The North Adams, Massachusetts city council held its first meeting of the term Tuesday night. Three new councilors were voted into office last year: Deanna Morrow, Peter Breen, and Andrew Fitch. After being elected council president January 1st, Bryan Sapienza distributed committee assignments and leadership positions. He explained his selections to WAMC, starting with placing Fitch as chair of North Adams’ Community Development city council committee.
SAPIENZA: He's bright, he's aggressive, and I think that he's got a lot of great ideas for the city. And I think that he would be good in that position. So that's why I put him there.
WAMC: Now, during the campaign, Fitch talked about this idea of responsible development or community-oriented method of trying to pursue economic development in North Adams. Did that resonate with you? Is that a concept that you can get behind?
It is a concept I can get behind. I would, of course, like the city, see the city thrive, and getting the right people to attract new business and to develop the city is key to making that all work.
In the finance committee, you've appointed longtime councilperson Keith Bona as chair- Why was Bona the right pick for finance?
I believe he's got the financial know-how, he's consistent, he's steady, he's well organized, and he served as the chairman during the last term, and I found that our meetings went very well and he was very, very good to work with.
What kinds of issues do you think the finance committee will be dealing with this term?
Well, I think we're going to have to deal with changes in funding from the state and federal governments. We’re going to also have to deal with various projects that are coming up, we're going to have to find- I don't know if we'll be doing it in this particular fiscal year, but we have the issue with the Brown Street Bridge, we have the issue with the Vets Drive overpass, and of course, our aging infrastructure. All this needs to be funded. So, it's going to be a balancing act trying to get everybody funded, keep our police and fire departments well-funded, our schools well-funded. Hopefully we can put it all into place.
City council Vice President Ashley Shade is chair of the general government committee. Talk to me about that- Why is your second in command leading the general government group?
She was a member of the general government group in the last term. She's very interested in ordinances, you know, new and existing ordinances. Basically, I thought it was a good fit.
Turning to public safety, former city council President Lisa Blackmer is chairing that committee. We've heard so much about North Adams’ continuing search to build a new public safety facility, I imagine that's going to come up this term at some point- But talk to me, what other things will chairperson Blackmer be dealing with? And why was she chosen for this role?
We chose her because she has experience with law enforcement, she's a good steady worker, she does put the homework into things. It was a juggling act, trying to figure out where to put everybody and how to, where to place everybody. But I think I think Councilor Blackmer is a good fit in that position. I look forward to working with her, as myself, I am also on the public safety committee again this term.
What do you see as the big themes about public safety in North Adams in 2024?
Of course, the police and fire facilities. The public safety building is the number one priority. Some of the other tasks that the public safety department handles is, of course, is the health issues of the city. We've had a number of complaints about rodent infestations, which is typically seasonal, but we need to address how to handle it if we can. Also, we need to work with the local residents on some houses that seem to have become points of collection of trash and debris. We need to develop a way to be able to deal with that.
Last but not least, we have public services. Peter Oleskiewicz, a former vice president of the body, is going to be chairing that committee. Talk to us, what's going to be on the docket for public services, and why was Mr. Oleskiewicz the right pick for that group?
Councilor Oleskiewicz is very familiar with the people that work for the DPW and the highway department. He has a good, I would say, camaraderie with these with these folks and he works very well with them. Most of what goes on with public services is the, make sure that our transfer station is properly funded and works properly. And that's, you know, parks and rec, which is more of a secondary part of it. But I think the primary part of public services also is to maintain our infrastructure and our roads. And I believe, again, he was my first choice for that particular position.
