Bernard Focuses on Challenges Ahead in State of the City Address
iBerkshires.com reports Mayor Thomas Bernard touched on long-festering infrastructure issues in his annual state of the city address on Monday night.
The status of the city's hydrant system and the deteriorating public safety building came to the fore early in the new year. Firefighters were stymied at two fires by nonfunctioning hydrants and the police union raised health and safety concerns about the 60-year-old police and fire station.
"We have for too long focus too much on cost control and not enough on service delivery and infrastructure investment. We have asked dedicated city employees to do more with less..
The mayor said the hydrants, in particular, were an "urgent call to action for me and for our community."