A Reasonable Balance?

Kendrick Place continues to draw fire

Despite the objections from both the Chamber of Commerce and Business Improvement District the Amherst Planning Board voted unanimously 5-0 with two abstentions last night to recommend a zoning article to Town Meeting that would better define what constitutes a "mixed use" building.

 Amherst Planning Board

The more restrictive aspects compared to current bylaw is the residential make up of the building would limit 4 bedroom units to no more than 25% of total units (for fear of student rentals by the bedroom) and the first floor must be 60% commercial vs the current vague rule that seems to allow an ATM or gumball machine to suffice. 

Vince O'Connor spoke in favor of the article, specifically citing Kendrick Place as an example of what should be avoided in the future.  And he lamented the loss of the Carriage Shops, which was entirely small business commercial shops, to be replaced by One East Pleasant, which is mostly residential.

 Vince O'Connor:  "Given the latitude for mixed use buildings there should be a better definition."

Although it remains to be seen if these new regulations if passed by Town Meeting (requires a two thirds vote) would apply to One East Pleasant Street, the companion project -- although much larger -- to Kendrick Place. Developers of those two projects,  Kyle Wilson  and David Williams, were in the audience last night but did not speak. 

Last year Town Meeting voted down a citizens petition article that was far more restrictive in defining what constitutes a mixed use building, so this Planning Board article is considered a good faith compromise. 

Kind of like fighting fire with fire. 

Sorry About That Vince

Sandra Burgess (left) Vince O'Connor, Mary Wentworth (right) at 2/20/15 Hearing

Forever activists Vince O'Connor and Mary Wentworth used the Select Board Monday night Public Comment period to air their complaint about a challenge they filed with the Town Clerk last year concerning problematic signatures on Phoebe Hazzard's School Committee nomination papers.

Town Clerk Sandra Burgess ruled the complaint was filed a half hour after the deadline, and after two hearings the Board of Registrars agreed, thus dismissing the case.

But in researching deadlines for the Charter revision question which has now made the ballot the Town Clerk discovered she had erred and the deadline was not 48 hours after the Town Clerk's deadline for accepting nomination papers but a full two weeks later after the Board of Registrars had certified them.

Oops.

This was back in late September early October, soon after Town Manager John Musante suddenly passed away. 

After informing Interim Town Manager Dave Ziomek and Select Board Chair Alisa Brewer and discovering there  is no provision in state law that covers this, she informed Mr. O'Connor of her mistake.  And Vince appeared to take it well. 

 Mary Wentworth & Vince O'Connor at the 1/11/16 Select Board meeting

But now, two months later, he appeared with Ms. Wentworth at the Select Board meeting to complain about it.  Ms. Wentworth was a tad confused saying it was the State Ethics Division who had ruled there was a violation, but that is not the case.

The mistake was discovered by the person who made the mistake and she owned up to it.  Now Mr. O'Connor and Ms. Wentworth want a public apology.

Considering what the School Committee will be deciding next week, Phoebe Hazzard probably wishes their challenge last year was successful. 

Pay The Piper

UMass is by far the town's largest employer

These days -- or most any over the past 35 years -- it's not often I find myself in agreement with forever activist Vince O'Connor, but on this particular issue he's dead on correct.  There, I said it.  Step one in any good multi-step program.

UMass currently pays the town under $500K as a Payment In Lieu Of Taxes courtesy of a "5 year strategic agreement" signed w-a-y back in 2007.  Thus it expired over three years ago but has been extended annually ever since.

I'm told by a reliable source that a new multi year agreement had been on Town Manager John Musante's desk for many, many months now.

His unfortunate passing two weeks ago today could obviously delay even longer the ratification of that new agreement -- if indeed it is worth ratifying.

Because if the amount is under $1 million per year -- which it probably is since Mr. Musante seemed not overly interested in jumping on it even though he had come under pressure of late by the Select Board to get an agreement resigned -- I would tell UMass to go fly a drone, err, kite.

With a Public Safety budget of $10 million and our police and fire/EMTs dealing with UMass students on and off campus amounting to 25% of our emergency services utilization, that alone comes to $2.5 million the town should be reimbursed.

