By DAN VALENTI

PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary

(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEEKEND EDITION, FEB. 13-15, 2015) — Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone. Fell the love. Feel it, too. Because remember two things, (1) THE PLANET is all about love and (2) you can’t spell “Valentine” without “Valenti.”

As we went into the final two minutes of the fourth quarter, We The People were leading, 5-3. Five is the number of our Right Honorable Good Friends on the city council who said they wanted ordinary taxpayers and citizens to have a direct vote on the proposal to build a $130 million new Taconic High School in a time when school enrollment is at the lowest in city history and dropping each year.

As we saw in this year’s Super Bowl, however, a lot can happen in the final two minutes of a game. With three councilors (Cotton, Lothrop, and Caccamo) to hear from, all Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski needed was a “yes” from one of them to clinch victory.

Ah, but it was not to be. Each of the three came in wanting to keep ordinary citizens from having a direct vote on this important proposed expenditure of well north of a hundred million dollars. They have had their say, and the final score was a 6-5 nail biter.

THE PLANET shall leave the commentary to another day. For now, we shall present, verbatim, the answers as received by each council member in the order received. We do want to thank each of the eleven for responding to our request. They have met perhaps the most important test of all, which is to be accountable to the public via member of the press. This is a lesson the running-scared mayor has forgotten.

So here is what the councilors had to say:

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BARRY CLAIRMONT (At Large)

If the citizens used section 9-2 of the charter to put the measure on the ballot, I would support that.

JOHN KROL (Ward 6)

No. there’s no need to wait until February 12. My answer is no. Absolutely not. This is exactly the type of important decision the city council was elected to make. This is the form of government we have. This was the case before the recent charter changes as it is today. For a decade we have pored over the details, followed the state’s regimented process and collectively we have provided an option for a significant next step – to build a new state-of-the-art high school on the Taconic campus with the state kicking-in roughly 2/3 the cost.

Members of the city council were elected by the people to educate themselves, ask the tough questions, hear all voices, and ultimately, with this full understanding and wisdom, cast a vote confidently. That is our job. Our decisions are not always popular in some quarters, but that’s why it takes thick skin and backbone to do what’s right.

This council has the obligation, and should have the opportunity, to stand up and do what is right for the city of Pittsfield. In my opinion that would be a unanimous vote in favor of a hopeful future, based on pragmatic reasoning, and a faith in our young people and their families.

Dan, thanks for your question. I hope I was clear in my response.

KATHY AMUSO (At Large; chair, School Building Needs Commission)

I don’t favor a binding referendum.  I spoke with the city solicitor.  She said it is the responsibility of the City Council.  That there could be no binding referendum because we will be incurring a debt.  I do wish more citizens would come to our meeting.

TONY SIMONELLI (Ward 7)

Yes, I believe the public has a right to “cast a vote” in favor, or against the school project.  I also believe the time for this would have been last November when the election was held.  I find it puzzling that some people are calling for a referendum when this process has been going on for 10 years.  Why haven’t these people stepped up before now?  While I am very concerned with the cost, having spent 26 years working at Taconic High School, I can tell you the building is in deplorable condition.  The citizens of Pittsfield who state the building “looks good from driving by” should stop and go in for a tour.  The NEW construction project will cost the City approximately $40+ – million.  If we reject new construction and do repairs to the school, the State will not reimburse us, and projected costs over the next 10 years are $40 million.  Do we really want to go the way of Gt. Barrington?   As an FYI, I have heard from many more of my constituents IN FAVOR of the new construction than against.  I hope I have answered your questions.

CHRIS CONNELL (Ward 4, council vice president)

yes I would like a vote. the reason I would like a public vote on the new school is because of the effect the borrowing for our share of the cost will have on the tax rate. My decision to vote on anything is normally based on a small number of constitutes expressing their views on the issue at hand. With a public vote, I would feel much more comfortable that my vote would truly be representative of the public. Any further questions please feel free to contact me

KEVIN MORANDI (Ward 2)

The answer to your question is absolutely yes. I stated this to the Berkshire Eagle in a article last week that I would welcome a vote by the electorate on the proposed Taconic High School project. Votes on bigger and expensive projects have taken place before in Pittsfield and I feel this definately warrants a decision at the ballot box. Thank You.

