A Timely Audit

Amherst Media needs to relocate to a new building within the next year

In addition to the bombshell about UMass possibly being a cable scofflaw dropped at last week's Cable Advisory Committee Meeting, Amherst Media Director Jim Lescault requested the CAC authorize a five year audit of Comcast revenues.

Because Amherst Media funding (around $300K annually) consists of 5% of the Comcast pie (around $6 million annually) for every dollar the audit turns up that was, err, hidden that would be five cents in revenue to Amherst Media.

Of course there is the matter of the $28,000 cost of the audit, which could be reduced significantly if other cities and towns join in. 

 Most recent Comcast quarterly revenue report

But the audit doesn't necessarily need to turn up hidden revenues that match the cost of the audit, since the hard to measure benefit is the negotiation value of catching Comcast doing something unseemly.  Not that enormous corporations are known to do that (sarcasm).

The Cable Advisory Committee voted to support the legal services request but it will be up to the Select Board to make it so.

Cable Advisory Committee meeting 12/14/15.  One member resigned so they are in need of a new volunteer

The Grass Is Greener

Amherst may move up a notch or two in those ubiquitous top ten lists for places to retire if we get our first pot dispensary.  Medical marijuana of course.

The Select Board packet this week contains a heads up letter from Peter Kadens, president GTI Massachusetts NP Corp informing Chair Alisa Brewer that our little college town is being considered for a Registered Marijuana Dispensary. 

Massachusetts voters legalized medical marijuana in 2012 and a year later our Town Meeting passed (by two thirds vote) zoning article 13 limiting such facilities to mixed-use or business zoned areas and a few other common sense conditions.

New England Treatment Access was the first dispensary to open in the Happy Valley back in October, and was welcomed with open arms by Northampton officials. 

Pundits are predicting Massachusetts voters could legalize recreational marijuana as early as next year.

A Third Of A Loaf?

 Historic North Common now home to the Merry Maple

Even though the state recently turned Amherst down for a $400,000 Parkland Acquisitions & Renovations for Communities grant to rehabilitate historic North Common in the heart of our downtown, the project may not be dead.

In a letter to the Community Preservation Act Committee, Interim Town Manager Dave Ziomek proposed putting the $190,000 appropriated last year as (less than) matching funds to the PARC grant still be used for the project, with the balance of the funding coming over the next few years from CPA funds.

 Click to enlarge/read

The CPAC was receptive to the idea, but the consensus was it needed to go back to Town Meeting since their approval last year for the $190K appropriation was based on acquiring the PARC grant for the lion's share of the project costs.

Of course some members wondered if perhaps the Business Improvement District, with its $315,265 annual budget, could shoulder some of the funding.  

The CPA Committee currently has $1.7 million at their disposal, not including the $190,000 set aside last year for the North Common historic preservation project.  Proposed (13) projects for FY17 total $2,125,520.

Burn In Hell

First Congregational Church on Main Street is one of many historic buildings in Amherst

In their first meeting since receiving over $2 million in funding requests the Community Preservation Act Committee already started digging in with an overall review of the 13 proposals.

Over the next few months each proposal will be formally presented to them by petitioners at a public meeting, although there was talk last night about eliminating some that stand little chance of garnering their approval.

For instance, the Committee was cool to the request from the First Congregational Church for $357,647 for a fire suppression system and Chair Mary Streeter said she had already received two letters opposing the project.

Besides the enormous amount of money one member worried it would set a precedent and soon the CPAC would be flooded with requests for just such a system.  He pointed out Amherst has a lot of historic structures.

Another liaison questioned the "partner" aspect of the proposal wondering if they just randomly picked something on their wish list that might fall under CPAC jurisdiction for the town to fund, while they pay for elevator, electrical system upgrades and added restrooms.

Select Board member Andy Steinberg pointed out the Committee did fund the Goodwin Memorial  Zion Church last year, although a lot smaller request ($25,000), so separation of Church & State is not an issue.

But Mary Streeter quickly pointed out Town Meeting, after CPAC gave it their blessing, voted down $8,000 for repairs to North Church in the heart of North Amherst.

 The Evergreens (bottom), Dickinson Homestead (top right)

The parallel $200,000  request from the  Emily Dickinson Museum for a fire suppression system in the Evergreens next door to the Dickinson Homestead was also not overly enthusiastically received.

Chair Mary Streeter wondered if the unknown donor who planned to match the CPA money was perhaps the owner of the building, Amherst College, who is the town's largest landowner with an endowment surpassing $2 billion.

