Blinded By The Light

Newer of ye old landfills catching some rays

Note thick tree line buffering landfill from Logtown Road neighborhood on left

'Twas NIMBY business as usual at the 2nd town sponsored public forum on planned solar array projects at the two closed landfill sites, both located off Belchertown Road in East Amherst.

 Crowd was not overly friendly to concept of solar on ye old landfill

While the 3.4 megawatt project on the newer of the old that will generate $128K in electrical savings and $45K Payment In Lieu Of Taxes annually for 20 years seems to have almost universal support, the older unlined landfill with a ritzy neighborhood next door continues to draw fire.

 The project will have plenty of oversight

Despite presentations outlining the rigorous testing and oversight the Department of Environmental Protection requires for landfills, neighbors were not convinced the solar project could be safely constructed on an unlined landfill with a cap that is not perfectly impermeable.

They even hired their own environmental consultant who concluded the sky is falling, the sky is falling.  

Interim Town Manager Dave Ziomek 

Standing exactly where deceased Town Manger John Musante stood only six weeks ago, interim Town Manager Dave Ziomek started the proceedings by acknowledging his friend and colleague: "John was passionate about making Amherst a green community and solar was one of his biggest priorities."

 One of the many symbols of Amherst's commitment to being a "green community"

Back in 2011 NIMBYs tried to sabotage  a warrant article allowing Town Manager Musante to enter into a solar deal on ye old landfill by adding a pair of poison pill amendments.  They both failed in one of the most lopsided defeats in the 250+ year history of Amherst Town Meeting.

Naturally NIMBYs instantly went to Plan B: file a lawsuit, which resulted in "death by delay".

A neighbor brought up that lawsuit at the public forum last night and Finance Director Sandy Pooler stated the town never lost faith in their position that the landfill project was legal and this time around the town would see it through.

In other words, "Go ahead, make my day."

 Ye old landfill

Amherst Town Meeting, which starts November 2, will vote on the same warrant article overwhelmingly passed in 2011 to allow Interim Town Manager Dave Ziomek to enter an agreement with SunEdison on net metering credit purchase and for Payment In Lieu Of Taxes on the solar array on the "new" landfill.

The only question now is will the town be bullied and bluffed into dropping the solar array project on ye old landfill.  Again.

Hadley, our farm community next door, had no problems with this solar array on E. Hadley Road

Crossing The Educational Rubicon?

Superintendent Maria Geryk gets into testy exchange with a parent

The reorganization of the entire Amherst elementary public education program for at least the next 50 years drew a limited audience yesterday afternoon, at most a dozen-and-a-half concerned parents.

Maybe because, as school officials seem to think, busy parents are not paying attention; or maybe because they feel their input is only so much blah, blah, blah that allows school officials to check off a box in their search for state reimbursement.

For instance in response to my question about what happens if the School Committee votes "No" to the administration's wish for a new Mega-School to replace both Wildwood and Fort River, Assistant Superintendent Mike Morris said he would lock himself in his office the next day to come up with another plan.

Which of course means that going into the November 3rd School Committee meeting school administrators do not have a Plan B.

Another parent poninted out that no  figures have been presented to  show what it would cost simply to renovate or replace Wildwood. After all the endeavor is called, "Wildwood School Building Project".

Thus the School Committee is voting on the prefered option without facts and figures related to any of the other options. In other words a stacked deck.

If you're a betting person and want a really safe bet ... put your money on the Amherst School Committee voting yes to the "Education Plan" that requires a $20 million Debt Exclusion Override, or a $200/year increase in taxes on a median Amherst home for thirty years.

Whether the taxpayers of this town pass that Override question at the ballot box, however, is not nearly so certain.

Twitter profile

 Lead architect has good taste in musicals at least

The Merriest Maple Of All?

Huge Norway Maple is located dead center on historic North Common

Citizens may want to bring their sunglasses to this year's Merry Maple tree lighting ceremony on December 4th -- the 40th anniversary of the happy wholesome family event.

Because for the first time in memory the holiday tree chosen for illumination is the original BIG tree in the middle of our historic North Common. 

Since the creation of the Business Improvement District the lighting of the Merry Maple did improve somewhat with the addition of lights, and the town has also improved the electricity on the town common somewhat to avoid short outs that would suddenly darken the tree.

But nothing that compared to the original Merry Maple of the bygone days when town center had a hardware store, grocery store and a locally owned drug store.