 Amherst FY16 (ends June 30, 2016) budget

And with UMass grad students sending their children to our public schools (56 total, times our high $20K per year average cost to educate) that comes to another $1 million plus per year.

If UMass were smart -- and they are after all a "higher education" enterprise -- they would seek to cut a new five year deal as soon as possible.

Because if Representative Kulik's bill passes to force tax-exempts to pay 25% of their assessed value, and Amherst and Hampshire College end up paying for more than UMass there will be hell to pay.

This year Amherst College paid the town $130,000 -- up from the previous year's $90,000 -- for AFD fire/EMS services while Hampshire College paid us a BIG fat zero.

$ From Heaven

Little Red Schoolhouse:  Worth $500,000 to move?

Just as a concrete example of how some activists think Community Preservation Act money raised each year by a tax surcharge on all residential property (except tax-exempts of course) free money to be plundered on a personal whim, I give you last night's CPA pubic meeting:

Carol Gray now admits the moving of Amherst College owned Little Red Schoolhouse would cost in the $325,000 to $375,000 range and at the moment she has not raised a single penny towards that (relying instead on CPA historical preservation funds) and currently has no site secured for the relocated building to call home.

Amherst College Facilities Director Jim Brassord was in attendance and pegged the actual amount -- based on quotes from a contractor who already moved two College owned buildings -- as being "North of $500,000."  Ouch!

 Carol Gray left, Jim Brassord back row in white shirt

I left the meeting near 9:00 PM after Ms. Gray gave her presentation, as she was the 3rd and last item on the agenda.

But Vince O'Connor, who chimed in freely during the three presentations, then commandeered the meeting and gave close to a half-hour pitch to squander $300,000 in CPA funds to rebuild the (supposedly historic) Mill Street Bridge.

 Posted agenda for last night's CPA meeting (note Mr. O'Connor's crusade is not mentioned)

Mill Street Bridge closed 3 years ago due to safety concerns

Since this ridiculous item was not on the agenda (and had it been I would most certainly have stayed to cover it) the CPA Committee -- under Open Meeting Law -- should not even have allowed the discussion.  

Not to mention the state is planning to rebuild the Mill Street Bridge next year with STATE MONEY.

Mr. O'Connor brought a warrant article to Amherst Town Meeting last spring to reopen the bridge but it failed handily.  A vote to "refer back to committee" is Town Meeting's nice way of saying "go away."

 Vince O'Connor bridge scheme unanimously rejected by Public Works Committee in April

Back in 2007 the town spent $287,000 in CPA money to preserve the view of the historic Kimball House on North East Street, even though it is (still) owned by Roger Cherewatti, who then built the most expensive house in Amherst immediately behind it.

Which kind of takes away from the view.

If the CPA Committee approves funding either Ms. Gray or Mr. O'Connor tilting at windmills,  taxpayer should figure out how to recall appointed members of the committee.

   Amherst Mill Street Bridge

Charity Begins At Home?

Craig's Doors seasonal Homeless Shelter @ First Baptist Church recently added new trailer in back to serve dinners

Over the past four decades, up until 2009, Amherst has probably donated over 2 million in tax dollars to privately run charitable organizations performing valuable social work with the less fortunate citizens in town -- low income residents, the homeless, hungry, cold,  etc.

The town redirected Social Service spending to come out of Community Development Block Grant Funding back in 2009.  Since that grant is Federal money, the state anti-aid agreement would not apply.

But Amherst did briefly lose its CDBG eligibility last year (for FY15) and Vince O'Connor convinced Town Meeting to once again use regular General Fund tax money ($125,000) to fund the agencies.

Amherst is, to the best of my knowledge, the only municipality in Massachusetts to spend public money on private non-profit charitable agencies.  Which of course makes Amherst a "good guy" (or gal).

But is it legal?

Apparently a few people in town think not, and as a result Finance Director Sandy Pooler asked Town Council to look into it.

   Amherst Charity Spending Illegal?

I asked Sandy if it turns out the naysayers are correct and we should not have been donating the money all these years would the town be forced to ask those agencies to return the funds?

