Michael Coakley Hopes To Stimulate Pittsfield’s Economy

With 30 years experience in sales and marketing, Pittsfield has named Michael Coakley, a lover of Pittsfield and former Taconic graduate who, for the last 20 years, has worked for Winstanley Partners in Lenox, it's new business development manager. According to theberkshireeagle.com, Coakley will start on Monday, Feb. 5.

With the plan for a new Walmart now non-existent, and the Williams Stanley Business Park currently sitting dormant, we hope Coakley can help give Pittsfield the economic shot in the arm it so desperately needs.

In his new position, Coakley will work to attract new business to Pittsfield and support existing ones. Tyer also hopes the position will make it easier for businesses to navigate city processes in dealing with one person.

With property values up slightly in 2017, Pittsfield can ask for a little more money in tax revenue; however, the city, undoubtedly, will hit the levy ceiling again.

One early idea Coakley has is to explore companies supplying materials to the China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation, which is moving some operations to Springfield while it builds rail cars for the T. Perhaps, he said, he could look into drawing manufacturing companies to Pittsfield to supplement those operations.