Public Private Partnership

Hampshire College this morning

Yes, that is our Department of Public Works doing construction on private property.

They are building Hampshire College a driveway that will connect the parking lot over on the left with West Street (Rt 116) below.

The construction at top of photo does not involve our DPW.  It's the new super efficient Hitchcock Center building, but it does look like it will share the new road being installed by the DPW.

 Although the town is getting plenty of loam out of the deal

This is part of a deal made a few years ago relating to the Atkins Corner double roundabouts where the town needed to take some property from Hampshire College and offered construction services instead of cash.

 Atkins Corner $6 million double roundabout project. Atkins Market top right

Why didn't the state simply pay Hampshire College for the property in the first place since the $6 million Atkins Corner project was a Department Of Transportation project?

They would have except the town "took over" Rt 116 from Atkins up to town center because they did not like they way the state was going to re widen along the  Pomeroy Lane/West Street Village Center.

This also means our DPW has to plow this stretch of road in the winter.

As some of you may remember Hampshire College refused to allow a detour through their campus during the Atkins Corner construction, a project that almost led to the demise of Atkins Country Market.

Hampshire College pays the town nothing for Amherst Fire Department emergency service runs which average close to Amherst College, who pays $90,000 annually.   UMass also pays $450,000 annually.

In reality none of the institutes of higher education pay their fair share.   But certainly anything is better than nothing.

At least the roundabouts work

Miss Emily: A Star Is Reborn

Emily Dickinson Museum, 280 Main Street
A professional film crew will come calling next week for a three-day shoot about Amherst's most famous reclusive resident, Emily Dickinson -- The Belle of Amherst.

The movie is called, appropriately enough, "A Quiet Passion" and they will of course be filming at the Dickinson Homestead, aka Emily Dickinson Museum, on Main Street just above the railroad tracks her father helped bring to Amherst.

Since it's a period piece Amherst police will be used to control traffic to ensure a 21st century internal combustion vehicle does not stray into a shot of a horse and carriage ambling up Main Street.  Barry Roberts will be providing the horses.

Film crew will use Wildwood rather than West Cemetery due to 21st century intrusions near West Cemetery

Chief Livingstone points out it's a pretty simply request, not nearly as complicated as the 1993 shoot centered in the downtown for the movie "Malice."

Old timers also remember when the Merry Maple (aka Christmas Tree) was reignited in the spring of 1968 for the movie "Silent Night, Lonely Night."

Pride Of Place Issue

Atkins Corner roundabouts on a dreary morning

The venerable Amherst Select Board -- keepers of the public way -- got an earful last night about the condition of the double roundabouts at Atkins Corner by a neighborhood woman who cited weeds, dead plants and overall dreariness, closing with "It's all very unattractive."

And I have to admit next to the UMass roundabout at Eastman Lane and North Pleasant Street they certainly do pale by comparison.

 UMass roundabout on a sunny Sunday morning

Like Police and Fire, DPW staffing is severely stretched to the limit.  And in the past few years their kingdom has expanded to include these $6 million dollar roundabouts and of course all of Kendrick Park.

Select Board member Connie Kruger stated she was "Also very disappointed.  It's a gateway and it's embarrassing."

Ms. Kruger also hinted that perhaps Atkins Country Market and Hampshire College could step up and maybe "adopt" the roundabouts and show them some Tender Loving Care.

 Atkins Corner from 400 feet: Epstein's Pond on the right

Pax Mexicana

Mission Cantina Friday 5:45 PM

The pitched battle that erupted -- mainly over parking -- between town officials and Mission Cantina came to an honorable end at last week's Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, with a compromise both entities can live with.

The ever popular restaurant can continue operating a food truck (which serves the downtown) out of their current location with extra parking allowed for employees in the back as long as they stay only on paved areas.

The restaurant is not required to carve out any new additional customer parking spaces and in fact will lose a few by installing barriers to protect green space on the south end of the parking lot.

In addition signs will be erected telling hungry customers to stay off the grass.  Or maybe they can hire a grumpy old man at peak times to yell, "get off my lawn!"

And they will be allowed to construct an enclosure/vestibule around the front door.

