I am completely flummoxed by the Greenfield City Council’s vote not to rezone the French King Highway property for industrial use. Don’t the councilors who voted “no” know that manufacturing — in particular, high-precision metalwork — is part of Greenfield’s DNA? Historically, making things has been the economic backbone of the northern tier of Massachusetts, from North Adams to Lowell. The old mills have been gone for decades and much of the land they occupied repurposed for other uses.

Now, a new breed of entrepreneurs has taken root in Franklin County, starting firms built around cutting-edge, ultra-high precision, computer-driven machinery. Business for some of them is booming, and they are looking to expand. I know first hand how hard it is to find industrial land in the region. In my career, I worked with small manufacturing firms that wanted to locate in the upper Connecticut River Valley. Finding no suitable places to build, they chose to move elsewhere. This isn’t just about Greenfield. The City Council’s decisions can affect the entire valley. We simply can’t afford to turn away high-tech manufacturing companies. They offer better pay and benefits than the service sector. They attract young people. They increase the tax base. They lift property values. They can reinvigorate downtowns and fill our schools. We have a wealth of natural resources. But without good-paying jobs our property values will stagnate, younger people will go elsewhere, and our local economy will continue its long slow decline.

Finally, the City Council’s French King vote sends the message that the valley thinks of itself as a bedroom community and doesn’t want the business. At a time when the public sector is pouring tax dollars into industry and infrastructure, the Greenfield City Council is saying, “no thanks.” The timing couldn’t be worse. I hope that the council will revisit this vote and take a broader regional view of the importance of supporting manufacturing by rezoning the French King Highway for industrial use. 

Christopher L Sikes

Northfield

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