Ms. Streeter was also unhappy the request proposal never mentioned the previous CPA money ($15,000) donated to them in their background report to the committee which she thought a tad ungrateful.

Members were also concerned over the Museum charging an entry fee and wondered if they did donate this money would Amherst residents be given free entry in perpetuity?

Other members pointed out the Dickinson name should be such that donated funding could be found from other sources.

Funding requests for FY17 total $2,125,520 and Comptroller Sonia Aldrich verified the current balance in the CPAC account --  with about 20% of that representing state matching funds -- stands at $1,778,747 so the Committee doesn't exactly have money to burn.

Let The Battle Begin

Adam Lussier, Amherst For All (left) Town Clerk Sandra Burgess (right)

As of 4:30 PM Amherst Town Clerk Sandra Burgess has certified 3,247 signatures on the Charter petition drive to put before the voters this spring the question of changing our form of local governance and the election of 9 Charter Commissioners to carry out that long overdue proposition.

The monumental task required the signatures of 15% of Amherst registered voters, or 3,215.

But Amherst For All is not exactly popping the champagne bottles and collapsing in a happy heap.

Instead they are calling for one more massive push Saturday to continue collecting signatures as a cushion against what is sure to be a challenge from pro-Town Meeting zealots.

On Monday, hopefully with hundreds of additional signatures, one of the members of the Steering Committee will sign a statement with the Town Clerk saying they are done with signature collection.

The Board of Registrars has ten days from the 12/21 date of the final submission to certify signatures and issue a Certification Report, which is December 31.  Objectors wishing to challenge signatures have two "working days" from December 31st, which gives them a deadline of January 5, 2016 (because January 1, 2 and 3 are not working days) by 5:00 PM.

The hurdle for disqualifying signatures is a high one, and thus far no one in the entire history of the town has ever successfully overturned a ballot question or candidate nomination using a signature challenge. 

Click to enlarge/read

The 10% Solution

Representatives from Amherst, Pelham, Leverett & Shutesbury met today 

Officials from all four towns came together this afternoon at the Regional Middle School trying to work out some sort of compromise so all four towns could start building their budgets.

In order to dissuade Shutesbury from implementing the "The Nuclear Option", whereby their Town Meeting votes down the Regional Assessment Method from the current rolling five year average cost per pupil basis, which would then automatically reverts the Region to the "Statutory Method" based (somewhat) on ability to pay, Finance Director Sean Mangano hatched a compromise.

For this upcoming Fiscal Year stay with the current method for 90% of the budget and the other 10% use the state's Statutory Method but with open space & tax exempt properties removed from the formula.

 1st slide:  School administrators wanted everyone to play nice

Under this scheme Amherst would stay at around a 2.5% increase next year while both Leverett and Pelham would pay a little more in order for Shutesbury to pay a little less ($25,000).

Superintendent Maria Geryk told them, ""We will do our part in making cuts, adapting to a long term structural deficiency.  I'm just hoping we can stay connected and working together."

The meeting did get heated at times with one member pointing out, "There’s always another alternative formula where you will pay less.  One town will always be in that position."

At the Four Towns Meeting two weeks ago Shutesbury presented an alternative method that simply reverted back to the Statutory Method, but phased in over the next four years (25% per year).

And they strongly suggested their Town Meeting could vote down the current method if the plan was not adopted.  That was met with a storm of sharp criticism from the other towns.

The subject of expanding the Region from the current 7-12 all the way down to PreK through 6th grade did come up, as some members believe it will save money.  But if Shutesbury votes no to reopening the Regional Agreement, the process is dead.

One member suggested helping Shutesbury by tweaking the funding formula should be tied to their support for passing Regionalization, even if they as a town do not wish to join the expanded Region.

All four Town Meetings will vote on the expanded Region this spring, and it takes unanimous approval to pass.  Two questions will be presented:  Should the Regional Agreement be reopened/amended for the sake of Regionalization, and 2) do you wish to join the expanded Region?

It's only the first question that requires unanimous approval, the second question does not.

As long as Amherst, who is 78% of the Region, approves along with at least one other town, the expanded Region is formed.  The remaining towns will simply stay on as part of the 7-12 Region.

Complicated?  You bet.

The Power Of Persuasion

AFD Ambulance 1 enroute to Cooley Dickinson Hospital

The cancellation of SantaCon was instrumental in keeping the last weekend in a college town before the students head home, a quiet one.

UMass had the lowest number of ETOH drunk runs all semester although  "Crossett Christmas" runs at Amherst College were once again the highest of the semester.

   AFD SantaCon Weekend