Pool Proposal May Be Most Discussed Item At Williamstown Town Meeting

One item with the potential to generate some debate on the floor of the Williamstown Town Meeting is a proposal to give $19,000 in taxpayer funds to support the non-profit Sand Springs Recreational Center, which operates the historic pool facility.

iBerkshires.com reports Sand Springs would be the third non-profit to receive town funds to support its operating expenses through a separate warrant article at the May meeting. For years, town voters have agreed to support the Williamstown Chamber of Commerce and the Williamstown Youth Center through this mechanism.

The former is funded by 10 percent of the town's revenue from the Room Occupancy Excise Tax. The former receives general revenue funds; this year the WYC is seeking $77,000, a 1.75 percent increase from FY18.

The Select Board, which voted its recommendation after the Fin Comm, heard the arguments against the expenditure but voted 5-0 to recommend town meeting approve it.

Sand Springs Executive Director Geraldine Shen told the Select Board on April 23 that her organization works with a number of groups in town, like the elementary school, to accommodate groups at a reduced rate and that, if it receives the town funding, Sand Springs would offer "a 10 percent reduction in season passes of all kinds as well as day passes for folks who have Williamstown addresses."

A couple of members of the Finance Committee suggested the panel could revisit the question at its Tuesday 6:30 meeting, but there was no consensus on the idea of a revote of its recommendation. The committee each year sets a meeting a half hour before town meeting in case there are any last-minute adjustments in the spending plan that it needs to review.