A diamond in the rough

Brighton begins to shine with new residential, commercial, industrial growth

BRIGHTON – By all accounts, the economic outlook for this bustling Adams County seat is, well, bright. As Donna Spradling, executive director of the Greater Brighton Economic Development Corp., put it: “We’re a diamond in the rough.” About 1989, Brighton began taking steps to refine its diamondlike qualities in order to attract new business. City leaders created the Greater Brighton Economic Development Corp. and set about building new and upgrading existing public amenities. They built a state-of-the-art reverse osmosis water-treatment plant. They passed a “never-ending” recreation tax and built a $6…