The ROPES program and the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce's Fall Foliage Committee are to be commended for their collective efforts to bring people to North Adams' Main Street this past Saturday for various activities and events. Their joint efforts are an example of the type of collaborations that our city will need to foster in order to revitalize our downtown.

I was respectfully approached separately by two different business owners on Saturday to express their concerns about the events. These business owners are very supportive of the idea of having events on Main Street, in particular fundraising events that support programs for the youth of our city. They were also supportive of the various vendors that lined the "vintage" side of Main street as part of the Fall Foliage Arts and Crafts fair.

It was brought to my attention by both of these established businesses that the vendors were instructed to set up their respective tables in front of the stores. The fact that some of the vendors took this suggestion literally, as in setting up directly in front of the business's doors, could be attributed to vying for dry space under the awnings during the drizzly day.

This posed an obvious conflict, as potential customers found it difficult to get past a table that was blocking the door to a business. The business owners tried to negotiate an alternative location for the vendors that would not impede either's commercial prospects for the day.

A simpler

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solution for this problem would have included previous planning from the Chamber of Commerce, which sponsored the arts and crafts fair, to include notifying the businesses beforehand of proposed locations of vendors. The prior notification and invitation for planning would have allowed interested businesses to provide ideas to maximize their commercial opportunities as well as to support the efforts of the temporary vendors.

The two business owners I spoke with are excited about a revitalized downtown and certainly appreciate the activities on Main Street. However, a more coordinated effort, with opportunities for the businesses to provide suggestions and ideas, would have made for a much more effective and potentially revenue-generating event.

The events planned for our downtown this past Saturday certainly demonstrate that we are on the right track. Call them growing pains, but we will need to continually collaborate with downtown business owners, planning committees and temporary vendors to ensure that businesses aren't actually having to sacrifice customer flow for the sake of promoting downtown events and very worthy causes.

The downtown has come a long way. We still have a long way to go, but with productive planning and effective communication, we'll get there.

Michael Boland, of North Adams, is a candidate for City Council. All candidates in the city election are welcome to submit guest columns for this page. They must be no longer than 750 words, cannot be self-promoting and should take positions on timely, relevant issues. Questions: gdrohan@thetranscript.com or 413-663-7942, ext. 223.