Economic Development Committee Chairman Jeffrey Thomas makes a note at Wednesday's economic deveopment forum as Board of Selectmen candidate Martino Donati looks on.

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Economic Development Committee got an earful Wednesday morning from the residents who attended the first of two public forums at the Williams Inn.

 

The committee was scheduled to hold a second forum on Wednesday evening starting at 5:30 to catch the after-work crowd.

 

The morning session drew a crowd of about 30, including the 11 members of the EDC itself.

 

Of the remaining residents who attended, most were connected in one way or another to various town boards and committees.

 

But all offered strong opinions about what the town needs to grow its economy and, occasionally, what some of the barriers are to growth in the Village Beautiful.

 

The event, moderated by committee Chairman Jeffrey Thomas, consisted mostly of small group discussions with five or six participants at each of six tables. The committee members facilitated the discussions, which asked attendees to answer two questions: What does the town need to promote economic development? And what would economic success look like?

 

Some of the groups came up with the same kinds of answers, and a couple of themes cropped up repeatedly.

 

One need that was almost universally recognized was the quest to encourage young people and families with small children to move to town.

 

That means creating jobs but also creating the kinds of housing options that would appeal especially to 20-somethings.

 

"Housing diversity," Town Planner Andrew Groff said during the breakout discussion at his table. "Right now, we allow single family houses. If you look at [Berkshire Regional Planning's] 'Sustainable Berkshires' and other reports, single-family housing may not be where people want to be in the next 10 to 15 years."

 

Maintaining the town's high quality of life and promoting that quality of life to the region also was high on the list. Several residents mentioned that Williamstown can and should be a bedroom community for the larger region, though transportation to that region is an issue.

 

Alison O'Grady, who is running for the Board of Selectmen, suggested in her group that the town explore whether rail service to Albany, N.Y., is a possibility. Others suggested ride-sharing programs to Pittsfield or Boston to coordinate transportation.

 

Job training was another theme that came up.

 

"If you look at Craigslist, there are jobs available in Berkshire County," Bill Densmore said. "Not a lot, but how do we match people with training for the jobs that are available?"

 

(BerkshireJobs.com has more than 200 jobs listed in retail, medical, education, hospitality and technical.)

 

Most of the groups also identified a need to encourage entrepreneurship in town. That could be manifested in a push for high-speed Internet access, creating tax incentives for new business or business expansion or easing the regulatory path.

 

Allen Hall told the participants at his table that the town's regulatory mechanisms sometimes can be punitive and off-putting to the very entrepreneurs the town wants to attract.

 

"When some restaurant has an incident with alcohol [non-compliance], what do we do?" Hall said. "We drag them in front of the select board and berate them. It's a public shaming. Is that the best way to handle it?

 

"If I'm a business owner who wants to come to town and serve alcohol, I'm thinking twice about it if it means that some 22-year-old employee can make a mistake and I'll be subjected to that."

 

The town's culture also sometimes can be a hindrance to economic development, Kevin Kennefick said.

 

When his table's discussion turned to the topic of agri-tourism, EDC member Paul Harsch noted that a model might be the Ben & Jerry's plant in Waterbury, Vt., but the group wondered whether Williamstown wants anything on that scale.

 

"I don't think so," Kennefick said. "I've been in meetings where people said, 'Zero growth is great.' "

 

Overall, the tone of the meeting was optimistic and forward thinking.

 

"We should be marketing the town to alumni from Williams, MCLA and Bennington College who are familiar with the area," Groff said. "We are very close to New York and Boston. They're a little far, but they're still accessible.

 

"We're not as isolated as we think we are."