I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect from Team Haverhill’s “Possible Dreams 2010″ event.  How many people would brave the rain?  What would the conversations be like?  Who among our elected officials would attend?  How much participation would the audience be allowed vs how much would be presentation by Team Haverhill?  We got Grandma to watch the kids and set out for the Technology Center at Northern Essex Community College and answered all of those questions and more.

You can read the Eagle Tribune’s take on the night here.  I’d like to mention some of my more memorable moments.

We sat in tables of four or five and discussed different questions posed by Team Haverhill.  Then we left comments about our discussion as Graffiti on our table before moving on.  The first question was what good things happened last year, follows by what is possible for this year and finally what relationships have been started or should be started to make the goals for 2010 reality.  Then the night became a town meeting where people could stand up and speak to the group.

I appreciated that the Mayor and almost all of the City Council came out to join us.  I was disappointed that only one member of the School Committee decided to make the trek.  I was exceedingly pleased that Garin Veris, our new Athletic Director, came out and spoke about his plans for our kids and sports and his fund-raising and invited everyone to get involved and support our kids by attending Haverhill sporting events.  Every time I see him speak; I am heartened by his message.  He stresses education, community and personal responsibility among all our students first and foremost and athletics as an important venue for making that happen.

Some items I heard last night that I think bear looking into are – in no particular order:

• A Riverfest.
• A footbridge across the downtown and kiosks with footmaps and notes of interest at the train station and downtown.  The footmaps could have coupons/advertising for the local businesses of interest.
• Expanded Single Stream Recycling.  Lets get this to the rest of the city!
• I heard that the Woolworth Building and now the Kmart have been stymied so long because of contracts the bankrupt companies have with the property owners to pay money even though the building is vacant for a certain period of time – leaving the property owner zero incentive to sell/redevelop.  I really want to know where I could find more information on this!
• Better relationships between our various volunteer groups – we can do more together than we can apart!
• Earth Day Environmental Fair – an expanded Earth Day event at Winnekenni Castle.
• City Councilor Michael Young announced he has a committee whose sole purpose is to award his salary as City Councilor to 24 deserving entities around Haverhill.  Contact him for an application!
• Improve Haverhill’s image.
• Expand our Farmer’s Market.

All in all we had fun, good conversation and met lots of new people.  I look forward to seeing what this event spurs for 2010.  For anyone interested – Team Haverhill’s first “get things done” meeting is February 8th.