Said Sandy:  "That is a good question. I don't know the answer to that.  If the lawyers come back with an opinion that we have violated the anti-aid amendment, we will get to that."

Although he does close on a reassuring note:  "I do not think there is a violation, but we will see."

A Bridge Request Too Far

 Mill Street Bridge connects State Street and Summer Street

Last night the Public Works Committee voted unanimously to oppose the citizens petition article brought to upcoming Town Meeting by North Amherst resident Vince O'Connor to partially reopen the Mill Street bridge and allow two-way vehicular traffic via one lane using the center area of the closed bridge.

State inspectors deemed the bridge "dangerous"

In March of 2014 the Public Works Committee had also voted unanimously to support the same option eventually approved by the Amherst Select Board: to renovate the bridge for one lane vehicular traffic (yet to be decided which way) with a side order of bike/pedestrian path.

 Mill Street Bridge has been closed since summer of 2012, but still open to pedestrians and cyclists

That reconstruction project is scheduled to start in the 2017 construction season and will be paid for with state money.

Outer beams rusted and concrete foundation is washing away

Mr. O'Connor admitted the bridge is currently unsafe for two-way traffic and cannot support the weight of Amherst Fire Department emergency vehicle, but he pointed out it's the outermost steel beams on each side that are the problem, so the middle part of the bridge could support one car via one-way traffic.

 Vince O'Connor was unsuccessful with his pitch to the Public Works Committee last night

DPW Chief Guilford Mooring pointed out that you would need to place jersey barriers to keep cars from traveling on the unsafe areas thus taking up even more space making it tight for AFD vehicles or pedestrians and cyclists crossing at the same time with vehicles.

During the meeting Mooring texted Fire Chief Tim Nelson about the bridge who instantly responded, "I wouldn't even think about using it"

Long time Town Meeting member and North Amherst resident Hilda Greenbaum also complained to the Public Works Committee that more traffic is now funnelled through the main North Amherst village center intersection, which is a tad quirky.

Greenbaum threatened PWC Chair Christine Gray-Mullen  with  a lawsuit if she were injured or killed in a car accident in North Amherst center.

 N. Amherst intersection upper center: Montague & Sunderland Road split off

Committee members repeatedly suggested there was "nothing new" in the presentations coming before them now, considering the extensive public hearings they held over one year ago.  When they cut off discussion because of that, O'Connor stormed out of the meeting.

The Public Works Committee then voted unanimously (3-0 with 2 absent*) to strongly oppose the Town Meeting warrant article to reopen the bridge because it was "unsafe, costly to implement and still would not support the weight of an AFD emergency vehicle."

 * The PWC is currently looking for a new member.  With meetings like this, how can you go wrong?

 Bridge provides perfect perch to view Puffer's Pond waterfall

Just Say NO

 Amherst Board of Registrars meeting Town Hall 2:45 pm

In a little less than a half-hour the Amherst Board of Registrars came to a vote on whether to accept a challenge filed by Vince O'Connor and Mary Wentworth to the legality of names appearing on the nomination papers of 1st time School Committee candidate Phoebe Hazzard, who set a town record for acquiring the 50 signatures needed for a town wide office.

The vote was unanimous:  No.  In fact there was an undertone of, now go away.  

The challenge was filed 35 minutes after the "two working day" deadline imposed by state law.  The complainants argued a "working day" for Amherst Town Hall is 8.5 hours but one of those days (Thursday) Town Hall is closed to the general public in the mornings, therefor they only had 1.5 working days to file their grievance.

Board member Susan Lowenstein was the most forthright of the three asking Mr. O'Connor somewhat sternly, "Why do you see criminality and fraud?  I'm appalled this is happening!"

To which Mr. O'Connor responded, "I'm appalled the Town Clerk would accept bad signatures."

Another bystander pointed out, "Not a single person has come forward to say they didn't sign those papers.  There's the letter of the law, and the spirit of the law.  I don't see any violations of the spirit of the law."

O'Connor responded, "It encourages people to sit at home, call up their friends for permission and get signatures that way."

Town Clerk Sandra Burgess had wanted this distraction ended quickly, as the ballot for the March 31 election needs to be printed soon.

