Harsches Push for Electric Trolleys for Williamstown

Staff ReportsiBerkshires
01:05AM / Monday, July 13, 2009Print Story | Email Story

Electric trolleys come in various configurations. This open-air vehicle from GaterMoto can run 50 miles on a single charge.

WILLLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — A local group is hoping to get a slice of stimulus funding to promote eco-friendly transportation within the Village Beautiful.

Joyce and Paul Harsch of Harsch Associates are spearheading a grant proposal for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to cover the cost of four electric trolleys to promote cultural and commercial ventures during the tourist season. They are planning a PowerPoint presentation at tonight's Selectmen's meeting to gain support from town officials.

According to information provided by Joyce Harsch last month, the funding would come from federal Transit Investments for Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction (TIGER) initiatives. The minimum grant is $20 million but the U.S. Department of Transportation has been given discretion to waive the limit for projects in small cities or regions.

The deadline for submission is Sept. 9; it is expected to take about eight weeks to write the grant.

"The addition of four Williamstown Battery Electric Vehicle Trolleys would increase the desirability of Williamstown as a tourist destination," according to a proposal outline. "The age of the tourist population is expected to increase along with decrease in physical mobility abilities with increased age."

The trolleys, powered primarily by solar panels, would not only stimulate economic activity, they would also promote environmental sustainability and investment in green technology, according to the proposal.

Williamstown Chamber of Commerce members are being encourage to attend the meeting to provide input. In an e-mail to chamber members, Executive Director Judy Giamborino said the "goal is to increase tourist interest in and traffic to the business district and other attractions in town.

"Trolleys can make it easier for people to get from one attraction to another since they can park their vehicle in one easy location. ... The trolleys will add needed jobs and of course be a fun and festive addition to the town's atmosphere."

The trolleys and their storage are expected to be covered by the grant; rider fees and rentals could cover operational costs.

Harsch said they are looking for local support before beginning the grant writing process. "The more local support and citizens we have backing the idea, the more our political representatives will be likely to lobby for us."

The Selectmen's meeting begins at 7 p.m. at Town Hall.

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you need sun!
from: crazy	on: 07-13-2009 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

And you also need a reason, there is public parking at the end of the main st. The diner has no shortage of parking either, so it would be the tram to nowhere. I liked the idea at first, as I have seen it work for a while in other locations with bad weather (Like Maine). But in the end, it always comes down to funding for the continuing cost of operation, there will simply not be enough "paying" traffic to sustain it. Sorry Joyce.
from: Jim from Williamstown	on: 07-14-2009 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

i think this would only encourage people that didn't need a ride to ride instead of taking a much needed walk. let's face it, williamstown is not that spread out, and there are more able bodied people than not. i would vote for a grant to get the bike path from adams to williamstown built quicker before i supported this. plus this would only be usable in certain months. our weather and layout of merchants is not conducive to this initiative. thanks anyway.
from: kim b.	on: 07-14-2009 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

On the surface, this seems like a neat idea - and for a few days now I've been going around town thinking about it ... It's not very practical, I'm afraid. Just getting around loading zones, fire house, the Spring Street bump-outs, the intersection of 2 and 43, the insaneness of the Route 2 stretch ... it's all a bit of a maze already. For Spring and Water Streets, unless parking and car traffic were significantly reduced somehow (and not in our imaginations), it seems unworkable. The addition of passenger pick-up and discharge might further worsen the congestion. It is a interesting idea, though. If it could be made to work, and that looks a lot harder than I first thought. Nice to see some new ideas once in a while, keeps us on our toes.
from: so many variables	on: 07-16-2009 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

Here's a thought. What if Williams College introduced electric trolleys on the campus as a "town/gown green" initiative? The number of student vehicles parking on the streets in the center of town is a real big problem, one of our thorniest. Eliminate even fifty percent of those student vehicles, and we got us a whole lot more parking spaces! No idea if the Harsches are interested in changing their direction, or even if grant funds can be used in such a way ... but a campus-based shuttle system (and the college's support in getting students to use it) would do perhaps more to help Williamstown in the long run.
from: outside a different box	on: 07-17-2009 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

Williamstown Select Board Plans Off-Camera Evaluation of Town Manager

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
05:24AM / Friday, October 09, 2026

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Select Board plans to take extraordinary measures to avoid having its discussion of the town manager's performance recorded by the town's Public, Educational and Government cameras.

At its Sept. 28 meeting, the board decided to hold a special meeting in a room not covered by WilliNet cameras to complete its annual evaluation process of Town Manager Robert Menicocci.

Chair Peter Beck said that while the evaluation is "absolutely" to be conducted in an open meeting, the board could follow a process similar to the off site, unrecorded meetings that past Select Boards have characterized as "retreats," a term not contemplated by or included in the commonwealth's Open Meeting Law.

The current board met on June 29 for what it characterized as a "planning session" where no formal votes were taken. That meeting was held outside of Town Hall, at the new fire station on Main Street, in a room equipped with audio and video recording equipment that the Select Board chose not to use.

At the Sept. 28 meeting, one board member indicated that an unrecorded meeting was preferable to discuss the annual evaluation of the one town employee supervised by the board.

"I'd like to do it without all the Willinet stuff," Stephanie Boyd said in a discussion toward the end of a two-hour meeting. "I think it's more conducive to conversation."

With the board expected to meet just once in October — its "regular" meeting date coincides with Indigenous Peoples Day on Oct. 12 — Beck suggested that the panel could find a date for a special meeting, suggesting the third Monday of the month, Oct. 19.

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