WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Select Board on Monday heard reports on a couple of initiatives that officials hope will restore trust in the town's police department.

 

Interim Chief Mike Ziemba shared the outcome of a March symposium on local policing, and the veteran officer brought in to consult on the force's efforts to gain accreditation discussed the benefits of that process.

 

Charles Chandler, a graduate of the FBI's National Academy and 25-year veteran of the Plymouth Police Department, where he retired as captain in 2005, has gone through the accreditation process at multiple agencies during his more than 40 years in the field.

 

"It's similar to what you'd expect from a hospital or university," Chandler said. "You'd expect them to be accredited by an outside body that tells you they adhere to best practices.

 

"Chief Ziemba can tell you about the improvements he's made, but an accreditation process requires there be documented proof of what's been done. It works by having outside assessors, people from outside the community, generally experienced law enforcement executives, who visit you and examine every single directive. And by 'directive,' I mean a rule or regulation, a policy or procedure, general orders, special orders, personnel orders.

 

"And the only acceptable score in order to be accredited is 100 percent."

 

Chandler said the Police Department is about two years away from earning a certification award, and then it would be a continuing process to review department directives on an annual basis to maintain accreditation

 

Select Board member Hugh Daley, who owns a manufacturing firm in North Adams, likened the accreditation process for police departments to the International Organization for Standardization process that manufacturers strive to fulfill.

 

"You don't get to just say, 'Yeah, I'm doing it right,' " Daley said. "Someone gets to come in and say, 'Prove it.' Objective evidence."

 

Chandler said a lot of the police accreditation process is drawn from the ISO 9000 certification used in factories.

 

"The Williamstown Police Department has good directives in place," Chandler said. "I see the chief's commitment to making the WPD better, and I think the accreditation process will be a major component of that."

 

Ziemba took over as acting and later interim chief in late 2020, about four months after release of a lawsuit against the town containing allegations about the WPD that shocked the community, sparked protests against the department, led to the departure of the chief and town manager and prompted the Select Board to commission an independent investigation into issues raised in the suit.

 

In addition to pushing to accredit the department, Ziemba enrolled the WPD in the Department of Justice's Strengthening Police and Community Partnerships program. On Monday, he shared a written report from March's daylong SPCP conference at Mount Greylock Regional School.

 

The report includes both the issues that community members and police officers identified and potential action steps to address those concerns.

 

"I thought it was a great event," Ziemba said of the conference. "It was a great time to hear concerns and meet people and look at how we're going to move forward with vetting those concerns through the SPCP Council.

 

"That event was not the be-all, end all. The council was formed. The DOJ will help us for a couple of more meetings to get us on our feet. We're going to address the items that came out of that."

 

In other business on Monday, Select Board Chair Andy Hogeland informed his colleagues that initial negotiations have gone well with the finalist the board picked to be the next town manager. The board unanimously agreed to sign a letter supporting a Massachusetts Department of Transportation initiative that could see electric vehicle charging stations placed on Main Street (Route 2) under the Federal Highway Administration's Alternative Fuel Corridors program. And the board recognized interim Town Manager Charlie Blanchard for his year of service to the community.

 

The board also finalized a lengthier-than-usual annual town meeting warrant and wrestled with the advisory votes it traditionally makes to the meeting, scheduled this year for Tuesday, May 17, at 7 p.m. at Williamstown Elementary School.

 

The board recommended – but not unanimously – passage of nearly all 49 articles on the warrant as presented on Monday evening. 

 

It made no recommendation on three of the Planning Board's 10 proposed zoning bylaw amendments because those three still were subject to a Planning Board public hearing that was continued to Tuesday, April 12. In theory, the planners could still vote to amend or even withdraw potential bylaw amendments through the public hearing process.

 

As for the rest of the zoning bylaw changes on the table, Hogeland and Daley each said they were not clear on the ramifications of the proposals and indicated they would rather the Select Board pass on making advisory votes.

 

"I feel relatively engaged on this stuff, but I feel I'm not totally clear on all of it," Daley said.

 

In the end, the board went forward with the advisory votes it typically records for the town meeting warrant, with Hogeland and or Daley choosing to vote against a recommendation or abstaining on several. Daley noted that he did generally agree with the concept of densification in Williamstown's core but questioned the impact of zoning changes that will affect more rural parts of town.

 

Jane Patton argued against waiting to make changes to the bylaw until all the town has answers that may never come about potential impacts.

 

"Where I land on all of these is: Don't let the perfect get in the way of the possible," she said. "I don't think this [zoning change] means we're suddenly going to have Southworth and other streets lined with condos. I think we're trying to find a way to move this stuff forward to some degree.

 

"I don't think these are perfect, but in this particular case after years and years of talking about zoning and we're always wanting to put it off to the next study or the next master plan … it's time to really stop all of 'this,' in my humble opinion, and stop trying to get it perfect in order for it to be possible."

 

Jeffrey Johnson agreed.

 

"I've been living in the most dense part of town forever," Johnson said. "I love where I live. … My neighborhood is probably the most diverse in town. If this is what we're striving for, this is where we start."

 

On fiscal matters, the board also split on an article that would continue the town's financial support for the Sand Springs Recreation Center.

 

More negative votes were cast on recommendations to town meeting on appropriations from the Community Preservation Act.

 

With three Select Board members abstaining, the only ones expressing an opinion on a request for CPA funds from the Store at Five Corners Stewardship Association, Patton and Hasty, voted no. With Daley abstaining, Hogeland and Hasty voted against recommending the May meeting approve CPA funds for the Williamstown Meetinghouse Preservation Fund, causing a 2-2-1 vote.

 

The Select Board split on a pair of articles placed on the town meeting warrant via citizens' petition.

 

It voted 4-1 in favor of town meeting passing an article in support of the Fair Share Amendment with Daley expressing concerns that the proposed new tax revenue might not be spent as proponents advocate it will.

 

And the board voted 4-1 against a recommendation that the town enact a stipend system for members of town boards and committees. Most of the board agreed that the plan needs more study before it can be implemented. Hasty cast the lone dissenting vote.

 

An earlier version of this story incorrectly reflected the Select Board's vote on an appropriation for the Williamstown Youth Center.