greylocknews

Annual E. F. Schumacher Lectures October 27

Great BArrington, MA - Michael Shuman, will join Charles Turner and Majora Carter as speakers for the Annual E. F. Schumacher Lectures on October 27, 2007, at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center (http://www.mahaiwe.org) in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.  Tickets are 20 BerkShares or 20 dollars and 15 BerkShares/15 dollars for members/students/seniors.  Register online at http://www.smallisbeautiful.org, by calling 413.528.1737 or by calling the Mahaiwe Theater Box Office.

In his 2002 talk for the Community Land Trust in the Southern Berkshires Michael Shuman stated that this century will "determine who wins the fundamental struggle between cheap goods and place, between the protection of private bottom lines and the protection of families, communities, and the environment." Concerns over global distribution, rising energy costs, and the legitimacy of subsidies to global firms coupled with a growing environmental consciousness, a proliferating localist movement, and a growing interest in workplace quality have pushed people to consider options
beyond the global economy.   There are growing signs that local ownership
and import substitution are going to become the dominant trend.

Local business owners inherently have different priorities than distant owners.  Absentee owners can only determine the success of a business by focusing on the bottom line.  Those who are not part of a community will not see how their decisions affect community life, education, the environment
and public health.   Shuman says that, "the more of your economy that is
locally owned, the more plausibly you can then raise labor and environmental standards with confidence that businesses will adapt rather than flee."
Local owners are part of the community and thus are affected by good or bad decisions in the same way as every other resident.  Their individual stakes in the well-being of the community broadens the bottom line to include more than just profit.

Import replacement is the other key factor that Shuman identifies as vital to a self-reliant local economy.  Replacing imports with products made locally decreases a regions vulnerability to outside forces, increases the economic multiplier as money circulates through the community, and creates revenue for the public sector through tax payments.  A good community economic development policy identifies where the most money is escaping and develops businesses that fill these gaps.  Once the gaps are filled, the money that was leaving the area becomes a means for further developing the local businesses.

Shuman believes that making the move from global to local business means dispelling the misconception of "bigger is better."  Local production for local consumption decreases the need for advertising, transportation, and the middlemen involved in bringing global goods to market. As energy costs continue to rise local producers will gain "a competitive advantage over global producers who are shipping goods from places as far away as China."
Small businesses are offering "more exciting, innovative, interesting, and caring workplaces."  "Because scale issues are shifting so dramatically in so many different areas of the economy and new horizons for local business are opening up so quickly, our problem is not that [local ownership and import substitution are not] competitive but that we don't know how to mobilize our skills, capital, and ingenuity fast enough to take advantage of [the] increasing opportunities."

Communities moving into a local economy will require a range of activities from the critical analysis of subsidies and monetary "leakages" to the
financing of new businesses.   These communities will disavow cheap goods
and the next sale at the shopping mall to become "advocates for the well-being of families, communities, and ecosystems."  Ultimately self-reliance will "systematically resolve . . .material conflicts over oil, water, land, resources, and poverty. . . mak[ing] a very important contribution to world peace."

Michael Shuman, will join Charles Turner and Majora Carter as speakers for the Annual E. F. Schumacher Lectures on October 27, 2007, at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center (http://www.mahaiwe.org) in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.  Tickets are 20 BerkShares or 20 dollars and 15 BerkShares/15 dollars for members/students/seniors.  Register online at http://www.smallisbeautiful.org, by calling 413.528.1737 or by calling the Mahaiwe Theater Box Office.

Michael Shuman's 2002 lecture to the Community Land Trust in the Southern Berkshires, "Going Local: New Opportunities for Community Economies," edited by Hildegarde Hannum, is now available in pamphlet form from the E. F. Schumacher Society. Cost is five dollars each.  Pay with BerkShares (http://www.berkshares.org), cash, check, or credit card.

