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Williamstown Economic Development Panel Hears from North Adams Planner
By Stephen Dravis, iBerkshires Staff
08:49PM / Sunday, March 01, 2015
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Williamstown is seeking guidance on an economic plan.
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Economic Development Committee heard from North Adams' city planner earlier this month, and one piece of advice stood out: Keep seeking advice.
 
Mackenzie Greer sat down with the ad hoc committee to share North Adams' experience developing the city's first comprehensive plan in 40 years.
 
The Williamstown committee's objective is not quite so comprehensive. It was created by the Board of Selectmen with the specific charge of creating an economic development plan.
 
But since much of North Adams' Vision 2030 deals with the Steeple City's economy, EDC Chairman Jeffrey Thomas invited Greer to be the first of what likely will be several speakers to the panel.
 
At its Monday, March 2, meeting, the EDC will hear from Tom Matuszko of the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission.
 
Greer said such conversations are a necessary part of the process.
 
"In terms of what we learned along the way, it's good to stay consistent with the Sustainable Berkshires plan," Greer said, referring to the document BRPC adopted in March 2014. "Make sure your local goals and aspirations are consistent with regional ones."
 
If anything, Greer said, she thinks the North Adams process could have benefited from more outreach to neighboring communities.
 
"It's important that collaboration happen more and more and we're not stuck in our silos," she said.
 
The Williamstown committee was interested in Greer's thoughts about the use of consultants. The North Adams, which had a budget of about $125,000, hired BRPC as a consultant, she said.
 
"The consultant developed the plan with input from the community and the [steering] committee," she said. "All of the research, the community meetings, the writing of goals and everything was done by the consultant. The committee received the draft, marked it up and reviewed it in committee."
 
Although Williamstown's EDC is a volunteer group with no current budget from the town, Greer said an outside consultant is worth considering.
 
"I think a consultant can be very helpful in the process," she said. "It's someone who is removed from the process — a neutral party who has experience with other communities.
 
"You're all volunteers and bring your own expertise. It's helpful to have someone who can facilitate the conversation who is not sitting around your table. I worked at the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission before this, and and I worked with a lot of different communities. I saw that there were a lot of challenges because as their own small group they tried to take on larger planning initiatives."
 
EDC member Tom Loughman asked Greer if she could point to a success story of a local town trying to take on a project of the scope envisioned in Williamstown. She pointed the committee to Great Barrington and noted that there is a promising initiative under way in Richmond.
 
And as for North Adams' own success with Vision 2030? It is too soon to judge a plan that took more than three years to develop and has been on the books for about nine months. But Greer said she already has seen some dividends.
 
"One really exciting thing that happened as a result of [Vision 2030] being available and being on our website was there was someone looking at a very large, currently vacant commercial property, and they stumbled upon [the plan]," she said. "They immediately started doing research on North Adams and found the Vision 2030 plan, and it made them stop in their tracks. They felt like this is the kind of place they wanted to be.
 
"That was tremendous to hear. And they're still very much engaged."
 
In other business at its Feb. 17 meeting, the EDC decided to develop a townwide survey in time to include it with the town's tax bills this spring. The idea has been discussed in the past by the committee, and the initiative was unanimously adopted; the content of the survey is being developed by the committee's outreach subcommittee, which met on Feb. 24 and will report back to the full group on March 2.
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