HooRWA to Host Annual Meeting and Talk on Forest Conservation

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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Hoosic River Watershed Association (HooRWA) will hold its annual meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 11, at 7 p.m. at Williams College's Wege Auditorium. 
 
The event, sponsored by the Williams College Environmental Studies Program and the Zilkha Center for the Environment, will include a review of HooRWA's 2024 activities and board elections.
 
Following the meeting, at 7:15 p.m., Vermont forester and author Ethan Tapper will deliver a talk titled "What Does It Mean to Love a Forest?" Drawing from his bestselling book, "How to Love a Forest: The Bittersweet Work of Tending a Changing World," Tapper will discuss how humans can play an active role in healing ecosystems. His presentation will explore the challenges of environmental stewardship and the need for pragmatic conservation efforts. A Q&A session will follow.
 
The event is free and open to the public.
 
Wege Auditorium is on the ground floor of the Williams College Chemistry building in the Unified Science Center and is most easily accessed by entering the Morley Scientific Laboratory through the atrium, going up the ramp or the stairs. turning right, and going straight along the corridor almost to the end. Wege Auditorium is TCL Room 123, on the right just before the end of that corridor.
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Williamstown Fire District Expects Slightly Lower Tax Rate

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — A rise in operating expenses for the Williamstown Fire Department will be offset by lower debt service payments on the new fire station, resulting in a slightly smaller tax bill from the district, officials noted last week.
 
One week after the Prudential Committee, which oversees the district, reviewed the fiscal articles it will send to May's annual district meeting, the fire chief explained that while operational funding is up by by nearly $125,000 from the current fiscal year to FY27, a drop in principal and interest payments will make up the difference.
 
Currently, the tax rate for the district — a separate taxing entity apart from town government — is projected to be $1.15 per $1,000 of valuation in the fiscal year that begins on July 1. The current rate is $1.24.
 
In FY26, district taxpayers paid $1.9 million toward principal and interest for the Main Street fire station. The draft warrant for the May 26 annual district meeting calls for $1.7 million to be raised for that capital expense, a drop of just more than $198,000.
 
"The impact of the new debt and, indeed, the entire budget is offset by certain revenue items, particularly the $5.5 million in gifts from Williams College and the Clark [Art Institute]," Chief Jeffrey Dias wrote in an email discussing the proposed budget.
 
The $500,000 pledge from the Clark and the $5 million donated by Williams College are being utilized at the start of the payback period for the bonds that fund the station's construction — when those payments are higher.
 
Melissa Cragg, chair of the Fire District's Finance Committee, explained that the use of those gifts early in the process will not necessarily mean a sticker shock down the road.
 
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