Alex Krogh-Grabbe, Executive Direct Amherst BID
The recently formed Amherst Business Improvement District now has an Executive Director, and he's a townie.
Alex Krogh-Grabbe, age 26, son of Nick Grabbe and Betsy Krogh, will assume full-time duties starting June 1st in an office located on the second floor above AJ Hastings. Krogh-Grabbe just acquired a Masters Degree in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning from Tufts University where his final thesis compared Amherst's partnership with UMass on the ill fated Gateway Corridor Project to the more successful business collaboration of Storrs, Connecticut with UConn.
Although he has never run a small business, Alex points to his local upbringing and graduate training as his "most relevant experiences." But he does have promotional experience organizing contra dances. Krogh-Grabbe will answer to the BID Executive Committee, who have a wealth of business experience:Barry Roberts President, Jerry Jolly VP, Sharon Povenilli Treasurer and Tony Maroulis, Clerk
UMass and Amherst College are both involved with the Amherst BID and each institution has a member on the Board of Directors, but they are not financial contributors like the downtown businesses, which through a property tax surcharge collected by the town will contribute around $260,000 annually.
The Big 3--UMass, Amherst College, and Town Manager Musante--will sign a "Memorandum Of Understanding" with the BID outlining expected services, such as providing interns or helping with marketing.
The decimation of downtown businesses by malls--with plenty of free parking, common pooling of money for promotions/advertising and a diverse mix of offerings--stimulated the creation of BIDs. Northampton created theirs in 2009.
But Amherst is nothing if not a tough sell. Half the property in town is owned by tax exempt institutions. Of the half that are on the tax rolls, 90% are residential and only 10% commercial business. And any time a pro business zoning change comes before town meeting it fails to muster the required two-thirds vote.
So Alex Krogh-Grabbe will have an uphill battle for the duration of his service. A digital whiz kid with almost 1500 Facebook friends and over 100 Twitter followers, Krogh-Grabbe plans to overhaul the current BID website, as for many interested parties it will be the first thing they see.
And a truism of business is, "You only get on chance to make a good first impression."
Would that be "one" chance? I think so ...
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to young Grabbe. Let's hope he's wildly successful.
Let me see.
ReplyDelete1: Wasn't a college student in the area.
2: Hasn't ever run a small business in the area.
3: Hasn't ever run a small business ANYWHERE.
4: Doesn't understand the difference between UMass and UConn -- that UConn sought to have its students happy while UMass instead hired more cops.
5: Has no natural link to the actual customers of the BID (the students) and is young enough to still think that his experience at Tufts is reflective of the UM student experience.
But he, he is a townie and that is all that matters. We won't even get into the ethical conflict of interest with his father being the reporter assigned to the local beat, there was a time when no editor would ever tolerate something like this.
Hell, even the UMass Collegian used not to tolerate stuff like this, I remember an editor's apology once on this very thing.
But hey, we don't care.
I am so glad to be finally leaving this cesspool, and you folk can ride the turds right on down to the bottom.
Amherst sucks. There is really nothing else to say. And nothing is ever going to change that...
Actually Scott Merzbach is pretty much the Amherst beat reporter.
ReplyDeleteMr. Grabbe took over the Amherst school beat from Mary Carey after the Gazette laid her off.
"I am so glad to be finally leaving this cesspool"
ReplyDeleteSo Ed, are you really leaving, or is this just another example of your meaningless chest-beating rhetoric? (I know where I'm putting my money...)
"UMass and Amherst College are both involved with the Amherst BID and each institution has a member on the Board of Directors, but they are not financial contributors like the downtown businesses..."
ReplyDeleteThis is factually incorrect. Both will be contributing significant sums of money annually to the BID, including a per room hotel contribution for the Lord Jeff and the Campus Center Hotel. Both institutions will also be making an annual cash contribution.
Glad to hear it. Do you know if Amherst College is also going to donate the $100,000 to the town like they have done for the past three or four years? Or will this simply replace that?
ReplyDeletejust out of curiosity, why did you decide to change the pic with this post?
ReplyDeleteBecause after publication my source submitted a better photo, and it only takes a minute to make the change.
ReplyDeleteEd's never leaving, unless of course he decides to transfer to another college to further pursue his career student status, LOL!
ReplyDelete