SHELBURNE FALLS — Attendees of Tuesday’s Shelburne Falls Village Summit emphasized a desire to see full storefronts, improved lines of communication between parts of the village and an increase in cultural events.
The summit is the result of last fall’s Shelburne Falls Rapid Recovery Plan, a program created by the state Department of Housing and Community Development to help downtowns across Massachusetts economically recover from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Approximately 50 community members and business owners attended Tuesday’s meeting, which was facilitated on Zoom by Amy Shapiro of the Franklin County Community Development Corporation (CDC) and Jessica Atwood of the Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG).
Shapiro asked attendees to imagine and describe the village today. Respondents said the area is “asleep,” “uncertain and inconsistent” and “hopeful but disconnected.”
“We need to be vibrant, we need to be diverse, we need to care about each other,” resident Connie Clarke said.
Atwood presented the results of a recent survey given to community members about what they’d like to see brought to the village. There is continued interest in hosting events that bring visitors to village businesses while adhering to COVID-19 protocols. The yearly Moonlight Magic festival was listed as a priority.
Ninety-four percent of survey respondents said internal communication efforts should focus on upcoming events and activities shared through email. Communication with the community may take place through social media, the town website and print, radio and TV advertisements.
A plurality of survey respondents want to see a short-term village task force to keep up with events. The task force would be open to five to 10 volunteers through an informal selection process and focus on communication between village stakeholders.
The event closed with a discussion of the village’s future.
“I feel I have to be hopeful,” Anne McCormack said. McCormack, owner of Water Street Barn & Studio, held outdoor concerts at her business last summer due to COVID-19 restrictions and hopes to do the same this year. She’s one of multiple business owners who spoke of adapting their workplace to the pandemic.
Attendees said they hope the village will become a cohesive, resident-friendly community in the next one to three years.
“We’d like to see a village that is affordable enough for a working-class community to continue living here, including in the center of the village,” resident Daniel Green said.
Others expressed a desire for more available parking, investments in sustainability, subsidization of residents’ use of local spaces such as Memorial Hall, and fundraisers to support local businesses.
Shapiro said she will send attendees a second survey about getting involved in the village’s development. A follow-up meeting will be held at the end of February.
“We don’t know what it looks like,” Shapiro said, “but we need your voices to figure it out.”