ATHOL — The town has learned it will receive a helping hand from the state to produce a marketing analysis of downtown Athol.
A letter from Chrystal Kornegay, undersecretary of the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development, states Athol will benefit from up to $15,000 in consultant services as a recipient of the state Downtown Initiative Technical Assistance Program Award.
Eric Smith, Athol’s director of planning and development, told selectmen at Tuesday’s meeting he hopes to get the project started by early May. He said state contractor Peg Barringer, of FinePoint Associates LLC, will serve as the consultant. He told The Recorder that Barringer will be provided with Athol’s downtown revitalization plan, devised by UMass Amherst students in 2014, and results of surveys conducted by the Athol Downtown Vitality Committee.
Smith said a marketing analysis will examine the town’s demographics and identify obstacles hindering downtown development and recommend how to remove them. Barringer and MDI Program Coordinator Emmy Hahn did not respond to emails requesting comment before press time.
Smith said he is still sifting through the roughly 130 surveys submitted, but had some statistics on what they indicated. Fifty-seven percent of respondents said they want more types of coffee shops in the downtown area. Seven percent of people said they visit downtown every day and 25 percent said they are there three to five times a week. Smith said the most troubling figure is the 65 percent that said they visit downtown once a week or less.
“The next phase is interviewing people in community,” Smith said, adding that he plans to speak with professionals in banking, real estate, at the L.S. Starrett Co. (the town’s largest employer) and the North Quabbin Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau.
You can reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 258. On Twitter: @DomenicPoli