Letter: Vote on May 11

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To the Editor:

I am excited to endorse Albert Cummings for Select Board. I have known Albert for decades. I've watched him grow his business from building small additions and renovations to award winning residential and commercial masterpieces. Similarly, I have seen his music career evolve from playing the banjo on Community Auditions, to singing and playing guitar around a campfire, to sharing a stage with some of the greatest blues artists who ever walked the earth. Albert's success in these areas come from a strong work ethic, great people skills, a willingness to always learn new ideas while not casting aside those ideas that are time tested and proven, and the attitude that a job worth doing is worth doing right. These are skills and attributes that will serve our town well.

Albert approaches people, ideas, issues, and opportunities with an open mind. He possesses an uncanny ability to engage with people, put them at ease, and allow them to be heard and has the experience of making tough decisions.

I encourage everyone to vote on May 11.

Jay Merselis
Williamstown, Mass.

 

 


Tags: election 2021,   

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Williamstown Select Board Plans Off-Camera Evaluation of Town Manager

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Select Board plans to take extraordinary measures to avoid having its discussion of the town manager's performance recorded by the town's Public, Educational and Government cameras.
 
At its Sept. 28 meeting, the board decided to hold a special meeting in a room not covered by WilliNet cameras to complete its annual evaluation process of Town Manager Robert Menicocci.
 
Chair Peter Beck said that while the evaluation is "absolutely" to be conducted in an open meeting, the board could follow a process similar to the off site, unrecorded meetings that past Select Boards have characterized as "retreats," a term not contemplated by or included in the commonwealth's Open Meeting Law.
 
The current board met on June 29 for what it characterized as a "planning session" where no formal votes were taken. That meeting was held outside of Town Hall, at the new fire station on Main Street, in a room equipped with audio and video recording equipment that the Select Board chose not to use.
 
At the Sept. 28 meeting, one board member indicated that an unrecorded meeting was preferable to discuss the annual evaluation of the one town employee supervised by the board.
 
"I'd like to do it without all the Willinet stuff," Stephanie Boyd said in a discussion toward the end of a two-hour meeting. "I think it's more conducive to conversation."
 
With the board expected to meet just once in October — its "regular" meeting date coincides with Indigenous Peoples Day on Oct. 12 — Beck suggested that the panel could find a date for a special meeting, suggesting the third Monday of the month, Oct. 19.
 
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