Williamstown braces for override vote

By Linda CarmanPrint Story | Email Story
WILLIAMSTOWN — Voters will confront a half-million-dollar Proposition 2 1/2 override on the ballot, as well as a three-way race for two slots on the Board of Selectmen at the May 11 town election. The override, the second year in a row one has been sought to fill a budget shortfall, has prompted underground mutterings from those who say the town and schools are spending too much money, and a flurry of telephone calls and letters to the editor from those who believe they must preserve local services. Passing the override would increase local property taxes by 72 cents per $1,000 of valuation, which would translate to an additional $124.56 on the tax bill for a house at the median price of $173,000. At this year’s tax rate of $14.72, the owner of a median-priced property would receive a bill for $2,529.26. “We’d have an awful lot to lose if it did not pass,” said George T. “Sam” Crane, a Williams College political science professor heading the pro-override organization Together For Williamstown. For example, Crane cited a cut of $46,000, or a quarter of its operating budget, from the Williamstown Youth Center, six teaching positions to be cut at Mount Greylock Regional High School, and a sixth-grade teacher and special education teacher from the elementary school roster. “It would be a disaster,” he said. “We have an incredible amount to lose if the override fails to pass.” He acknowledged that this year, “It’s a little grimmer in that we do have to do it again.” But, he said, “We’re finding support.” Last year’s override passed with a 62 percent vote, but this year, the ripples of dissent seem more audible. One opponent said he did not want his name used for fear of repercussions his children might face at school. It is, he said, time to draw the line and stop what he called “enabling behavior.” “They [the school committees, especially Mount Greylock] will absolutely continue to budget over the 2 1/2 limit until the townspeople say no,” he said. “I’ve actually had people come to me asking how to explain their opposition to those wanting them to jump on the override bandwagon. I’ve had people say if overrides continue, in the not distant future, they’ll have to move out of town.” He added, “I’m hearing a lot more voices this year against the override. As long as voters continue to throw money at them like drunken sailors, spending money is the easiest way to make everybody happy. It becomes our responsibility to say no, and they have to figure out how to do it. I’d like to give them a chance by saying no for a change. If the town votes the override, we get what we deserve. I think voting for the override or giving to the GAP fund is enabling behavior.” The GAP fund, established by local residents and teachers, helped restore school sports and co-curricular programs last year by making up for lost state aid through $175,000 in private fund-raising. Williams College gave Mount Greylock an additional $250,000 for teaching positions — with a notice that it would be a one-time gift. This year’s override, slightly lower than last year’s, would allow exceeding the Proposition 21/2 levy limit by $530,292, a sum broken down as follows: town government, $184,866; the local elementary school, $119,095; Mount Greylock, $156,315, and C.H. McCann Technical School, $70,016. The general government amount is 3.4 percent over this year’s budget, the elementary school 2.7 over, Mount Greylock 4.2 percent over and McCann 121.4 percent over — a minimum net school-spending requirement. Override supporters have a Web site detailing the effects if the override fails, togetherforwilliamstown.org. Opponents have no equivalent organization, no “Block the Override” group because, for one reason, according to some opponents, people who are just getting by financially may not want to acknowledge they will be harmed by higher taxes. The polls at Williamstown Elementary School, will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., according to Town Clerk Mary C. Kennedy. In the contest for town offices, incumbent Selectmen’s Chairman John R. Madden, former Selectwoman and longtime town official Anita Barker and political newcomer Philip Guy are vying for two seats on the board. All three consider the town’s finances the most pressing issue. Madden, a retired senior vice president of Fleet/Boston and former town school superintendent for five years, is seeking a second term. He has been a member of the Finance Committee and coordinator of the Williamstown Master Plan Steering Committee. Madden strongly advocates expanding the town’s tax base. As selectman, he has supported the commercial/residential development of Cable Mills and the old town garage site. He has also been a proponent of affordable housing and recreation. In line with his support for the public schools, he spearheaded hiring a consultant and calling a series of meetings to deal with “issues of trust” at the high school. He serves on a subcommittee developing recommendations for the school’s administrative structure that will launch both school committees’ analysis of alternative organizational school structures. Madden’s efforts at developing consensus positions were considered instrumental in achieving a compromise with North Adams on the effects of the city’s expansion of Harriman & West Airport. “Our most pressing issues revolve around the budgets,” he said. “I don’t think we can have situations where we have overrides year after year after year. We need to encourage economic development without sacrificing the character of the town, and I think that can be done.” Madden said he favors exploring whether Williams College should be asked to contribute annual payments in lieu of taxes, known as PILOT. “I think it ought to be examined,” he said. “I don’t think PILOT is the panacea, but it could easily be looked at jointly with the college. It would have to be very carefully analyzed, as the basis for any discussion. He also wants to analyze traffic flow, particularly around Field Park as the Williams nears completion of its multi-million-dollar ’62 Center for Performing Arts. Madden and his wife, Judy, moved to Williamstown in 1975. They live at 100 Berkshire Drive and have two grown children. He has also been a management consultant and vice president of human resources at Garden Way Inc. He holds a bachelor’s degree in history and social science from Bloomsburg (Pa.) State College, and both a master’s degree and Ph.D. in social science from Syracuse University; his doctorate is also in education. Barker, who served three terms as selectwoman and was twice chairwoman in the 1980s, is seeking to return to the board. She is a veteran town official, having served five years on the Planning Board, with one term as chairwoman, and five years on the Finance Committee, with two terms as chairwoman. She heads the affordable housing task force and has served on three master plan committees, in 1983, 1990, and 2001. She also heads the Regional Issues Committee of the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, which is currently focusing on wind power. Barker is a longtime member of the League of Women Voters and served on the boards of the Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation, the Visiting Nurse Association and the Smith College Club of Berkshire County. “I don’t want the town to be the rich and the poor but no middle class,” she said, “I’m in favor of the override, but I don’t think we can continue in the economic condition we’re in. She said town employees should be able to afford to live in town. “We need to work with our legislators to loosen up state funds, talk to the teachers about the town picking up less than 90 percent of health insurance. And I feel that some of the wealthy, large, private institutions in town must be approached for PILOT.” She added, “They have been very generous and given the town a good deal, but it’s all for things that they need – good schools, a usable Spring Street, the hospital, the ambulance service. It’s almost always an ‘ask’ situation. We do not have a dedicated income stream. We can’t count on it. That makes budgeting and planning very difficult. It’s a source we have to explore. If I am elected, I’ll at least be in a position to make some approaches. It’s not just the college, the Clark [Art Institute] is also wealthy and gives no PILOT. “There’s something wrong when you see the college tearing down perfectly good buildings and building a turf field with lights when the town is trying to raise money with an override,” she said. Barker and her husband, Francis, moved to Williamstown in 1971 from New York City. They live at Sweetwood and have two grown children. Guy of 27 Holly Lane is making his first try for elective office. An electrical engineer with 18 years in business, he grew up in Cavendish, Vt., and worked at General Electric in Pittsfield before joining Saint-Gobain, a plastics manufacturing firm in New York state. A graduate of Stevens Tech in Hoboken, N.J., he holds an MBA from Western New England College in Springfield. Guy said he would bring “a fresh perspective” to the board, the perspective of someone raising a young family in town. “I can represent the broader spectrum of people in the community than the current board,” he said. The president of the East Williamstown Residents Association, Guy acknowledged that he got into the race because of the airport controversy. “It took a lot of tenacity, doing the research and talking to the people rather than just to the mouthpieces for the airport,” he said. “For so long, people were telling us it was a done deal. We couldn’t have changed it without people acting together.” Residents, working with the Selectmen and North Adams Mayor John Barrett III, wrested a compromise that reduced the amount of tree-cutting along Luce Road. Guy, while stressing his “fresh perspective,” said he would not arrive on the board with preconceived ideas. His list of pressing issues is headed by fiscal responsibility. “I really want to look at balancing the budget through revenue generation, through organized development of the tax base and expense control, without cutting back on core services. I don’t believe we can keep going back to current property owners and businesses asking for tax increases. We have to grow the tax base. I don’t think you can cut your way to prosperity. You get to the point of cutting core services.” Guy said he wants to strive for excellence, which he considers the best way to attract new business. “We need town services and schools that are world class. We need to set the bar higher,” he said. “It’s important in developing the tax base. The Northeast is one of the most expensive places to do business, and the only way to attract business is to have a great quality of life. In my business, I’m one of the people who decides on plant closures. We’ve always looked at the quality of life. We’ve never looked at airports.” He added, “I want to protect the rights of our residents, including the right to live in the community. Tax increases, he said, “are putting more pressure on people with fixed incomes. We need to look at ways to abate some of the pressures they’re feeling.” Guy has lived in Williamstown for eight years and previously lived for seven years in Pittsfield. He and his wife, Lori, have two sons, Sam, 4, and Jeremy, 1. In the only other race on the ballot, incumbents John Skavlem and Linda Becker are seeking reelection as library trustees, vying for the two open seats with political newcomer Marcus H. Jaffe of Hemlock Lane. Uncontested candidates on the ballot are: moderator, Stanley Parese; Elementary School Committee, incumbent Paula Consolini and David Backus of 261 Pine Cobble Road; Housing Authority, incumbent Sally Cramer; and McCann School Committee, incumbent James R. Gazzaniga.
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EPA Lays Out Draft Plan for PCB Remediation in Pittsfield

