Adams Economic Development Committee Assembles

ADAMS, Mass. —  Local bankers, lawyers, business owners, real estate agents, advisers assembled Thursday night in the town's first economic development committee.

Town Administrator Tony Mazzucco presented to the 15 members of the committee their challenges, responsibilities, and focus.

"You have taken the first step towards helping our community," Mazzucco said. "Every one of you are volunteering your time to move forward and to do what is best for Adams and the region."

The new committee was created at last town meeting to help attract business to the area and grow the tax base. It will use funds from a newly adopted local meals and lodging tax and a payments in lieu of taxes from a solar panel agreement that will provide it with $100,000 annually.

Mazzucco said the committee's big focus will be bringing in jobs or growing the tax base.

"Economic development starts and ends with jobs," he said. "It solves and fixes everything. Conversely it causes every problem that you have."

Mazzucco explained that the global economy is changing and reacting to an aging and decreasing population. He added this is true for America as well.

He said Berkshire County is just starting to bounce back from the recession, even though Boston has been thriving for years.

"Many rural counties have not rebounded from the recession yet," he said. "I have talked to a couple of businesses in town that are just now starting to see changes ... we are starting to see it but it's new here when it has been going on for years in Boston."

He believes Massachusetts is behind with economic development because Boston has been thriving. Until Boston feels heavier impacts, it is unlikely that the rest of the state will see substantial economic development policies.

Mazzucco said New York State has a policy for relocating companies that for the first 10 years they do not have to pay corporate income, personal income, sales, or property taxes. This makes it difficult for Massachusetts because it does not have these policies even as it competes with New York to attract business.

He noted that even though Adams has obvious challenges, the committee has to focus on capitalizing on its assets. Such as the world class museums in the area and its natural beauty.

"Everyone in the country will tell you where they live is beautiful, and I would assume we actually have natural beauty," Mazzucco said. "I have worked and lived in other parts of the country, which are beautiful in their own right but can't compare to the Berkshires."

He said other than the Cape Cod with its beaches, the Berkshires is the only other area in Massachusetts with a high level of natural beauty.

The committee also will aid Community Development Office that is short staffed and has a full "pipeline" full of projects.

Its responsibilities also will include searching for possible redevelopment opportunities that businesses could utilize. Through research and targeting business, it will determine what is viable in Adams and push it on to Community Development.

"Three or four human beings can only do so much work, they already do more than a normal human being so we are going to help and support each other in doing this work," Mazzucco said. "Once projects are shovel ready, Community Development can take them."

He said the committee cannot work alone and must realize that business in Adams would be great, but new business in the area is just as good.

"Adams is one great neighborhood in the region that is Northern Berkshire County so we are going to work with them," he said. "There is no future where Adams develops and North Adams and Williamstown have nothing happen. We have to be part of that."

He said the committee will have a five-member steering committee that will delegate projects and responsibilities. There will be subcommittees focused on various projects and topics. These subcommittees will change throughout the committee's life.

Mazzucco said the first round of subcommittees will be green energy, expanding the industrial park, banking finance and risk management, small business resource, and land use reform.

The committee will meet quarterly to check in and the subcommittees will work on their own in between meetings.

The money the committee has available will be used for operating expenses, slum and blight removal, infrastructure and signage, and market studies and analyses.

He said the Greylock Glen will take priority if any funding is need to promote or study it.

"Anything the Greylock Glen needs for funding we are going to use to try to help," he said. "That is probably the single large-scale project that we can and will complete. That will have a substantial value for the town."

He said possible projects the committee may want to take on are reuse of the former Curtis Fine Paper property on Route 8 along with the Dugout Motel. He said the Route 8 corridor is the town's primary route and should be cleaned up and developed.

Mazzucco thanked the committee for volunteering and said he looked forward to working with them.

"When each of you go home tonight and over the next few months and years ... you can go home and say 'I did this for Adams and our community,' " he said. "Today you have a good answer, and I want us to continue having good answers."