For better or worse, the term “economic development” is an exceptionally expansive expression. From promoting farmers’ markets to nanotechnology firms, almost every conceivable constituency in a town will have its own interpretation of its meaning.
There is nothing inherently wrong with that except for those brave souls who have those words in their job descriptions. Inevitably, residents and officeholders like to hold these folks accountable for every aspect related to a town’s future prosperity regardless of someone’s actual scope of work.
One of these courageous ones who are navigating community expectations is Chestertown’s Kay MacIntosh. Hired three years ago to help manage the rollout of the town’s new arts and entertainment district, Kay also has been tasked with re-establishing its Main Street program and coordinating the over $300,000 in grants raised by her office through various state programs to improve downtown.
The Spy sat down with Kay recently to understand more about her work, the projects that are the front-burner now, and her thoughts on the state of Chestertown’s economic development as we come to the end of 2019.
This video is approximately six minutes in length. For more information about Main Street and Chestertown’s Arts and Entertainment district, please go here.
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