Letter: Bilal for Williamstown Select Board

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To the Editor:

I am writing to urge Williamstown voters to elect Bilal Ansari to the Williamstown Select Board on Tuesday, May 10. Dr. Ansari has dedicated himself to a life of service, to helping people resolve difficult situations. He listens intently and responds carefully with compassion. He appeals to our best nature. These are essential skills needed at this moment in our town.

Dr. Ansari does not believe that he alone has the solutions to all of the challenges facing our town. Instead, he wants to hear from those comfortable speaking up and also those who, until now, have not felt comfortable nor heard at all. He believes it will take a village to share concerns and work together to make Williamstown a better place for everyone to live and work and grow. But making that happen takes a special type of skilled leadership.

Bilal Ansari is the candidate blessed with that skilled leadership and a stake in our town's quality of life. He has deep roots in this town: his ancestors lived and worked here. He is committed to an approach based in kindness and inclusion. He is the candidate who can and will help us reach a new, inclusive and more equitable chapter in our town's history.

I ask for your vote on May 10 for Bilal Ansari for the Williamstown Select Board. Thank you.

 

Hugh L Guilderson, Ph.D.
Williamstown, Mass.

 

 

 


Tags: town elections,   


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Developer Working Through Delay in Opening Williamstown Apartments

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires.com Sports
 
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- A delay in obtaining the certificate of occupancy for a 54-unit apartment building on Water Street forced some tenants to postpone their moves this week.
 
The "River Lofts" apartments, the third and final planned phase of development at the Cable Mills property, is funded in part by $480,000 in town contributions to the developer.
 
On Friday morning, iBerkshires.com heard from would-be occupants that they had to change their plans at the last minute while the four-story building awaited final sign-off from the town's building inspector.
 
"We are very close but there are a few small punch list items that need to be finalized," Town Manager Robert Menicocci wrote in a midday Friday email. "Our building inspector is working closely with them each day to help them get their c/o. We are hopeful that it can happen in the next day or so."
 
Developer David Traggorth of Hanover, Mass., firm Causeway Development said that such delays are not uncommon and are taken into account in the initial leases of new developments like River Lofts.
 
"As is typical with new construction, the final inspection process involves several approvals, and timing can shift," Traggorth wrote in reply to an email seeking information. "Given this reality, resident leases anticipate potential construction-related delays and address changes to occupancy dates and rent adjustments while an apartment is unavailable.
 
"We’re completing the final inspection and certificate of occupancy process at River Lofts, and a handful of residents have had to adjust their move-in dates. We understand that changing an expected moving date is disruptive and our leasing and marketing team is in touch with each affected resident, working through individual needs on a case-by-case basis."
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