Another Unattended Death

Hess Station in South Amherst was closed for almost four hours for "unattended death" investigation very early Saturday morning

If you are suspecting heroin overdose, it has not been ruled out (and numerous unnamed sources say it was).

UPDATE: Monday afternoon

 Christopher Linehan, age 36

The District Attorney has released the name of the deceased: Christopher Linehan, age 36, of Amherst. 

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Go Fund me Campaign 

A Fitting Final Resting Place

The Jones Library

The Jones Library Building & Facilities Committee this morning voted unanimously to request the Board of Trustees at their June 4th meeting adopt the town owned Civil War tablets and install them in the library as part of the upcoming renovation/expansion project.

Amherst Town Meeting approved $65,000 in Community Preservation Act money in 2009 to have the six large marble tablets professionally cleaned, lettering restored and then crated for safe storage and transport.

Originally the town wished to display them in Town Hall but found the flooring was not strong enough to support the weight of the tablets;  and building climate controlled weather proof cases for outside would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

   Civil War Tablets Restored

Assistant Town Manager Dave Ziomek attended the meeting this morning confirming the town was "still very committed to putting them on display, and using the Jones Library makes all the sense in the world."

He went on to say a simple Memo of Understanding could be drawn up maintaining town ownership of the tablets but giving the Jones Library "permanent loan."

The funding for installation could come from the state renovation grant, which would cover half the cost, or if that is not an allowable expense the town would apply for Community Preservation Act money.

The Jones Library is now in active discussion with the Strong House aka Amherst History Museum next door for purchase of land to facilitate their proposed expansion.   But this commitment to display the Civil War tablets is NOT dependent on that deal coming to fruition. 

Stirring news for this Memorial Day weekend.

"Sacred Dead" tablet with names of all 57 Amherst residents who gave their "last measure of devotion."

Encroachment?

Living in the shadow of Kendrick Place

Attorney Jeff Brown, a prominent downtown property owner, paid a visit to the Public Works Committee last night concerned about upcoming Triangle Street construction somewhat related to the the new Kendrick Place 5-story mixed use building.  

In addition to the inconvenient major building project next door dwarfing his commercial buildings the utility companies are also busy at work burying above ground wires as part of a $1.5 million state grant funded endeavor.

And after that beautification project is completed the town will undertake reconstruction of the Triangle/East Pleasant Street intersection at the gateway to UMass.

Like any good landlord Mr. Brown said he's concerned with "making my tenants happy."  And losing any parking spaces directly in front of their storefronts would make them very unhappy.

 Jeff Brown (left) appears before PWC last night.  Guilford Mooring (top center)

Last year Town Meeting rejected a request for easements and possible buying/taking of property along the E Pleasant/Triangle Street intersection as part of the reconstruction project. That negative vote was the first of many Town Meeting actions taken since then as payback for the approval of Kendrick Place.

DPW Chief Guilford Mooring told the Public Works Committee last night that no additional private land would be required for a roundabout (thereby avoiding Town Meeting) if indeed that becomes the approved plan for the intersection.

And the bike lane along the east side of Triangle Street in front of Mr. Brown's buildings will now fit without requiring any of his property, so those convenient parking spots are not endangered.

The Public Works Committee will hold two meetings dedicated to reviewing the project, one in July and the other in August.  The Amherst Select Board has final authority and construction would commence next year.

Time, Time, Time For A Change

Amherst Town Meeting aka The Vince Show

The 257th annual Amherst Town Meeting concluded last night with pretty much a half-session compared to the previous seven nights that went the full three hours and change.

As usual we started late by about seven minutes, but still the earliest start time (by a minute or two) of all eight sessions.  In total an hour of time wasted for those who showed up on time.  And it was not because members needed to shower after walking, jogging or cycling to get the meeting.

Also, as usual, we concluded the night with an anti-business (non binding) vote to oppose the Kinder Morgan gas pipeline.  The original voice vote was so overwhelming I'm pretty sure only 2 or 3 No votes could be heard.  Still, someone from the floor "doubted it" so a standing or Tally vote could occur (137 yes to 7 no).

In all we had nine Tally Votes, each requiring a minimum of ten minutes or 1.5 hours total.  Throw in the standing votes, which also require about ten minutes, and you have the total time for an entire night's session.

Yes, electronic voting will do away with these time wasting inefficiencies.  And provide much better accountability.

But the real problem is the institution itself, which is non representative of our little college town that borders on being a city.

Amherst has the lowest median age in the entire state with over 50% of our population "college aged youth," almost all of them renters.

 See any college age youth?

