image description
The current playground is far from the school building and has varied elements that are set apart from one another.

Williams PTO Plans $330K Playground Improvement

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass.— The Williams Elementary School Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) has launched a $330,000 initiative to revamp its playground

"The current playground, there's a lot of issues with it. The equipment is out of date, a lot of safety concerns with play surfaces, age of equipment, accessibility, and kind of inclusion of play with the current setup that they have," PTO member Joseph Simon explained.

"So the new playground looks to kind of address a lot of those issues with modern, new equipment, looking to try to have an inclusion area that will be accessible from the school so that way we can accommodate all students and there would also be some opportunities for interactive play and imaginative play in those areas."

On Tuesday, the Parks Commission gave a positive recommendation for the project's request of $100,000 in Community Preservation Act funding.  The CPA committee approved an eligibility application for the project with the caveat of Parks Commission support.

The school's PTO has been working on the effort for about two years and would like to see it completed this fall.  Parks, Open Space, and Natural Resource Manager James McGrath has been tuned into the conversation.

Simon explained that funding for these types of projects is "lacking."  The PTO has raised about $10,000 internally with a goal of $20,000 and will also be looking at private grants and sponsorships.

"The other two paths will be through the City of Pittsfield, I have a tentative meeting with the mayor to talk to him about that," he said.

"And the third was through the CPA fund."

In its CPA application, the PTO commitment is $20,000, there is a $110,000 CapEx request to the city, a $100,000 CPA request, and $100,000 in grants, sponsorships, and corporate donations.


The PTO has looked at a couple of different proposals from the city's vendor for playground equipment that range from $150,000 to $200,000. Simon reported that another city elementary school recently completed a project half the size for about $86,000.  Simon is projecting around $180,000 for the equipment.

Other proposed upgrades include an accessible pathway, a playing surface, sun screening, and benches.  The PTO is also looking to offer areas of different age-appropriate equipment.

The current playground is far from the school building and has varied elements that are set apart from one another.

"All in all, we're looking around ($330,000,) which we know is an aggressive target but we're open to the opportunity to phase if we need to," Simon said.

"But we'd like to try to do it all at once."

He reported that the school and superintendent are on board with the project.

The CPA committee will decide on funding applications in the spring and the City Council will vote on them in May or June.

"I know that it's definitely due for an upgrade because I know exactly when those were installed," Commissioner Anthony DeMartino said.

In October, Williams was designated as a National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education. The award program honors high-performing schools and institutions making great strides in closing achievement gaps.

Only eight other schools in the state have received the designation this year, 356 nationally. According to state assessments, Williams scored in the top 15 percent in English and mathematics.

 


Tags: parks & rec,   playgrounds,   

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Pittsfield Celebrates 'Twinning' With Irish Sister City

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Last week, the city celebrated St. Patrick's Day early with officials from Sister City Ballina, Ireland.

There was music, dancing, gift exchanges, and a lot of green.

"If you're wondering, what does a Sister City do?" Pittsfield Sister City Committee Chair Francis Curley said.

"We've had art exchanges, we had a female basketball team from Ballina come over and play here, we had a semi-pro basketball team from Ballina come here. So it's not just sports; it's like cultural exchanges. Every time I speak with someone from Ireland, I learn something new."

Pittsfield and Ballina have been "twinning" for 27 years, fostering cultural, educational, economic, and recreation exchanges.

"It's really special that we have that connection and I just feel that we have to keep it up," Ballina's Mayor Michael Loftus said.

Ballina is a community of about 10,000 people and, similar to Pittsfield, has a vibrant art scene and natural scenery. Even though the two cities are almost 3,000 miles away, Loftus displayed a photo of a local pothole to show that both places deal with the same everyday struggles.

"We also have potholes in Ireland and that's a diver, actually, in our potholes in Ireland," he said. "Whatever you do, please don't be criticizing. It's not just here that you have them."

View Full Story

More Pittsfield Stories