CITY OF NORTH ADAMS, MASSACHUSETTS

Office of the Mayor

Thomas W. Bernard

State of the City Address

Tuesday, February 20, 2018
7:00 p.m.
City Council Chambers

INTRODUCTION

Honorable members of the City Council and School Committee; members of the City
and the North Adams Public Schools staffs; community partners; city residents; family,
friends, and neighbors; those in chambers tonight, and those viewing at home:

Good evening, and thank you for the opportunity to speak with you about the state of
our city in the year 2018.

When I took the oath of office in these chambers a few short weeks ago, I spoke of our
history, and of a positive and optimistic view of North Adams that I believed – and
continue to believe – has stood the test of time.

It is a view that encapsulates the best of who we are, and the energy, optimism, and
pride that will propel us forward.

It is the energy that was seen on display this weekend at Winterfest, when hundreds of
people came downtown to sample chowder, ride along Main Street in a horse-drawn
wagon, purchase locally-made goods at the indoor farmer’s market, and simply to be in
community with their friends and neighbors.

It is the optimistic spirit that was present a few weeks ago at the first TedX North
Adams, especially in the voices and stories told by members of our local community,
including Judy Grinnell and Senator Adam Hinds.

1
It is the pride we feel when we learn that the Mad McCannics robotics team – and their
robot Bucket o’ Bolts – will represent their school and our exemplary vocational district
when they compete next month in the FIRST Tech State Robotics Challenge.

Clearly, we have much to celebrate.

At the same time, I remain realistic about the challenges we face.

 of a declining and aging population in our city and across our region;

 of a budget that continues to approach our tax levy limit;

 of significant infrastructure and deferred maintenance needs;

 of the continued need for durable downtown revitalization;

 and of economic and social challenges such as poverty, addiction, abuse, and
mental illness – challenges that far too often land far too close to home.

I recognize and am pragmatic about these problems. However, I do not believe any one
of them is insurmountable.

There is a quotation attributed to the novelist Scott Turow. He wrote, “Who are we but
the stories we tell ourselves, about ourselves, and believe?”

At times it can be easy to tell – and to believe – a story defined by our problems rather
than by our potential.

But what happens when we tell – and believe – these stories about ourselves?

People outside our community also may come to believe and re-tell them.

We must commit ourselves to writing a new story.

One that never shies away from hard truths.

But one that never lets those truths and challenges define us.

2
Because just as we easily can identify the issues we need to address, we have plans
and resources to make progress on them. These include:

 economic development strategies that attract people to invest and to live in North
Adams;

 efficiencies and administrative renewal in city government and operations;

 maintenance and investment plans and schedules to tackle our infrastructure

needs;

 community engagement with partners and collaborators to translate the energy of

anchor institutions like MASS MoCA into downtown development that serves the
needs of residents and visitors alike;

 and ongoing support for the efforts of the many agencies throughout our
community who work tirelessly to champion the needs of those whose needs are
greatest.

So let’s look at some of the stories we can tell ourselves, about ourselves, and believe
in.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND INITIATIVES

I want to begin with a great homegrown story, of the incredible success that David
Moresi has experienced with the Norad Mill redevelopment. I know that David would be
the first to admit that the pace of development and leasing of the space has outpaced all
expectations.

This is a product of sound business planning. More than that, however, it is evidence
that people are looking to North Adams as the place they want to do business.

I know there are more exciting announcements yet to come about new businesses
coming to the mill, and the jobs that will follow.

3
And the Norad project is part of a wave of development currently underway,
demonstrating once again that North Adams is The Place. It is a wave that includes:

 the TOURISTS hotel development;

 the Hoosic River Revival;

 the Museum of the Dog;

 GreylockWORKS;

 the recently-announced entrepreneurship minor at MCLA, and the range of

entrepreneurial programs offered at Lever, both focused on building innovation
and leadership capacity in North Adams;

 the Extreme Model Railroad and Contemporary Architecture Museum;

 a new West End restaurant from the owners of the Freight Yard Pub;

 a recently announced second brewery, slated to open next year on Curran

Highway;

 The Unruly Servant, a bookbar currently looking for a downtown space in which
to open up operations later this spring;

 and much more to come, all of it part of, or creating the conditions for, even more
economic development.

