North end of town: Red headed bastard stepchild?
Mary Wentworth, who made her name in a losing battle for Congress 30 years ago, complained last night to the Planning Board about the recently announced $1.5 million grant from the state to bury utility lines in the north end of the downtown.
Town Manager Musante extolling the virtues of development to Governor Patrick
She told the board, in speaking against a mixed use mega-development (1 East Pleasant Street) immediately adjacent to the proposed improvements, "No one else had approved the deal, which is a BIG help to those who wish to profit off our town."
So I can imagine this new information -- that the "deal" has a string attached -- is NOT going to go over well with those who are concentrating fire at the 1 East Pleasant Street project and pretty much development of any kind.
Apparently the condition is the town has to "match" the grant by doing improvements at the adjacent East Pleasant/Triangle Street intersection, which has been targeted for improvements for a quite a while.
Over the summer the Public Works Committee did vote unanimously to approve the idea of a roundabout at that intersection, but "only if it does not cost town money."
Triangle/East Pleasant Intersection (circled in red)
Last spring Amherst Town Meeting (who never met a development it liked) turned down an easement proposal to take slivers of land to allow for the roundabout.
Could the rotary at Triangle/N Pleasant be revaluated at this time, or is it simply too late?
ReplyDeleteDoes she think this money was simply to "improve" things. This was political favors to supporters and the like. Funny for a town that doesn't want to get on board in development and progress, they sure complain when others who live in a capitalist society and make a living making money, want to do something to make a buck. No one seems to understand that as Amherst stays in Mayberry R.F.D. land, the rest of the world grows up around it. But then again look how old, outdated, disconnected the Carriage Shops where before someone outside of here looked at it and said, this place is right out of 1960, let's make some money off these suckers. Yep the state money went to rich developers who needed it done. That's what it is like when you have connections and what politics is all about.
ReplyDeleteThis town must be at a very high elevation because everything is in a cloud to anyone who lives here. Perhaps the elevation makes their brains a bit slower.
The problem with Amherst is in the phrase "profit off our town". Sure, did you think this was a socialist country? People should not be allowed to profit and develop? Anyone with an interest in doing something to improved this place is stealing and robbing everyone? Instead of making it us-against-them, Amherst should get on board, update the wretched down-town and make it a college town of the future, where people want to come, enjoy themselves, and spend money, not one that looks eerily similar to a small town in TV series 'The Twilight Zone' and everyone is afraid to speak up.
ReplyDeleteNot to bring up the flap over the flag, but who wants to spend their money here? It's well-known that Amherst is more communist then capitalist is it not?
ReplyDeleteLarry, Town Meeting members will tell you they are all for development, just some other place, some other time.
ReplyDeleteIt's always "this particular project" that is the big problem.
Just ask Vince.
Watch those Democrats run and scramble to keep everyone's mind off the disaster of a President. Elections in a couple of weeks and Dems ain't doing well this time around.
ReplyDelete