WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Work at the new Mount Greylock Regional School will continue through the summer months, the School Committee learned last week.
During a brief early evening open session on Wednesday, Superintendent Kimberley Grady told the committee that the middle-high school will again be an "active work site" after the planned last day of classes on June 24.
The work will include taking care of some items still on the punch list since the school opened for classes in September, but it also includes the replacement of carpet tiles in several areas, including the band room, orchestra room, media center (library), main office, guidance suite and pupil services department.
The cost of the work will be covered by the manufacturer of the carpet tiles involved, Grady said.
Grady indicated that the tile had an odor because of a manufacturing problem.
"We're the first [customer] in North America to have this problem," she said.
While the work can be completed during the summer at no cost to the district, it is an inconvenience.
"We will be breaking apart rooms that we finally put together," Grady said.
In addition to the interior work, laborers will be on site this summer addressing defective sidewalk slabs, including a high-profile spot in front of the main entrance of the school that was the victim of frost heaves in the building's first winter.
In other building project business on Wednesday, the School Committee OK'd the creation of a finance subcommittee of the School Building Committee to increase efficiency during the closeout phase of the $64 million addition/renovation project.
Grady told the committee that the School Building Committee has been having difficulty finding times when it can get a quorum together for a meeting, but there still are bills to be paid.
She said that Williamstown's Hugh Daley and Lanesborough's Steve Wentworth, who served on the School Building Committee's finance working group, have agreed to serve on a subcommittee along with Grady to approve invoices and recommend them for payment.
"We are slowed down with the process," she said. "This will speed it up."
The members of the committee also got some homework. They were tasked with completing their individual evaluations of Grady and returning the forms by June 3 so their responses can be compiled and the full committee can complete its formal review at its June meeting.
In the interim, the School Committee has a third May meeting on the calendar for Thursday, May 23, at 6 p.m.
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Whoa!!! How can Ms. Grady appoint a sub committee of people who are not even on the school committee??? Is This Legal? Then why did we merge school districts and bother to elect a new school Committee? Is anyone in charge???
These are the school committee members, courtesy of the Berkshire Eagle:
Elected to four-year terms in Lanesborough were newcomer Christina Conry and incumbent Regina DiLego in the only contested school committee race. Incumbent Al Terranova won a two-year term uncontested.
In Williamstown, Dan Caplinger and Steven Miller were elected to four-year terms, while Joe Bergeron and newcomer Allison Carter took on two-year terms.
Williamstown Charter Review Panel OKs Fix to Address 'Separation of Powers' Concern
By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — 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.
The committee accepted language designed to meet concerns raised by the Planning Board about separation of powers under the charter.
The committee's original compliance language — Article 32 on the annual town meeting warrant — would have made the Select Board responsible for determining a remedy if any other town board or committee violated the charter.
The Planning Board objected to that notion, pointing out that it would give one elected body in town some authority over another.
On Wednesday, Charter Review Committee co-Chairs Andrew Hogeland and Jeffrey Johnson, both members of the Select Board, brought their colleagues amended language that, in essence, gives authority to enforce charter compliance by a board to its appointing authority.
For example, the Select Board would have authority to determine a remedy if, say, the Community Preservation Committee somehow violated the charter. And the voters, who elect the Planning Board, would have ultimate say if that body violates the charter.
In reality, the charter says very little about what town boards and committees — other than the Select Board — can or cannot do, and the powers of bodies like the Planning Board are regulated by state law.
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.
click for more
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.
click for more
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