Eric Buddington for City Council

For election results, see my main page

Open Government

Did you ever try to find out where parking is legal, or what kind of sign will be allowed for your new business? This information should be free and easy to find.

North Adams should keep records on computer wherever possible, and make all public records available online.

In the short term, there should be a clear written policy that allows anyone to view any public record simply by asking, and to get a copy for the actual cost of providing it. These are already required by state law, but the city rarely complies.

Local Business

Locally-owned businesses are better for the city than national chain stores. They fit in better with the community and add character to our downtown. Their profits go to local people, and will likely be spent locally.

Large chain stores are a good way to provide the variety of products that small stores can't carry due to limited space. Small stores, on the other hand, are more adaptable to the specific needs of North Adams.

If you think of North Adams as one big community, it clearly makes sense that we run our own businesses, rather than paying outsiders (chain stores) to do it for us. It keeps us in control.

Letter to the Editor (from 2005 campaign)

Response by Michael Leary

Town Green

We need green space downtown for performances and socializing. We need a place to spend time downtown, instead of staying at home.

This should include space for sitting, eating, and performing, and should be close enough to the bus stop so that bus riders can wait for the bus there.

Letter to the Editor

Response by Andrew Etman

Swimmable and Fishable Rivers

Pollution and channelization have made many local rivers unusable for fishing and swimming. We need to clean up old pollution and ensure that we have access to the river.

Sadly, nobody seems to have a complete idea of what parts of the city are polluted. When pollution is discovered, it generally leads to some cleanup effort, but nobody is testing our old industrial sites to make sure they're clean. Chemicals of particular concern:

• trichloroethene (TCE): an excellent degreaser, but probably carcinogenic, and fairly volatile
• polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs): oils used in capacitors and transformers. Probably carcinogenic.
• mercury: a metal with various uses. Neurotoxic in many forms.
• lead: quite common in old paint. Can cause developmental problems in children.

Hazardous Waste Disposal

North Adams has a hazardous waste collection day once a year or so. They are not planned far in advance, carry a fairly large dropoff fee, and have extremely low participation. Presumably, this means that we're throwing most of our hazardous waste in the landfill. Other North Berkshire towns have much better organization and participation, and we should imitate them, or perhaps join forces to hold multi-town collection days for hazardous waste.

Public Art

We have an abundance of local talent that needs to be drawn out. In the last few years, local coffeeshops and banks have kept frequently-changing displays of local artwork that demonstrate our native talent and liven up the buildings. We could use a good outdoor performance space in the center of downtown for summer concerts and plays. The concerts at Fish Pond and Heritage State Park are great events, but are too far from downtown to help local businesses.

Street Vendors

The North Adams Farmers' Market has been a staple of Saturday mornings for years, but it belongs downtown on Main or Eagle Street. This area is more pedestrian-friendly, and has many other stores that would benefit from the foot traffic.

OpinionShow

-- EricBuddington - 01 Oct 2005