North Adams has unveiled a wide-ranging five-year plan that aims to improve the city’s infrastructure and capital needs.The draft report details 59 projects across the city’s roads, open spaces and equipment stock totaling roughly $38 million.
“We’re under mandate somewhat by the Department of Justice to redo our public safety building in the sense of ADA compliance, but we have much more to do there,” said Mayor Richard Alcombright. “Our DPW building is in shambles. It really looks at everything, if you want to think about anything about $5,000 or more that is capital intensive meaning stuff that adds to infrastructure whether it’s real estate, equipment or pipes underground.”
Alcombright says the capital improvement plan is something the city’s needed for a long time, having tried to draft one about five years ago. The Democrat, in office since 2010, says it’s a good time to pursue these projects as the city’s budget restraints ease. Outside of freeing up some dollars, Alcombright says as debt falls off it can be recommitted to the projects.
“Around 2020, our water treatment plant – the debt for that falls off – and that’s about $700,000,” Alcombright said. “So we can repurpose that – maybe not all of it – maybe $200,000, $300,000 or $400,000 of it every year towards capital improvements. In other words, another borrowing to do a large-scale capital improvement or set of improvements.”
One of the largest projects is a $5 million welcoming terminal and other upgrades at the city’s airport. Other focuses include improvements across roughly 113 miles of roadways and updates to about 80 miles of sewer mains, some of which records show date back to 1896.
“Our two water supplies – both those dams are rated poor,” Alcombright said. “We have an aqueduct that moves water from one reservoir to the other. The only thing I can tell you is that a picture is worth a thousand words. You have to see it to believe and you wonder at times what’s holding it up. We really have to make certain that our water infrastructure is secure.”
The report, completed by the Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center for Public Management at the University of Massachusetts Boston, anticipates $22 million in grants for the capital projects. Other projected funding sources include about $12 million from water and sewer revenues, $3 million in general fund debt and roughly $500,000 in pay-as-you-go projects from the city. The plan was submitted to the city council and sent to the Finance Committee for review. Alcombright says he sees capital improvements as a 20-year effort taken five years at a time.
“The beauty of the plan is that it creates a new kind of transparency that we and I didn’t have before when it looks at the specifics of everything that needs to be done,” Alcombright said. “People can pick up this plan and it kind of blows up in your face telling you immediately what there is to do, what our priorities need to be and how we might find money to spend it over the next five or 10 years.”
State Representative Gailanne Cariddi, a former North Adams city councilor, says the city has already taken the first step toward receiving outside funding by identifying and quantifying its needs.
“The state can help,” Cariddi said. “There are other plans in the works for other parts of the commonwealth and I’m ready to help the city go forward with any gap funding that they may need for the plan that they’re rolling out.”
