On Monday, April 1st, the Pittsfield Finance Committee discussed an order from Mayor Peter Marchetti to borrow $650,000 under the Sewer Enterprise Fund for the sewer on Holmes Road. The Pittsfield City Council during their late February meeting, voted to refer to the Finance Director and Health Director for further evaluation.
Commissioner of Public Utilities Ricardo Morales says that the project is extending an eight inch cemetery sewer line for about 650 ft starting at the Herman Melville location at 780 Holmes Road. “It includes some manhole structures and as I mentioned, an eight inch main extension towards towards the Laurie Court intersection.”
Leslie Hertzberg, Executive Director of the Berkshire County Historical Society at Herman Melville’s Arrowhead spoke at the meeting to show her support for the sewer extension. “I just want to say we’ve been working on this project and studying the different options for this project for a few years now. Our current systems have been deemed to be in failure…It seems like it’s just benefiting Arrowhead, but what happens is it will benefit our neighbors on Holmes Road. It also benefits our visitors, over 5,000 visitors a year. And in addition, it would make it more feasible for us to hold some larger events.”
James Conant, Ward 4 City Council also spoke in support of the extension, along with the rest of the Committee, who gave overwhelmingly positive comments about the project. Said Finance Committee Chair Earl Persip III, “I support this project. A lot of people at home are always saying this is for the Melville House and it’s a small business. And when we do something for Bosquet, a big business who we appreciate and we love, we should also love the historic homes that have been here longer than all of us. And we need to be supportive of those places and make sure they stay open.” In the end. The committee voted unanimously to approve the sewer extension for Holmes Road.