Our job is to support these efforts, and to create the conditions that translate the
success of these projects into a vital, vibrant community.

One way I plan to do this is by working with Senator Hinds, Representative Barrett, and
the Baker administration to secure a Qualified Opportunity Zone designation for North
Adams. This new federal program promotes investment in low-income communities by
providing tax incentives for the reinvestment of capital gains in housing and economic
development projects.

The projects we have underway and planned in the community have the potential to
make North Adams attractive to investors, and to offer them the promise of a great
return on their investment.

4
 ********************

We also recently received news regarding an investment in public safety.

With advocacy from my administration as well as that of the previous administration,

and with ongoing support from Senator Hinds and Representative Barrett and our
legislative delegation, the City of North Adams is in line to receive $1.2 million in capital
bond funding from the state.

When available, these funds will support a design, engineering, and siting study for a
new public safety building.

This is a critical need for the city.

It is signal that we take seriously issues of both accessibility and respect for those first
responders who risk their lives for the residents of North Adams.

It is an overdue first step in a process to secure an appropriation of funds.

However, I do not plan to wait until those funds become available to begin our study.

I will work with the directors and members of our police and fire companies to set the
stage to make the most of this money when it becomes available.

As we focus on our public safety facility needs we also will continue to strengthen the
relationship of our public safety officers to the residents of the community they serve. I
will encourage and direct the police department to continue to expand community
policing programs. It is especially vital to promote programs in our schools and with our
students – programs like Running with the Law – that place our officers in role modeling
and mentoring relationships with our young people.

********************

On a closer timeline than the public safety funding, the city was awarded $400,000 from
the state Parkland Acquisitions and Renovations for Communities (PARC) program for
the next phase of improvements – including a splash park – at the Noel Field complex.

As anyone who has seen the crowds at the skate park since it opened last summer will
attest, this facility is becoming a gem in the city.

5
This next phase of work will build on that momentum and help make Noel Field an
outdoor recreation destination, and part of a network that includes downtown bike lanes,
continued progress on our bike path design and planning, walking loops, the Windsor
Lake disc golf course, connections to the Appalachian Trail, and other amenities,
including, eventually, a revitalized Hoosic River.

********************

As we think of the recreational opportunities the warmer weather will bring – especially
on an unseasonably warm day like today – we’re reminded this season has chilled us to
the bone, challenged our patience, and taxed our equipment. So, basically, it has been
a typical New England winter.

One bright spot amid the snow, bitter cold, water main breaks, and potholes has been
the professionalism, pride, and planning on display among our Public Services staff as a
result of their move into the new building across from McCann.

While they continue to focus on winter clean up and maintenance, this new shared
space is helping to set the stage for infrastructure work that will get underway in the
spring, such as:

 street repairs along Beaver Street;

 completion of the SCADA system upgrade at the water treatment plant;

 sewer projects at Windsor Lake and along Woodlawn Avenue;

 and repairs and re-sealing of the basketball court at Greylock School, to name
just a few;

Another infrastructure and public health priority is continuing to attack blight throughout
the city. This is something we will continue to battle on multiple fronts, including:

 strategic redevelopment or demolition, depending on potential and condition of

target properties;

 additional tax possession and sale of properties currently in tax title to get them
back onto the tax rolls;

6
  and advocacy with the courts to ensure our code enforcement efforts are
matched with appropriate legal consequences and remediation.

As we look at putting properties back on the tax rolls, I want to highlight additional
efforts we will undertake this spring, including:

 putting out new or updated requests for proposals (RFPs) for the Ashland Street
salt shed, the Notre Dame school and church, and Sullivan School;

 and encouraging the purchase of Heritage State Park either through the exercise
of option by the Extreme Model Railroad Museum project or by other means
should that option expire.

********************

I’m also encouraged by the good work taking place in our schools.

Last week we heard the exciting news that the North Adams Public Schools, and
specifically the 7th and 8th grade academy, were awarded a $20,000 state grant for
educational programs and educator professional development provided in collaboration
with Project Lead the Way.

These funds will support activity-based learning focused on science, technology,

engineering, and mathematics, or STEM subjects, initiatives aligned with education and
career pathway priorities in the Commonwealth and economic competitiveness across
the nation.

