street. Then build out the interior to accommodate the town offices. The offices would then be accessible to the handicapped.
• Stage the moving of the town offices to facilitate the renovation of the Town Hall for the new police facility to minimize disruption and inconvenience. I know that Hill Engineering put together a cost estimate to fix the problems in the basement of the Town Hall. I recall it was very reasonable.
• Add an elevator in the Town Hall to accommodate handicapped individuals.

I believe the above suggestions would cost considerably less than what has been proposed. If planned out properly, it would be a lot less disruptive. It would satisfy the needs for a new police facility.

I believe the next step would be to provide schematic floor plans of all floors of Town Hall and a floor plan of the bank building. Make paper dolls of all equipment and space requirements for offices, cubicles, etc., in order to produce a plan that would satisfy the town's needs.

I believe the town has an obligation to the struggling tax payers to abandon the idea of building a $10 million-plus police station. Renovating the Town Hall is a practical and cost effective way to go.

Bruce Lester
Dalton, Mass. 

Pittsfield Celebrates Arbor Day at Taconic

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
06:10PM / Saturday, May 02, 2026

Mayor Peter Marchetti presented the framed original cover art for the day's program. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Generations of Taconic students will pass the tree planted on Arbor Day 2026 as they enter school. 

Pittsfield's decades-long annual celebration was held at a city school for the first time. Different vocational trades at Taconic High School worked together to plant the Amelanchier, or flowering serviceberry, mark it with a plaque, record the ceremony, create artwork for the program's cover, and feed guests. 

Parks, Open Space, and Natural Resources Manager James McGrath said the students' participation reflects the spirit of Arbor Day perfectly: learning by doing, serving the community, and helping Pittsfield grow greener for generations to come.

"It's not unknown that trees help shade our homes, help clean our air and water, they support wildlife, and make our neighborhoods and public spaces more beautiful and resilient," he said. 

"And Arbor Day is our chance annually to honor that gift and to remember that when we plant something today, we are investing in the future of our green world."

The holiday was established 154 years ago by J. Sterling Morton and was first observed in Nebraska with the planting of more than a million trees.

CTE environmental science and technology teacher Morgan Lindemayer-Finck detailed the many skilled students who worked on the event: the sign commemorating this Arbor Day was made by the carpentry and advanced manufacturing program, specifically students Ronan MacDonald and Patrick Winn; the multimedia production program recorded the event, and the culinary department provided refreshments. 

The program's cover art was created by students Brigitte Quintana-Tenorio and Austin Sayers. The framed original was presented to Mayor Peter Marchetti.