Alcombright Sums Up First Month at NBCC Forum
 Mayor Richard Alcombright was invited to speak about issues facing the city. Several city councilors were also in attendance. |
The mayor said he was in his office over the past weekend, thinking "this is the first month what have I done? ... and I almost started to cry because I thought, if the next 11 months are like this, that nothing's going to happen.
"Then I really started to reflect and thought, you know, we have done a lot of things," he told the crowd packed into First Baptist Church's meeting room for the monthly forum of the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition.
Alcombright, who ousted 26-year Mayor John Barrett III in November, pointed to the creation of NorthAdamsIdeas.com, which allows residents to suggest and discuss city projects and issues; stronger City Council subcommittees, such as the new Community Development Committee, charged with responsibilities; progress toward developing a youth commission; neighborhood watch discussions and the "sparkling conversations over Walmart."
Despite differences of opinion over the proposed Super Center, said the mayor, "We've really enabled the community to have this kind of voice and be able to come out and talk about these things ... I can't imagine when the Planning Board had that many people show up and we're starting to have more people at our City Council meetings."
Alcombright said Glenn Maloney and Brian Miksic are working at paring down and prioritizing the many ideas at NorthAdamsIdeas.com with the object of having something happen in April: "Something we can do quick, that doesn't cost much and is highly visible so we can spark the community and get people thinking."
Among the ideas generated by the Web site are are green spaces, murals and (Alcombright whispered dramatically) ... benches.
Putting benches back on Main Street has been a tug-of-war with the powers that be in City Hall. While the former mayor always said it could happen if the merchants wanted it, he consistently warned of the problems of teen loitering and noise that had caused their removal years ago. The topic became a political football over the years as council candidates stated their stand on benches each election. Needless to say, they never appeared.
 A community meeting on safety will be held Thursday, Feb. 11, at 6 p.m. at City Hall. For more information, contact Jennifer Breen Kirsch at 413-441-5905 or jenniferbreenkirsch@gmail.com or Ashley Benson at 413-663-7588 or abenson@nbccoalition.org. |
Lois Daunais, owner of Papyri Books on Eagle Street, asked what the city could do to aid new businesses in the downtown area and how landlords could work with the small businesses on rent. Alcombright responded that he was already in conversation with the downtown's building owners but noted the recent loss of Cup & Saucer and the Alley had less to do with rent than with customers and revenue.
"The problem with the downtown, in my mind, is we don't have enough people in this community — of means — that can support what we think of as the downtown," he said. "As we grow, our downtown will grow."
And, of course, there was the original focus of the talk — the burgeoning number of break-ins in the area. Public Safety Commissioner E. John Morocco said the Police Department was eager to work with neighborhood watches but it was up to the residents to take the initiative.
"Call us up. We'll show you [how] and we'll guide you through it," he said. "And we won't just leave. We'll show up every month at your meeting. ... But it takes a neighborhood to start a neighborhood watch program it takes somebody to step forward and say 'we're going to do this' and get the neighbors to show up."
In any case, said Morocco, "don't leave your car unlocked, don't leave your house unsecured."
The city will host a community meeting to address concerns about neighborhood safety at City Hall on Thursday, Feb. 11, at 6 p.m. The mayor, members of the Police Department, community representative Jennifer Breen Kirsch and the members of the Coalition will be in attendance.
The mayor also fielded questions about snow removal and snowed-in sidewalks ("... it boils down to resources but we'll do the best we can"), the pressing need for social services ("I think most of the agencies that are in this room have been cut more deeply, more heavily than virtually any sector ... until that can get fixed it really does handcuff the amounts of services we can provide") and getting counselors back in the North Adams schools for teen pregnancy-prevention.
 Residents and coalition members peppered the mayor with questions ranging from snow removal to loose dogs to teen pregnancy prevention programs. |
"The tendency I think we have in our culture is to elect somebody we're really excited about and then expect them to solve all the problems," said one woman. The mayor's quick agreement evoked laughter from the crowd: "Yeah, I'm concerned about that."
"I made a promise that my mind will always be open and my door will never be closed. I kind of still mean it," he joked. "... it's been very, very interesting four weeks. I know a lot of you folks, I've talked to you personally. I want to continue the community conversation.
"I think the more we talk the more we can get done over time."
