Letters: Housing Committee Working to Expand Opportunities

To the Editor:

Williamstown is becoming increasingly older and wealthier. Young families and singles have limited options for rental and owner-occupied housing that is affordable. Though home prices here have declined somewhat over the last several years, home ownership is still out of reach for many.

The Affordable Housing Committee seeks to increase the availability of housing that is affordable for those who
live or work in Williamstown. A range of housing options will contribute to the economic and age diversity that is essential for the town’s future.

Williamstown has many amenities: natural beauty, cultural institutions, good schools, and well-run town government. Towns with these advantages tend to have higher housing costs than towns that lack them. There is, however, another factor at work: land use. We must face the fact that the decisions we make about land use impact housing costs.

The Town of Williamstown is approximately 47 square miles: 30,000 acres. Currently, 89 percent of our land is forest, wetlands, cropland, pasture or in conservation. That leaves 11 percent available for residential, commercial and municipal use. It is undeniable that the limited amount of land available for residential use drives up housing costs.

These six people constitute the full membership of the Williamstown Affordable Housing Committee.

Bilal Ansari
Charles Bonenti
Van Ellet
Cheryl Shanks
Leigh Short
Catherine Yamamoto
Williamstown
March 4, 1993

Williamstown Fire District Dedicates New Station

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
06:37AM / Sunday, May 31, 2026

Chief Jeffrey Dias recognizes firefighter Alexandra Riggs, who will graduate from Williams College next week. See more photos here.

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Massachusetts fire marshal came to town Saturday to congratulate the local Fire District and the taxpayers of Williamstown for the "amazing" station they have built on Main Street.

 

"I travel around the state, and I've seen hundreds of firehouses around the state — some great, some not so great," Fire Marshal Jon Davine told a crowd gathered outside the station for its dedication. "And I think we saw what the previous station here was in Williamstown. I'll tell you, especially in Western Massachusetts, we have a really big problem with deteriorating firehouses throughout Western Mass. These buildings are collapsing around our firefighters.

 

"And, as the marshal, it's my job to advocate for the departments for more funding. We've been working with our state reps and local reps and the fire chiefs association, trying to come up with different funding streams, so that we can help these departments build new stations, do better, safer stations, so that they have the equipment and the building they deserve to do their job safely."

 

The chair of the Prudential Committee, which governs the Fire District, and the chief of the department both thanked Williamstown residents for the 2023 special district meeting vote that paved the way for the station that went into operation earlier this year.

 

"It's an honor and a privilege to join you today as we celebrate this grand opening of the new firehouse," Chief Jeffrey Dias said. "This facility is so much more than a building that houses fire trucks. It stands as a symbol of our community's commitment to safety, preparedness and public service. It's a place where our members will maintain our equipment. They will learn about our craft. They'll share meals and, yes, from time to time, they're going to share sorrow.

 

"This isn't a fire station. This is a firehouse. And people have heard me say this a million times already. And it houses the very best second family that one could imagine."

 

Dias was joined at the podium set up in the parking lot for the noon ceremony by Prudential Committee Chair David Moresi, state Rep. John Barrett III and the the Rev. William F. Cyr, who gave an invocation.