Selectmen Candidate David Clough on an Acton “Burning Issue”

The Acton 2020 Committee, in charge of overseeing the next Comprehensive Community Plan for Acton, has recently created a community blog that they have dubbed, “Burning Issues.” Here, they have raised some basic local issues to encourage concerns from community members to interact with one another in an online forum to better gage an Actonian's point of view.

In spirit of the coming town elections (Tuesday, March 29), Acton Patch chose one “Burning Issue” and asked all three candidates running for Selectmen, which has two open seats, where they stand on the matter.

The “Burning Issue” in question is “Local Shopping.”

Q&A session with Selectmen candidate, .

1). Do you like the current options for shopping stores in Acton?

Clough: “ Yes. You can get most things here. While it might cost a little more than other places, the customer service is better. For instance, for my campaign, I went to McKinnon Printing in North Acton for my brochures rather than mail order or a big box store. In this case, it was cheaper than Staples and with better service (included folding).” 

“Now that I work locally, I use more of the local shops. Many in Acton work east of here and shop east of here.”

2). What kind of stores would you like to see more of in Acton?

Clough: “At the Acton 2020 exercise, a young mother said that Acton needs more children’s clothing shops. With the Rugged Bear’s departure, this would be an area to look into.”

“I think drive-thrus are needed for pharmacies and potentially fast food, but by-laws need to be changed.”

“There are not enough meeting places. There are few coffee shops that get crowded at times, and fewer casual mid-scale lunch places that have enough quiet seating and WIFI (think Local-Panera). (FYI, SEPTIC SYSTEMS LIMIT THIS).”

“We miss our movie theater.  Where can kids without a driver’s license go on a Saturday? They leave town…”

“It would be nice to think more than just products, but also services.  What about using local trades people – handyman, electrician, etc.  Maybe group buying power.”

3). Where are there currently good places in town to locate new small businesses?

Clough: “. There are also other retail store fronts available in North and West Acton. Nagog woods has lots of office space that is empty.”

“We have more than 500 people working out of their homes. We could do well with setting up an alternative to that by renting affordable small offices (even cubes) for these people. We could use the old West Acton Fire house, and there has been conversation with a property owner about such space. This would create a great community, help businesses refer to each other, and possibly create an incubator opportunity. This should have a conference room (and other smaller meeting rooms) that can be used for nominal fee.”

4). As a Selectmen, how would you help to make it easier for small businesses to set-up-shop here in Acton?

Clough: “Yes, I’d like to see a “shop Acton” campaign. There may be an umbrella message, and then individual campaigns for the 3 major regions: West Acton, Kelly’s Corner, and Great Rd (Rte. 2A).”

“Also, we make it too hard for businesses to navigate the town hall processes. I also want to create a road map or flow chart for what it takes to start a business in Acton.”

“Get the businesses together in a forum to discuss how they can help each other – formally or informally.”

“Give a workshop to help them with typical issues, including Hyperlocal Marketing (I usually charge for this in my business, but can either do it myself or work with the Chamber of Commerce to provide it).”

“Encourage the town or local owner to set up the “get out of the house” location mentioned in #3.”

Town elections are Tuesday, March 29, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Town Hall. If you have a busy schedule that day or if you are going to be out of town for any particular reason and cannot get yourself to the Town Hall, the last day to file for an absentee ballet is Monday, March 28, no later than noon.

For more information on the elections, contact the Town Clerk's office at 978-929-6620.

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