WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Fire District will hold its annual election and annual meeting on Tuesday in the Williamstown Elementary School gymnasium.
The polls will open at 4 p.m. and will stay open until at least 7 p.m. for the election, in which John Notsley, the chair of the five-person Prudential Committee, is one of several candidates on the ballot running without opposition.
At 7:30, the annual district meeting will commence with eight warrant articles to be decided by voters in the district.
The largest single expenditure on the agenda is a $495,865 request for the district's operational expenses for fiscal year 2021.
Although that number is up slightly from the $488,151 voters approved for FY20, the entire spending plan is down slightly from the current fiscal year because of reductions in other warrant articles.
Voters and attendees on Tuesday evening are asked to wear face coverings and observe social distancing. The meeting has been moved from the elementary school's cafeteria to its gymnasium to promote social distancing, a move that was easier because the school's maintenance personnel were able to leave the mat that covers the gym floor in place after last week's town election.
Generally speaking, the Fire District's annual meeting attracts a couple of dozen voters or fewer. Last year, a larger than average number of district residents attended, and the main topic of conversation was a plan to replace the town's street lights with LED fixtures.
In response to concerns raised at the meeting that the new fixtures, while more energy efficient, would create increased light pollution, the Prudential Committee ultimately pulled out of an agreement with National Grid to change the lights.
The district's annual meeting was postponed from its traditional May date due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic. As is not uncommon in Massachusetts, the town's fire district operates as a separate municipal entity apart from town government.
Williamstown's annual town meeting, which normally precedes the Williamstown Fire District meeting, also has been postponed to a date to be determined.
The town meeting normally is conducted in the gymnasium but attracts a much larger crowd — last year more than 250, in 2017 as many as 280. The Select Board last week asked the town manager to develop plans for an outdoor town meeting to be held some time this summer.
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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.
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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