tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post7672184876872835390..comments2023-10-17T22:56:42.784-04:00Comments on Only in The Republic of Amherst: Moon River...wider than a mile.Larry Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-15707082326512858672007-10-19T08:45:00.000-04:002007-10-19T08:45:00.000-04:00No, the Strategic Agreement is mute on Campus Cent...No, the Strategic Agreement is mute on Campus Center Hotel refusing to pay the local tax or the recent taking of a large swath of prime real estate off the tax rolls. <BR/><BR/>The Town Manager was still in his rookie season when this agreement was hastily negotiated, so he certainly had no institutional memory for the many sore spots created by having a giant tax-exempt sitting within your borders. <BR/><BR/>For instance in the late 1980’s when Umass had originally agreed to donate tens of thousands for the Ladder Truck so the upper floors of the dorms could be reached. Then Umass decided to add sprinklers (a good thing for sure) but also decided to renege on contributing to the Ladder Truck (Amherst and Hampshire both kicked in). <BR/><BR/>Or in 1999 when Chief Hoyle and I started the ‘Eyes Of Life Campaign’ to raise money for Thermal Imaging Cameras (over $35,000) for the Amherst Fire Department in the wake of the Worcester Fire Tragedy where the cameras could have made a difference. <BR/><BR/>Amherst and Hampshire Colleges kicked in $5,000. Umass gave us a coupon for “buy one get the second at half price” but they didn’t contribute a dime towards buying one.<BR/><BR/>The name “Strategic Agreement” is a strategic use of (sales) language. In this case Strangle is a better term.Larry Kelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-35225462995370488182007-10-18T23:21:00.000-04:002007-10-18T23:21:00.000-04:00Does the Strategic Agreement explicitly state that...Does the Strategic Agreement explicitly state that no taxes are due on the Campus Center Hotel or that UMass is repsonsible to the town for $0 for any issue not specifically addressed the SA?<BR/><BR/>And the name Strategic Agreement, what is the strategy? What is the objective?O'Reillyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02298161341394034059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-77020356473970669052007-10-18T13:27:00.000-04:002007-10-18T13:27:00.000-04:00Money--and that was when they still believed it to...Money--and that was when they still believed it to be $38,000 per year for five years rather than the two or three times that amount it is going to end up. <BR/><BR/>The deal was also rushed because Lombardi was leaving. <BR/><BR/>If you watch the youtube video "Only in Amherst: A smelly case of conflict of interest" you can clearly hear Ms. Awad (who voted NO) say "do you want to wait till next week?" immediately after Alisa Brewer (who voted yes) admits she doesn't have a pubic disclosure on file with the Town Clerk and probably should. <BR/><BR/>But no, they were in a hurry. My Irish Mom always said, "Haste makes waste" (no pun intended)Larry Kelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-46202016404916866762007-10-18T13:04:00.000-04:002007-10-18T13:04:00.000-04:00What reason(s) did two SB members give for voting ...What reason(s) did two SB members give for voting against free effluent?Larry O.https://www.blogger.com/profile/15746052952995510011noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-39844633478600077662007-10-18T12:28:00.000-04:002007-10-18T12:28:00.000-04:00Yeah, that is precisely the problem. The Strategi...Yeah, that is precisely the problem. The Strategic Agreement doesn't take into consideration the removal of Frat Row (just last year) from the tax rolls at a cost of $32,000 per year plus 2.5% forever.<BR/><BR/>Or the Campus Center Hotel avoiding the local hotel/motel tax that even the Lord Jeff pays. And I've seen figures from a half-dozen years ago that estimated this amount between $50,000 and $75,000 per year.<BR/><BR/>Or the amount of time our Police Department (with a budget about the same as the Fire Dept) spends dealing with Umass students.<BR/><BR/>Or just the effluent portion of the deal where we know last year it was $38,000 but this year will be double that and the next year maybe triple that, and so on.<BR/><BR/>The only good thing about having the Town Meeting advisory article going last on the warrant is that it allows lots of time for the facts to get out (although you may not see them in the local media).Larry Kelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-82127972290440074952007-10-18T11:22:00.000-04:002007-10-18T11:22:00.000-04:00The basic construct of the strategic deal is that ...The basic construct of the strategic deal is that the town waves fees on services used by UMass in return for UMass waving fees on services used by the Town of Amherst. UMass uses water and sewer, fire and police; Amherst uses a UMass owned school building in North Amherst and whatever. <BR/><BR/>Isn't this deal fairly easy to analyze on a balance sheet? Is part of the problem that the terms of the deal are not so clear at to be able to value it?<BR/><BR/>If you could lay out the total value of the deal to each party over time, EVERYONE, all Town of Amherst tawpayers would understand what it means to them.O'Reillyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02298161341394034059noreply@blogger.com