Recently, local business owners convened at a workshop in North Adams, MA to voice their concerns and priorities for the future of business in their area. This meeting was part of an effort to form a Master Plan for the city, a part of the broader Sustainable Berkshires initiative, funded with grant support from a HUD Regional Planning Grant.
Mayor Richard J. Alcombright emphasized the city’s need for a growth plan, saying,
“This is a very important process for the city, which, on a whole, hasn’t had a master road map in 40 years. Coming from the business world, we always had a plan. It needs to be a design that is in a very bendable, soft cover book, because it needs to be a fluid road map to success. It needs to keep the community on track, but also allows us to change direction. We are definitely a city that is at a crossroads. Our immediate need is growth, and a good solid plan is key to that.”
Suggestions and concerns from local business owners would be compiled, summarized and presented at a later date, said Amy Kacala, a senior planner with the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission.
Develop North Adams board member Jonathan Secor summed up the purpose of the meeting, saying,
“Change is going to come from the bottom up if we’re going to make North Adams move forward. Local people need to feel that they are part of the bettering the conditions in the city, which in this particular case is hearing from the business community.”
Click here to read the full story at The North Adams Transcript.