MELISSA MAZZEO (At Large, council president)

I think the time to put it on the ballot has come and gone. If you remember, Joe Nichols and I wanted to put a NON-BINDING question on the ballot to ask  how the public felt about a new or renovated school…you wrote the following in your blog in 2011…”This past July, councilors Melissa Mazzeo and Joe Nichols introduced a reasonable petition calling for an advisory ballot question that You The People would have voted for (or against) on Nov. 8. The ballot initiative would have measured public support (or not) for a new school building. Mazzeo’s initiative bore the signatures of 46 registered voters. It addressed the reality that voters felt the SBNC kept them in the dark about its plans (as you will soon read below, taxpayers weren’t the only ones left in the dark). Naturally, the other nine of my Right Honorable Good Friends on the council loudly complained about the ballot initiative.”

I too felt at the time that the public was not getting enough information about what to do at the Taconic site. After Mayor Bianchi was elected he asked me to sit on the SBNC and I have since. One of the things I pushed for the most was keeping the public informed at every level. I did feel that a lot of things where not done well in the early years of this project and but with the leadership of Dr. McCandless and Kathy Amuso, as well as new members to SBNC (I don’t mean me)… the project has been moving forward as I thought it should. There have been many, many public meetings and events to draw in the residents of Pittsfield to get their perspective and answer their questions. These meetings where in my opinion not well attended. But that is how things work.. No one pays attention until its about to happen. The SBNC and School committee are still trying to bring the public to the table to see where we are with this project. The issue now is should the public vote this up or down, and under our form of Government that is not how you decide these things. I am looking at this project from every angle I can and I am well aware of the cost to taxpayers. But having attended meetings and planning sessions even before I was on the commission, I have no doubt that this new school is the right thing to do. So I hope that the residents of Pittsfield continue to learn about this project and express comments or concerns to all involved.

LISA TULLY (Ward 1)

I do support a binding referendum on the new school project.  Many of my constituents have expressed to me their desire to vote on the project.  I have been engaging residents through my Ward meetings and find many of them are uninformed on the school project.  I believe for a project of this size that will add significantly to the City’s debt, the voters need to be informed of the need, the costs and the benefits of building a new school.  I would like to see this information brought out to the voters, campaign style, and have the electorate make an informed decision on the new school.

JONATHAN LOTHROP (Ward 5)

I will make this short. I do not support putting the school issue on the Ballot because you would be asking for something that, to my knowledge, is outside of our normal process. We have, mever put any bond issuance up for a vote. Not the previous school renovations of the 1990’s.  nor any other bond issuance.  I realize there are people out there who do not support the project.  I respect that.  I have to say that I agree with Councilor Mazzeo who was quoted as saying something to the effect that this (voting on the issue at the City Council level) is what were were elected to do.

CHURCHILL COTTON (At Large)

No, I don’t favor a binding referendum on the school building project. I don’t see how a question could be written that could accurately reflect all the wishes and concerns of the voters surrounding this project, related issues and the need to do something at Taconic High School in a timely manner to ensure it maintains it’s accreditation.  This project has been discussed for many years and direct public input has been requested, received and considered. I believe the fate of this very important issue is now in the hands of those elected by the Pittsfield voters.

NICK CACCAMO (Ward 3)

I am not in favor of a referendum vote. This has been a long process, nearly 10 years, with plenty of opportunities for anyone to gather information. It’s been completely transparent in terms of the process. A referendum vote for a new school building would open the door to a referendum vote on each and every large public works project in the future. I do not recall this discussion for a vote being needed for air port improvements or water & sewer improvements both of which carried a high price tag, that affects all residents. As elected representatives, we are responsible for voting in the best interest of the people of Pittsfield. Our current City Council is made up of individuals capable of looking at the facts and making an informed decision. However, if 15% of the total number of registered voters want to have the measure considered on a referendum, then I will be there voting in a special election like everyone else.

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