NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The scene Friday night was in stark contrast to Richard Alcombright's announcement almost exactly two years ago that he would run for mayor.

Then it was three brave supporters and two reporters — and an impromptu lectern in his Williams Street living room.

How things have changed. On Friday, more than 75 people including community and business leaders crowded into the little Eagle Street Pocket Park and spilled onto the sidewalk to hear Alcombright sum up two years in office and plans for two more.

It's been a tough 16 months, he acknowledged.

"Upon taking office this country was still reeling from the first economic crisis since the Great Depression," Alcombright said. "During my debates with former Mayor [John] Barrett, he said that the next two years in the city of North Adams would be the most difficult since the 1930s — unquestionably, he was right."

The popular five-term city councilor knocked the state's longest-serving mayor out of the Corner Office in 2009; but victory has been tempered by the city's budgetary struggles. But it's a challenge the former banker said he loves.

Alcombright has been upfront on the fiscal shortfalls facing the state's smallest city. Rising costs and significant reductions in state aid over the past four years — some $2.2 million — has officials scrambling to close a $1 million budget gap and maintain services. Fisal 2012, he warned, "will be a turbulent ride."

Last year, Alcombright increased property taxes 10 percent, hiked water rates and instituted a sewer fee. He alluded to those efforts in his speech, saying citizens acknowledge the need to raise revenue.

"This city has accepted and understood the need to maintain services, and in order to do so, we needed to pay for those services," he said. "Until the state can fund communities again at a higher level, we need to take care of ourselves, we need to weather the storm."

He said he'd worked "tirelessly" to institute sound fiscal practices and pointed to partnerships with citizens and businesses, Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, and groups like the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition, Partnership for North Adams, Develop North Adams and the local chambers of commerce.

He mentioned his efforts to create regional partnerships — a success that could be determined by the appearances at the rally of Williamstown Town Manager Peter Fohlin and Town Administrators Jonathan Butler of Adams and Michael Canales of Clarksburg. Also at the kickoff were Berkshire Chamber of Commerce President Michael Supranowicz and state Sen. Benjamin B. Downing, along with City Councilors Keith Bona, Lisa Blackmer, David Lamarre, David Bond, Michael Bloom and Michael Boland.

Despite the fiscal difficulties, he said, "2010 was a year of the revitalization of the democratic process in North Adams with openness and participation in many levels."

From answering questions on Facebook (3,500 friends and counting) to reinvigorating subcommittees and boards, and engaging citizens, Alcombright said these efforts have "instilled a new and vibrant sense of commuity spirit and volunteerism." Citizens also felt free, he said, to vigorously oppose (if unsuccessfully) the proposed Super Walmart.

Looking forward, he pointed to continuing and beginning work on the armory, Windsor Lake, Historic Valley Park Campground, using events such as the upcoming Solid Sound Festival for future growth, and the pursuit of Green Community status and installations of cost-saving solar arrays at Drury High Scholl and the landfill and, of course, the development of Walmart on Curran Highway that is expected to spark development on the south end.

"Growth is the only catalyst that will ensure a healthy future for those that follow us," he said, and took a swipe at critics who have called the master plan proposal "useless." "I am very much commited to following through with our work toward a community master plan ... through public opinion, and strong governement and private partnership."

Alcombright was applauded several times before concluding his remarks. He hosted a reception next door at Desperados.

"Your support is what put me here, your support is what brings me back," he said, summing up his campaign. "And although we don't agree on all things, we have agreed on most things. And that's what brought me to this day."

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Mayor Richard Alcombright has made it clear before he's planning on a second term. On Friday, he'll make it official.

The mayor will have a formal announcement on his candidacy on Friday, April 8, at 5 p.m. in the new Eagle Street Pocket Park.

The former city councilor and McCann School Committee member was elected in November 2010, ousting Mayor John Barrett III, who was trying for a record 14th term. His re-election campaign kickoff is almost exactly two years to the day he first announced he would seek the office.

The mayoral election and that of the nine councilors will be held in November. So far, no one other candidate has announced his or her intention to run for the Corner Office.

A number of the city councilors are expected to run for re-election and council gadfly Robert Cardimino said in January he would mount a run for the council after being passed over for the vacant seat of just-elected state Rep. Gailanne Cariddi. David Lamarre, 2010's "10th councilor," was appointed to complete Cariddi's term; he said he would know by the time nomination papers are due whether he would run again.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Historic Valley Campground has a new manager and is preparing for an open house on May 7 and an influx of visitors for the summer, including filling the sites with Wilco concertgoers.

"We have 150 people coming in for Wilco; that's not counting children — that's booked adults," new campground manager Susan Landry told the Windsor Lake Commission last Tuesday. "I know they're bringing their families, I know they're bringing teenagers."

Landry said she has five campsites left for the Solid Sound Festival weekend of June 24, 25 and 26, and will start adding in seasonal sites if they're still available in May.

Susan Landry and her husband, Steven, were named to the post in February and are volunteering their time before officially starting in May. The 100-acre campground is open from May into October; Landry will be paid around $15,000 for the season.

The goal is to whittle down the number of seasonholder spots — which took up nearly half the campground last year — and boost reservations in the rest of park, which stood at about 30 percent.

The couple have been getting the park's name out and looking at ways to improve it. Among those initiatives are putting together welcome packets, getting in touch with camping associations and marketing the park. Steven Landry said brochures on the park were well-received at the Springfield RV Camping & Outdoor Show a few weeks ago and 200 were provided to the expo's sponsor, Pioneer Valley Chapter 8 of North American Family Camping Association.

