Orange and Athol officials recently convened to brainstorm ways to reinvigorate the local economy.

Tom Sexton, vice chair of an Orange Planning Board subcommittee called the Long Range Comprehensive Planning Committee, and committee member Karl Bittenbender met last week with Athol’s Downtown Vitality Committee. Sexton and Bittenbender hoped to glean some ideas from the Downtown Vitality Committee for reinvigorating their town’s economic future.

“We’re focused on the new master plan,” said Sexton, “so that we can establish some priorities in town and demonstrate public support for those, and try to attain some funding and get some progress done on the things we care about.”

Orange’s Long Range Comprehensive Planning Committee, he said, is just getting off the ground and finding its way — applying for grants, getting proposals from consultants who can help with planning and doing research.

Sexton said the decision to meet with Athol’s Downtown Vitality Committee was the result of a chance meeting with member Paula Robinson. Robinson mentioned how Athol’s pending designation as a Tree City USA community “opens up the door to some funding opportunities” they hadn’t yet considered. The program, run by the Arbor Day Foundation, demonstrates a municipality’s commitment to the environment.

“That’s the kind of practical information we’re trying to collect so that we can get some grants and get some things moving,” Sexton continued. “Our goal would be to learn from you (the Downtown Vitality Committee) about some things that have worked and some things that haven’t.”

Downtown Vitality Committee Chair Mary Holtorf said one the first initiatives was upgrading the streetlights in downtown Athol. Athol Planning and Community Development Director Eric Smith said some of the improvements were made using Community Development Block Grant funds, coupled with a town match from the town’s capital account.

“It’s been a major improvement,” Smith added.

Holtorf spoke of the creation of a Downtown Parking Benefits District, one of the goals of which is ensuring Main Street parking spaces are kept open for business patrons. Smith explained that prior to the district’s creation, all parking meter receipts collected had to go into Athol’s general fund. Now, those funds are deposited into a dedicated account that can be used for a variety of purposes, including parking enforcement and downtown safety and aesthetic improvements.

Smith also discussed plans for the greening of Lord Pond Plaza, using funds provided by a state Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Action Grant and other opportunities. The project will reduce the large amount of asphalt covering the plaza’s parking lot, creating more green space, revealing Mill Brook — which now runs under the lot — and reducing the size of the heat island created by the asphalt during the summer months.

The redevelopment of the downtown parking garage site into a 43-unit affordable housing/retail compex was mentioned as being helpful to downtown Athol. The potential construction of a hotel/convention center at North Quabbin Commons — on a parcel behind Dollar Tree and Wendy’s — was another initiative brought to Sexton’s and Bittenbender’s attention. It was also noted that tentative steps are being taken toward the potential demolition of some of the dilapidated buildings downtown.

Asked about the overall goal of Orange’s Long Range Comprehensive Planning Committee, Sexton said its creation grew in part from a conversation he had with U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern regarding cleanup of the debris left behind by a fire that destroyed the former cereal factory on West River Street.

“You need a plan that demonstrates public support for the priorities that can be identified,” Sexton explained, noting McGovern’s emphasis on needing to have a plan in place to secure state and federal funding. “So, that’s what we want to do — get the public engagement, public input, and have the public prioritize the things we want to do and then work toward accomplishing those goals.”

Meeting with Athol’s Downtown Vitality Committee, Sexton explained, was a first step in perhaps identifying some of the issues faced by Orange, as well as looking at potential strategies and sources of funding to address those issues.

Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.