Williams College acquires 10 acres for $1.3M, plans book storage; maybe B&G

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- Williams College last week purchased a 10-acre plot zoned mostly industrial off U.S. Route 7 (Simonds Road) for $1.25 million in what a college spokesman says could potentially be considered someday as a new home for the college's Latham Street buildings-and-grounds operation. But for now, says Williams spokesman Jim Kolesar, the former Berkshire Ivy Gardens site will be the home of a new building which will be used for book storage.  The purchase was recorded June 21 at the Northern Berkshire Registry of Deeds in Adams. It means that r.k. Miles Co., has abandoned the possibility that it would move its lumber and home-products store from Cole Avenue.

"It's conceivable that someday B&G could move there," said Kolesar. "It's not the original plan." 

Williams has been mulling for several years -- semi-publicly -- the idea of expanding and updating its athletic facilities at the lower end of Spring and Latham streets and there has been speculation that it might want to move its facilities-management offices and garages to a less-central location. At the same time, the town has been mulling what to do with an adjacent parcel off Water Street where the town's municipal-equipment garage was formerly sited. The town's facilities garage is now off Simonds Road, not far from the property acquired by Williams.

"We're certainly doing a master planning process for athletic facilities," said Kolesar. He said the initial focus is on the area south of Latham Street which currently includes the college's main football field and track.

r.k. Miles Inc., based in Manchester, Vt., purchased the former Taconic Lumber Inc. in June, 2005 from owners Timothy Holbrook and John Chapman. Two months earlier, Miles had signed a purchase and sales agreement to buy the former Ivy Gardens property at 835 Simonds Road from the Shanley family, according to an April 29, 2005, account in the North Adams Transcript. At the time, Miles was considering the idea of relocating the home-products business to the Ivy Gardens location.

The deed record, and town assessor's records, show the owner of the Williams-acquired parcel was FHS Holdings LLC. The parcel is 9.910 acres bordered to the east by Simonds Road (including 348 feet of frontage) on the north by Broad Brook, and to the southeast by a residence for military veterans.  To the west is the Boston & Maine railroad right-of-way.  Town zoning maps show the area of the property with frontage is zoned General Residence II, and the larger backlot portion is zoned for limited-industrial use.  On Tuesday, a check of the site showed parked earth-moving equipment and the start of a paved roadway. The greenhouses on the site appeared to have been razed.

REFERENCE: Year 2000 study of Williamstown town garage site

As the Town of Williamstown ponders what to do with the PhoTech site and the old Town Garage site, it is worth looking at two resources which are available online:

• In 2000, environmental-studies students at Williams College completed an extensive survey of the downtown area and wrote  a report for professors Roger Bolton and Hank Art.
• On the Town of Williamstown website is a page devoted to the town's master plan, including a specific link to economic development.

Fox seeks initial approval for seven-lot subdivision

Charles Fox will be seeking approval (1st meeting is tonight) for his seven-lot development plans for his Foxwood Lane subdivision, which he plans for 60 acres off Bee Hill Road along the route 2 & 7 corridor. Town Hall, Planning Board mtg, starts 7:30 p.m. tonight, open to public.

-- Submitted by Erin Keiser-Clark

Fohlin letter adds details to status of Henderson Road subdivision -- the "owner unknown" 41 acres and WRLF gift

THIS ITEM UPDATES AN EARLIER STORY.
THIS STORY UPDATED 10:45 a.m. Mon., Aug. 15, 2005

A letter from Williamstown Town Manager Peter Fohlin discusses the status of an 105-acre parcel on Henderson Road which since 2001 has been pledged to become conservation open space under a grant to the Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation.

Fohlin’s Aug. 9 letter to the planning board explains that a trust with dot-com millionare William “Bo” Peabody as sole beneficiary bought a 167-acre farm from Norm Sweet in October 2000 for $800,000 – and has now sold most of it off  to a partnership involving engineer Vince Guntlow for $2.3 million.  Peabody’s trust also claimed ownership of 41 acres of adjoining land classified in town records as “owner unknown” – but is in litigation over the town’s assessment of $25,360 in back taxes on that parcel.