The camping association also will return to Fish Pond after years away, said Susan Landry. "They try to stay within their region, so for us it's the Berkshires and Greenfield," she said. "They always go east because they don't realize what the west has to offer; now they're looking to come back in our direction."

New patrons include an RV rally in June, a British boarding school from Boston, and Mount Greylock Regional High School, which wants to do some geocaching on the trails.

The biggest draw, by far, is Wilco's Solid Sound Festival. Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art wasn't interested in adding a shuttle to Windsor Lake, so that led the Landrys to suggest hiring a bus from Dufour Tours to transport campers. It made sense, said Landry, because otherwise they'd have to drive their cars to Williamstown to catch a shuttle back to the campground.

The weekend cost would be about $800, which Landry figured would be covered by all but $50 by charging $5 per person for the weekend, and Steven Landry would be the driver. "This was one of the big things they asked about," Susan Landry said.

In other business, the board recommended the purchase of new playground equipment to the tune of $20,000, depending on funds left over from the work currently being completed on the bathrooms at the campground. They also thanked Susan and Robert Chilson for offering to volunteer their help.

McCann Technical School students have been refurbishing both since last fall and they are expected to be finished on or about opening day.

"I'm pleased with the way that's going," said Chairman George Forgea, noting the city still has to remove and repair the cement sidewalks around the facilities. "I thnk it' going to be nice when it's done."

A concession stand and bathrooms for the lake area are planned for next year. "They're less than acceptable," said Forgea. "It's just not a pleasant experience to use the bathrooms; that's one of the reasons were getttng rid of them because it's not worth fixing them anymore."

Landry said she was seeking new local providers for the ice and laundry after running into difficulty finding service contracts and contacts with the current ones. 

The board also reviewed a job description for a park police officer to be submitted to the mayor for approval. Forgea said the Public Safety Department would now be involved in the hiring process. "They're going to be labeled as police, they should have police backing them up."

Forgea thanked the board for their work. "This is the end of my first year as a commissioner ... I was a member many, many years ago," he said.  "I want to thank everyone for what you did this year and I look forward to this year ... we've come a long way in a short time."

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The City Council will be asked to approve a tax incentive that will allow the Brien Center to move into the North Adams Transcript building while keeping the building on the tax rolls for 10 years.

Scarafoni Associates plans to buy the 16,000 square-foot building on American Legion Drive and lease it to the nonprofit Brien Center. David Carver of Scarafoni Associates told the Finance Committee on Tuesday that the 10-year agreement may be critical to loosening up bank financing for the project.

"We think this TIF agreement is a big piece of making this work ... which will release probably $1 million in construction and repairs, something we need to see more of in the downtown," said Carver. "This type of project and this type of financing will make the numbers work for bankers."

Mayor Richard Alcombright said the tax increment financing agreement would lock in the property's current assessment $767,000, guaranteeing property taxes of more than $20,000 annually for the next decade despite the Brien Center's status as a nonprofit.

Coldwell Banker lists the taxes as $21,197.

Chairman Michael Bloom noted the current unpredictability of the commercial market. "This is an amazing agreement."

That will provide the stability for both entities to make the project work, said Carver. "We are buying the building for less than the assessed value," he said. "So instead of petitioning for [the assessed value to be the] purchase price ... we have agreed as part of this process to lock in that current assessed value."

"I think it's a great solution for the city ... it retains the Brien Center in the city and the jobs and services they provide," said the mayor. If the Brien Center, which provides mental health and substance abuse services to some 10,000 people in Berkshire County, purchased the building, it would fall off the tax rolls completely.

TIFs once required job production but the state changed the law last year to take into account job retention.

The Brien Center, cited as the ninth-largest employer in the county recently by The Berkshire Eagle, employs 40 full-time and 20 part-time employees at its offices on Marshall Street. Catherine A. Doherty, chief executive officer, said the agency's lease on Marshall Street is up in August; moving to Ashland Street will allow the organization to stay in the downtown and not only retain programs but expand them.

"Once we our positioned into this new building we will be able to think about adding more programs," she said. "It's a building that speaks more to what we do."

She cited the property's easy access, single-story construction and spaciousness that will offer room for more programs for the 3,000 to 4,000 North County residents the agency serves. It will also provide space for the Adult Day Health Program, which will move from the former Department of Motor Vehicles building along with its 10 employees.

Alcombright said the city solicitor had reviewed the agreement. Carver's attorney, Elisabeth Goodman, on questions from the committee, said the agreement would remain in effect should the Brien Center purchase the property because it signing on to the deal. It could be broken, she said, if the Brien Center reneged on the lease.

The 45-year-old Transcript building was placed on the market nearly two years ago for nearly $1 million; it has sinced been reduced to $799,000. The presses were removed; printing and most of the support staff operate out of The Eagle in Pittsfield.

The city had eyed the property as a potential site for a new public safety building but its current fiscal problems have put that project on hold.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Few people attended the first public information session last Wednesday on the building options being presented to the Massachusetts School Building Authority.

The state agency, which will reimburse the city for 80 percent of qualified costs for construction, will determine which option it will fund. The school officials have indicated a preference for renovating Conte Middle School into a K-7 school to keep the downtown building functioning and renovating or rebuilding Greylock Elementary School.

Below is an illustrated slide put together by Margo Jones Architects listing the pros and cons of those options and three others presented to the school building committee.

The architects will also give a presentations at three meetings this week:

• April 5 - 6 p.m., Conte School, agenda item for School Committee meeting

• April 7 - 6 p.m., Conte School, lower level, School Building Committee meeting

• April 12 - 7:30 p.m., City Hall, agenda on City Council meeting

North Adams School Building Project Options