Town officials were caught in a bit of bind:  They recently allowed two new large five-story mixed used buildings (mostly residential) in the downtown with no parking required but in this case originally tried to force a restaurant to add parking when they already provide more than twice what the zoning bylaw requires.

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Sleeping Beauty DUI

Mark Kulas intake photo (aka "mug shot") courtesy Amherst Police Department

Amherst police took a drunk driver off the road before dawn on Sunday morning, but first they had to awaken him. Yes, now imagine Mark Kulas, age 22,  conking out while his vehicle was in high speed motion.

Click to enlarge/read

Other charges were dropped as part of the 24D plea

In Eastern Hampshire District Court this morning Mr Kulas did not show up for his 9:00 AM arraignment and a bench warrant was issued for "failure to appear".

But he did show up by close of business today (maybe he had overslept) and ended up taking a standard 24D disposition: $650 in fines, losing his license for 45 days, and one year probation.

In addition since his Breathalyzer was .20% he must undergo a (substance abuse) 24Q evaluation

A Matter Of Trust

West Experiment Station, 682 North Pleasant Street

The mistrust created by the unfortunate demise of the Trolley Station three years ago continues to hang over UMass:

Statement from Joe Larson, Preserve UMass

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Trolley Station on North Pleasant Street, built 1911 trashed June, 2012

 West Experiment Station sits on busy North Pleasant Street

682 North Pleasant Street

FADE To Black

Fade:  "Nothing lasts forever"

Well I suppose when "Nothing lasts forever" is your tagline, users should not be surprised when the service itself disappears after only a little over a year.

FADE is/was one of those location based smart phone apps that pretty much acts as an anonymous bulletin board.

Unlike competitor YikYak it relied on memes (photos) with a simple headline to which users could respond with comments and  vote it up or down.  Up votes gave it a few more minutes of life before it would "fade" into oblivion.

Although like Snap Chat  the downside of posting something personal is users can simply do a screen grab as I did with their farewell. 

The app targeted institutes of higher education so UMass had its own chapter so to speak.  It required 500 downloads for the app to become activated and I'm sure at peak UMass had thousands of users.  Plus a few old grumps like me.

During the lead up to the Blarney Blowout (that also ended up going poof) I had fun interacting with the pro party crowd.  A few of my Tweets were reposted on FADE, and occasionally some nitwit would give away interesting information in their response comments.

 Even in its final hours ...

Oh well, maybe now this will free up time for kids to -- you know -- study?

 Maybe there's hope for our youth yet

Preserving The Priceless

Amherst College Pratt Field this morning

When Amherst College went about a $12.5 million major renovation of Pratt Field a couple years ago a tree as old as the athletic field itself ( circa 1891) stood in the way of that progress.

Rather than taking the simple, cheap way out -- destroying the tree and replanting a new one -- the College spent $100,000 to move the majestic Camperdown Elm 30 yards to safety.

 Camperdown Elm this morning

Sure they are a private college with a decent endowment (although an Anonymous benefactor paid for most of the renovations, including the tree move) and UMass is a public University with a small endowment.   But when it comes to protecting your historic heart and soul, cost is secondary.

West Experiment Station 682 North Pleasant Street this morning

West Experiment Station is one of the original buildings on campus from W-A-Y back when UMass was known as Massachusetts Agricultural College (1887).  It is also highly visible located directly on North Pleasant Street, which cuts through the heart of the sprawling campus.

When I asked the UMass Facilities & Campus Services folks via their Facebook page if they were tearing down West Experiment Station I received (rather quickly) the following reply:

Demolished? No! Moved (slightly)? Yes! And this is great news for WES all around. Actually, the building isn't technically being "moved" (because the age/fragility of the mortar work won't allow us to just pick it up and plop it down); rather, it will be completely *deconstructed* and then completely *reconstructed* a couple dozen yards west and a bit south of its current location. Completely new (and deeper) foundation, brand new building systems (MEP), and about 50% more of the building wheelchair accessible, too. We're achieving this by "buddying" the renovation, especially with respect to utilities, with the Physical Sciences Building project going up just behind/north of WES. The building is also being moved in order to anchor a return of Ellis Way --the reestablishment of which is part of the Campus Master Plan.

