River Roots Redevelopment: If You See Me Watching the Road Crew . . .

By: Selina Pedi-Smith, Pellere Foundation

I was driving through Franklin the other day and passed a stretch of roadwork. There was a big excavator parked off to the side - you know, the kind that makes my fingers itch to hop in and move a little dirt - surrounded by the usual line of orange cones, flashing arrows, and large trucks rumbling away. What caught my eye, though, were the names on those trucks. Several of them were from a couple hours away.

Now, I only had a second to notice (I was driving, after all) but the thought stuck with me. Why do we bring in so many outside contractors when we’ve got plenty of capable people right here? Is it because there’s not enough work to go around? Or because there’s not enough people to take it on? Or maybe it’s something else entirely.

I’ve had enough conversations with friends in the trades to know how hard the path can be - the licensing, the insurance, the word-of-mouth scramble for steady work.  So, it’s just my observation that we’ve got good people here. Hardworking people. But sometimes, the path from “I’d like to learn that” to “I do this for a living” feels longer than it should. Training can be hard to find. Opportunities come in fits and starts. And even when the work is steady, getting connected to it - and staying connected - isn’t always simple.

I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately. How we might make it easier to bridge those gaps. Maybe it’s through training, or better coordination, or just getting creative about how people and projects find each other. I don’t have the answer. But I do think the answer’s out there somewhere, probably sitting in a coffee shop with muddy boots and a notebook full of ideas.

What I know is this: there’s no shortage of work to be done, and no shortage of people who’d take pride in doing it. The trick, as always, is connecting the two - and remembering that when we build each other up, we build the places we love a little stronger, too.

And for the record, if you catch me watching road crews again, I’m not rubbernecking. I’m just taking notes...and dreamin’ dreams.

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Rachel Brosnahan is the Community Engagement Coordinator for River Roots Redevelopment. She can be reached by email at rachel@riverrootsredevelopment.org