ATHOL – Following a two-year absence from local elective office, Mitch Grosky is hoping to return as a member of Athol’s Selectboard.

Grosky last served on the board from 2021-2022, filling the unexpired term of former board member Bill Chiasson. Now he is seeking a full three-year term – one of two seats on the ballot for this year’s Town Election.

When he decided not to run for a full term in 2022, Grosky said he wanted to spend more time with his family and concentrate on his photography.

“I guess I meant all that,” he told the Athol Daily News, “and I have spent a couple of years with my son and daughter and my wife – always, and I also spent a lot of time working on my photography. But I looked ahead. I’m 73, going to be 74 this summer. But I’ve been raised in a tradition of service, and I’d like to think that in the years I have left that I can be of real service to people, especially in my own community; a community that I feel has adopted me as much as I’ve adopted it. I feel like I can really give back.”

During his time on the Selectboard, said Grosky, “I advocated strongly for the Riverbend/Bigelow housing project for seniors and middle- and low-income families. That has now come to fruition; they’ll be breaking ground on that this spring.”

He also said he met with residents of the Millers Woods/Riverbend housing development “when their rents were raised. They’re still working on that and the idea of establishing a rent control board. That’s an important thing that needs to be completed.”

Looking ahead, said Grosky, “We have such a strong community in so many ways, yet we have many problems we need to work on and be proactive about. I’d like to be a part of those kinds of problem-solving activities.”

Among the issues at the top of his priority list, he said, “One is the situation with downtown. I’ve visited Brattleboro and Keene, and they have lively, active downtowns; I’m consistently looking at those and asking, ‘Okay, what do they have that we don’t have?’ I also ask, ‘What do we actually need downtown?’ Beyond more quality restaurants, we need to attract new businesses, like a new bookstore or an art gallery, a nice coffee shop. We need better parking. We need more greenery, creating an inviting atmosphere so people want to go downtown.”

Grosky said he is very supportive of the greening of Lord Pond Plaza.

“They’re going to daylight Mill Brook, and that will not only get rid of the heat island there, it will help to beautify the area,” he said.

In an exchange of emails, Grosky said that he wants to see a future where Athol has a broad economic base with forward-looking industries and business opportunities that will create jobs.

“I want to recognize the needs of both newer families to the area and those of long-standing residents, as well as the needs of our senior citizens and those who are disabled or face physical and cognitive challenges,” he said. “I want to see open space and conservation land for recreation and a mixture of both higher-end and affordable housing. I want to encourage activities for recreation and culture, to enhance our existence and daily lives—for families, children, teenagers, young homeowners, established homeowners and the elderly.”

To accomplish those goals, he said, Athol needs stable and affordable taxes. Those revenues, he explained, are necessary for protecting public health and safety, maintaining and improving the town’s infrastructure, providing a strong education, and attracting people capable of running an efficient local government.

A native of Brooklyn, New York, Grosky earned his Master of Arts in teaching from Fitchburg State College (now Fitchburg State University) in 1977. After teaching at several area schools, he moved to Athol in 1993 to assume the post of assistant principal at Athol Middle School. He served the Athol Royalston Regional School District in a number of capacities until his retirement in 2012.

Grosky served nine years, from 2014 to 2023, as a member of the Athol Royalston Regional School Committee, including one year as chair. In addition to his recent service on the Selectboard, he was elected to the board in 2015 to serve the final year of the term of Susannah Whipps, who had been elected as state representative.

He and his wife Anne have two grown children, Mariah and Joshua. Since 2005, he has operated Mitchell R. Grosky Photography.

The Town Election takes place on Monday, April 7, with balloting from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Town Hall.

Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.