Also in the education sphere we announced a plan to move the North Adams Public
Schools district offices into City Hall. While there will be a cost to this move, we
anticipate a short payback period. This will allow the schools to put the funds currently
being spent on space rental toward programs and staff that directly serve our students.

Once complete, the school department move may create other opportunities for
collaboration and innovation between the city and the schools, and we will explore ideas
focused on integrating so called “back office” functions as appropriate.

Similarly, and has been announced, we are actively exploring other shared services
opportunities in school administration, including the potential for a shared business
manager position between the North Adams Public Schools and the Northern Berkshire
School Union.

7
We also have begun to explore the feasibility of sharing a superintendent between two
districts. The school system has grant funding to support this investigation.

While the school committee will consider a shared superintendent arrangement as a

concept, the impending vacancy and search for a new superintendent for the Adams-
Cheshire Regional School District gives us a chance to consider this idea in practical
terms as well.

In addition to important administrative work taking place in our schools, I also want to
highlight efforts underway to improve learning outcomes.

At the start of the year, the members of the school committee heard from the
superintendent and our individual school principals about our district and school level
improvement plans.

These plans involve shared goals across the district as well as focused efforts at each
school.

I am encouraged by many of the efforts on display in these plans, including:

 focus on the social and emotional issues that prevent students from being
engaged in learning;

 outreach and engagement to families, including the opening of welcome centers

at Brayton and Drury;

 implementing a morning meeting at Greylock School to provide structure and

shared accountability;

 and “learning walks” at Colegrove School to identify and promote effective

teaching practices;

Equally central to our education success is the presence in our community of a great
public liberal arts college. Indeed, the efforts of MCLA students, staff, faculty and alumni
play a critical role in shaping the future of North Adams and making this city, our
community, a better, stronger, more inclusive place.

8
Like North Adams itself, MCLA exploring new ways of telling the college’s story to
prospective students and families in the admission process; to new faculty and new
administrative leaders during recruitment season; and to the community by welcoming
speakers of national and global acclaim like Clint Watts and Ta-Nehesi Coates to share
their insights with the campus and our city.

Finally, the Berkshire Compact for Education and the Berkshire County Education Task
Force continue to do important work on long-term planning for education in our region. I
have been invited to serve on a governance group to look at the next phase of the task
force’s efforts, and specifically to consider issues such as the shared services initiatives
we are exploring within our district.

********************

Less visible, but equally critical has been internal work to address the operation of city
government. This has involved efforts to review and revise our employee handbook; to
identify policies and procedures that need to be created or updated; and to ensure that
our internal controls are adequate, accurate, and consistently implemented.

Related to these process efforts is the need to finally upgrade the city website. We need
to do this to ensure the site is fully accessible to everyone. We also need to do it to
make city government more effective, responsive, and transparent. This will enhance
online payments and permitting, the reporting and resolution of service issues, and the
availability of and access to information.

Such efforts are foundational to the administration of our city – and long overdue – but
they are no less critical to our success and sustainability than the new initiatives, major
projects, and ribbon cuttings that garner headlines.

********************

Elsewhere on the policy front, I am proud of the work completed in an accelerated

timeframe by the Retail Marijuana Zoning Working Group convened at the beginning of
the year.

This group, which was representative of many of the stakeholder groups in the
community – community development, public safety, education, the city council,
planning, zoning, licensing, and health boards – took on a challenging task: to define a
set of guidelines for our city ahead of the launch of the state licensing process on April
1.

9
The result continues to be a work in progress. It creates opportunities for the planning
board and the council to deliberate, to solicit further public input, and to consider the
process in more detail. The goal is to ensure we have a zoning structure that enables us
to take advantage of the economic potential of retail marijuana sales or cultivation, one
that has been fully and fairly vetted by both city government and the community at large.

********************

The start of 2018 has brought attention to two critical issues related to public health:
school safety and domestic violence.

We don’t want to imagine or believe that the violent acts can touch us. However we
know that no community is free of the risk of fear and loss that students, families, and
teachers in Parkland, Florida, experienced last week.

What we can – and will – do is to bring together our school safety committee to review
our emergency response plans. We will continue to work with the members of the
regional emergency planning committee that includes first responders from across the
Northern Berkshires to ensure that we are as prepared as we can be for the
unthinkable.

