WCMA to Hold Community Forum on New Museum Building's Sustainability Goals

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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA) will host a community forum regarding its new museum building project on Monday, April 28, at 6:00 p.m. 
 
The event will be held at the Williams Inn Ballroom.
 
The forum will focus on the sustainability objectives of the new building, featuring presentations on the Williams College Sustainable Project Policy and the planned sustainable design features of the new WCMA. These features include the aim to meet the Living Building Challenge of the International Living Future Institute (ILFI) and the use of mass timber for the building's structural components.
 
The event will also provide general updates on the ongoing construction project and include a question-and-answer session for the audience.
 
The new Williams College Museum of Art is intended to serve Williams College, the local community, and visitors to the Berkshires. The design of the new museum is reportedly student-focused, aiming to create a sense of belonging for campus members and the wider community, and an inclusive experience for all visitors. The building will offer increased gallery space for displaying more of the museum’s 15,000-piece collection, as well as facilities for improved access to collections for student, faculty, and visiting scholar requests, and additional object study classrooms.
 
Those interested in attending are encouraged to RSVP at https://forms.office.com/e/qA3KnFizyp.
 
Further information can be found at artmuseum.williams.edu.
 
 

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Williamstown Fire Committee Sees FY27 Budget with Sizable Operational Increase

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff

The Prudential Committee held its first meeting in the new station in late March with Treasurer Billie Jo Sawyer, left and committee members Lindsay Neathawk, David Moresi and Craig Pedercini.
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Prudential Committee last week reviewed a draft annual fire district meeting warrant that includes an operational expenses budget up 9.4 percent from the figures approved at the May 2025 annual meeting.
 
And, with a new line item added to the district's operational budget the total increase is closer to 24 percent.
 
Last May, meeting members — the meeting is open to all registered voters in town — approved an FY26 spending plan that totaled $686,991.
 
On July 1, the first day of the fiscal year, a special district meeting voted to allocate $40,000 from the district's stabilization fund to the operating budget, effectively raising the baseline to $726,991, a 34 percent increase, year over year, from FY25 to FY26.
 
The July 1 meeting moved $20,000 of stabilization funds to the firefighter pay line and $20,000 to the maintenance and operation line — nearly doubling the former and raising the latter by 75 percent from FY25 to FY26.
 
Both those lines are up again in the planned FY27 budget, but more modestly: 2 percent for M&O (up from $123,000 to $125,500) and 27 percent for firefighter payroll ($110,000 to $139,900).
 
Most of the other line items net out to no significant change; some are up a little, some are down a little.
 
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