Williamstown Planners Continue Master Plan Review

Planning Board member Pat Dunlavey advocated for safer bicycle access on town roads during a review of the master plan.

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Planning Board on Tuesday continued its review of the town's 11-year-old master plan and proposed specific changes aimed to improve active recreation on open space and accessibility of roads for bicyclists.

The board read through the 2002 document's recommendations in two areas: "open space and recreation" and "cultural, natural and historic resources."

By and large, the planners found little worth changing from the proposals laid out by their predecessors, though they noted at times the statements in the '02 plan were "more aspirational than actionable."

One area that drew the panel's attention came in the recreation and open space section, specifically the sentence, "Local roads should be considered bicycle routes."

Planner Pat Dunlavey argued strongly that the town needs to do more to advocate for safe bicycle access on both local and state roads that pass through the municipality.

Dunlavey pointed to the installation of rumble strips on Route 7 in South Williamstown in 2009. The addition of the driver safety measure was cited for the cancellation of the Shaun Thornton Memorial Jiminy Peak Road Race, a bicycle race that was contested for nearly three decades.

"This is an action item, and someone needs to have that item in his head when they're talking to the state," Dunlavey said.

Town Planner Andrew Groff, who advises the Planning Board, recommended that the panel should bring its concerns to the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, where such large projects are vetted.

"When all the background work gets done between the town and state on these projects, Town Hall needs more impetus from the town," Dunlavey said.

Dunlavey proposed that the board amend the master plan to include a separate action item calling on the town and Selectmen to "actively advocate for safer design and wider shoulders for bicyclists on town and state roadways."

Planner Chris Winters prompted a discussion about adding language in the master plan to encourage the development of community gardens in the village center.

Chairwoman Ann McCallum questioned whether such gardens were relevant in a town in which the vast majority of residents live in single-family homes, but Winters made a persuasive case for the endeavors.

"For 'X' number who don't have a back yard or if they're renters ... or perhaps the conditions are unfavorable or if it turns what often is a solitary activity into a social activity," community gardens are beneficial, Winters said.

Groff pointed to the example of a successful community garden in Pittsfield that is located in a neighborhood of single-family homes where residents simply enjoy the social aspect of gardening on a common plot of land.

The newest member of the board, Carol Stein-Payne, listens to Town Planner Andrew Groff at Tuesday's meeting.

Dunlavey crafted language calling for an addition to the master plan that encourages the Selectmen to, "pursue any opportunities for creating small-scale open space within the Village Business District and general residence one areas of town suitable for community gardens, playgrounds and park benches."

The planners suggested a minor change to the "cultural, natural and historic resources" section of the plan, which called, in part, for the town to "maintain sites that give access to the vistas and special places that define our sense of place."

Dunlavey recommended the language be changed to read that the town "work to promote the establishment of sites that give access to the vistas and special places that define our sense of place."

"If there is an opportunity, we're instructing the town to take advantage of it," he said.

In other business on Tuesday, the Planning Board welcomed its newest member, Carol Stein-Payne, and elected a new slate of officers. Winters was elected chairman, Elizabeth McGowan was voted vice chairwoman, McCallum takes over as secretary and Dunlavey will serve as the board's representative to the BRPC. Winters will continue to fill the Planning Board's seat on the town's Community Preservation Committee.

Hancock Town Meeting Votes to Strike Meme Some Found 'Divisive'

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
10:40PM / Monday, May 06, 2024

Hancock town meeting members Monday vote on a routine item early in the meeting.

HANCOCK, Mass. — By the narrowest of margins Monday, the annual town meeting voted to strike from the town report messaging that some residents described as, "inflammatory," "divisive" and unwelcoming to new residents.

 

On a vote of 50-48, the meeting voted to remove the inside cover of the report as it appeared on the town website and in printed versions distributed prior to the meeting and at the elementary school on Monday night.

 

The text, which appeared to be a reprinted version of an Internet meme, read, "You came here from there because you didn't like it there, and now you want to change here to be like there. You are welcome here, only don't try to make here like there. If you want to make here like there, you shouldn't have left there in the first place."

 

After the meeting breezed through the first 18 articles on the town meeting warrant agenda with hardly a dissenting vote, a member rose to ask if it would be unreasonable for the meeting to vote to remove the meme under Article 19, the "other business" article.

 

"No, you cannot remove it," Board of Selectmen Chair Sherman Derby answered immediately.

 

After it became clear that Moderator Brian Fairbank would entertain discussion about the meme, Derby took the floor to address the issue that has been discussed in town circles since the report was printed earlier this spring.

 

"Let me tell you about something that happened this year," Derby said. "The School Department got rid of Christmas. And they got rid of Columbus Day. Now it's Indigenous People's Day.