Milne Library Hosts a Community Eco-Fair in Honor Climate Preparedness Week

01:26PM / Tuesday, September 16, 2025Print Story | Email Story

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -—On Sunday, Sept. 21st from 1:30 - 3:30 p.m. the Milne Public Library will host an outdoor, Community Eco-Fair, to raise awareness about changing climate in honor of Climate Preparedness Week and to celebrate the many Berkshire groups working towards social, economic, and environmental sustainability.

Because September is also National Preparedness Month, staff will provide guidance on making "Go Bags," to prepare attendees for weather-related disasters, with the help of the Williamstown Police and Fire Departments and the Central-Western Massachusetts Red Cross.

Attendees can also learn more about initiatives in Williamstown, including Energize Williamstown, the Town's Net Zero Plan, and the sustainable features of the new Fire Department building and The Williams College Museum of Art.

There will also Food, live music, lawn games, a bouncy house and a seed bomb craft table.

Stop by and meet these local organizations:

Energize Williamstown/COOL Committee
Williamstown Garden Club
HooRWA
Rural Lands
Purple Valley Trails
Berkshire Grown
Second Chance Composting
Coral Crochet Project
The Plant Connector
Menstrual Justice Initiative
Williams College Zilkha Center
Williams College Museum of Art
Bee Friendly Williamstown
Remedy Hall
ABC Clothing Store
Buy Nothing Williamstown
Goodwill
The Tamarack Hollow Nature and Cultural Center
Williamstown Police and Fire Depts.
Central-Western Massachusetts Red Cross
Milne Public Library: "Go Bag" guidance
Milne Public Library: The Thingdom (Library of Things)
Milne Public Library: Seed bomb-making for kids

In case of bad weather, the event will take place inside the library.

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Williamstown Select Board Evaluates Town Manager

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
05:39AM / Wednesday, October 28, 2026

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — In 2022, the town still was recovering from the twin blows of a global pandemic and a lawsuit that exposed disturbing allegations against the town's police department.

The latter ultimately led to the resignation of the police chief and the town manager. To replace the manager, the Select Board at the time turned to Robert Menicocci.

Menicocci represented a break in style from his immediate predecessor, who was a more prominent voice in town government. That prominence, in part, was a product of the times: When town boards and committees were not meeting in-person and access to town hall itself was limited at the height of the pandemic, the manager's voice in Zoom meetings was more front and center.

In his four years in the corner office, Menicocci has helped shepherd the police department on its path to certification and helped the town weather the fiscal storm of skyrocketing costs linked to inflation – particularly sharp increases in the cost of health insurance that hit hard for a labor-intensive endeavor like municipal government. All the while, he has been a little more taciturn, while always willing to participate, when appropriate, with responsive answers in discussions of the Select Board and Finance Committee.

On Monday, the current Select Board – completely turned over from the 2022 edition – pushed Menicocci to be more of a cheerleader for the town.

"Do you see your role more as a behind-the-scenes guy and our role is to be out in public?" board member Matthew Neely asked Menicocci during the board's review of the manager's job performance. "Or is there more of a role for you in that? So many people, if I say your name, they're like, ‘Who?'

"I would have assumed your role would be more public facing as well, and more, for lack of a better word, leading the charge as opposed to running day-to-day operations. I feel you're strong running day-to-day. But something we all wish is we had a little more of a proactive [manager] …. Since we need development, need all these things in town so much. … I'd love to see more outward energy, I guess.

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