Such enterprises have historically not been allowed at the park. But the kiosk seemed to many of the commissioners like it would be a nice addition.
To veer from tradition, the Parks Commission has since been crafting a policy to governor all types of commercial use. That includes an application fee and use fee. A commercial enterprise will also be required to pay for any additional work — such as hooking up to electric or water or having the city level an area — and clean up after itself.
"There may be additional fees the applicant would bear," Parks and Open Spaces Manager James McGrath said.
For usage fees, the commission kicked around a few ideas. To start, McGrath had presented a similar fee structure as the city has for sidewalk vendors. If it was between one and 10 days, then the fee was $15 and from 10 to 30 days, it is $25. But McGrath felt those were too low for park spaces and had increased those to $50 and $70.
The commissioners hiked those to $50 and $100 but only after kicking around structuring it differently. Commissioner Anthony DeMartino said some enterprise ideas, such as renting kites at a park, bring in a low level of income that wouldn't work with the fee structure. But, somebody could do something that makes a significant amount of money and be paying what ultimately turns out to be very little compared to running the business out of a commercial property.
He suggested possibly having it be on a percentage basis. He suggested the vendor would have to submit accounting and the city would take a portion of the profits.
However, others then suggested that would create more trouble bureaucratically than it was worth. That would mean somebody would have to be verifying the sales and then working with the vendor to collect.
The commissioners then cycled back to the flat rates but increased them to the $100 a month level.
"Parkland is very valuable and if anybody is going to use it for commercial use, the city should benefit," said Clifford Nilan.
The is also a $150 application fee. That is non-refundable and solely lets the potential vendor come before the commission to make a pitch. If the commission denies the application, then the applicant will not receive a refund on that fee. The hope is that will help sift out the ideas that aren't well developed or don't benefit the parks.
"I think the biggest piece to this is that we are looking at projects that will enhance our park," DeMartino said.
With the policy in place, the Parks Commission also gave its blessing for the coffee kiosk, provided Fiorentino follows the newly adopted guidelines.
The commissioners said they'll still reserve the ability to change those fees once they have a better understanding of the demand and the type of businesses looking to use the city parks.
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Teacher of the Month: Cindy Chevett
By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
Cindy Chevett has been with Head Start her entire career. She says teaching is challenging but also very rewarding.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire County Head Start preschool teacher Cindy Chevett has been selected as the August Teacher of the Month.
The Teacher of the Month series, in collaboration with Berkshire Community College, will run for the next nine months and will feature distinguished teachers nominated by community members. You can nominate a teacher here.
To Chevett, the best part of being a teacher is seeing her students achieve even just the little things, such as writing the letter E or their name.
"It is the best job ever," she says with a smile and tears in her eyes as she says, "I love seeing them achieve."
She said although teaching can be challenging, the classroom environment is very fun and the job is very rewarding.
"There's children that come in and can't really speak so that you can understand them, and modeling, and when they leave the classroom, you can understand them. That was one of my best achievements with the child," Chevett said.
In Chevett's classroom, the students take control of their learning, instilling in them a love of learning.
To Chevett, the best part of being a teacher is seeing her students achieve even just the little things, such as writing the letter E or their name.
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The Zoning Board of Appeals supported variances and a special permit to facilitate a permanent wireless monopole facility at 500 Hubbard Ave., where Casella Waste Systems operates a transfer station.
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An audit of the Fire District's expenses has found a $165,000 deficit caused by mainly by overtime for firefighters and emergency medical technicians. click for more
Bullying allegations reported have increased, but that is likely due to Central Berkshire Regional School District's improved reporting system, the administration says. click for more