Our July 9th Meeting with the Mayor

Sugar maples line this section of the Bellows Pipe trail

Our meeting with Mayor Macksey on July 9, 2025 was cordial. The Mayor opened the meeting with the suggestion that we regard this as the first of many. She asked that we use our scheduled 1/2 hour to get to know each other a little, and also to re-set any remaining feelings from last year’s logging plan.  She suggested we plan to meet again in approximately two weeks.

Attending:  

North Adams city offcials:  Mayor Jennifer Macksey, and Marya Kozik, Director of Economic and Community Development

Members of Save Notch Forest: North Adams residents:  Michaela Lapointe, educator; Doone MacKay, data analyst; Noah Haidle, Broadway playwright

Ashfield resident:  Walt Cudnohufsky, Landscape Architect, City Planner, and founder of Conway School of Landscape Design

After the introductions, SNF stated that we are very much in favor of “Forever Wild” protection for the Notch Forest, in fact, all the city watershed forests.  

We presented a proposal that could achieve Forever Wild Protection for our watershed forests. This included a budget which we based on consultations with various land planning professionals.

We stated that members of our group with relevant professional experience are offering to donate time and services — which translates into matching dollars for some grant funding programs.

We presented the example of Walt’s Trailhead and Parking Lot Reorganization Plan (see upcoming blog post) as an example of just one professional service we can offer, made visible.

We asked to know next steps so that our group might participate in exploring Forever Wild protection for our city watershed forests.

We also promised to send electronic copies of all documents shared in the meeting, plus a copy of Noah’s play about trees in a forest waiting to get cut down.

Mayor Macksey took time to ask each of us about our background and interest in the forest. She shared some details of her experience during the fall 2024 protests of the logging plan, and she assured us that does not want to clear-cut the forest. However, we noticed that she refered to “the project” in the present tense. We have follow-up questions about that!

Mayor Jennifer Macksey is an active and generous listener. She clearly understood each part of our presentation, asked questions, and offered praise. We left feeling hopeful.

The next week, we sent a “thank you” email, with the promised documents, attached and stated that we are eager to meet again. We have not yet been invited for a second meeting.  It’s time to follow up

A map created by Save Notch Forest — read more at "Our Watershed”.