WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Fire District officials Wednesday decided to reschedule to Feb. 28 a special district meeting to approve a bond to construct a new fire station.
The district had hoped to put the question to voters in December but last month walked back that idea in hopes that it will have more concrete numbers to put before voters.
Prudential Committee Chair David Moresi, who also serves on the district's Building Committee, told his Prudential Committee colleagues that earlier on Wednesday the Building Committee voted unanimously to recommend holding the vote on Tuesday, Feb. 28, at 7 p.m.
"The thought is that by the end of January we should have a good sense of, potentially, some of updated financials pertaining to some contributions or what may come from some gifts or what have you," Moresi said.
Moresi said the Building Committee was looking for a date when it would have more information, maximize potential turnout and, if the vote is successful, move the project forward as quickly as possible.
"I think it's a good date," Prudential Committee member Lindsay Neathawk said. "It's the week after [K-12] school break, so people should be back in town, and it's before the college's spring break. I think it's a perfect time."
Alex Steele said the committee may want to consider providing child care for voters with small children. Neathawk said the likely site of the meeting, Williamstown Elementary School, would lend itself to that amenity.
District Moderator Paul Harsch asked whether the Prudential Committee could designate a snow date for the meeting in light of the late February date. Prudential Committee John Notsley said that in the event of severe weather, the special district meeting could be adjourned to date certain, as the town did last spring with the annual town meeting.
The Fire District is a separate municipal entity apart from town government with its own taxing authority. Its annual budget and, in this case, bonding capability are subject to the approval of residents who attend district meetings.
Generally, the district holds one annual meeting in the spring. The last special district meeting occurred in 2017, when attendees OK'd the purchase of the Main Street parcel where officials hope to build the new station.
The district is led by the five-person Prudential Committee, which functions in many ways like the Select Board at the town level but with more control of the district's day-to-day finances.
Wednesday's Prudential Committee meeting was the first with the district's newly hired treasurer, Billie Jo Sawyer.
In addition to the regular review of the district's financial position and approval of monthly expenditures, most of Wednesday's meeting focused on the building project.
Bruce Decoteau, a project coordinator hired by the Prudential Committee to advise the panel, informed the members that progress was being made on a final contract with district owner's project manager Colliers International and that the district late Wednesday received geotechnical reports on the 3.7-acre Main Street site.
Previously, the district's architects advised that it was waiting on that geotechnical data to make a more definitive cost estimate for the project.
Construction costs alone for the new 27,500 square foot station are projected to be in the neighborhood of $18 million but could more likely be more than $20 million once "soft costs" are added.
The Prudential Committee also voted to accept the Building Committee's unanimous recommendation to purchasing photovoltaic equipment in that estimate.
Moresi said the district had the option of either owning its solar panels or leasing them, but the Building Committee believed the return on investment of ownership made it a smarter financial decision.
The Prudential Committee agreed and voted 4-0-1 to buy, rather than lease, the panels. Steele abstained from the vote, explaining that he thought the committee needed more data before making the decision.
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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.
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