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| Amy Jeschawitz leads a Spring Street walking tour on Thursdays. |
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — A Spring Street business owner and former city official is sounding the alarm about the economic health of the village’s business district.
Amy Jeschawitz, who owns Nature’s Closet and previously served on the Planning Board, went before the Finance Committee last week to raise concerns about what she characterized as the lack of a “master plan” for economic development. in the city.
Jeschawitz sent a letter to both the Fin Comm and the Board of Selectmen in which she called on town officials to take action.
“As a community we can no longer sit back and pretend we are isolated because we live in Williamstown and have Williams College,” Jeschawitz wrote. “We need growth, we need new homes, we need jobs, we need better transportation options, and we need to start meeting the needs of the tourism industry that comes here from NYC and the Boston area.
“We don’t need to form a committee to study this — we’ve done that repeatedly over the years with no action. The reports have been sitting on the shelves. We need you, the Select Board and the Finance Committee to start to take action.”
Jeschawitz’ appearance before the Finance Committee on Oct. 29 was followed by a “Walking Tour of the Williamstown Business District” Thursday afternoon that was billed as a public meeting for the Board of Selectmen to have what the Williamstown Chamber of Commerce called it “a constructive conversation … to discuss ways to improve the economic development of Williamstown.”
In attendance were three elected Board members, two Finance Committee members, business owners from Spring Street and Water Street, the City Manager and a representative from Williams College.
Jeschawitz, who has owned her business on Spring Street for five years, painted a bleak picture at the Fin Comm meeting a week ago.
“If you talk to a lot of downtown business owners, business downtown is down,” Jeschawitz said. “Pedestrian traffic is down in the city. We’re getting by, but I feel, as a community, there are things we can start doing better.”
She said Spring Street doesn’t need more places to eat, but stores where locals and visitors can shop to draw them downtown.
Jeschawitz hinted that Williamstown should recruit such businesses. She told the committee that just in the past year, she has been contacted by people who do economic development in Albany, NY and in South Lee County, encouraging her to open a branch location in those communities.
“Are we doing these things here?” Jeschawitz asked. “Are we curating our way?”
“We hear, as a business owner, from people who come into the community every day. We’ve lost a lot of shopping in our main neighborhood. That’s what I hear. Is there anywhere else to shop? And I don’t have an answer. I can send them to Roam and Provisions on Water Street that have opened.
“There are things that are still empty in this town since I moved here 17 years ago.”
She offered some specific examples of where she thinks the city can better conserve and use its land. She told Fin Comm that Spring Street was “dirty”.
“We had a family weekend at Williams College last weekend,” Jeschawitz said. “The street sweeper didn’t even come down and clean the leaves that are on it. It’s a waste.”
She suggested that the former city garage site on Water Street could also be cleared and used as a new home for the Williamstown Farmers Market. The move would put an underutilized asset to work and free up parking spaces on the Spring Street stretch on Saturdays in the summer, when visitors may tend to come downtown.
A private lot on Spring Street could also be put to better use, she said. The city may seek a grant to create outdoor recreation space on the vacant property owned by its owner, Mark Paresky, Jeschawitz said.
Jeschawitz said the city could devote resources to promoting its assets, such as the Appalachian Trail and the Clark Art Institute, suggesting the city should have a travel and tourism office.
In response to a question from Fin Comm chairman Fred Puddester, Jeschawitz said such a promotion should be a public-private partnership between the city and the Chamber of Commerce.
Chamber Executive Director Susan Briggs told Fin Comm her group is grappling with the question of how to do more economic development given its modest revenue stream.
“It’s time for a change,” Briggs said. “Looks like it. I don’t think either of us has an idea. I think we’re all ready to talk about that idea.”
Town taxpayers support the work of the Williamstown Chamber through an annual appropriation at the town meeting. In the current fiscal year, that expense is $55,000.
The money supports a part-time employee, Briggs, two annual citywide promotional events, the December Holiday Walk and Independence Day Parade and related activities, the Destinationwilliamstown.com calendar site and brochures distributed throughout the region.
City Manager Robert Menicocci told the Finance Committee that despite the difficult fiscal climate he outlined earlier at the Oct. 29 meeting, the city may have to spend money to make money.
“What’s important to recognize is that everything brought up today is very much in everyone’s consciousness,” Menicocci said. “One of the main challenges of all these pieces is that it takes money to do any of this.
“One of the things I didn’t mention in terms of [fiscal year 2026 budget] opportunities… is a grant writer. … There’s funding out there, but it’s hard to get your hands on and you have to have a strong ability to win those grants.
“If the city can find the means to invest in some of the work, we can help jump-start some of those efforts.”
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