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The new Williams Inn will close for a few weeks and has furloughed most of its staff during that time.

Williams Inn Closing Friday Over COVID-19 Concerns

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Williams Inn is the latest local business to shutter in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
Williams College President Maud Mandel, in an email to the college community on Thursday, announced that the inn will be closing its doors on Friday.
 
Everyone but a skeleton staff of maintenance personnel will be furloughed until the inn can safely resume operations, Mandel wrote.
 
The college will be providing funds to pay employees at the inn — managed by the Waterford Company — through April 6 and continue their benefits until they can transition to the state's plan.
 
Mandel said two other Spring Street businesses operated in college-owned buildings are evaluating their future in light of the pandemic and public health concerns.
 
Ramunto's at the Log continues to operate a takeout and limited delivery service but is talking with the college about its next steps.
 
The Williams College Bookstore is maintaining shortened hours, but Follett, which operates the store, "will make its own decisions about continued operations," Mandel wrote.
 
To help those and other businesses, Williams is waiving April rent for all retail establishments that lease space in college-owned properties on Spring Street, Mandel wrote.
 
"The pandemic is disrupting the retail and service economy nationwide, particularly in small towns, and this was a step we could take to help local merchants whom we value as neighbors and friends," she wrote.
 
The college previously announced that it would continue to pay its own employees despite a decision to send its students home after classes ended last Friday, and Mandel reaffirmed that commitment in her email.
 
Earlier Thursday, Williams announced a $50,000 donation from the college to the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund for Berkshire County. The initiative of the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation and the Berkshire United Way has raised $600,000 in flexible funds for 501c3 organizations in the county.
 
Mandel noted that construction crews continue to work at two college-owned building projects, the unified science center and the Fort Hoosac project on South Street. A decision was made to continue after the college's executive director for design and construction reviewed the general contractors' public health protocols, and the school continues to monitor the sites.
 
"The pandemic and economic downturn are causing a great deal of upheaval for the region, country, and globe," Mandel wrote. "Williams and all of us are trying to navigate these challenges quickly and effectively, while also demonstrating appreciation and sensitivity for the complex needs of our community. I ask for your ongoing engagement in these efforts, so that Williams, and Williamstown, and all of us can work through the crisis together."

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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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