While Town Meeting is on average retirement age homeowners.

Diversity of race, creed, color or sexual preference?  As my Italian friends would say, "Forget about it!"

Since Amherst has only a pathetic 10% commercial tax base the equally pathetic number of Town Meeting members with small business experience is probably not all that far off.   But still troubling.

Even my 8-year-old gets the simple formula of supply and demand (especially with candy around Halloween), which seems to stump Town Meeting time and time again.

Virtually all of the zoning articles (which require a two-thirds majority to pass) failed.   And in the future zoning tweaks will be required to bring about the positive smart growth this town so desperately needs to address our lack of housing and commercial enterprise. 

The BANANA/NIMBYs used to be an obstructionist fringe that could barely muster the one-third required to kill a zoning article.

Yet both their anti-business zoning articles, either of which would have detonated a dirty bomb in our town center business district, managed to muster a MAJORITY of Town Meeting support.

Paging Dr. Kevorkian!

College Town Decor

College Street

Yes, you can always tell when our institutes of higher education have finished up the their spring semesters.  Students returning to their hometowns for the summer leave behind over sized furniture that trash haulers do not pick up as part of their normal weekly routine.

 Gray Street

The DPW ends up retrieving four or five couches around this time every year.  Normally they are the ones left on town property in out-of-the-way places where the property owner cannot be identified.

Or in cases like these where the items are close by, the landlord must convince the town it doesn't belong to them or their tenants. (And without drone video it's hard to prove one way or the other.)

 Northampton Road (Rt 9)

Building Commissioner Rob Morra can issue $100 day non criminal fines, but these days pretty much all that is required is for his office to make initial contact. 

Phillips Street

Bite The Hand That Warms You

 Amherst Select Board:  Head of the class at Town Meeting

All Amherst Town Meeting members received an email last night from the supposedly non partisan Town Meeting Coordinating Committee begging us to show up for tonight's final meeting so the esteemed body would have a quorum and could then dispose of the last three citizen petition articles on the warrant. 

The cheerleader email was directed specifically at the final Article 30, a non-binding advisory ditty opposing construction of the Kinder Morgan/Tennessee Gas Pipeline through our neighboring counties to the north.

Apparently not "only in Amherst"

Since the pipeline is not scheduled to ram its way across the Town Common you might be tempted to thing it's not town business.  But it is.

Amherst businesses are already being hurt by the moratorium imposed by Berkshire Gas on any new hook ups in town due to supply constraints.

Last week Joe Bowman the owner/manager of Fratelli's Ristorante appeared before the Zoning Board of Appeals to secure permission to place a 1,000 gallon underground propane tank on site at 30 Boltwood Walk.

Not only an expensive capital construction project, but a more expensive routine supply cost as well.

Even the town -- a major customer of Berkshire Gas -- is being impacted as a renovation conversion project at East Street School from expensive, more environmentally harmful oil to natural gas is now in limbo because of the moratorium. 

One simple rule of, gasp, capitalism that Town Meeting never seems to get is the sacred law of supply and demand.  If you have high demand for housing and NIMBY/BANANAs constantly strangle the development of new housing, then the price goes up.

Or if you have a huge demand for clean, efficient, cheap energy and the pipeline is too small  to satisfy that demand, then you have a moratorium ... which is bad for business.

Thus Town Meeting should vote down the obstructionist article targeting the new pipeline.  IF we get a quorum.

 Select Board supports anti-pipeline petition, but dropped the ball on solar

About 20 years ago when an Annual Town Meeting stretched on forever and town officials were worried about a quorum on the final night they offered free coffee, hot chocolate, cookies & milk to entice members to perform their civic duty.

Maybe the Select Board should offer up fresh fruit tonight.  I'll spring for the BANANAs.

Cost Of Going Green

The Amherst Select Board last night unanimously approved the conversion of three downtown public parking spaces to "electric vehicle only" with the one located in the underground portion of the Boltwood Parking Garage reserved exclusively for the town vehicle.

 Town recently purchased this $30K electric car partially paid for ($7,500) by state grant

That space is immediately adjacent to the reserved underground spaces that cost $850 per year.

 Charger will be located in corner space near electrical outlet and (stinky) stairwell

Two others spaces in the prime but hidden lot located directly behind Town Hall will have a "duel head" level 2 charger paid for via a state grant ($10,000) that will be for the general public use.  That conversion is expected to happen before June 30, the end of the Fiscal Year

The same bargain rate of 50 cents per hour will apply and if a non electric vehicle parks there our fleet-of-foot Parking Enforcement personnel will issue tickets.

 Town Hall hidden backlot