North Adams, Hilltowns Sign Community Compacts
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The city on Friday afternoon signed a Community Compact with Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito that officials believe will significantly aid in the redevelopment of Western Gateway Heritage State Park.
North Adams is the 84th signatory of a compact, a program developed by Polito and Gov. Charlie Baker at the beginning of their term this year to provide technical assistance to the state's 351 municipalities on a range of governmental procedures.
For the city, that means help revamping of its decades-old Urban Renewal Plan to reflect current practices and economic developments.
"As our Redevelopment Authority continues to look at ways to grow and revitalize our Heritage State Park, they know that our Urban Renewal Plan needs to be updated in order to more effectively plan, market and improve the complex to get the Heritage State Park to its next level," said Mayor Richard Alcombright at the signing event at City Hall. "The approval of our Community Compact application is critical so that the city of North Adams can begin receiving the technical assistance needed to improve our Urban Renewal Plan and additionally, we hope that this will help us find ways to more effectively navigate the complexity of working with multiple agencies."
A proposal by Thomas Krens, and supported by former Gov. William Weld and Michael Dukakis, to create an "extreme" model train installation fits better with the park's original intent but there are other aspects that don't, said the mayor.
"We really want to look at it and see if it's established will allow us to utilize it to do the things we want to do in a more systematic way," the mayor said. "When we were looking at the Greylock Market, those uses were really outside the intent of Urban Renewal."
The Redevelopment Authority oversees a large chunk of the southern side of downtown, particularly those areas demolished during Urban Renewable in the 1960s and 1970s. Entering the Community Compact program will also mean points toward larger pots of funding, such as MassWorks grants. The city did not get the grant it applied for this year, to replace and expand the footpath from Heritage Park to West Main Street, which Alcombright put down to new proposals being considered for the park.
If the model railroad and park building expansion are viable, and the city revamps its Urban Renewal Plan, he anticipated greater success in applying in the round.
Ensuring opportunities to cities and towns across the state was a priority for the administration, said Polito, and one of the first efforts it unveiled.
"What I love about it is it's available to all 351 cities and towns," said Polito, who also chairs the Community Compact Cabinet. "We heard a lot about the Gateway Cities, how much their needs are and what they get for rescources to meet those needs ... but what about the rest of the communities?"
Also signing at the event were Ashfield Selectmen Chairman Tom Carter, Buckland Select Board Chairman John R. Riggan, Colrain Select Board member Jack Cavolick, Hawley Finance Committee Chairman Lark Thwing and Montague Selectmen Chairman Michael M. Nelson.
Carter recalled during his first foray into public service on the Selectmen trying to figure out how to fix a small bridge that served one household but probably couldn't bear the town's new fire truck. With "hundreds of hurdles" in the way and $150,000 on the line, the town found away around the obstacles by reusing old I-beams off the reconstructed Erving bridge for $4,000.
"When we talk about the dollars coming to the community being stretched to their full potential, I like to tell that story," he said, adding "I'm excited by this initiative to have a partnership where we're all working toward a similar goal to get projects done."
Among the other projects recycling, solid waste and site cleanup, roads and bridges, cyber security and financial policies.
Applause after the last compact is signed by Lark Thwing, left, of Hawley.
"One of the things we've been doing is what don't we know about how to handle our finances," said Thwing. The town uses Quickbooks and the town administrater "has to go through all kinds of gyrations to get it to the state every year but we cant afford any kind of municipal software."
He's hoping the two compacts the town's pursuing will lead to an easier and more open budget process, including making budgets available quarterly on the municipal website.
State Sen. Benjamin B. Downing, D-Pittsfield, said he frequently hears of those types of challenges from the other small towns in his district.
"You can't really worry about the long-term future of your community when you're having enough trouble getting people to serve on the select board, on the conservation commission, when you're dealing with all the same challenges, all the same rules and regulations that the biggest communities have."
State Rep. Gailanne Cariddi, D-North Adams, agreed.
"I think it's so important for you to recognize these kinds of issues for all of them," she said to the lieutenant governor. "I know they're going to use it really very well."
Polito noted by the end of Friday some 91 compacts would have been signed; 20 best practices alone were represented at City Hall that afternoon. Another 150 municipalities have applied to the program, which runs two years and is funded by a $2 million line item.
Each community will work with an appropriate state department and their work will be monitored by the Division of Local Services to ensure their progress. Polito anticipated a certificate for those communities that achieve their targets.
"The whole program is designed to reach every region, every community its all about raising the bar and achieving a higher level of governance and service for your community," she said. "This program is setting our communities up for success and opportunity: no one can fail."
Tags: community compact, lieutenant governor, state officials,
