Williamstown to Decide On Youth CenterBy Andy McKeever, iBerkshires Staff
02:55PM / Tuesday, January 18, 2011 | |
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — It's decision time for the new Youth Center.
After months of heated debate over the details of building a new Youth Center on elementary school land, a special meeting is slated for Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. to finalize the center's footprint size, location and orientation. The meeting will be held in the school's auditorium.
In 2009, the School Committee approved a new center to be built on the property after they reviewed an outline for a two-story building located south of the current school. Last October, Youth Center officials returned to the board with a more specific plan to create a single-floor structure that would nearly double the building's footprint.
The increase in footprint caused heated debate in the community regarding a reduction of greenspace and invasion of the playing fields. Additionally, the design submitted in October would uproot the playground; the committee formed a 13-member panel to develop options to keep the playground intact. The panel developed three options that centered around repositioning the playing fields.
Concurrently, Black River Design, the center's architect, developed six other options that included changes in location and orientation. Two options included attaching the building to the school, but those were excluded after town officials told the committee it would basically require the school to be cut in half, breaking the entire structure into three buildings for fire code compliance.
Positioning the building to the south of the school seemed to be the leading candidate after committee members met with town officials twice. Positioning the new building on the northeast corner of the property has not been ruled out but that location, along Church Street, would require uprooting the drainage system.
The proposed 12,000 square-foot building will replace the current center, which is in deplorable condition. The center has raised more than $3 million, including a $100,000 donation from Greylock Federal Credit Union two weeks ago.
The Rent Control Board is also meeting Wednesday at the Spruces. The board is debating a rent increase proposed by Morgan Management on homes there.
Morgan Management wants about a $100 rent hike. It would be the first rent increase the company has issued since it bought the property in 2002 and is slightly less than originally proposed. The company proposed an increase to $409 but cut its request to $377.
Approval may hinge on a $468,000 water-line replacement. The company replaced water lines in the park and wants the residents to pay for the repairs because of the benefits it says residents will receive. However, residents feel they are not responsible for the repairs because park owners were ordered by the state Department of Environmental Protection to perform the fixes.
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