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Date: 4/27/2022
HILLTOWNS – Eric Weiss, director of economic and municipal collaboration at the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, will lead the effort to form a rural economic development network, thanks to a grant of $95,000 from the Baker-Polito administration’s Community Compact Cabinet Efficiency and Regionalization Grant Program under the state Division of Local Services.
Weiss will reach out to 24 small and rural communities in Hampshire and Hampden counties to identify opportunities for rural cooperation, infrastructure needs and business development wants.
The towns identified are Blandford, Brimfield, Chester, Chesterfield, Cummington, Goshen, Granby, Granville, Hadley, Hampden, Hatfield, Holland, Huntington, Middlefield, Montgomery, Pelham, Plainfield, Russell, Southampton, Tolland, Wales, Westhampton, Williamsburg and Worthington.
Weiss said the goal of the grant is to bring new economic development to the Hilltowns by creating long-term partnerships in the public and private sectors, and by giving rural communities a voice.
“Smaller and rural communities tend to feel their voices aren’t heard,” Weiss said, which makes it difficult to attract businesses to their towns. “There is a commonality of challenges in these communities. This will give them somebody else to talk to, and a more prominent platform to stand on.”
Weiss said the contracts for the $95,000 grant that runs through September 2023 were just signed, and outreach both virtual and in person is just beginning.
“We have not reached out to anybody yet,” he said on April 22, adding that he will be the contact person and may be reached at eweiss@pvpc.org, or 781-6045.
“We are as an organization very interested and excited in working with rural communities,” Weiss said. He said PVPC will work to provide communication by and between the towns. He said groups in the past such as the Hilltown Collaborative, which received previous Community Compact grants from the Baker-Polito administration, made a strong effort in some of these areas, but didn’t quite reach their goals.
Weiss said the rural economic development network could help the towns with efforts they’ve been attempting to make on their own.
“It’s a big idea. Hopefully, this will give it the legs to get it where it needs to go,” he said.
“We look forward to working with the towns,” Weiss added.