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Ward 4 Councilor James Conant requested the meeting be held at Herberg Middle School as his ward will be most affected. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency and General Electric have a preliminary plan to remediate polychlorinated biphenyls from the city's Rest of River stretch by 2032.

"We're going to implement the remedy, move on, and in five years we can be done with the majority of the issues in Pittsfield," Project Manager Dean Tagliaferro said during a hearing on Wednesday.

"The goal is to restore the (Housatonic) river, make the river an asset. Right now, it's a liability."

The PCB-polluted "Rest of River" stretches nearly 125 miles from the confluence of the East and West Branches of the river in Pittsfield to the end of Reach 16 just before Long Island Sound in Connecticut.  The city's five-mile reach, 5A, goes from the confluence to the wastewater treatment plant and includes river channels, banks, backwaters, and 325 acres of floodplains.

The event was held at Herberg Middle School, as Ward 4 Councilor James Conant wanted to ensure that the residents who will be most affected by the cleanup didn't have to travel far.

Conant emphasized that "nothing is set in actual stone" and it will not be solidified for many months.

In February 2020, the Rest of River settlement agreement that outlines the continued cleanup was signed by the U.S. EPA, GE, the state, the city of Pittsfield, the towns of Lenox, Lee, Stockbridge, Great Barrington, and Sheffield, and other interested parties.

Remediation has been in progress since the 1970s, including 27 cleanups. The remedy settled in 2020 includes the removal of one million cubic yards of contaminated sediment and floodplain soils, an 89 percent reduction of downstream transport of PCBs, an upland disposal facility located near Woods Pond (which has been contested by Southern Berkshire residents) as well as offsite disposal, and the removal of two dams.

The estimated cost is about $576 million and will take about 13 years to complete once construction begins.

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