For the past year, a team of 11 community members have been working to develop a comprehensive plan, Envisioning Williamstown 2035, that will guide the future development of our town. Our team members represent a variety of perspectives, interest and knowledge. They are - Justin Adkins, Peter Beck, Susan Briggs, Melissa Cragg, Don Dubendorf, Sarah Gardner, Daniel Gura, Susan Puddester, Tanja Srebotnjak, Huff Templeton, and me.
We've been striving to really get to know Williamstown from many viewpoints. We've been reviewing studies that have been prepared over the past years, we've been talking to experts in Town, we've tabled at a number of venues, we've held a community workshop and solicited input through an on-line tool. We've created an Existing Conditions report that is a great source of background material for anyone interested in Town government.
We are now ready to turn our attention toward the future.
We are just starting to craft our Town's vision and subsequent plan. Can you imagine what you'd like Williamstown to be like in 2035 - your preschooler is in college, your teenager is well into their working life, you are thinking about retirement, you've been to many Town Meetings, you've faced difficult situations and hopefully many happy ones.
Does this paragraph capture your vision for our town?
A VISION OF WILLIAMSTOWN IN 2035
Williamstown is a dynamic, inclusive, and forward‐looking community that is embedded in a natural landscape and rural lands. It is known for its world‐renowned art, culture, and educational institutions. Williamstown supports a strong local economy, vibrant town center, diverse neighborhoods and housing options, welcoming indoor and outdoor public spaces, and a valued network of farms, forests, and trails.
Our community is inclusive, multi‐generational, racially and ethnically diverse, providing residents of all ages and income levels the opportunity to live and thrive in Williamstown. Our town is well‐connected by an accessible transportation network that safely supports and encourages bicycle and pedestrian travel. We have made great strides in our overall environmental sustainability by increasing our resilience to climate change and reaching toward net‐zero greenhouse gas emissions. Our thoughtful land use planning and land protection policies balance environmental priorities with the housing needs of our community.
The plan will address many topics mandated by the state -
economic development
housing;
parks, open space and recreation;
natural resources,
transportation,
public facilities and services,
cultural and historic resources, and
land use
Williamstown has chosen to consider all of these elements through the lens of sustainability and diversity.
There are two things that will make our plan successful:
participation and input from our community, YOU!
collaboration and engagement with ALL TOWN COMMITTEES!
Please consider joining an upcoming outreach session:
Location | Address | Date | Time |
Sweetwood | Cold Spring Road | April 16 | 2:00 PM |
Milne Library | 1095 Main St | April 12 | 4:00 PM |
Ramuntos/The Log | Spring St | April 19 | 5:oo PM |
Harper Center | 118 Church St | April 21 | 9:00 AM |
330 Cole Ave | 330 Cole Ave | May 3 | 7:00 PM |
Wild Soul River | 248 Cole Ave | May 7 | 3:30 PM |
We'll be working on implementation actions over the coming months, so watch for opportunities to engage or sign up for email updates. We will finalize the report in October. It's a long process because we want to get things right.
I am hoping that I will be able to bridge the planning to implementation phase of this project and incorporate the goals highlighted in the plan into the work of the Select Board.
