Milne Library Hosts a Community Eco-Fair in Honor Climate Preparedness Week

01:26PM / Tuesday, September 16, 2025Print Story | Email Story

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -—On Sunday, Sept. 21st from 1:30 - 3:30 p.m. the Milne Public Library will host an outdoor, Community Eco-Fair, to raise awareness about changing climate in honor of Climate Preparedness Week and to celebrate the many Berkshire groups working towards social, economic, and environmental sustainability.

Because September is also National Preparedness Month, staff will provide guidance on making "Go Bags," to prepare attendees for weather-related disasters, with the help of the Williamstown Police and Fire Departments and the Central-Western Massachusetts Red Cross.

Attendees can also learn more about initiatives in Williamstown, including Energize Williamstown, the Town's Net Zero Plan, and the sustainable features of the new Fire Department building and The Williams College Museum of Art.

There will also Food, live music, lawn games, a bouncy house and a seed bomb craft table.

Stop by and meet these local organizations:

Energize Williamstown/COOL Committee
Williamstown Garden Club
HooRWA
Rural Lands
Purple Valley Trails
Berkshire Grown
Second Chance Composting
Coral Crochet Project
The Plant Connector
Menstrual Justice Initiative
Williams College Zilkha Center
Williams College Museum of Art
Bee Friendly Williamstown
Remedy Hall
ABC Clothing Store
Buy Nothing Williamstown
Goodwill
The Tamarack Hollow Nature and Cultural Center
Williamstown Police and Fire Depts.
Central-Western Massachusetts Red Cross
Milne Public Library: "Go Bag" guidance
Milne Public Library: The Thingdom (Library of Things)
Milne Public Library: Seed bomb-making for kids

In case of bad weather, the event will take place inside the library.

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Williamstown Planners Green Light Initiatives at Both Ends of Route 7

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
12:26PM / Tuesday, January 20, 2026

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Jack Miller Contractors has received the town's approval to renovate and expand the abandoned gas station and convenience store property at the corner of Sand Springs Road and Simonds Road (Route 7) to serve as its new headquarters.

Last Tuesday, the Planning Board voted, 5-0, to approve a development plan for 824 Simonds Road that will incorporate the existing 1,300-square-foot building and add an approximately 2,100-square-foot addition.

"We look forward to turning what is now an eyesore into a beautiful property and hope it will be a great asset to the neighborhood and to Williamstown," Miller said on Friday.

Charlie LaBatt of Guntlow and Associates told the Planning Board that the new addition will be office space while the existing structure will be converted to storage for the contractor.

The former gas station, most recently an Express Mart, was built in 1954 and, as of Friday morning, was listed with an asking price of $300,000 by G. Fuls Real Estate on 0.39 acres of land in the town's Planned Business zoning district.

"The proposed project is to renovate the existing structure and create a new addition of office space," LaBatt told the planners. "So it's both office and, as I've described in the [application], we have a couple of them in town: a storage/shop type space, more industrial as opposed to traditional storage."

He explained that while some developments can be reviewed by Town Hall staff for compliance with the bylaw, there are three potential triggers that send that development plan to the Planning Board: an addition or new building 2,500 square feet or more, the disturbance of 20,000 square feet of vegetation or the creation or alteration of 10 or more parking spots.

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