It's all about the jobs
Patrick White for State Representative
Niagara Mill in Lenoxdale right on the Housatonic. The owner plans to build housing in this historic and beautiful location.
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First, for those of the Christian faith, have a happy Easter weekend. We live in a country where freedom to worship is enshrined in the constitution, as is the separation of church and state.
This week, I’d like to talk about jobs.
Vacant Mills
I had an eye-opening tour of two vacant commercial properties this week on the Housatonic River: Niagara Mill in Lenoxdale and Greylock Mill in Lee, both former paper mills.
First, Niagara Mill in Lenoxdale. What a gorgeous property, right on the water! The owner is exploring its conversion to just under 20 condominiums. With its brick archways and vaulted ceilings, these units will be stunning. Kudos to Chris Ketchum and the folks of Lenox town government for working with this owner to reimagine this dormant property.
Greylock Mill is a 250,000 s.f. manufacturing facility in Lee, just downstream from Niagara Mill and currently empty. Its owner originally envisioned an indoor marijuana growing facility. We’ll see how that plays out, as the Massachusetts market for pot has tanked pricewise in the past year and due to federal law, the crops cannot be transported across state lines. This facility could be used for many manufacturing or warehouse businesses and is big enough for an organization that might employ anywhere from 100 to 350 jobs, depending upon its use.
The Berkshires is a great region to locate manufacturing jobs. It’s a wonderful place to raise your family, it’s beautiful with amazing recreational and cultural attractions, and it has some competitive advantages as well. Chief among them is the low cost of freight access. You see, lots of freight trucks and trains travel full through the Berkshires on their way towards Boston, and yet many if them then travel empty back westward right through the Berkshires. They have easy entry and exit to Interstate 90 in Lee, West Stockbridge, and Canaan, NY. Let’s fill those trucks with products made in the Berkshires. It’s far cheaper to ship your product westward from the Berkshires than from most markets on the Eastern seaboard. This is an example of a competitive advantage we can be pitching as a reason to locate manufacturing here.
Economic Development: Getting More Good Paying Jobs
Secretary Yvonne Hao recounted how important it is to convince early-stage companies to scale their businesses in Massachusetts. Massachusetts is a worldwide leader in early-stage capital, and lots of businesses get started here. Often, however, once they enter subsequent stages, such as ramping up manufacturing, they choose other states to build their factories. I fully support the administration’s efforts to create make the case for scaling right here at home. Let’s put some teeth in our ability to support these decisions with concrete policies that make Massachusetts competitive for business as it scales, making the transition from start-up to manufacturing.
MassVentures
MassVentures is the quasi-public venture capital arm for the Commonwealth. It recently released its list of The SBIR Targeted Technologies (START) Grants that help Massachusetts-based startups convert research developed under SBIR and STTR contracts into businesses and jobs in Massachusetts. Not a single one of these grants in the past ten years has gone to a Berkshire County business.
START company locations, 2012-2022.
Local Careers
With our aging population, lots of experts are, well, aging out. That includes trades folk such as plumbers, electricians, carpenters, and the like. It includes municipal employees, including town managers, assessors, building inspectors, water & sewer superintendents, and accountants. We simply must invest in vocational education in South County, and we must do a better job of attracting folks to these careers. These are all good paying jobs with salaries that can support a family. We’ve got to provide the training necessary to give the next generation of folks the skills to fill these opportunities.
Massachusetts Business Tax Credits
Did you know that there are about three dozen tax credits available for business in Massachusetts in areas such as farming, manufacturing, and high tech? Among those is a credit if you hire a disabled worker, the Disability Employment Tax Credit.
I created the website for the Paul W. Spooner Generational Leadership Conference last year, which was a two-day conference, in its first year, to help train the next generation of disability leaders. What a wonderful conference. It was a free event including the hotel room. To my knowledge, not a single applicant came from Berkshire County.
This brings me to my larger point: We have so many great programs and opportunities, but their participation most definitely is skewed toward folks in the eastern part of the state, not the Berkshires. Boston seems so far away, but it really isn’t. Let’s recommit to educating our local institutions about these opportunities. Let’s expand these opportunities in Western Massachusetts. And let’s recognize that we can do better when it comes to reimagining the economy of the Berkshires.
It's all about the jobs.
You can donate by clicking here:
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/patrick-3rd
Or you can mail a check to:
Patrick Thomas White Committee
81 Hawthorne Street
Lenox, MA 01240
Donations, be they small or large, are essential if I am going to win this. Every dollar, just like every vote, is important. Thanks for any help you can provide.
I am in it to win it and am running to effect real change. I'd love to have your support.
Warmly,
Patrick White
PS: You can find detailed positions on my campaign website:
https://www.patrickwhiteberkshires.com
Norman got that right.
Previous Notes
Week ending 3/22/2024
Snow - Taxes - Childcare - Grants - School Play read more
Week ending 3/15/2024
Economic development, family farms, why just water? read more
Week ending 3/8/2024
Affordable housing, Climate Advisory Board, Multicultural Bridge, economic development, ROR filing. read more
Week ending 3/1/2024
West Stockbridge rent control brief, PCB radio interview, cancer and the river, reducing property taxes. read more
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