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An architect's sketch of the planned Williamstown police station from Simonds Road (top) and looking south.
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A site plan for the planned police station. Simonds Road (Route 7) is at right.

Williamstown Zoning Board OKs Police Station Plan

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Plans for a new police station remain on track after the Zoning Board of Appeals last Thursday granted a special permit to expand the former Turner House veterans home at 852 Simonds Road.
 
Town Manager Jason Hoch was in front of the board with members of the design team planning the renovation of the site, which includes a two-story addition at the back or west side of the home.
 
The chief sticking point for the zoning board was the town's request for relief from noise limitations in the bylaw.
 
The station's backup power generator, per the manufacturer's specifications, has to be exercised once per week for 20 minutes, and at its maximum load, the generator creates 75 decibels of noise. Per the bylaw, the town would have been allowed that level of noise for 10 minutes.
 
Hoch said the town was willing to consult neighbors to see what time of day and day of the week would work for the testing. But the ZBA discussed several alternatives to mitigate the noise.
 
"We hold the other large entity in town to standards without granting variances," ZBA Chairman Andrew Hoar said, referring to Williams College. "They come up with ways to attenuate that sound. Why aren't we doing that?"
 
"The blunt answer is they have $2.5 billion in the bank," Hoch said. "This would push our cost significantly higher. We're willing to consider it. It comes at a substantial cost."
 
Later in the hearing, telecast on the town's community access television station, WilliNet, Hoch said the attenuating housing for the planned generator would cost an addition $30,000 on the planned $5 million project.
 
The ZBA pressed the town to look at less costly alternatives, including moving the generator farther from the property line and installing fencing or using plantings to help block the sound.
 
The board also discussed the fact that while the generator may produce 75 decibels of noise at its source, the manufacturer did not give the town any information about how much of that noise would carry to the property line.
 
In the end, the ZBA approved the special permit with the condition that "the applicant enclose the generator with a sound attenuating fence or show evidence to the Community Development Department that the standard is met off-site."
 
The ZBA also reviewed the drainage plan for the site, and architect James Hanifan of Chicopee's Caolo & Bieniek Associates Inc. explained that the addition and renovation of the former Turner House have been designed to stay in keeping with the neighborhood.
 
Elements of the station that would be considered "critical uses," like dispatch, cells, mechanicals, and records and evidence rooms, will be housed in the addition, which will be joined to the existing Turner House by a "knuckle" that includes a new elevator. The former rooming house will be used for offices and locker rooms while the lower level of the current structure will house a squad room and fitness room.
 
The town previously obtained a parking determination from the Planning Board for the site. Since the property is not near wetlands, the Conservation Commission has no jurisdiction. That means Thursday's ZBA decision marked the last review by a town committee for the project.
 
Hoch said he hopes to put the project out to bid next month and have bids in hand when he asks town meeting for funding in May.

Tags: ZBA,   police station,   

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Mount Greylock School Committee Votes Slight Increase to Proposed Assessments

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Mount Greylock Regional School Committee on Thursday voted unanimously to slightly increase the assessment to the district's member towns from the figures in the draft budget presented by the administration.
 
The School Committee opted to lower the use of Mount Greylock's reserve account by $70,000 and, instead, increase by that amount the share of the fiscal year 2025 operating budget shared proportionally by Lanesborough and Williamstown taxpayers.
 
The budget prepared by the administration and presented to the School Committee at its annual public hearing on Thursday included $665,000 from the district's Excess and Deficiency account, the equivalent of a municipal free cash balance, an accrual of lower-than-anticipated expenses and higher-than-anticipated revenue in any given year.
 
That represented a 90 percent jump from the $350,000 allocated from E&D for fiscal year 2024, which ends on June 30. And, coupled with more robust use of the district's tuition revenue account (7 percent more in FY25) and School Choice revenue (3 percent more), the draw down on E&D is seen as a stopgap measure to mitigate a spike in FY25 expenses and an unsustainable budgeting strategy long term, administrators say.
 
The budget passed by the School Committee on Thursday continues to rely more heavily on reserves than in years past, but to a lesser extent than originally proposed.
 
Specifically, the budget the panel approved includes a total assessment to Williamstown of $13,775,336 (including capital and operating costs) and a total assessment to Lanesborough of $6,425,373.
 
As a percentage increase from the FY24 assessments, that translates to a 3.90 percent increase to Williamstown and a 3.38 percent increase to Lanesborough.
 
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