The chambers gave each a check of $1,000 for storm relief instead of the plaque and letter it normally awards, said Jeffrey S. Ciuffreda, president of the Affiliated Chambers.
Springfield , 6/6/11, Staff Photo by John Suchocki -- Massachusetts Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Gregory P. Bialecki while touring Main st area hit by the tornado.SPRINGFIELD – Despite the pain, people should now look at rebuilding from the June 1 tornadoes that cut a swath through the Pioneer Valley as an opportunity to improve communities, according to the head of the state’s economic development efforts.
“I think the first impulse is to rebuild exactly what was there,” Gregory P. Bialecki, state secretary of Housing and Economic Development, told more than 175 business and civic leaders Wednesday. “But we really should be looking at ways to make things better.”
People will get a chance to discuss tornado recovery with state officials during a public forum with Gov. Deval L. Patrick at 3 p.m. Tuesday at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Bialecki announced during his speech during the annual meeting lunch of the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield at the Springfield Marriott.
The event was arranged before the tornado hit. Back then, Bialecki was to have spoken in more general terms about the state’s economic recovery from the recession and efforts to make sure that recovery takes hold in Western Massachusetts.
Bialecki said the tornado is actually an opportunity to move ahead with or expedite economic recovery plans. Perhaps, he asked, redevelopment in a neighborhood was blocked because no one wanted to displace residents.
“Now those residents are already displaced,” Bialecki said. “Now isn’t the time to put all out plans on a shelf. It’s the time to put them on the center of the table.”
Take Main Street in Springfield in the South End, he said. Last year, the city completed at $3.8 million corridor improvement project that included new sidewalks and streetlights that survived the storm for the most part. That project was meant to be just the first stage of improvements in the South End.
Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said he will soon appoint what he called a “Robert Moses” for the tornado recovery. Moses, who died in 1981, was the “master builder” who helped reshape New York City, its suburbs and Long Island from the Great Depression through the 1960s.
The Affiliated Chambers always honors nonprofits during its annual meeting. This year’s honorees, the YMCA of Greater Springfield and the Salvation Army were specifically heralded for their efforts in the wake of the storm.
The chambers gave each a check of $1,000 for storm relief instead of the plaque and letter it normally awards, said Jeffrey S. Ciuffreda, president of the Affiliated Chambers.