WCMA to Hold Community Forum on New Museum Building's Sustainability Goals

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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA) will host a community forum regarding its new museum building project on Monday, April 28, at 6:00 p.m. 
 
The event will be held at the Williams Inn Ballroom.
 
The forum will focus on the sustainability objectives of the new building, featuring presentations on the Williams College Sustainable Project Policy and the planned sustainable design features of the new WCMA. These features include the aim to meet the Living Building Challenge of the International Living Future Institute (ILFI) and the use of mass timber for the building's structural components.
 
The event will also provide general updates on the ongoing construction project and include a question-and-answer session for the audience.
 
The new Williams College Museum of Art is intended to serve Williams College, the local community, and visitors to the Berkshires. The design of the new museum is reportedly student-focused, aiming to create a sense of belonging for campus members and the wider community, and an inclusive experience for all visitors. The building will offer increased gallery space for displaying more of the museum’s 15,000-piece collection, as well as facilities for improved access to collections for student, faculty, and visiting scholar requests, and additional object study classrooms.
 
Those interested in attending are encouraged to RSVP at https://forms.office.com/e/qA3KnFizyp.
 
Further information can be found at artmuseum.williams.edu.
 
 

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Williamstown's Cost Rising for Emergency Bank Restoration

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The cost to stabilize the bank of the Hoosic River near a town landfill continues to rise, and the town is still waiting on the commonwealth's blessing to get to work.
 
Department of Public Works Director Craig Clough was before the Finance Committee on Wednesday to share that, unlike the town hoped, the emergency stabilization work will require bringing in a contractor — and that is before a multimillion dollar project to provide a long-term solution for the site near Williams College's Cole Field.
 
"I literally got the plans last Friday, and it's not something we'll be able to do in-house," Clough told the committee. "They're talking about a cofferdam of a few hundred feet, dry-pumping everything out and then working along the river. That's something that will be beyond our manpower to do, our people power, and the equipment we have will not be able to handle it."
 
Clough explained that the cofferdam is similar to the work done on the river near the State Road (Route 2) bridge on the west side of North Adams near West Package and Variety Stores.
 
"We don't know the exact numbers yet of an estimate," Clough said. "The initial thought was $600,000 a few months ago. Now, knowing what the plans are, the costs are going to be higher. They did not think there was going to need to be a coffer dam put in [in the original estimate]."
 
The draft capital budget of $592,500 before the Fin Comm includes $500,000 toward the riverbank stabilization project.
 
The town's finance director told the committee he anticipates having about $700,000 in free cash (technically the "unreserved fund balance") to spend in fiscal year 2027 once that number is certified by the Department of Revenue in Boston.
 
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