However, Preserve UMass point man Joseph Larson is not overly happy with the situation and after the fiasco with the Trolley Stop three years ago, I can't say I blame him.

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Library Expansion Moves Forward

A gregarious Jones Library Trustees moment this morning

The Jones Library Board of Trustees voted unanimously this morning on a bevy of issues relating to the future expansion/renovation of the downtown icon, including approval of the 5-year "long range plan", Request for Qualifications approval (leading to an Owners Project Manager) and giving a "museum quality" home to the recently refurbished Civil War tablets. 

Trustee Chair Austin Sarat called the idea of housing the sacred historic tablets "an unbelievably cool thing," but he was a little concerned about the installation and upkeep costs.

Direct Sharon Sharry replied the state grant would cover half the cost of constructing the roof over their heads as part of the routine renovations and the town, using Community Preservation Act funding, was going to pay for the actual installation costs and what little upkeep would be required.

The town will now craft a legal agreement guaranteeing the tablets go to the Library, as Director Sharry did not want to have a special custom spot built for them and then have the town change its mind.

A second agreement would stipulate that the tablets are on "permanent loan" but remain town property. 

Streamlining A Sloth

Amherst Town Meeting 5/13/15

This past session of the 257th Annual Amherst Town Meeting ran eight sessions, but two of those sessions would have been unnecessary if the ancient body had been using time saving electronic voting devices.

With Tally Votes averaging close to 11 minutes to complete and even simple standing votes requiring 5 minutes, it's not hard to do the math.

In Brookline, which has a Town Meeting the same size as Amherst, using electronic voting reduced the time for those types of votes to less than a minute and a half per vote. 

Yesterday the Town Meeting Electronic Voting Study Committee heard a remote presentation from Options Tech International a company who supplies electronic devices to New England town meetings for the past five years.

 Base unit in center

The small hand held battery operated units register a yes/no/abstain vote instantly and gives the user confirmation that their vote has been received and confirms how they voted.  One small base station can handle up to 500 individual voting units and it runs on 2.4 gigahertz radio frequency.

 Votes are projected on screen for entire body to see

The idea is to keep Town Meeting operating as close as possible to current customs simply inserting the use of the electronic devices for the time consuming verification of votes and possibly attendance and quorum verification.

 Study Committee was appointed by Town Meeting Moderator Jim Pistrang

The committee hopes to have a warrant article ready for the Fall Town Meeting requesting the funds necessary to purchase the package, expected to be in the $20,000 range. 

Sad thing is obstructionism will only become more efficient.

The Jawbone Of An Ass

Click to enlarge/read

The ironic thing is Mr. Geryk proves my point about why school survey respondents who may dare to criticize his Superintendent wife would wish to remain anonymous.

This bullying, borderline threatening comment he left on a woman's Facebook page late last night -- a person he has never met -- really has to make you wonder.

And it's certainly not the first time he's gone this obnoxious route.  Maybe we should start annual evaluations of the Superintendent's spouse.

This year:  #FAIL. 

Historic Preservation Via Duplication

Amherst History Mural overlooks sacred West Cemetery

"If you can't save it, repaint it" should be the motto for the One East Pleasant Street 5-story mixed use building coming soon to the northern end of downtown Amherst, within the shadow of Kendrick Place (set to open in August).

The 16' by 140' Amherst Community History Mural painted on the back of the Carriage Shops overlooking West Cemetary by Cambridge artist David Fichter ten years ago will be repainted by the original artist on the back of the new building.

   New Amherst History Mural Agreement

Last night the Amherst Historical Commission voted unanimously to accept an amended easement agreement, thus guaranteeing a new and brighter mural will continue to overlook Miss Emily's final resting place.  Forever.

One East Pleasant Street as seen from historic West Cemetery

West Cemetery from Triangle Street side

Polishing The Emerald

Kendrick Park:  3 acres of greenery anchoring the north end of downtown

 

With all the construction going on in the north end of the downtown it's no great surprise town officials have retrieved from the dusty shelf a study completed five years ago outlining options for Kendrick Park, an island of green in an otherwise drab sea of concrete.

