North Adams Business Group Taking Shape
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City Councilor Michael Boland has been kick-starting the project in his role as a member of the Community Development Committee. Boland reported at Tuesday's meeting of the committee that a founding board of about 15 was being formed and that city solicitor John DeRosa was putting together bylaws.
The group using the base of the old Downtown Development Inc. to construct a new organization that will give local business a greater voice in community and civic events.
But no one's sure what to call it. The DDI name won't be used and, said Boland, "we have to stop calling it the merchants group."
The goal is to bring in a diversity of businesses; retail definitely, but also restaurants, taverns, hotels, services, studios and manufacturers.
Boland said about six names will be put up and the board will select one. From there, the board will begin with some select subcommittees — marketing, promotion, strategic planning — and add more as the organization grows.
The new group was being looked on favorably by the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce, he said, adding that President Michael Supranowicz had pointed to the work his group does with Downtown Inc. in Pittsfield.
"He spoke about how well they collaborate," said Boland. "He was also very cognizant of the fact that there was a void when they left North Berkshire."
The North Adams Chamber became part of the Berkshire Chamber some years ago.
Committee members worried about fighting over fees with the regional chamber, as well as with the Williamstown Chamber, to which a large number of North Adams businesses belong.
Chairwoman Lisa Blackmer said the groups had to be looked at in terms of their capabilities. The chamber provides business with a larger voice in advocating on issues such as energy, unemployment and taxes, she said, and "big-picture economic development, while your local downtown business groups focus on a specific geographic area."
The goal over the coming year is to get about 60 to 80 businesses on board and develop 10 to 16 new and traditional events.
"Aside from this time of year, I'm at the maximum of what I can do with events," said tourism director Rod Bunt. With others becoming involved in the planning, "then I know that when it's just me and my office [working on other things] someone is making sure progress is still happening.
"It's sort of what I've been up against the last nine years."
Boland expected the first board of directors meeting to convene by the end of the month.
"We have to remember it's not a city group, it's a private group," he said, but it was still important to present something the mayor could support.
The committee also agreed to look into using social media such as Facebook and Twitter to connect with both citizens and visitors better. Bunt set up a Facebook page for the tourism office and will research the difference in changing it from a friend page to a fan page.
In other business, member David Bond said he had been in touch with Millard Rose, founder of Virtual Town Hall. Revamping the city's Web site to make it easier to navigate would cost about $15,000 upfront with further maintenance costs.
Members agreed that the price was high considering the city's current financial situation. If funding, such as through grants, couldn't be found this year, there was the option of fixing up the landing page. "It's really a matter of what we can do now," said Bond.
