that were severely under-resourced or understaffed. We focus on strengthening internal controls so that we can better leverage existing resources we have, as well as external revenue sources, such as grants so that we can expedite the work that we’re trying to accomplish. The idea is, that if we get our house in order, it will reflect positively, externally.” “For any new business coming in, time is money. Folks are trying to figure out where to land, and if your community’s not together to help these folks navigate your internal bureaucracies, it tells a lot about your willingness to accept that organization so it can have a successful start and then grow and thrive. Today, there’s better communication between city departments and a lot of system improvements have allowed us to create the level of excitement that folks have been hearing from the outside looking in.” Meanwhile, the city has also been helping some of its current small businesses. During COVID, it leveraged ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds to keep some of its restaurants afloat, and it continues to support its downtown stores and eateries by featuring them on its Explore Holyoke website. “We’ve got some great downtown shops and unique restaurants with authentic cultural menus. It’s free for them to promote on the site, and we have a social media intern that helps them,” Vega reports. “And we try to have events downtown that bring more people there – St. Patrick’s Day Parade, the Partonales Festival, the Paper City Food Festival in the fall.We’re trying to make sure that the businesses downtown know that we support them.” “Another thing we’re trying to do is something as simple as making sure that downtown is clean and that trash is picked up – basic services that people expect, like public safety,” Garcia notes. “People want to feel safe when they’re walking and visiting establishments downtown.The infrastructure, streets, sidewalks, the conditions of the trees– those are all important little things that we’re responsible for. Our small businesses are trying to keep their doors open and keep business flowing. They pay taxes and expect good roads, good quality sidewalks, policing, and trash pick-up. Those are things that we’ve been focused on that are important to them.” Both Garcia and Vega were born in Holyoke of Latino parents; Garcia’s mother and grandmother came to the United States from Puerto Rico, and Vega’s father hailed from Ecuador. Today, there is a growing number of Latinos, who like them, grew up in Holyoke, went to school there, and are now taking ownership of the local economy. “You’re seeing this new surge of Latino-owned Photo Credit: Stephanie Pierce 208 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 05, ISSUE 07
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