SHELBURNE FALLS — Residents and business owners in Shelburne and Buckland will soon select an 11-member task force with a primary goal of improving communication among stakeholders in the village.
A Thursday meeting that focused on developing a Shelburne Falls Village Task Force was a continuation of a village summit held last month, both of which were facilitated by Jessica Atwood of the Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG) and Amy Shapiro of the Franklin County Community Development Corporation (CDC).
The summit was 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.
In a survey given to community members ahead of the summit, respondents said they wanted to see a short-term village task force consisting of five to 10 members. Plans for the task force were altered and built upon on Thursday.
Task force members will volunteer for 12 to 18 months to improve communication among village residents, businesses and public officials; support events and activities; and explore long-term capacity solutions.
“It’s to be the facilitator and connector, not the lead implementer,” Atwood said.
Andrew Baker, a member of the Shelburne Selectboard, advocated for representation from town officials on the task force and stressed the importance of the group’s relationship with the towns.
“Having a partnership there is an essential piece,” he said.
Baker also suggested offering alternative ways for people to get involved in village revitalization efforts.
Attendees originally expressed support for a nine-member task force composed of two residents, five business owners and two town officials, but meeting attendee Cate Chadwick proposed increasing the number to 11.
“I feel like two residents is just not enough to get that outreach,” Chadwick said. “At least four residents would be really beneficial.”
The group agreed on expanding the task force to 11 members and shifted to a discussion about categorization within the task force. Margaret Olin, who runs a healing therapy business from her home in Shelburne Falls, said including members who are both residents and business owners could allow the task force to be smaller.
“Just because a person is a resident doesn’t mean they don’t understand and appreciate local businesses,” Olin said.
Deborah Yaffee, who offers hypnosis and teaches virtual tai chi classes from her home, said the effort needs to be “more inclusive” of businesses that do not have a brick-and-mortar office in the village, but others shifted focus back to the goal of the task force — to support businesses.
The borders of the village will be defined by the Rapid Recovery Plan boundaries or the census.
Ultimately, attendees agreed on an 11-member task force made up of five business, arts and nonprofit representatives, two residents from each town and one town official from each town. Residents must live in Shelburne or Buckland, though not necessarily in the village.
Atwood said she will create a nomination form for people to submit their name; self-selected affiliation as a resident, business owner or town representative; and a brief statement of interest. The form will be emailed to community members and posted on the two town websites.
She will then do the same with a candidate survey, and the top vote-getters in each category will be selected to serve on the task force.
Atwood expects to send out the nomination form next week, with the intention of voting in late March or early April.
“It would be great for the task force to be announced and formulated by the second week of April,” she said in a phone interview Friday.
Decisions have not been made about meeting frequency and roles within the task force.
“We’re all being very open to the possibilities, and I think it’s an exciting time,” Shapiro told attendees on Thursday. “I love that you guys took it to what works for you, which is the whole purpose of this.”