Library Board Only Race in Williamstown Election

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Voters in May will have one contested election on the ballot.
 
Four candidates have had their nomination papers certified for two available three-year seats on the Milne Public Library Board of Trustees in a race that voters will sort out when they go to the polls on Tuesday, May 12.
 
Janet Curran, Martin Mitsoff, Kathleen Schultze and Michael Sussman — all potential newcomers to the seven-person board — have been certified as candidates for the two open seats on the library's governing body.
 
Those two positions along with five other local government posts will be on the ballot for the annual town election.
 
For the Select Board, only incumbents Stephanie Boyd and Shana Dixon submitted papers to be returned to their three-year seats.
 
A third seat on the five-person board also is on the ballot. Newcomer Nathaniel Budington submitted papers to run for the final year on an unexpired term vacated by Jeffrey Johnson.
 
Two other candidates are running unopposed to retain their seats after Tuesday's deadline to submit nomination papers expired. Stephen Dew is running for another five-year seat on the Housing Authority, and Roger Lawrence is running for another five years on the Planning Board.
 
The last day to register to vote in the spring election is Friday, May 1. The last day to request a mail-in ballot is Tuesday, May 5.
 
In-person voting is scheduled for 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on May 12 at Williamstown Elementary School.
 
The annual town meeting — also open to all registered voters — is scheduled for Tuesday, May 19, at 7 p.m., at WES.
 
That meeting will make the final decision on the town's spending plan for fiscal year 2027, which begins July 1, and address several other issues, including: approval of the town's grants under the Community Preservation Act, proposed changes to the town's accessory dwelling unit bylaw to bring it into compliance with state law, a proposal that the town adopt provisions of the commonwealth's Seasonal Communities law and three articles submitted by way of citizens petition.
 
On Monday evening Town Manager Robert Menicocci told the Select Board that three sets of petitions were submitted by that day's deadline. One would ban the use of biosolids as fertilizer or soil amendments, one would expand the town's ban on second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides on town-owned land to include all private property and the third would amend the 2015's bylaw banning single-use plastic bags and polystyrene food containers, Select Board Chair Stephanie Boyd told her colleagues on Monday.

Tags: election 2026,   town elections,   

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Williams College Lone Suitor for Development of Water Street Lot

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff

Williams College hopes to replace the current Facilities Services building on Latham Street and use that space for a new  athletics complex. 
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — If the town accepts an offer from Williams College, a 1.27-acre lot that long has been eyed as a possible venue for housing and economic development instead will find a use similar to its history.
 
The college was the lone respondent to the town's request for proposals to purchase and develop 59 Water St., a dirt lot known around town as the "old town garage site." This was first reported Wednesday by Greylock News. 
 
If successful, the college plans to use the former town garage property for the school's Facilities Services building. Or it could be turned back into a parking lot.
 
Williams' offer includes a $500,000 upfront payment and a 10-year agreement to make $50,000 annual donations to the Mount Greylock Regional School District according to the proposal unsealed on Wednesday afternoon.
 
If it closes the deal, the college said it will explore development of a three- to four-story Facilities Services building with "a structured parking facility providing approximately 170 spaces."
 
"[I]f site constraints impact our ability to develop both structured parking and the Facilities Services building, our backup proposal is to develop the parking structure with approximately 170 spaces, also with capacity to support institutional and public needs," the college's proposal reads.
 
The college's current Facilities property at 60 Latham St. has an assessed value — for the .42-acre lot only — of $113,000 and an annual property tax bill of $1,606, according to the town's website.
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