Contributors
We want to offer our sincere appreciation to the following organizations and individuals who provided information, sat for interviews, and generally shared their views on the challenges and opportunities for infrastructure development in Western Massachusetts. We also appreciate the time from municipal officials who completed our survey. These stakeholders, along with their staff members and subject matter experts, provided significant context and data that we used in this report, though the findings and recommendations contained herein solely reflect the opinion and are the work of the Office of the State Auditor.
- Bob Dean and Linda Dunlavy of the Franklin Regional Council of Governments
- State Rep. Natalie Blais and her staff
- State Rep. Adam Scanlon and his staff
- State Rep. William “Smitty” Pignatelli and his staff
- State Sen. Edward Kennedy and his staff
- State Sen. Jo Comerford and her staff
- State Sen. Mike Brady and his staff
- State Sen. Eric Lesser and his staff
- State Sen. Adam Hinds and his staff
- Lauren Stara, Andrea Bunker, and the staff of the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners
- Jack McCarthy and the staff of the Massachusetts School Building Authority
- Marc Horne and the staff of the Massachusetts Office of Business Development
- Undersecretary Mark Fuller, Samantha Asker, Malia Allen, Peter Milano, Rory O’Hanlon, Assistant Secretary Juan Vega, Peter Larkin, William Ennen, and the staff of the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development
- Michael Baldino, Jennifer Saubermann, and the staff of the Massachusetts Broadband Institute and the MassTech Collaborative
- Riley Ohlson of the Alliance for American Manufacturing
- John Killam and the staff of the Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership
- Chief Mike Wynn of the Pittsfield Police Department
- Mayor Roxann Wedegartner of the city of Greenfield
- Meghan Haggerty, Matt Bamonte, Cassandra Bligh, David Stokes, and the staff of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation
- Maria Pinaud, Kathleen Baskin, and the staff of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection
- Nate Kennan and the staff of the Massachusetts Clean Water Trust
- Clete Kus and Thomas Matuszko of the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission
- John Robertson (now retired) and Ariela Lovett of the Massachusetts Municipal Association
- Bernadette DeBlander of the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game’s Division of Ecological Restoration
- Heather Butler, Town Administrator of the town of Buckland
- Kara Runsten and the staff of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs