Williamstown Forums Focus on Elections, Mount Greylock Building Project

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — It is a busy week for public fora in the Village Beautiful.
 
Williamstown voters have three different events to follow over the next three nights, starting with Tuesday's candidates forum for three people looking to fill two seats on the Williamstown Elementary School Committee.
 
The League of Women Voters is hosting that event and one on Thursday for the four candidates vying for one open seat on the Board of Selectmen.
 
Both candidates forums are scheduled for 7 p.m. at Town Hall and will be telecast on the town's public access television station, WilliNet.
 
Also on Thursday at 7 p.m., the Mount Greylock Regional School District's Building Committee will host a special "Community Update and Input Session," in the school's meeting room.
 
The Mount Greylock committee is seeking input from residents of Williamstown and Lanesborough to help guide the architectural firm Design Partnership of Cambridge, which is conducting a feasibility study mandated by the Massachusetts School Building Authority.
 
"The best way to proceed with this project is to have as many voices as possible contribute," Mount Greylock Principal Mary MacDonald said in a news release announcing the meeting. "We have a wealth of talent in our two communities, including people who have expertise in design, construction, environmental conservation, green technology, landscaping, audiovisual technology, digital technology, engineering, the performing and visual arts and more.
 
"The School Building Committee is eager to hear townspeople's ideas and questions."
 
A second community input session is scheduled at the school on Tuesday, May 12, and the committee plans another session in Lanesborough on Sunday, May 5.

Tags: election 2015,   MGRHS,   public forum,   school project,   


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Williamstown Charter Review Panel OKs Fix to Address 'Separation of Powers' Concern

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Charter Review Committee on Wednesday voted unanimously to endorse an amended version of the compliance provision it drafted to be added to the Town Charter.
 
The committee accepted language designed to meet concerns raised by the Planning Board about separation of powers under the charter.
 
The committee's original compliance language — Article 32 on the annual town meeting warrant — would have made the Select Board responsible for determining a remedy if any other town board or committee violated the charter.
 
The Planning Board objected to that notion, pointing out that it would give one elected body in town some authority over another.
 
On Wednesday, Charter Review Committee co-Chairs Andrew Hogeland and Jeffrey Johnson, both members of the Select Board, brought their colleagues amended language that, in essence, gives authority to enforce charter compliance by a board to its appointing authority.
 
For example, the Select Board would have authority to determine a remedy if, say, the Community Preservation Committee somehow violated the charter. And the voters, who elect the Planning Board, would have ultimate say if that body violates the charter.
 
In reality, the charter says very little about what town boards and committees — other than the Select Board — can or cannot do, and the powers of bodies like the Planning Board are regulated by state law.
 
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