And The People Shall Lead (Sort Of)

Amherst:  Where even the h is silent

Only three "citizens petitions" were filed yesterday in Town Hall prior to the noon deadline for placement on the upcoming annual spring Town Meeting warrant, which begins April 27.  I say "only" because the barrier to entry is so low, requiring "only" ten valid signatures.

Amherst is a town that prides itself on speaking out about issues great and small.  Town Meeting is supposed to be the ultimate platform for the common man or woman.  Although in our case that commonality seems all too restricted to older, white, upper-income homeowners.

Click to enlarge/read

The petition article to bring paid sick leave to part time town employees was made moot by the Select Board last night, who voted unanimously to support the recommendation of the Personnel Board for part time town employees who work year-round.

The $28,000 required will be added to the  budget that goes before Town Meeting and once passed will go into effect July 1st.

Proclamation articles are advisory and enacted to pretty much to make a feel good statement.  Since nobody can argue -- at least successfully anyway -- against "civility, respect, kindness and friendship" pretty safe bet "Race Amity Day" will pass unanimously by (overwhelmingly white) Amherst Town Meeting.

And what would the annual Amherst Town Meeting be without at least one petition article from Vince O'Connor?  Last year he had five, four of which were voted down or referred back to a committee.

Although his article to double the Community Preservation Act surcharge from 1.5% to 3% did pass handily, adding to the already outrageously high annual property taxes in town.

Apparently Vince has been studying engineering in his spare time and he considers the closed Mill Street Bridge safe enough to reopen for two way traffic.

And these three petitions that came in on the final day will join the other two filed last week: an anti-fracking advisory article and a feel good human rights declaration.  As of this morning all five petitions had the required number of signatures certified for placement on the Town Meeting warrant.

Pro human rights

Anti-fracking resolution

The Camera Never Blinks

An athlete oftentimes performs a little better while being observed by others, or trains a little harder when a "personal trainer" is giving encouragement. In sport psychology it's called "social facilitation".

In a larger sense, during competition, it can become a home field/court advantage.

Simply put, we all tend to behave better while under observation.

A recent study of a police department that has embraced use of the body cameras in Rialto, California showed a dramatic drop in complaints filed against officers as well as a reduction in police use of force.

What a difference these cameras would have made if UMPD and APD had been wearing them during the infamous "Blarney Blowout".  One of the suggestions published in the $160,000 Davis Report was to have better trained police photographers filming such interactions.

But if every patrol cop had a camera running, rather than selective outtakes that make it to Youtube, the whole story would be easier to see.  And you would not need to designate one or two officers to act as photographers, thus freeing them to help out fellow officers with the disturbance. 

APD has been experimenting with the body cameras since before the Ferguson incident. The Chief tells me it comes down to a budgetary issue as to whether his department will adopt them.  No real complaints have been issued by officers or their union concerning adoption.

Kind of like adopting cameras in all our patrol cruisers, something APD did two decades ago.   Or the early adoption (1984) of video taping drunk driving arrests/bookings.  Amherst was the 4th community in the state to adopt 911 as a means of emergency communications (1970).

When you're well trained, confident about your abilities and judgement, and in many cases young enough to embrace the digital age, cameras are nothing to be afraid of.

 #####

I asked District Attorney Dave Sullivan about the supposed conflict of interest Mr. O'Connor mentioned in his monologue and received this reply:

We have had two police-involved shootings. There was a fatal shooting of Corey Navarette in Orange on July 3, 2013, in which the decedent pointed a loaded assault rifle at a state trooper who entered his home with a search warrant. First Assistant District Attorney Steve Gagne investigated and issued our full investigative report for publication. The report was fair, balanced, and exonerated the trooper.

A second shooting, nonfatal, occurred in Ware on Sept. 23, 2014.  Sajid Dacres and passenger were stopped for motor vehicle charges and credit card fraud. Dacres revved the engine to flee arrest, striking the police officer with the car he was driving. Shots fired by a Ware police officer resulted in non-life threatening injury. Dacres was arraigned today. It was determined by the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit attached to the Office and the Office of the Northwestern District Attorney that the officer was justified in shooting.

