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Lisa M. Blackmer
Candidate For City Council - North Adams NORTH ADAMS - Lisa Blackmer's name may not be as well known as her
opponents for City Council, but she's been working behind the scenes on civic projects for years. The political newcomer is hoping the voters will give her a chance to use her experience.
The Cleveland Avenue resident is married with two grown children. She
graduated from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts as nontraditional student "on the long-term plan."
Her degrees in economics and finance and management and work in the business community has given her a good picture of the city's needs, she said.
"I worked for a lot of different businesses both small - one or two
employees - to Wal-Mart;for the grand opening I think I hired about 150
people," she said.
She also worked with the former Downtown Development Inc. and proudly points to the banners on Main Street as one of its initiatives that has continued. The group also worked on the Mohawk Theater and funded the refurbishment of the marquee.
Completing the Mohawk project is an important component to the reinvigoration of the downtown, she said, along with the projects at Notre Dame Church and the Clark Biscuit building.
Blackmer supports the recent move to buy those properties to support their redevelopment. Even with the nonprofit Contemporary Artists Center occupying the Notre Dame rectory, some of that property will return to the tax rolls and provide much-needed revenue.
"Seeing property developed into tax revenue, I really like that because I
know there's a lot of demands on the city," she said. "We have costs; the school system costs keep going up for maintenance and heating and teacher
salaries and benefits, and with every department in the city that's
happening."
A lot of residents are on fixed income and can't afford to see their taxes go up, Blackmer added, so if the city can facilitate growth, that's a good thing.
"The mayor is very effective in getting what he wants and getting things done," she said. "I think it gives a little bit of control over what's going on - we can decide who not to sell it to."
Keeping the facade easement on the church property is important in keeping the character fo the community, said Blackmer. "We did that with some of the downtown development money. I've seen that work."
The city is not going to have another Sprague Electric, but the Eclipse Mill is a good indication of how the city's past can be the city's future, she said: When the factories closed and left, many of the people who had been involved in the community left also; now new people are coming to live in the factories and they are becoming involved in the community.
The artistic types flowing into the city "bring a different element, the more diversity to the population and employment base the better," Blackmer said She describes it as a "win-win" since they bring in tax dollars but have few children to add to the school system's burden.
She'd like to see the city do more outreach to market it as a destination spot within driving distance, "so this becomes a day trip above and beyond just [Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art]" where people can dine and shop.
She said she understands the problems of the downtown. It's hard for mom-and-pop stores along the street to be really active in the Chamber of Commerce and advocate more for area. "It's a Catch-22 but they can be an effective voice if someone is willing to get involved."
It has to be more than just businesses, she said. Blackmer's volunteered to help the First Friday events that used to occur downtown, and for the annual food festival and Fall Foliage Parade. But residents can't just show up for events, they have to make an effort to support local stores, she said.
"We have to make a committment to shopping here and to being part of it
and to serving on boards," she said. "I understand there are a lot of families that just are unable, but those who can need to do."
She said the development on Curran Highway, presumably Lowe's, is good but as former Wal-Mart employee, warns it isn't the only solution for jobs. The city could market itself to diversify employers: "maybe if a company is an hour away and it needs to move, maybe it can move here."
Blackmer and her husband adopted the city as their hometown 21 years ago and raised their children here. She served on the school council, made brownies for the football games and was a band mom.
"We have to maintain our city and our streets and our lights, and our
police department and our fire department and the water filtration plant and the town landfill," she said. "These are all services that make up city and I just want to make sure we're addressing all these needs." |
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