Selectmen Candidate Terra Friedrichs 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 incumbent, :

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

Friedrichs: “I love many shops in Acton, but I think we can do a lot better, based on what's emerging in other towns that I visit.  I believe we need to find ways to attract small, locally owned, locally sourced businesses. That helps create jobs and create "sustainability" in the community.”

“Look at what's happening in West Acton. It's becoming the Consignment Capital of the region.  The Farmer's Market is AWESOME. I think we need a fleamarket and a regular place for people sell more art. Hopefully the Farmer's Market will be able to expand both in geography, across West Acton somehow, as well as seasonally into the winter. I also hope other "markets" spring up on some of the empty parking lots, like up on Rt2A.”

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

Friedrichs: “Sustainably oriented stores - stores that buy their product from local producers and manufacturers. That helps create jobs. We have butchers, for example, that produce grass fed beef. There is no store in Acton that sells the beef that's raised only a couple miles away. The Farmer's Market is the one "store" that sells this local produce.”

“But the more locally produced food the better. And the more cafes the better. These are places where people can gather. I'd like to see the churches do more "market work". The church in West Acton, for example, is opening up to sell burgers on Sunday during the Farmer's Market...it's helping expand the whole community gathering place.  We need to do more of that on Rt2A.”

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

Friendrichs: “There is lots of empty space. West Acton is great for retail.  Along Rt2A, as well. Great village centers tend to gather around where people go to eat - Rt2a and Rt27 for example. That's a village waiting to happen.”

“If we can encourage more cafes to open up there, people will have more of a reason to "linger", which helps build a community atmosphere. We can also create more "flash mob" gatherings, where we just say, "hey, let's go play frisbee at the ‘xyz’ parking lot" and then everyone converges there. There's so much we can do to help encourage new business.”

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

Friedrichs: “My biggest goal is streamlining processes for small business. The Economic Development Committee, which I helped get started, is trying to streamline our permitting processes to be more "friendly" to small businesses. I've also been looking into grants and tax break constructs to help get small businesses started. There are lots of young people that want to start businesses, but they are "cash-strapped". They may have a great concept, but they need help getting through the first few months. It would be wonderful to find a way to use empty space as a "retail incubator" to allow tiny home-made businesses start selling goods just to see if people are interested.”

“In a way, the Farmer's Market is like that. A thousand people come each market day. And little businesses can rent a table there very affordably and see if people buy their wares. We're in a very exciting time. And it's up to us as leaders to both visualize these possibilities and then figure out the tactics to help make it possible. I've already been helping get this vision on the table, and I am now starting to help get the tactics in place. I think I need one more term to actually help jumpstart some of this stuff.”

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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