image description — The Selectmen held their first meeting of the year and appointed Robert Kavanaugh to the Municipal Scholarship Committee and John Holden to the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Williamstown Selectmen Still Waiting On Beaverwood Issue

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
12:15AM / Tuesday, January 11, 2011Print Story | Email Story

Engineer John Holden said he will use his experience as the new member of the Zoning Board of Appeals.

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The proposed biomass plant at the former Green Mountain Racetrack in Pownal, Vt. is still in a permitting battle and the attorney representing the town has advised the Selectmen to wait until the company files its permit request before taking the next step.

"Beaverwood Energy has been asking that both its application for its biomass facility and its application for its wood pellet manufacturing plan be together," Selectman Ronald Turbin told the board on Monday. "We're still deciding if we want to oppose that and I've spoken to the attorney and the briefs from Beaverwood Energy are scheduled to be filed January 15 and we'll have until February 7 to respond if we want to. That's something we'll have to think about somewhere down the road."

In other business, the Selectmen also appointed Robert Kavanaugh to the Municipal Scholarship Committee.

"I've been in education my entire career and I'm happy to serve," Kavanaugh told the board.

The position is a three-year term and Kavanaugh will have to be sworn in. The board also appointed John Holden to the Zoning Board of Appeals.

"I always felt I should contribute to the town in one way or the other," Holden said.

Holden fills a vacant seat that will expire in 2014.

Town Manager Peter Fohlin also gave his Town Manager's report which can be seen below.

Town Manager's Report for Jan. 10, 2011

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AG Clears Williamstown Select Board in Open Meeting Complaint

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
04:56PM / Wednesday, November 04, 2026

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Attorney General's Office on Wednesday cleared the Select Board in an Open Meeting Law complaint filed by iBerkshires.com while simultaneously confirming the supposition at the heart of the complaint.

The AGO found that the board did technically violate the OML when it moved to executive session on May 11, a misstep the board previously acknowledged in its response to the complaint.

The meeting in question was held behind closed doors to discuss the town's response to a proposal from Williams College to acquire the former town garage site at 59 Water St.

At the time of the May 11 meeting, the board had held no public discussion, let alone a vote, on whether to enter into negotiations with Williams, the lone respondent to a request for proposals issued by the town for the 1.27-acre parcel.

The board cited an exception to the Open Meeting Law that states executive sessions are appropriate if, "holding the discussion in open session may have a detrimental effect on the Board's negotiating position."

iBerkshires.com maintained in its complaint that the executive session was premature given the fact that the board on May 11 had no one to negotiate with as it had not agreed — publicly — to negotiate with the college.

The news organization cited the fact that the town's RFP clearly indicated a multi-step process in which the board first would decide whether to engage with any of the respondents (assuming multiple bids were made) and then enter into negotiation with one of the respondents.

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