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A crew works on the third wall on the new Habitat for Humanity home on Cole Avenue and Maple Street in Williamstown on Friday morning.
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Volunteers Needed for Williamstown Habitat House

By Rebecca DravisiBerkshires Staff
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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Around a dozen volunteers were continuing the process of raising walls Friday morning on the first of two new houses being built by Habitat for Humanity in Williamstown — the organization's first home in five years.

But more volunteers are always needed.

The home under construction is at the corner of Cole Avenue and Maple Street. Habitat officials hope the first home, on the Cole Avenue side of the lot, will be framed out before the winter weather sets in.

Volunteers on Friday were working on the third wall, and work was scheduled to be done soon on cutting the curb on Cole Avenue to allow for the driveway to be situated.

Ground was broken on the house in July. Meghan Gleason, Neil DeCarolis and their four boys — Cameron, Caleb, Christian and Connor — hope to move in next summer.



Crews are typically out on site on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday mornings from 9 a.m. to noon.

When this first house is complete, work will begin on the second on the other side of the lot.

Potential volunteers can show up on the site or call the Habitat office at 413-664-4440.

 


Tags: habitat for humanity,   

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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.
 
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