I see it as entirely appropriate for the District Attorney, who is Chief Law Enforcement Officer and has jurisdiction over all death cases and criminal cases, to investigate police-involved shootings. I am elected and accountable to the people to insure that an independent investigation of a police shooting is conducted and justice is served.

See The Light

Vince O'Connor

So if grandma gets run over by a reindeer and it happens in a downtown crosswalk this holiday season, after dark, Vince O'Connor thinks the town will be liable.



Yes this is the same Grinch who brought before Amherst town meeting a "Dark Sky Initiative" back in 2007 that would have fined downtown businesses for keeping their lights on after 11:00 PM.

Town Meeting quickly said "Bah, humbug!" to that.

CVS crosswalk (on a dark and story night)

Hastings crosswalk

Post office crosswalk

Kendrick Park crosswalk

Unintended Consequences

 

Rolling Green Apartments, 204 units

In a college town where over half the housing units are rentals the sudden doubling of the Community Preservation Act tax to 3% combined with a whopping increase in property valuations at all the major apartment complexes will almost certainly lead to rent increases for the average consumer, many of whom can't afford to buy a home.

In a town with an average tax bill already one third higher than surrounding communities! 

Back on May 5 when Amherst Town Meeting voted to put the CPA question on the ballot (but unlike the wording of the question shown to voters, did not vote yes to the increase) I pointed out to Town Meeting, overwhelmingly made up of homeowners, that Amherst is half owned by tax exempt entities -- mainly our institutes of higher education.

Thus the overburdened other half have to contribute more than their fair share to the town revenue stream.  I also pointed out that the November elections would get less than a majority turnout and to me (and my Irish mother) that is not democracy.

Vince O'Connor, the main architect of the CPA tax increase, replied that in his 40 years experience in Amherst the November elections had never attracted less than a 50% turnout, and he was expecting this one not to go below 70-75%.

According to Town Clerk Sandra Burgess the recent election had a 37.8% turnout.  The 2010 November election had a 45.39% turnout. 

Do over.

Question 5? Hell NO!

Need I say more?

For my numerous friend outside the little bubble of Amherst don't be confused by this post. You will not see a Question 5 on your state ballot today as this is an "Only in Amherst kind of thing" brought to us by aging full-time activist Vince O'Connor (need I say more).

The amount it will cost taxpayers is "only $72" they say, which is like a Marine drill instructor having you do push ups until you're about to puke and he then puts a gun to your head and demands 72 more.

The money raised by the "surcharge" (since it's voluntary they don't call it a "tax") cannot be spent on the most pressing needs this town currently has: increased staffing in our overworked public safety departments.

In fact, most of it will go towards taking properties off the tax rolls in a town where over half the property already is off the tax rolls. So just say NO.

And while your at it, in the name a fiscal responsibility, vote for Charlie Baker and return Massachusetts to the good old days of sound spending brought to you be a, gasp, Republican.

Bait & Switch?

Clearly petitioner Vince O'Connor told Amherst Town Meeting that Article #38 was not a vote to increase the Community Preservation Act tax -- I mean "surcharge" -- from 1.5% to 3%. 

It was instead that most cherished of Democratic principals to simply allow the voters of Amherst the God given right to double the tax, err, "surcharge."

But if you read the state "summary" for Question 5 on the November 3 state ballot it clearly gives the impression that Amherst Town Meeting supported the tax increase itself. 

Kind of like the confusion that takes place every year at Town Meeting when the Finance Committee unanimously supports CPA spending articles.  What they are really supporting is the fact that the appropriation is "an appropriate use of CPA money."  In other words it's not illegal.

But isn't that why we spend $100,000 per year on a Town Attorney?  The Town Attorney does vet Community Preservation Act articles for anything that could be challenged so why do we need the Finance Committee's opinion when they are not legal experts?

Such is the charmed life of all things CPA.

Democratic Bully Pulpit

 

Vince O'Connor on the attack

Vince O'Connor is now 1 for 2 after last night's epic fail at an attempt to hack 10% from the Planning Department budget, which was to go hand-in-hand with with his 79-74 victory Monday night to increase Social Service spending (charitable organizations) by $125,000.

