WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The special district meeting is scheduled for Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. at Williamstown Elementary School to consider a couple of changes to the district's charter.
Chief among them is an expansion of the committee from its current three-member composition to five members.
The move is part of a response to criticism the committee has heard over the years about not fully representing or hearing all points of view in the community. The Prudential Committee itself seeks to address that concern by increasing the body by 67 percent.
If the move is approved by the district's voters, the proposal moves to Boston, where the district will ask state Rep. John Barrett III to introduce the change as a home rule petition to the Legislature.
"The other pieces are that voters will be asked to allow for the treasurer and clerk to become appointed positions because of the technical expertise required," firefighter Corydon Thurston said.
Thurston, who has served as the district's clerk/treasurer in the past, said that if the expansion of the committee goes through, the two "new" seats initially will be elected for a one- and two-year term.
After those terms expire, the newly created seats will be three-year terms like the rest of the committee. In addition, the charter change proposed makes the district's moderator position a three-year term instead of its current one-year term.
That means that in subsequent years after the proposed expansion, the district each spring would have two positions on the ballot: either two Prudential Committee seats (in two years out of three) or a Prudential Committee seat and the moderator (in the third year out of the three-year cycle).
Thurston said the hope is that the charter amendments — if approved on Tuesday — can be OK'd in Boston in time for the May 2019 election cycle. But the district has no control over that timetable.
"It's possible it can be done in time," Thurston said. "The amendment calls for it to be effective immediately upon passage.
Either way, the Prudential Committee will not wait until spring 2020 to expand its numbers.
"If we miss the election cycle for the new people, it would be at the convenience of the committee to call a special district election to elect two new people," he said.
The Williamstown Fire District is a separate taxing authority apart from town government which sets its own tax rate and approves its budget at an annual district meeting in May. As a matter of convenience, taxpayers in the district receive one tax bill that includes assessments for both the town and district.
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Williamstown Fire Committee Talks Station Project Cuts, Truck Replacement
By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Prudential Committee on Wednesday signed off on more than $1 million in cost cutting measures for the planned Main Street fire station.
Some of the "value engineering" changes are cosmetic, while at least one pushes off a planned expense into the future.
The committee, which oversees the Fire District, also made plans to hold meetings over the next two Wednesdays to finalize its fiscal year 2025 budget request and other warrant articles for the May 28 annual district meeting. One of those warrant articles could include a request for a new mini rescue truck.
The value engineering changes to the building project originated with the district's Building Committee, which asked the Prudential Committee to review and sign off.
In all, the cuts approved on Wednesday are estimated to trim $1.135 million off the project's price tag.
The biggest ticket items included $250,000 to simplify the exterior masonry, $200,000 to eliminate a side yard shed, $150,000 to switch from a metal roof to asphalt shingles and $75,000 to "white box" certain areas on the second floor of the planned building.
The white boxing means the interior spaces will be built but not finished. So instead of dividing a large space into six bunk rooms and installing two restrooms on the second floor, that space will be left empty and unframed for now.
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. click for more
Developer David Traggorth asked the trustees to make the contribution from its coffers to help unlock an additional $5.4 million in state funds for the planned 54-unit apartment building at the south end of the Cable Mills site.
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The donors, who wish to remain anonymous, say the gift reflects their desire to not only support Williams but also President Maud S. Mandel's strategic vision and plan for the college.
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Neighbors of a proposed subdivision off Summer Street last week asked the Planning Board to take a critical look at the project, which the residents say is out of scale to the neighborhood. click for more