Letters: Just Do the Math

To the Editor:

The controversy over the removal of conservation land for the purpose of development of affordable housing in Williamstown continues to ratchet up.

Many letters have raised the question of at what cost. Equally as important as being good stewards of conservation land it is likewise as important to be good stewards of those monies that will allow Williamstown to provide the greatest number of affordable, fiscally responsible and ecologically sensible housing to those in need.

The development and infrastructure costs of the conceptual plan to create 41 building lots on the Lowry property would approximate a $45,000 to $50,000 land cost per unit before any vertical construction of housing. That is an infrastructure cost alone approaching $2,000,000.The other vacant town sites, Photech and 59 Water St., along with a third privately owned vacant site referenced to as Cable Mills South, would only require development and infrastructure costs approximating $10,000 to $15,000 land cost per unit before any vertical construction.  

Robert J. Scerbo
Williamstown
April 13, 2013

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.