Barrett Prepares for 13th Term
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| Mayor John Barrett III |
John Barrett III straightened out the pile of marked-up pages on his desk Friday. "I'm still working on it," he said. He'd been working on it for more than week.
He plans to outline the year's coming attractions - streetscape improvements, bridge repairs, big box projects and, hopefully, the Mohawk Theater renovations - at his inauguration tonight. He's set to talk about a new initiative to target the city's slumlords.
But it's not all good news. Taxes are up, budgets are razor-thin - and the state just isn't listening, said the mayor.
He can tick off a litany of fiscal woes affecting towns and cities across the state. He expects some to go into default; all have been struggling as the state began cutting back aid over the last five years.
This year, in particular, has been tough because of the soured relationship with Gov. Deval Patrick. Barrett, an early supporter of former Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly, lined up behind Patrick after Reilly dropped out of the governor's race.
Battling Barrett
Patrick's promise not to forget Western Mass. struck a chord with voters and political leaders alike, but hopes for a strong link with Beacon Hill were dashed after the Democrat took office. There was that break with Rep. Daniel E. Bosley, Barrett's friend and political ally, that's widened over the months as Bosley's locked horns with Patrick over casino gambling.
"It's been one battle after another," Barrett said.
Not that Barrett doesn't enjoy a battle or two. Some would seem downright quixotic if he didn't win so often. Corporations, politicos, slumlords - all are fair game.
<L2>Last year, he took on the cable company and won. His latest crusade is against high gas prices in the city (which dipped after he made a lot of noise last summer).
Why gas? "Why not?" he responded. "Nobody else is doing anything about it."
The former schoolteacher ran for office, he said, because he was angry about the direction the city was going in back in 1983. It was a bad time: Sprague Electric Co., which had provided good jobs for three generations of North Adams residents, was folding. Unemployment was up and prospects were down.
The city has since begun to blossom into a haven for art and artists under his leadership; political challengers have fallen by the wayside. Last year, nobody bothered to run against him. But Barrett isn't sitting back on his laurels - or mellowing too much.
"I still get angry," he laughed. A full-color, front-page copy of the Boston Herald with Barrett in a particularly pugnacious pose adorns his office wall (along with dozens of pictures and other ephemera). Surrounded by mayors, Barrett is at a podium pointing angrily outward. "I'm still a fighter for the city."
It's that passion, he said, that keeps him running for office.
"I think I reflect the people, even the new people who come to this city," said the mayor, referring to the growing number of artists and art-related businesses that have begun calling the city home. They've been drawn here by the decade-old Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, the largest contemporary art museum in the United States and the most prominent symbol of building reuse in the city.
What's Old Is New
Taking something old and making it new is key to reinvigorating North Adams, said Barrett. "You have to build on what you have." He pointed to local artist and developer Eric Rudd's renovation of the Eclipse Mill on Union Street into artists lofts; across the street from the Eclipse, the old Hoosac Mill is being developed.
The storied Fitzpatricks of Stockbridge turned a row of dilapidated apartment houses into the high-class Porches inn and the Clark Biscuit building and the former Notre Dame School are being transformed into housing.
The housing is the exciting part, said Barrett, because it will bring people back into the downtown. Eagle Street is "a diamond in the rough" that would benefit from the establishment of an inn in one of its central buildings, if the owners would develop it or sell it for a reasonable price, he said.
Meanwhile, the city has maintained and expanded on a growing list of properties - Western Gateway Heritage State Park, new sports fields, the skating rink, the library, schools.
"It's government's role to create venues for people," said Barrett.
But that's getting tougher to do. Plans for the historic art deco Mohawk had to be scaled back and then delayed as costs spiraled. Barrett still plans to see the project through, saying it will provide yet another venue for the community. While it will be managed by Mass MoCA, he envisions it as a space for everything from weddings to plays to conventions.
The Hadley Overpass will finally get repaired after a nearly 15-year wait and new signage and traffic lights are planned for the downtown thanks to $2 million procured by U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy nearly two years ago.
The future isn't all bright lights, though. "I see things getting harder," said Barrett, referring to the continuing financial difficulties the city faces.
Staffing levels have been slashed, in some departments in half, over the past two decades to cut costs. The mayor credits the city's "hard-working employees" for keeping it running well. Health care costs and state mandates - like the $12 million water filtration plant - have stretched budgets thin. <R3>
One of the mayor's running battles has been over the mechanism for funding charter schools. The Berkshire Arts and Technology Charter Public School is siphoning off nearly $700,000 a year from the city, he said. If the state adjusted the funding, it could put $400,000 back in the city's coffers.
Barrett, who also serves as School Committee chairman, said the city hasn't turned to the schools to cut costs.
"We have not cut programs, we have not charged fees because it would just be another burden on families," Barrett said.
Where's the Money?
Cities and towns need a revenue-sharing plan with the state, said Barrett, and the tools to create new revenue streams. "[The state] is balancing the budget on the backs of cities and towns."
He's concerned that Patrick is counting revenues from casino gambling - which isn't yet legal and unlikely to generate any money for the state for years. He described the state as having "a leadership vacuum" with a governor who "doesn't want to say no to anybody."
The mayor wasn't a big fan of a local hospitality tax when it was first proposed, but now sees at as a useful tool. A meals tax of 2 cents on the dollar could generate another half-million for the city, he said, and the effect would be miniscule on the consumer.
That could come in handy as the average taxpayer will see his property taxes rise $200 to $300 this year because the state rejected North Adams' reassessment of a number of crucial commercial properties.
"I was absolutely shocked," said Barrett. He blames it on the city's (and New Bedford's) legislative success in phasing in a decrease in the commercial tax burden to lessen the blow to homeowners. "This is a way to stick it to North Adams."
The city would have had to send out estimated tax bills if it wasn't for Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray's last-minute intervention, he said, which allowed the City Council to meet and OK the new calculations.
"Your taxes are going up but Time Warner's going to pay less ..." said a frustrated Barrett.
Yet another challenge for a mayor who stays in office because of them. "There is no better and no worse job," he said. A sign on his desk says "Be reasonable ... do it my way."
Buzzword
Over the last few years, he's taken on another mantle as a prophet for the "creative economy."
"That's becoming the new buzzword," said Barrett. He's been invited to speak at conventions and meetings around the country about the North Adams renaissance. Presenting himself as "a blue-collar mayor from a blue-collar community," he tells other industrial cities how they, too, can reinvent themselves.
"You can't have the creative economy unless you have the full support of local government and state government," he said.
As he settles into his 13th term, Barrett looks back on how the city has adapted over the last 24 years.
"Everything that has taken place in North Adams, nobody thought would work."
The City Council and School Committee will also take their oaths of office tonight at 7 at City Hall. The inauguration will be broadcast on Northern Berkshire Community Television Channel 17; a reception will follow. The public is invited.