Or maybe that's just my selective memory.

 Merry Maple appeared for six seconds in movie "Silent Night, Lonely Night"

Of course I do also remember when the Merry Maple was lit up in the spring of 1968 for the filming of  "Silent night, lonely night", which strikes me as a little longer than 40 years ago.

Party House(s) of the Weekend

 

265 North East Street

This weekend set a new a record for Party House incidents so far this semester.  Two.  Yes, nothing compared to the bad old not so long ago when four or five Party Houses resulting in arrests disturbed the peace quiet of numerous neighborhoods all over town.

But still enough to make me worry about this upcoming Halloween weekend -- especially considering the presence of a top ingredient for potential explosiveness:  good weather.

The winner out of the two Party Houses would have to be 265 North East Street, from sheer size alone.  And of course all the things that go along with a crowd that large in a house zoned for a  dozen.

Both APD and AFD were tied up dealing with the party crowd thus leaving the rest of the town less protected.

Click to enlarge/read

ETOH = dangerously drunk

AFD responding back to 265 North East Street (Party House) for another intoxicated, passed out college age male.

— Larry Kelley (@amherstac) October 24, 2015

In Eastern Hampshire District Court on Monday all four defendants had their criminal cases converted to civil with payment of a $300 fine for Town By Law "Noise" violation,  the unlicensed keg charge was "placed on file" until 5/15/16 and the "Nuisance" charge they were found "not responsible."

Dylan Estes, age 21, arraigned before Judge John Payne

Dylan Naples, age 21

William Nadai, age 20

Greg Gagnon, age 22

#####

 233 Strong Street

Jake McDermott, Ryan Grady and Daniel Legmann stand before Judge John Payne with their private attorney

APD arrests three at Party House on Strong Street.  Warned in July, August and September.  4 strikes, you're arrested.

— Larry Kelley (@amherstac) October 24, 2015

Hurry Up & Wait

108,000 square foot, Wildwood Elementary School, built 1970, enrollment 412

For many parents with children in the Amherst public schools the "Wildwood School Study" only appeared on their radar recently.  Mainly because the name implies only the Wildwood Elementary School would be impacted and a lack of effective outreach from school officials.

But now of course everybody is aware that the "Reconfiguration" model is the preferred plan by administrators which means the new construction of a Mega-School that is really two schools in one.  Thus ailing Fort River is also impacted in the most major way possible.

As is Crocker Farm, which will go from preK-6 to only preK & 1st grade while the new Mega-School will handle all students grades 2-6.

The reason the administration wants to maximize the number of students in the new Mega-School is funding, as the state MSBA program will cover 58% of the cost (even though many people thought it would be as high as 68%).

 Assistant Superintendent Mike Morris (rt) presenting to Wildwood Building Committee 10/15

At the most recent 10/15 Wildwood School Building Committee meeting Assistant Superintendent Mike Morris went through pretty much the same Powerpoint presentation he gave to the School Committee on 10/20.

All except the most important slide with the recommendation for the new Mega-School rather than simply renovating or replacing Wildwood at 40% less cost.

Since the construction of a Mega-School is  twice as tricky as constructing a regular sized school to replace Wildwood (or renovate it) I'm surprised the Wildwood Building Committee was not given a heads up at that 10/15 meeting.

Since it was less than a week away from the School Committee presentation obviously school administrators had by then made their major decision.

In other words, why not put the Mega-School plan on the table and let the Wildwood Building Committee vote on it before presentation to the School Committee?

Timeline for Mega School

According to the Timeline the School Building Committee does have to vote on the plan prior to submission to MSBA but now the die is cast in favor of a Mega-School.

Which is of course a LOT more expensive than simply replacing/renovating Wildwood alone at $12 million vs $20 million.  School officials have certainly failed to learn from history.

The original 6/14/94 Debt Exclusion Override to renovate the Amherst Regional High School passed Town Meeting and Select Board muster with ease, but failed at the ballot box by 73 votes the first time around, 1979 to 1907.

Less than six months later, after extensive public outreach, Town & School officials brought the Debt Exclusion Override back and it passed 2,786 to 2,161.

Interestingly we are still paying for the $26 million ARHS renovation from all those years ago as well as the $4 million Crocker Farm school renovations.

And the town is facing three other major building projects in the very near future: new South Fire Station & DPW building and the Jones Library expansion.

