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A portion of the newly renovated Mount Greylock Regional School sustained significant water damage after a joint on a water main pipe failed on Friday.

Pipe Failure Causes 'Significant Flooding' in Mount Greylock School

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Crews work on cleaning up water in the hallway of Mount Greylock Regional School on Friday after a joint failure on a water main pipe failed on Friday.

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — A portion of the newly renovated Mount Greylock Regional School sustained significant water damage after a joint on a water main pipe failed on Friday, Superintendent Kimberley Grady said in an email to the school community on Saturday evening.


Offices in the Guidance Suite sustained water damage when the water main pipe joint failed on Friday, causing flooding.
 

A "T-joint" failed in the wall between the Guidance Suite and first-floor bathrooms located near the gymnasium, causing the water to flow upward and shower through the ceiling tiles into the Guidance Suite and bathrooms.

According to the email, the water was quickly turned off, but "significant flooding" did occur in the Guidance Suite, bathroom and hallway leading to the gym. In the Guidance Suite, all offices have some water damage; Grady said some records got wet but nothing that can't be replaced.

Grady said in her email that contractors spent Saturday drying out the spaces and preparing them for restoration. Initial estimates are for the Guidance Suite to take between six and eight weeks to restore.

The bathroom should be restored much more quickly, as there was less damage, Grady said. The hallway is being evaluated for water damage.

As of 8 p.m. Saturday, Grady said, staff has laid out all wet items to start the drying process, met with the insurance company, contacted the flooring company and developed a plan to relocate guidance staff as well as safely dry and store confidential student files during the restoration process. The electrical work has been inspected, she said.

There will be some disruption to staff and students, she said: The guidance staff is being relocated to the library, so classes that were taught in the library will have to be moved to other classrooms in the academic wing for the duration of the restoration. 

Grady said in the email that In conjunction with the school's insurance company, a root cause analysis is being done to find out why the T-joint failed. An insurance adjuster has been in and has asked that school bring in an engineer to look at the pipes on Monday.

This is not the first pipe leak the school has experienced, she said, there was one in the art room in October or November and in the stained glass room just two weeks ago.


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Sweetwood Owner Withdraws Williamstown Zoning Request

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — For the second straight year, the owners of the Sweetwood senior living facility have backed off a plan to ask the town's permission to convert some of its units to multifamily housing.
 
On Tuesday, the Planning Board, which had scheduled a public hearing to vet the proposal, learned that the landowner had withdrawn its request to petition May's annual town meeting to create an overlay district for the Cold Spring Road (Route 7) property.
 
For a couple of years, New Jersey-based CareOne, through its local representatives, have told town officials that Sweetwood's current model, which does not offer more advanced care for seniors as they age, is not sustainable.
 
The Sweetwood complex, which is adjacent to the grounds of the Mount Greylock Regional School, was built on a special permit that allows "assisted living" facilities on the property.
 
CareOne has been asking for zoning changes that would allow multifamily housing — i.e. regular apartments — at the site, a use that is prohibited in that zoning district.
 
Property owners are allowed to take zoning requests directly to town meeting, but the process still mandates that the Planning Board hold a public hearing on such requests prior to the May meeting.
 
"As we saw in a message this morning, the landowner has withdrawn their petition," Planning Board Chair Peter Beck said at the outset of Tuesday's meeting. "So we'll have nothing to act on. … We'll stay posted and see what comes next."
 
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