Hoosic River Revival will hold a community conversation about potential changes to the river and its flood chutes.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Hoosic River Revival will hold its community conversation on Saturday, June 15, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at St. Elizabeth Parish Center.

 

HRR seeks to "reconnect the North Adams community to a clean, beautiful, safe Hoosic River and to enhance the river's recreational, cultural and economic vitality, while ensuring and strengthening protection of our downtown against flooding."

 

This year's community conversation will provide a chance for residents to ask questions, share ideas and offer commentary on the project.

 

HRR Board President Judith Grinnell said that after she and Mayor Richard Alcombright address the community, the consultants from the firms Milone & MacBroom, and Crosby, Schlessinger, Smallridge will go over the highlights of the drawings for the project.

 

Three groups will be formed to focus on each branch — the north, south and main branch, which flows west from the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. Each group, accompanied by a consultant, will rotate until noon when there will be a lunch break. During the break, the consultants will discuss what they believe are the primary ideas of the public.

 

"[The forum should] provide us with some suggestions on how they think we should proceed," Grinnell said. "Should we go back to the drawing board? Should we kick one of the drawings and have that as the pilot project?"

 

Grinnell said the forum's result alone won't decide the final outcome because the group is working with the Partnership for North Adams and the city's comprehensive master plan.

 

"We will take all of that into consideration and choose something that is economically feasible and something that will also be a pilot project to enable the public to see why this is a  good idea," Grinnell said.

 

Since its founding in 2008, the group has continually sought public opinion and grants, and contracted the consulting firms Milone & MacBroom, and Crosby, Schlessinger, Smallridge to assess the state of the 60-year-old flood-control chutes and propose designs to reach its goal.

 

According to the options report by Milone & MacBroom, residents' suggestions inlude a continuous path system along the river, festival and public art areas, increased access to fishing and boating, parks and structural and aesthetic modifications to the chutes. The 18 proposed conceptual designs reflect those goals and potential spots for parks, fishing and ecological restoration has been mapped out.

 

HRR encourages those interested to review the plans at its website, www.hoosicriverrevival.org.

 

Light refreshments and child care will be provided.