BEAT's Blog

In an earlier post on this blog I described how the City of Pittsfield received a permit from the Pittsfield Conservation Commission for work to be done at Wahconah Park, and how the City then put a different plan out to bid. Erik Hoffner read this blog and sent members of the Berkshire Grassroots Network an email with a link to it. Deanna Ruffer, Pittsfield’s Director of Community Development, responded to this email, suggesting that BEAT’s blog contains errors and that readers should contact her for the facts. Jeff Turner of Pittsfield was one of the recipients of this email and did, in fact, contact Deanna Ruffer and she replied. In her reply, Deanna Ruffer apparently agrees that the two plans are different, but says that this is a result of the city choosing to proceed with only parts of the project and not others.

This might sound logical, but it has problems on two fronts. First, it’s not really logical. And second, even if it were logical, it would still be a violation of the conditions of the permit granted to the city by the Conservation Commission. Read more…

Deanna Ruffer, Pittsfield’s Director of Community Development is concerned. She has sent an email to Orion’s Berkshire Grassroots Network telling its members that BEAT’s blog is not factual and that people should contact her for the facts. We make mistakes. We’re human. But the city can make mistakes too. We’ve sent an email to Pittsfield Mayor Ruberto asking for a public meeting. We can all put our documents on the table, and maybe we can all come to agreement on the facts. Let’s talk.