Haverhill City Council President John A. Michitson.
City Council President John A. Michitson says he came back from last week’s MassChallenge Boston Awards Ceremony with two economic development leads for the city and ideas about launching a MassChallenge satellite innovation center in Haverhill.
Pittsburgh, Penn.-based Hyliion seeks manufacturing space, while Danger!Awesome of Cambridge is looking to expand. Hyliion is creating an add-on hybrid module for tractor-trailers that will reduce fuel consumption by 30 percent with a payback of under a year. Danger!Awesome offers laser cutting and engraving and 3D printing services. Both companies won awards during MassChallenge, and Michitson wants to lure them to Haverhill. He also wants Haverhill to host the state’s second MassChallenge satellite innovation center.
Transformative Development Initiative (TDI) fellow Noah Koretz.
“I’m hoping that Mayor (James J. Fiorentini) will lead a Haverhill contingent in November to make a more formal pitch to MassChallenge. We need a strong proposal to make it happen, such as being MassChallenge’s focal point for startups in Merrimack Valley and Southern New Hampshire, including Portsmouth, which has many startups and small emerging businesses,” Michitson wrote in an email to Transformative Development Initiative (TDI) fellow Noah Koretz, a MassDevelopment employee on loan to the city.
Michitson said he attended the ceremony with Koretz and Lightspeed Manufacturing CEO Rich Breault. MassChallenge helps link startup companies with the resources they need to develop and grow. MassChallenge does not take equity or place any restrictions on the startups it supports.
Jack your negativity directed at certain politicians is getting stale. How about just one time you give kudos to a elected official actually trying to lure jobs to the city?
Did you read the context of what I wrote Rich?
What are the chances Mitchitson does NOT provide full disclosure to potential business owners on the policy affects I wrote about? I’d say it’s VERY high…because no businessman in his right mind would locate their business downtown, or anywhere in Haverhill for that matter, given the policies he, the mayor and the city council have imposed. I didn’t even mention the negative news coming from the business group on Ward Hill.
It’s impossible to separate his current and past policy decisions with any proposed efforts on something like this. They’re linked and always should be. And Rich, if you’ve been paying attention, the ONLY businesses the city is able to retain, and/or attract are because they’ve been given significant taxes incentives which means city homeowners have to pick up more of the city wide tax burden. It’s smoke and mirrors.
Rich, I always appreciate your posts, but if you think my commenting to remind readers of the flip side of an issue is over done when politicians promote an initiative in the face of all the damaging policies they’ve imposed on existing business that they never say a word about, then you and I have a different opinion of what stale means.
Your accusing Mitchitson of lying Jack. Sorry your way off base.
Is the word “lure” or “bribe” appropriate here?
Chances are, businesses won’t go near any municipality without TIF (or some other form of tax break), especially Haverhill. We saw this at Southwick where the owner threatened to leave if he didn’t get his economic heroin through TIF.
Secondly, what kind of jobs are they? Are they jobs where taxpayer have to subsidize employees because the pay and benefits are so bad by the employer? Where the ONLY beneficiary is the owner/corporate interest as their employee base is taxpayer subsidized? That’s not growth, that’s corporate welfare to make politicians appear that they are successful, when in fact it is quite the opposite.
I feel he is not obligated to cite every single issue that is wrong with the city. Should he state the current overdose stats ? or the crime stats? or the fact that we had to build a new school when city leaders knew 15 years ago there was an issue but did nothing ? How about the Hale debacle ? One man can only do so much Jack. At least he is trying something being proactive instead of always reactive as most everyone else is around here.
John, I can only imagine all the lies, mistruths and ommissions you’re telling when you talk with business owners.
Are you telling them that since mayor Taxman has been in office the past 12 years, and you have been on the city council, taxes have gone up over 25%? Are you informing them that if their employees had lived in Haverhill 12 years ago that today they’re paying over $1,000.00 more in taxes EVERY year than they were then? Are you telling them that with mayor Taxman’s, and you’re rubber stamp guaranteed 2.5% tax increase EVERY year, and the tax rate so high, that it will now take only 8 years for taxes to go up by another $1,000.00, not 12 years? Are you telling them about the intrusive parking taxes and parking police that are driving people away from downtown? Have you mentioned the meals tax? Increases in water and sewer rates? How about the downtown business association that has been formed to fight the intrusive taxes there? Have you mentioned the city council vote to take a private business owner’s personal property by eminent domain for the sole purpose for the city to sell it to a private developer for a profit?
Maybe you can inform the public want aspects of Haverhill you’re selling John, because when you go down the list there aren’t a lot under this failing tax and spend mayor and rubber stamp city council.