According to Fohlin's letter, Guntlow’s group “has made arrangements” whereby Peabody’s trust will pay the back taxes and give the land to the Rural Lands Foundation – if Guntlow’s subdivision of the 167-acre former farm proceeds.  The planning board apparent blessed the subdivision last week although the formal decision wasn’t filed as of earlier this week. Peabody’s group promised when it got an earlier subdivision plan approved that it would give 100 acres to rural lands – and develop eight lots. Now it looks like the WRLF will get its 105 acres (the 41 acre piece plus another 64 acres of the rest) -- but there will be 13 lots developed for housing -- including one lot which will be given to the town as an "affordable-housing" lot.

VIEW PETER FOHLIN'S LETTER (pdf downloads):
CLICK FOR PAGE ONE. / CLICK FOR PAGE TWO. 

2001 subdivision plan for Henderson Road promised 100 acres for WRLF donation; assumed only eight lots

THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED. CLICK HERE FOR UPDATE.

Minutes of two 2001 meetings of the Williamstown Planning Board show that a subdivision was approved for the Sweet Farm property on Henderson Road after the then-owner assured that half the 200 acres would be donated to the Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation, and based upon the assumption that the development would be “low density” – eight lots dispersed over a 100-acre hillside.

Subdivision plan was approved via a Dec. 28, 2001 planning-board order, according to public documents provided to GreylockNews.com by the town.  The applicant for the subdivision at the time was the Sweet Farm Nominee Trust, whose beneficiary, according to minutes, was dot-com millionaire William “Bo” Peabody. The trust was represented by attorney Sherwood Guernsey at a Nov. 13, 2001 public hearing.

According to the Nov. 13 minutes:  “Mr. Guernsey explained that the property in question is over 200 acres, if this project is approved, over ½ or 100 acres will be donated to the Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation.  The remaining 100 acres or so will be divided into 8 building lots with 1 lot equaling about 20 acres, another 34 acres and the remaining six lots ranging in size from 5.8 to 8.6 acres.  Mr. Guernsey also explained that with the amount of land in question, this property had the potential to be a 46 – 120 lot subdivision, however they chose not to do that.”

The Dec. 28, 2001 order granted a series of seven variances for subdivision requirements, based upon a finding that the project was “low density” – eight lots dispersed over a 100-care hillside.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE PLANNING BOARD DOCUMENTS.

Two major housing developments unveiled for Williamstown area -- what's the impact on Sweetwood expansion?

What are the trends which have lead to the unveiling, last week, of two housing developments proposed for the Williamstown area?  Are the cultural attractions of our region starting to have an impact? Or are we just seeing housing growth at a modest rate, compared with much of the rest of the United States? In particular, one of the projects appears to be aimed at the same market as the Sweetwood unit of Northern Berkshire Health Systems. The two projects:

• Transcript, reporter Jennifer Huberdeau covered a meeting of the Pownal Planning Board in which Shaftsbury, Vt.-and-Larchmont, N.Y. resident Richard F. Hein of Progress Partners Ltd., described long-range plans for a complete buildout of the 144-acre former Green Mountain Racetrack in Pownal, Vt., just a couple of miles up U.S. Route 7 from Williamstown.  Richard F. Hein P.C. Architects & Associates has plans for 148 independent-living units for seniors, a 40-unit assisted-living pavilion and a 40-unit nursing-care facility.  Huberdeau reported that Hein told the 60 people at the June 30 hearing that he has had expressions of interest from a supermarket and hotel chains and retailers for the commercial component; he plans to preserve the oval racetrack enterior as a 15-acre, park-like "great lawn" and maintain the trackbed as a jogging and walking facility. The plan also includes town house s and private-house lots. See The AP version of the story and also Susan Bush's version at iBerkshires. Progress Partners purchased the racetrack on Dec. 14, 2004.  VIEW SITE PLAN.
• Karen Gardner of The North Adams Transcript reported July 1 that a trust whose sole beneficiary was dot-com entrepreneur William "Bo" Peabody has sold for $1.33 million nearly 55 acres off Williamstown's Henderson Road to a three-investor team who will market lots for 18 single-family homes. The land is the old Sweet family farm. The three investors are Vincent P. Guntlow of Williamstown, Dudley R. Billings of Hinsdale and John R. Salvini of Dalton, according to Gardner's story.