 

Current Town Debt

At the most recent Finance Committee meeting Sandy Pooler, Finance Director, said the new DPW building may come before Town Meeting this spring while the Mega-School will not be ready for a Town Meeting vote for a full year (fall 2016).

Thus there's an advantage for a project to come first, before sticker shock can set in. The problem comes for the project that goes 4th after the other three have been approved and town officials do the math on how much that's going to cost.

My biggest fear is the desperately needed new South Fire Station goes dead last.

Uh-Oh

July 2015

 

This morning (Click to enlarge)

Having run a small business for 28 years I appreciate just how demanding a mistress she can be (or "mister" for you daring female entrepreneurs).

The vast majority of start-ups fail to celebrate their 5th anniversary, and if you calculate the average pay an owner takes over that short lifetime it probably works out to far below minimum wage for all the hours invested.

Yes downtown rents are a tad expensive.  But like most things in life, you get what you pay for.

With the right product, a strong business plan and a little luck of the Irish a small business can do more than just survive in our downtown.  They can downright thrive.

Pine Street Speeding To Finish (Finally)

Pine Street is east/west connector to North Amherst center and Cushman Village

Thanksgiving will be especially thankful this year for those of you who live in North Amherst and the many of you who travel through there routinely:  Pine Street, the expensive forever project, may now be completed this year rather than next spring. 

Pedestrian crosswalk with lights may be completed this year

The sidewalk and crosswalk contiguous with Simple Gifts Farms and pretty much dead center in the busy roadway was going to be delayed due to crops in the field. 

But this week the project rolled ahead and DPW Chief Guilford Mooring reports, "a rush of activity to be done with Pine Street so the sidewalk at the farm will probably be paved next week, as long as the rain holds off."

Click to enlarge photos

Sidewalk switches sides due to utility poles in the way (too expensive to move)

Fab Friday Over Amherst

 Always colorful downtown Amherst

Not nearly as much going on this weekend vs Homecoming last weekend, but the weather is certainly hospitable other than a little wind.

This is of course the weekend before Halloween which this year falls on a Saturday and coincides with daylight savings end.   One more hour to party or for us old fogies an extra hour of sleep.

This weekend will act a little like the canary in the coalmine as an indicator of how bad things could get over Halloween.

So far the the past two months have been extraordinarily quieter than the past three or four years for the same comparative time period.

Let's hope it stays that way.

Puffer's Pond still showing color although today's wind may loosen lots of leaves

Cowls Road in North Amherst finally getting repaved at a cost of $172,000

Hampshire College R.W. Kern Center (middle left)

Hampshire College recently hosted a tour to show off their new to the South Amherst skyline R.W. Kern Center "Living Building".  Which of course costs more than your average bear, projected at around $11 million.

Thus if Stephen Kulik's legislative bill to allow municipalities to tax private education institutes at 25% of their assessed value, this building alone would generate $55,000 annually.  ($20.54/$1,000 times one-quarter of $11 million assessment)

Currently Hampshire College, who requires Amherst Fire Department services about as often as Amherst College, pays the town nothing in Payment In Lieu Of Taxes.  Amherst College, on the other hand, paid the town $130,000 this year.

Hampshire College will also be hosting next weekend their traditional but decidedly offbeat  Hampshire Halloween (with a tagline of "Trip or Treat") that always seems to require extra AFD medical coverage.

And We Have A Winner

Commonwealth Honors College Complex bottom right

The Commonwealth Honors College Residential Complex, a $192 million mixed residential and teaching facility that opened in the fall of 2013, was just awarded  LEED Silver Certification for its energy efficient design standards.

The other really nice thing about the complex is it provides 1,500 beds to keep students on campus, and because the rooms are so nice the occupants tend to take good care of them.

The complex also has nary a response from UMass police for problem behavior with only the occasional "burnt popcorn" fire alarm response handled by Amherst Fire Department (since UMass does not have its own fire department).

Now if we could just get UMass to partner with a private entity to construct something like this on the Gateway open field -- one that would pay property taxes -- I would really do an Irish jig.  

Gateway Area.  Fearing & Phillips Streets on left with former Frat Row on right.  

Bring A Knife To A Knife Fight

Butternut Farm, South Amherst

So as usual there's two sides to a story -- sometimes WAY more than that.  But I'm not going to go all Kurosawa on you. 

The Amherst community was somewhat taken aback on Monday late morning over reports of a stabbing in South Amherst perpetrated by Quintin Tyler, a 44 year old male.

Even worse, his victim was a teenager.