So obviously many of the 79 Town Meeting members who supported his motion to bring Social Service spending back into the routine budget disagreed on his version of financing that.

Even though Mr. O'Connor last night backed away significantly from his original plan to cut $200,000 from Planning Department by reducing the amount to $100,000 -- still a 10% cut. 

O'Connor also appeared yesterday afternoon at the Rental Implementation Bylaw Group to discuss his other (of many) Town Meeting articles, #42, which originally would, "suspend the operation and enforcement of the Rental Permit bylaw" until a new more "inclusive" committee is formed.

Yeah just what Amherst needs: yet another committee, working group, or task force.

This too he has now watered down significantly by removing the threat to "suspend the operation" and now simply wants the new committee to make recommendations.  Building Commissioner Rob Morra will take Mr. O'Connor's suggestions to the Town Manager and if he buys in to the grand scheme O'Connor will move to dismiss Article #42.

Kind of a toothless threat since Town Meeting overwhelmingly supported the Rental Permit Bylaw last year  and like all new bylaws it also had to pass muster with the Attorney General.  And yes some folks (parties with a vested interest no doubt) tried unsuccessfully to sabotage that.

Plus Article #42 is last on the list of a l-o-n-g Warrant.   When the weather turns terrific with thoughts drifting to summer vacations, the last thing Town Meeting members want to do is listen to Mr. O'Connor drone on, and on, and ...

Hypocritical activist

Vince O'Connor posing for Rockwell

A dozen years ago forever activist Vince O'Connor filed a warrant article (one of the hundreds over the past thirty years) demanding Amherst town meeting take parcel C-3 in town center via eminent domain. At that time the Amherst Redevelopment Authority owned the property,having themselves taken it by eminent domain in the early-to mid-1970s.

Vince was a prime mover in the largest land taking in Amherst history--the 1987 taking of the Cherry Hill Golf Course--where town meeting heavy handedly used an "emergency measure" legal proviso to preclude voter referendum. Thus, as an ARA member (Governor appointed), I took his threat seriously.

The ARA had just completed a commercial appraisal ($350,000) as the final step in preparing a Request For Proposals for a private developer to do something economically constructive with the valuable property.

But things changed quickly when the town became serious about a parking garage. The ARA quickly voted to donate the prime piece to Amherst, with only one provision: the parking garage had to have the structural integrity to support another deck to enable future expansion.

Vince's proposal lost overwhelmingly on a voice vote and the rest as they say is history. And without the Boltwood Walk Parking Garage , millions of dollars in expansion, renovation and new backfill construction would never have happened--especially the new $4 million Boltwood Place mixed-use building immediately behind Judie's that broke ground a few weeks back.

Four years ago Mr. O'Connor was at it again; he filed a town meeting warrant article calling for "the abolishment of the ARA." Although strangely enough he concurrently ran for the open ARA seat in a stealth write-in campaign because no one had bothered to collect the 50 signatures required to get on the printed ballot.

I won the 5-year seat, which I currently hold, besting Vince 67-18.

Tuesday's election is going to be a snoozer, as voter turnout will be nothing if not lame (thanks mainly to Catherine Sanderson being bullied into not rerunning for School Committee).

Thus Mr. O'Connor stands a chance of getting close enough (McCarthy vs President Johnson 1968 New Hampshire primary) to use as public relations spin that Gateway is opposed by a significant percentage of voters, even though it will be a percentage of a tiny percentage of overall voters.

Mr. O'Connor staunchly opposes the Gateway Project, a development which will add significantly to the town's anemic commercial tax base, while he champions the redirection of ARA energies to creating a "Boys and Girls Club" or YMCA type recreation facility that will of course be tax exempt. Amherst is already half owned by tax exempts.

Having run a fitness facility in Amherst for 28 years I know all too painfully well that the recreation offerings in the area are now overly abundant--and with Planet Fitness around, they are also exceedingly cheap.

Recent entries include UMass $50 million Recreation Center, Central Rock Climbing Gym in Hadley (with a competitor already on the drawing board), a storefront Aerobics and Fitness Studio in east Amherst and former Leading Edge Gym diehards still pining to reopen somewhere (over the rainbow) plus the oldest surviving full-service club in the area, Hampshire Athletic Club.