Similarly, I am grateful to members of the Council, and others, who insisted that we not
be complacent in the face of tragedy when it comes to domestic violence. We will
continue to engage the community of providers, including the Northern Berkshire
Community Coalition, the Northern Berkshire United Way, the Elizabeth Freeman
Center, as well as partners in education, healthcare and public safety to focus and align
efforts to address this epidemic issue.

LOOKING AHEAD

In a meeting with my senior team recently, I outlined for them my administrative vision –
the story I want us to tell ourselves, about ourselves. The story I want us all to believe.

I shared my belief that it is our responsibility as leaders and managers to

 serve the residents of the city;

 expect excellence from and model it for those we lead;

10
  and be responsible and responsive stewards of both public resources and the
public trust.

These ideas are neither new nor revolutionary. However, they are the foundation of the
work we need to do to move our city forward.

My commitment to service, excellence and stewardship will begin with our city’s
finances.

I have launched the Fiscal Year 2019 budget planning process with department heads. I
will bring a budget planning timeline to Council in the coming weeks, including
collaborating with the Finance Committee to schedule public hearing on the FY ’19
budget.

As the previous administration noted, the budget outlook for Fiscal Year 2020 is
extremely favorable. However, the path to that point will involve challenges and choices
in FY ’19.

The good news is that labor contracts are settled, and the budget impact of these
agreements over the next three budget cycles is known.

The challenge, however, is that meeting these commitments to our workforce – as well
as planning for the currently unknown rate of increase in employee health insurance –
leaves us little room for strategic investment.

This makes it ever more critical that we pursue a commitment to administrative

efficiency, policy-based decision making, and improvements in our use of technology to
deliver services where appropriate.

********************

And as the budget process moves along, planning for another busy and exciting
summer is already underway. As we prepare to welcome visitors from across the
country and around the world, a number of efforts are planned through the city and
other partners to connect MASS MoCA visitors – and MCLA students – to downtown,
including:

 a new round of projects to build on the momentum of last year’s North Adams
Exchange efforts to draw visitors into the heart of the city;

11
  efforts through the Eagle Street Initiative to bring new public art and amenities
that re-establish the street as a portal to downtown;

 speaking of Eagle Street, this year we will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the
Eagle Street Beach Party, and we also can look forward to other community
gatherings including Downtown Celebration and Motorama;

 and installation of additional North Adams-branded signage downtown, and the

replacement of outdated signs, in a collaborative project among the North Adams
Chamber, the North Adams Partnership, and the City;

In addition to these activities, I will in the coming weeks be announcing details of two
initiatives I plan to launch.

The first is a community charrette about the Mohawk Theater, modeled on the one
organized several years ago to share ideas and to develop a vision for the revitalization
of the Hoosic River. I intend to bring in a moderator to lead the conversation and to
explore two decades worth of renovation and programming ideas to see what might be
feasible and sustainable.

The second is a series of community conversations, a citywide listening tour. I want to

get out of City Hall and into the community to hear your thoughts, concerns, and ideas.
The stories you tell, and the ones you believe. The ones we all need to listen to, and the
ones we can work together to rewrite.

CLOSING

Central to each of the stories I have shared tonight – and indeed to the future of North
Adams – is the idea of collaboration.

 Locally;

 regionally;

 and at the state and national levels.

The good news is collaboration is something we do incredibly well.

12
I have seen this spirit on display countless times in recent weeks.

I saw it at a recent meeting of the Berkshire Leadership Impact Council, when business,
education, healthcare, nonprofit, faith-based, and government leaders came together to
better understand and to share ideas aimed at developing frameworks to address
regional challenges related to population, education, workforce needs, and inclusion.

I saw it when the Berkshire County Regional Employment Board, 1 Berkshire,

BerkshireWorks, and members of our state delegation came together to advocate for
our manufacturing workforce.

When there is an issue to tackle, the people of North Adams and the Berkshires know
how to mobilize. We know how to roll up our sleeves and get things done.

We may not always recognize it in ourselves.

But those who view us from the outside see North Adams and the Berkshires as
models.

Our task, then, is to see ourselves as others see us. To recognize the best of ourselves
reflected back in the things people who visit, or relocate to, or write about North Adams
come away believing. To tell new stories, to believe them, and to make them a reality.

Thank you.

13