Page 8 - BusinessWest April 15, 2024

Greenfield
at a glance
Year Incorporated: 1753
Population: 17,768
Area: 21.9 square miles
County: Franklin
Residential Tax Rate: $20.39
Commercial Tax Rate: $20.39
Median Household Income: $33,110
Median Family Income: $46,412
Type of Government: Mayor, City Council
Largest Employers: Baystate Franklin Medical Center, Greenfield Community College, Sandri
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COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT >>
Greenfield Builds Momentum on Many Fronts
BY GEORGE O’BRIEN
[email protected]
Virginia “Ginny” Desorgher is a retired emergency-room nurse, mother of three, and grandmother of nine.
She had no real desire to add ‘mayor of Greenfield’ to that personal profile, but Desorgher, a transplant from the eastern part of the state and, by this time last year, a veteran city councilor and chair of the Ways and Means Commit-
tee, decided that change was needed in this city of almost 18,000.
So she ran for mayor. And she won — handily. And now that she’s been in the job for three months, she can see many similarities between being an ER nurse and being the CEO of a city.
In both settings, there is a need for triage, she explained, noting that, in the ER and with this city, there is a steady stream of cases, or issues, to be dealt with, and they must be prioritized.
“You just have to take care of the thing that’s the most important at the time and try to keep everyone happy,” she said while trying to sum up both jobs.
There is also a need for communication.
Indeed, in the ER, Desorgher said she made a habit of visiting the waiting room and talking with the patients here, explaining why their wait was so long and asking them if they needed something to eat or drink or maybe some ice for their broken ankle. As mayor, she sees a similar need to communicate, whether it’s with other city officials, residents, neighbors of the Franklin County Fairgrounds, or business owners — a constituency she heard from at a recent gather- ing she described as a “listening session,” during which she
received input on many subjects, but especially parking.
“I thought I kind of knew how much people cared about parking,” she said. “Now I really know that parking is quite
an issue.”
But while that subject remains mostly a sore spot for this
community, there is momentum on many different fronts, and what Desorgher and others described as ‘game chang- ers’ — or potential game changers — in various stages of development.
“You just have to take care of the thing that’s the most important at the time and try to keep everyone happy.”
That list includes the much-anticipated adaptive reuse
of the former Wilson’s department store into a mix of retail (in the form of an expanded Green Fields Market) and hous- ing, both of which are expected to breathe new life into the downtown.
“The initial impact on foot traffic downtown from 61 new units will be extraordinary,” said Amy Cahillane, the city’s Community and Economic Development director, adding that the project is being designed to bring these new resi- dents into the downtown area.
8 APRIL 15, 2024
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