Mr. O'Connor also points out that numerous buildings (two of them churches) are within the overall Gateway corridor area and, unlike the demolished Frat houses, do not fit the description of "blighted."

But no other property is needed other than the 1.8 acre former Frat Row that UMass is prepared to donate. If a $4 million, five story building can fit on 2,500 square feet postage stamp space behind Judie's, what can you erect on almost 80,000 square feet (thirty times larger) of perfectly graded property?

Future home of Boltwood Place

Future home of something spectacular

If Amherst cannot put aside its development phobia for a cause this outstanding, then what hope is there for any beneficial project with vision and class?

The Springfield Republican Reports

The Bulletin Reported:

Funny profile of Vince by Mary Carey

UMass community outreach on neighborhood stabilization

Anything for you Vince

Yes time, time, time is on my side, yes it is

So it’s safe to say nobody in the 250-year history of Amherst, has absorbed and wasted more time on the floor of Town Meeting than Vince O’Connor. But tonight was a new low, ironically enough, fairly brief.

When Article #13--Vince’s advisory article championing Governor Cadillac’s 19 cent per gallon gas tax increase--came up in normal rotation about an hour into Town Meeting, Mr. O’Connor did not have the exact wording of the motion because he has been “busy" and did not “have the time,” so he asked Town Meeting to postpone the article to come up after #20 next week.

Hmmm…So Mr. O’Connor’s time (and it's not like he has a dayjob) is more valuable than the 150 or so Town Meeting members in the room trying to get through the Warrant as quickly and efficiently as possible?

Gotta wonder if it had anything to do with PR. Next week is, after all, national bike week.

Take a hike

So with business failures becoming a pandemic, unemployment skyrocketing, and those who still work for a living looking at wage freezes and feeling good about it since at least they still have a job, Mr. Vince O’Connor the social activist who thinks he’s Robin Hood, wants Town Meeting to endorse Governor Cadillac’s 19 cents per gallon gas tax hike.

Thus making us #1 in the nation for gas taxes, a return to the good old "Taxachusetts" days.

If you are some poor schmuck who commutes a l-o-n-g way to your job (not within cycling distance or on a PVTA bus route) that hike alone could cost hundred$ per year, money that could otherwise go towards a health club membership, golf lessons or beer.

Maybe the Gov and Vince should institute a special tax on Swedish cars, wine-and-cheese, and avant-garde movie houses. Or liberal excess—in the People’s Republic that would generate a fortune.

More hats than a haberdashery

Click to read the coalition

Vince O’Connor has created more front organizations than the Mafia. The Zoning groups Alisa refers to during her cross-examination were all created by Vince over a particular issue. All of his “coalitions” are one trick ponies designed to give the cause more gravitas. And since it only takes 10 signatures to get on the warrant he has a small but dedicated following of ‘The Usual Suspects’.

There he goes again

Vince O'Connor, activist

So comrade Vince is at it again. After miserable failures on the floor of Amherst town meeting as late—the “dark sky” initiative (turn downtown Amherst into North Korea after dark) or the “abolish the Amherst Redevelopment Authority” (but then comes in second in a write-in race for the one open seat that year) you would think he’d come up with something that stood a chance of passing, especially when it only take ten signatures to get anything on the warrant for Spring Town Meeting.

Now he want s the town to take by eminent domain the downtown building recently purchased by Amherst College (thus eventually removing it from the tax rolls) and use it for “economic development” and eventfully resell it to anyone but a tax-exempt entity.

But Mr. O’Connor thinks we take it away from Amherst College (who paid $2.3 million) for only $1 million (the actual assessed value). Hmmm…I would think a court would disagree and force the town to pay fair market value, which has now been established to be $2.3 million.

Not exactly the loose change the town can find stored in a bottle somewhere.

Interesting that Mr. O’Connor spearheaded the taking of Cherry Hill Golf Course for $2.2 million twenty-two years ago by eminent domain (which may be the last time the town used that power--and did so under an "emergency" clause that made the Town Meeting vote referendum proof) in order to prevent development.


Fiber Arts Center building