Member Minute: Ben Wax updated us on things in his orbit: Ben is the VP of finance for 180 Degrees - he's been with the human services firm for about 4 years. Ben is married to wife Farrah, the couple celebrated 24 years of matrimony this year. Their oldest daughter attends UMass where she is a sophomore and the youngest is a senior at PHS. When we last spoke with Ben, he was dashing out to deal with a broken water pipe at his office, hopefully things have calmed! Guests of Honor: Last week, we were joined by AJ Enchill + Tony Wimperis in bold, because they become official members today - Congratulations to our newest Rotarians! We were further honored by the presence of this month's students: Aubree Bryant + Brendan Bayles. Rotary on the Road: Please be on the lookout for an email toward the end of the month, informing you of our meeting location for the January 8th luncheon. We return to our usual schedule as we meet at Mazzeo's again on January 22nd, we'll let you know the plans for the January 15th 3rd Thursday soiree. Auction Reminders: Please be working as you can on obtaining the items (same or similar) that you have gathered in the past and kindly look through your contacts as we seek additional items, especially experiential items (event / theatrical / musical / sporting tickets, trips, other types of tickets i.e. museum or other cultural experiences, etc.) - March 28th will come quick! Host Families Needed: As reported by Alex Reczkowski, there will likely be a student or two looking to travel to the Berkshires, would you or someone you know be interested in becoming a host family?
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Pittsfield Mayor Peter Marchetti (pictured nearby with President Eric) provided a lengthy update on all things Pittsfield at our September 11th luncheon. Of the many issues facing our fair city, housing is chief among the most challenging concerns. Like many or most cities in the US, housing prices are very high as are rental apartments. Several housing projects are in various states of completion throughout Pittsfield. Some of the projects are being handled by private developers while others are government / private partnerships. The new housing will be a mix of subsidized and market rate living spaces. West Side Legends has a duplex and four condominium project underway; between the micro apartments at Zion Church and the new units along West Housatonic St. another 37 units will be available soon; 28 new units on Wendell Ave are in the works; 25-30 new units are coming to North St.; Hibbard School (closed) will be converted to 22 housing units. These projects will bring about 225 new housing units to the market. A large project is in development with Milltown Capital planning to build 150-300 units in new towers at the Stanley Business Park to add to their large holding of single and multi family homes they will be improving as part of their apparent push to gentrify 01201. (Emphasis Sparks) Before the Milltown project(s) the estimated spend for the aforementioned projects is $72-$93 MM. North Street: The Mayor's office is in touch very often with business owners along our main downtown street. Many from the North St business community have expressed significant concerns with vagrancy, property damage, drug use and the like. So far this year through August, a staggering 5,683 calls for police service have originated in the North St. area with 197 of these incidents resulting in arrest. The city has changed the open container law and is looking into further actions as allowed under a recent US Supreme Court rulings as they work with the Massachusetts courts to lawfully limit vagrancy. The Pearl (Homeless shelter / Pearl St.) has been providing volunteers to help cleanup the downtown area, gift cards are provided as a thankyou to those assisting the cleanup efforts. The Mayor hopes to add more policing to the area as is possible. There was no mention by the Mayor or questions from the group concerning the controversial camping ban his administration has been working on for some time. The matter was recently referred to the city's Board of Health for further review, this after the City Council failed in two attempts to pass, reject or change the proposal. Jobs: The Berkshire Innovation Center (BIC) is looking at a major expansion with half of the new space set for a new to the city business (to be announced later) and the other half set for additional incubator space. The project and associated new space is expected to generate 250-350 new jobs. Jain America (a siding and PVC product manufacturer) will be coming to town promising up to 100 new jobs and Elegant Stitches is planning a major expansion at Downing Industrial Park with some level of new jobs created. 
Jack of Clubs is your ticket to Rotary riches! The pot is currently $185.