Tree Warden Alan Snow took the Public Shade Tree Committee on a guided tour yesterday morning pointing out trees that would be impacted.  For now it appears the southern end of the park closest to the heart of downtown will be "phase one" in the overall renovation which could take years.

The town received a $1.5 million state grant to bury utility wires in and around the Kendrick Place development and originally the electric company had planned to cross Kendrick Park, but that is no longer in the cards.

But that project will provide plenty of electrical capacity for the lighting and other upgrades expected to occur in the park.

Alan Snow pointing out five trees in the target zone

The walking tour did not get off to an optimistic start as the first thing Mr. Snow pointed out was five trees at the southern most tip that would be removed to accommodate a circular ornamental concrete paved area.

The committee instantly suggested the structure be made smaller or situated in such a way as not to require tree removal.

 Large Sugar Maple possibly endangered by expanded parking

Next up was a very large Sugar Maple on the western side of the park that could be endangered by expanded parking on that side of the park.  The plan is to change the configuration to diagonal nose in parking which would increase the capacity from current 7 spaces up to 11.

Shade Tree Chair Henry Lappen suggested perhaps sacrificing three spaces in order to save the tree.

The first hedgerow that cuts across the park east to west will also be removed to open up the greenspace and to accommodate a crushed stone walkway and pergola.  In fact pretty much all the hedgerows of trees running east/west will be cleared, but of course new trees will be planted around the perimeter of the park to replace them.

 Click to enlarge/read

Kendrick Park was once the site of 11 homes.  George Kendrick, an influential banker, did not like the looks of one particularly run down tenement house owned by an absentee slumlord so he and his wife set up a trust in 1930 to buy all the homes and have them removed.

When the last home left the site the park was officially turned over to the town. 

Old driveway in middle of park will be removed and reseeded

The northern tip of the park may also be impacted piecemeal by the installation of a roundabout at the East Pleasant/Triangle Street intersection next year where the controversial new Kendrick Place sits. 

New roundabout construction next year could impact small clump of trees

Trees on northern tip may require removal for roundabout

Some of the trees are unhealthy and will have to be removed regardless of the various construction projects:

 

Dead Norway Spruce

Sick Cherry Maples

Nonny Burack standing on long dead remains of Elm tree

Although a couple of mostly healthy trees will be taken down very soon as part of the electrical project that is now going on.  

Crab apple and Linden will be removed soon for electrical work

But overall, just a few years from now, Kendrick Park will be a more beautiful natural resource that will rival the Town Common for public usage. 

Soothe The Savage Beast

Maria Geryk keeping a moose in line

The long awaited -- at least by some -- annual review of School Superintendent Maria Geryk, the town's highest paid employee, is now underway.

And one tool being used is an internet survey that allows the general public to weigh in on how well she and our venerable public schools are doing from the comfortable confines of their keyboard.

Except, from my all too encompassing experience with internet commenters, me thinks the survey will get dramatically skewed results because it cannot be submitted anonymously.

Folks are far more likely to give negative feedback from under the comfortable cloak of anonymity.

Unless of course it's positive feedback you're fishing for.

Over the past seven years I've published 47,635 comments of which I would guess 45,000 of them were Anonymous.  And yes I can tell from I.P. addresses that it's not just a few people making many, many comments (other than the one who leaves his name).

Belchertown, on the other hand, is also doing a public school survey but notice they do NOT require a name.  Hmm ...

Rollover

So when I first heard "one car rollover" on cramped South Prospect Street crackle over the scanner somewhat late last night  I instantly suspected alcohol may have played a contributing role.

Townies know all too well how cramped South Prospect is and of course that's why it's a one way street with 30 MPH speed limit.

 South Prospect is a one way street with plenty of parked cars

The incident occurred around 9:40 p.m. and required an AFD engine, ambulance and numerous police vehicles as the street was shut down for around 45 minutes. 

The driver safely got out of the car under his own power and was transported to Cooley Dickinson Hospital by AFD.

The offending vehicle had ricocheted off a legally parked vehicle on the side of the street just before the roll over.  Both vehicles had to be towed from the scene.

Amherst Police Chief Scott Livingstone confirms that the incident is "still under investigation."  I could, however, "anticipate motor vehicle charges, but not criminal OUI (alcohol) related."

He knows how I think.