WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The community came together to officially start a construction project, over a decade in the making, that will provide a safer, cleaner future for the town.
"What an amazing day today is for Williamstown," Prudential Committee Chairman Dave Moresi said Wednesday during the ceremony. "As a community, we should be proud to witness the groundbreaking of a new state-of-the-art fire station, ensuring that life and property continue to be protected to the highest and best of abilities."
The newly constructed 22,000 square foot facility will be built on Main Street, replacing the aging station on Water Street.
Chief Craig Pedercini said he first brought the idea to the Prudential Committee some 18 years ago. At that time, the Water Street Station was 56 years old. He said even 18 years ago, the department had outgrown the facility that could not keep up with modern fire fighting needs.
"Over the next couple of years, the progress began. Fast forward to today, we stick our shovels in the ground and move forward towards building a state of our fire station for the firefighters of this community," he said.
He said the new facility will have space to operate all of the department's vehicles and equipment safely. He said the new station will have an area to decontaminate gear as well as office, meeting, and training space. He was also happy to say the new facility will have plenty of parking.
Speaker State Rep. John Barrett III agreed that the project had been in the works for some time joking that some of the now Prudential Committee members he went to grade school with were talking about it then.
He added that the town should be proud to be able to make such improvements while maintaining solid financial ground.
"The town should be very proud. Proud of not only the fire department…but also as a community," he said. "You have a new police station, you're going to have a new fire station. I can't tell you how many communities around the state of Massachusetts would like to be in this position today. And you're in good financial condition after it happens."
In 2023 a special fire district meeting authorized the town to use $22.5 to complete the project. Through a series of meetings, working with the contractor Consigli Construction, the Prudential Committee locked in a guaranteed maximum price of $17.9 million.
Chairperson of the select board Jane Patton said the project also furthers the town's goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions in line with its police station and middle school.
"It's been designed with an eye on the future. It's meant to operate with Net Zero carbon and to be adaptable to the changing needs of small fire departments," she said. "This is no small feat, and it's not for the faint of heart. This is a big deal to commit to this and to make it happen in this fashion. It makes me very proud to be a member of this community."
Moresi closed his portion of the ceremony by thanking the firefighters past and those present who will use the new fire station.
"The men and women are the heroes of our community. Always there to answer the call. This station is about a safe and healthy working environment for them," he said. "To allow them to serve our community to the best of their abilities for many years to come."
The project is estimated to be completed in late 2025/early 2026.
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Mount Greylock Students Bring Emotional Story to Stage
By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Since it premiered off-Broadway in 1987, Robert Harling's "Steel Magnolias" has proven to be as resilient as the characters it portrays and the autoimmune disease survivors who identify with the story it tells.
After star-studded 1989 motion picture, a Broadway production in 2005, a TV film remake in 2012 and countless regional productions over the last few decades, the tale of fellowship and heartache in the American South will be told in North County on Friday, Sept. 13, by a group of Mount Greylock Regional School students.
Sophomore Mai Dekel is the ringleader of the six-person cast that will bring the show to life for one night only, but don't call her the show's director.
"I'm kind of running it," Dekel said recently. "I've been the organizer of it. I've been giving everyone their off-book dates. I've been going to all the costuming stuff. But it's definitely more collaborative. We've been giving feedback to each other.
"We're doing any titles like director or anything. We're just calling it ‘Steel Magnolias,' and we're performing it."
Dekel does take credit for the idea to do the play, an inspiration she had after viewing the 1989 Julia Roberts version.
She felt a special connection to the story. Dekel in 2020 was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, a condition she shares with the character portrayed by Roberts and the sister of playwright Harling, who inspired him to write the play.
This month's show will, likewise, double as a fund-raiser for Breakthrough T1D, the organization formerly known as the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and, more recently, JDRF. click for more
The Mount Greylock Regional School Committee last week accepted a couple of financial gifts to the district and heard that a project eight years in the making should be ready for use this spring. click for more
The Planning Board last week talked about balancing housing and land conservation in the rural parts of town and protecting the aquifer that supplies drinking water to most of the town's inhabitants. click for more
The district's construction adviser, Bruce Decoteau, provided the committee with a number of updates in a brief session at the current fire house on Water Street.
click for more