Turns out the teenager attacked Tyler first with a kitchen knife while one of the other (female) roommates had unsuccessfully tried to restrain him.

Tyler used a "folding knife" to stab the teenager, which by and large are not overly large.

 Click to enlarge/read

Tyler was not found to be a dangerous person (Chapter 58A) and was released on $200 bail.

Judge Payne also issued "stay away" order from his (former) apartment at Butternut Farm and the victim, although Tyler did contact Amherst police to accompany him so he could retrieve his belongings.

Stay away order issued by Judge John Payne

High Cost Of Education In A College Town

Wildwood Elementary School

One important aspects of the major shake up proposed by school officials in the bricks and mortar make up of public education in our highly educated town is financial.  A burden of course that falls on the taxpayers, which includes ALL residents -- not just homeowners.

For instance the Massachusetts School Building Authority is financed directly out of the somewhat high 6.25% state sales tax.

Therefor renters in town who purchase goods and services pay into the MSBA budget.  And of course when property taxes go up landlords tend to pass that along via rent increases.

At $20.54/$1,000 Amherst already has one of the highest property tax rates in the entire state, ranked #14 out of 351.  Well over the nearby city of Northampton, ranked #158,  at $15.80/$1,000 or Hadley, the hardworking farm town next door, ranked #299 at $10.86/$1,000.

The statewide median average is $15.69/$1,000

 A $200/year tax increase could vault Amherst into the top ten in the state

Since the proposed funding mechanism is a "Debt Exclusion Override" it will require a two-thirds vote of Amherst Town Meeting, a majority vote of the Select Board to place it on the town ballot and a then majority approval of town voters, all before January 1st, 2017.

And the geriatric average age of Town Meeting could work against the proposal since most of the members no longer have children in the public schools.

The financial chart presented above is designed to show how fiscally responsible the proposal for a new mega-school is compared to the alternative at twice the amount.

But it's a tad disingenuous since it assumes Fort River would be renovated/replaced at 100% town taxpayer cost with Wildwood being renovated/replaced with a 50% reimbursement from MSBA.

And School Committee member Vira Douangmany Cage did point out last night that MSBA does pay for renovations short of complete overhauls via their "Major Repairs & Accelerated Repairs" programs, so if Fort River could be partially renovated with their assistance the overall cost would go down dramatically.

But there's no doubt consolidation saves money.  Last night Superintendent Maria Geryk once again cited the $850,000 cost savings that resulted from the bitterly contested closing of Mark's Meadow Elementary School on the UMass campus.  

Interestingly the Town & Schools had signed a five year "Strategic Partnership Agreement" with UMass in 2007 acknowledging the value of free use of Mark's Meadow.

UMass clearly stated they would return to the negotiation table should Mark's Meadow ever close, which of course it did prior to the ending of the five year contract, which is now three years overdo for signing.

Currently Amherst public schools are educating 56 children emanating from UMass tax exempt family housing at an average annual cost of just over $19,000 per student, or over $1 million.

 Click to enlarge/read

Yet UMass is now withholding the local option room tax at their Campus Center Hotel in an attempt to strong arm the town into signing a new Strategic Partnership that probably does not include reimbursement for the high education costs of their children.

So before Amherst taxpayers pass an Override for the schools they should require town officials get UMass to pay its fair share.

In addition the Select Board should show strong support for Representative Stephen Kulik's bill to require tax exempt institutions like Hampshire College (who pays the town nothing for AFD services) and Amherst College, who paid $130K this year, to pay 25% of their assessed value as a Payment In Lieu Of Taxes.

Mega-School It Is

Amherst School Committee will vote on this new proposal on November 3

After an hour of public comment by 17 parents and teachers, many of whom asked the School Committee to slow down and better engage with the general public on this important decision, and then another hour of formal presentation by Assistant Superintendent Mike Morris the BIG decision was, finally, unveiled.

Close down Fort River and Wildwood Elementary Schools and replace them with one large new elementary school (grades 2-6) that will essentially be two schools under one roof.  And turn Crocker Farm, currently preK-6, to PreK-1.

Public Forum on this decision will be held October 26th

 A large crowd attended tonight's SC meeting

 Projected cost for 750 student mega-school $20-$22 Million

Renovating or rebuilding Wildwood alone (K-6 Model) would leave Fort River, which was described as "decrepit" and not ADA compliant, as the black sheep of the public school system.  

New mega-school demographics (click to enlarge)