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| By Michelle Kealey Staff Writer AGAWAM State Senator Stephen Buoniconti (D-West Springfield) and State Representative Daniel Keenan (D-Southwick) will host a public hearing on Thursday at the Agawam Middle School to hear from members of the community who wish to voice their concerns about small business and economic development. The public hearing, which is sponsored by the joint committee on Community Development and Small Business, will take place on April 21 from 5:30 - 8 p.m. Buoniconti and Keenan are vice chairs of the committee. According to Buoniconti, many of the local Chambers of Commerce have expressed concern to hime and other legislators about small business year in and year out. He added that there has been a restructuring of the committee to put an emphasis on small business and to make the state a friendly place to do business. Buoniconti and Keenan requested to host the event, which is the only hearing in western Massachusetts. According to Buoniconti, legislators hear from many different sources how important small business is and how small businesses struggle. We have a couple of huge companies, but for the most part our area is sustained by small business, he said. He added that he and Keenan are hoping to attract a cross-stream of municipal employees to discuss economic development and small business owners and individuals looking to get into a business to learn about concerns about small business. Buoniconti explained that the hearing is a listening tour that will give himself and Keenan the opportunity to realize the impact of certain issues that may already have a bill filed in order to further support the bill. He added that the hearing will allow the legislators to learn about other issues that have not been discusses, which will allow the legislators a chance to file new legislation. The goal is to not just talk about problems, but ultimately respond to problems, he said. He said that the format of the hearing will be similar to a regular hearing in which he and Keenan will call the meeting to order and hear from people who want to testify or voice concerns. He said that he and Keenan will give a brief presentation about certain issues and will offer a chance for a question and answer period. Agawam Middle School is located at 68 Main Street. All are welcome and encouraged to attend. |