Williamstown Expects Third of Spruces Homes Restored

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
06:16AM / Wednesday, December 14, 2011Print Story | Email Story

Administrative Assistant Kathy Poirot swears in Van Ellet and Bilal Ansari to the Affordable Housing Committee.

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Town Manager Peter Fohlin doubts that any more than 75 homes at the Spruces Mobile Home Park will be reoccupied, barely a third of the park's residences.

Fohlin said on Monday that 54 owners have been issued occupancy permits but that might be the end of the "low-hanging fruit." Demolition permits were issued for 57 homes — the first time demolition permits outnumbered the occupancy permits. The park was damaged by flooding during Tropical Storm Irene.

"We're pretty much through the low-hanging fruit and the prospects for additional trailers passing all the necessary steps to receive a certificate of occupancy diminishes by the day. I think it is doubtful that we reach 75, which is a third of the trailers that were there before [Tropical Storm] Irene," Fohlin said.

Fohlin said seven to nine additional homes could be restored with the help of trailer supports designed by Techno Post. The homes need to abide by new building codes that require the trailer to be lifted above flood level.

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Owner Morgan Management has previously said the park needs to be about 80 percent full to be sustainable. However, the company is asking the courts for permission to condense the park. That case, filed against the town and the state attorney general, has been continued until Jan. 17. Morgan Management has since added 106 tenants as defendants.

Fohlin said the town is in constant communication with both Morgan Management and Attorney General Martha Coakley's office about the case.

Owners of 138 homes that are currently condemned are qualified to received additional funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Fohlin said. Eight out of 14 request letters were granted additional funding and each owner could received up to $30,200 to move or repair the home.

In other news, the Selectmen approved sending proposed zoning bylaws that would allow farms to host events to the Planning Board. The Planning Board has already encouraged the owners of Cricket Creek Farm to draft a proposal. The board now has taken the first step toward putting the changes on the town meeting warrant.

However, Selectman Tom Costley said the move to allow farms to host events was "crazy" if it was done by right instead of by special permit. Costley cited former "wars" over land use in South Williamstown, traffic increases and an "unfair" advantage the farms would have over performance spaces because of Agricultural Preservation Restriction tax incentives.

"I don't want to kill this. I want to raise those question," Costley said, adding the conversation is just beginning and the town should fully vet the proposal.

The board also appointed Bilal Ansari, Van Ellet and Kim Burnham to the Affordable Housing Committee.
Williamstown_TownManager_12112011
Tags: Irene, Spruces,

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Tom Costley is quickly becoming the worst selectman in a long time. I love his interpretation of "rights" versus being "allowed" to do something. It's geniuses like him that have unwittingly kept 5 Corners closed for a year. Wasn't he the guy who, in a meeting, threatened to kill someone who served his underage alcohol. The guy really needs to focus on his own business and get out of other's.
from: Costley	on: 12-14-2011 07:06AM I Agree (7) - I Disagree (7)
Editor: "Kept 5 Corners closed." In what way?
I Agree (5) - I Disagree (3)

Tom Costley is a breath of fresh air. His comment shows he is informed about the issue. "By right" is a technical zoning term that is differentiated from "by special permit." All he is saying is that the Planning Board, in whose area of expertise this proposed bylaw really needs to be evaluated, should think hard about the unintended consequences that a "by right" vs. a "by special permit" finding might have. The reason Costley is unpopular with some people is that he tends to take the long view while most people focus on narrow short-term interests.
from: Actually...	on: 12-14-2011 09:18AM I Agree (10) - I Disagree (8)

I think the previous post is onto something but perhaps places the blame too specifically. The neighbors of 5 Corners/Green River (and some local govt. folks) threw a giant stink about the installation of the playground at Green River Farm and made it difficult for the owner to pursue a sustainable business model. Now you've got a blighted, empty property with an owner who (perhaps justifiably) has an axe to grind and is fine with letting us watch the apples rot on the trees while he cools his heels in Florida. We reap what we sow.
from: Not far off	on: 12-14-2011 09:31AM I Agree (13) - I Disagree (1)

5 Corners went under for a couple different reasons, mainly bad business, but the South Williamstown NIMBYism that Mr. Costley was happy to represent was a huge factor for it staying shut. Anybody remember the playscape being deemed a house by the building inspector in the town's attempt to make the owners tear it down because South Williamstown residents considered it an eyesore? The town was finally shamed into finding a loophole to allow it because the owner demanded to see all the permits for all the roofed playscapes in Williamstown. Why would anybody buy a tourist driven store and farm that is in the middle of the hornets nest? And now he wants to make sure the town keeps control of farms that are trying to innovate and have events to stay above water. I hate politicians who want to keep people under their thumb.
from: NIMBY	on: 12-14-2011 09:59AM I Agree (14) - I Disagree (1)

Let's put the cell tower on 5 Corners!
from: Cell Tower	on: 12-14-2011 01:47PM I Agree (8) - I Disagree (0)

As one of the residents who has been working on having the technoposts done on my home at the spruces i would like to correct a statement that was printed in this article that read-Fohlin said seven to nine additional homes could be restored with the help of trailer supports designed by Techno Post. The homes need to abide by new building codes that require the trailer to be lifted above flood level.- This is incorrect as we do not have to raise our homes we only have to replace cement piers that were tilted or failed with 4 foot footers below the frost line. This is why the posts are being putting in. I just wanted to clarify this
from: vanilliafields	on: 12-15-2011 09:29AM I Agree (11) - I Disagree (1)
Editor: Thanks for the clarification.
I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

Williamstown Planning Board Hears Results of Sidewalk Analysis

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
05:14AM / Friday, December 20, 2024

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Two-thirds of the town-owned sidewalks got good grades in a recent analysis ordered by the Planning Board.

But, overall, the results were more mixed, with many of the town's less affluent neighborhoods being home to some of its more deficient sidewalks or going without sidewalks at all.

On Dec. 10, the Planning Board heard a report from Williams College students Ava Simunovic and Oscar Newman, who conducted the study as part of an environmental planning course. The Planning Board, as it often does, served as the client for the research project.

The students drove every street in town, assessing the availability and condition of its sidewalks, and consulted with town officials, including the director of the Department of Public Works.

"In northern Williamstown … there are not a lot of sidewalks despite there being a relatively dense population, and when there are sidewalks, they tend to be in poor condition — less than 5 feet wide and made out of asphalt," Simunovic told the board. "As we were doing our research, we began to wonder if there was a correlation between lower income neighborhoods and a lack of adequate sidewalk infrastructure.

"So we did a bit of digging and found that streets with lower property values on average lack adequate sidewalk infrastructure — notably on North Hoosac, White Oaks and the northern Cole Avenue area. In comparison, streets like Moorland, Southworth and Linden have higher property values and better sidewalk infrastructure."

Newman explained that the study included a detailed map of the town's sidewalk network with scores for networks in a given area based on six criteria: surface condition, sidewalk width, accessibility, connectivity (to the rest of the network), safety (including factors like proximity to the road) and surface material.

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