There they go again with rookies in command

UPDATE: 9:00 PM So obviously Kevin's guitar strings are strung a tad too tight. Now he's up to 1,000 signatures by March 8. Hmmm...He has only managed less than two-thirds that over the past two months on a internet petition sight with no barriers whatsoever to "signing" but he's going to get a 1,000 in under a week on real paper?

I'll bet him $1,000 that is not going to happen.
#######################################
March 2, 2010

Dear Amherst Town Meeting:

I have read that, "the Select Board has proposed a $1.67m override to deal with
yet another budget deficit which is the result of the Town living beyond its
means. We need greater accountability for what and how we spend." Forcing many
residents to sell their homes?

If this is true, why have we stood by while you, the Amherst Town Meeting,
engaged in this behavior? How is that Amherst Town Meeting, who are responsible
for oversight of our governing body, the Amherst Select Board, is not
accountable for our deficit spending, forcing many residents to sell their
homes? If our elected representatives, the Amherst Town Meeting, who are
responsible for oversight, is not accountable, they should be dismissed by
town-wide referendum at the next available election.

The deadline for Citizen Petitions is March 8 and I will have no trouble
getting a thousand signatures to put the item on the agenda at Town Meeting: “Why is
Amherst Town Meeting, who are responsible for oversight of our governing body,
the Amherst Select Board, not accountable for our deficit spending, forcing
many residents to sell their homes?". Amherst citizens MUST KNOW!

This is a question that MUST be answered: “Why is Amherst Town Meeting, who are
responsible for oversight of our governing body, the Amherst Select Board, not
accountable for our deficit spending, forcing many residents to sell their
homes?". I will file a petition today.

Thank you all for your effort and hard work making our town great.

Best, Kevin Collins

cc: Select Board of Amherst
Town Meeting members, attached

##################################################

UPDATE: Tuesday 3:45 PM Gotta love his naive enthusiasm!

From: kevin@redbarnmusic.com
To: amherstac@aol.com
Sent: Tue, Mar 2, 2010 1:24 pm
Subject: Re: Why is the Select Board forcing many residents to sell their homes?

Why, Larry! I didn't know you cared!

Really, that is very nice of you. Thanks.

Kevin


From: amherstac@aol.com
To: kevin@redbarnmusic.com
Sent: Tue, Mar 2, 2010 3:19 pm

Hey Kevin,
So I'm told by an ultra reliable source that you are a "really nice" guy--"idealistic" but nice. As I'm sure Ricky Boy Hood was three years ago when he was in W-A-Y over his head, as you are now. I really don't blame you or Mr. Hood as the old rule applies: "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread."

The real fault here--now and then--is with Baer 'The Turk' Tierkel, the burly man behind the curtain. He would have made a great Pentagon general during the Viet Nam conflict.

Keep in mind I only fight when I know I"m right--and I then I fight to win; however, I always play by the rules--and I'm smart/experienced enough to actually study them. You should give it a try.

Larry

Sent: Tue, Mar 2, 2010 4:12 pm
Subject: Re: Why is the Select Board forcing many residents to sell their homes?

Hi, Lare
Please don't get me wrong, I only do this for fun.


From: amherstac@aol.com
To: kevin@redbarnmusic.com
Sent: Tue, Mar 2, 2010 4:47 pm
Subject: Re: Why is the Select Board forcing many residents to sell their homes?

Hey Kevin,
Yeah, it shows.
LK


#################################
ORIGINAL POST:

Three years ago the Amherst Center types let Ricky Boy Hood spearhead the campaign to pass the 'Amherst Plan' $2.5 million Override. He should have done them a final favor and fallen on that spear a month before he sent the campaign spiraling into the abyss.

Now it's equally naive, tenderfoot, Kevin Collins--who takes credit for starting the Blank Check Pro Override Online Petition two months ago still less than two-thirds to the target goal of 1,000.

Yet he threatens Stan Gawle with getting 600 signatures on a honest to goodness hard copy petition (a Hell of lot harder than getting folks to click a mouse at their convenience) in only a week.

Well gee there Kevin, if it took you six weeks to get 600 signatures (many of them out of state, too young to vote, or anonymous) how the Hell are you now going to do that in only a week where they all have to actually scribble their names on an official form and be of-age registered voters?

Of course if Mr. Collins was not such a tenderfoot he would know it only takes ten signatures to get on the ballot for Amherst Town Meeting. Yeah, I guess even he should be able to handle that.
###################################
From: kevin@redbarnmusic.comkevin@redbarnmusic.com>
Subject: Re: Why is the Select Board forcing many residents to sell their homes?
To: SelectBoard@amherstma.gov
Cc: townmeeting@amherstma.gov, moderator@amherstma.gov, gawles@verizon.net, ngrabbe@gazettenet.com
Date: Monday, March 1, 2010, 1:27 PM

Dear Select Board of Amherst:

I read that “Out of control spending coupled with wasteful and in-efficient use
of our tax dollars is forcing many residents to sell their homes.”?

http://www.nomoreoverrides.com/

If this is true, then what kind of people are we?

And if it is not true, why have we stood by for the last two years and watched
while a Town Meeting member preyed on the fears of the elderly and less
fortunate? What kind of people are we, then?

Stan Gawles has a point and we need to do something about it! I think the
entire Town Meeting should examine this question: why is the Select Board, our
governing body, forcing residents to sell their homes?

The deadline for Citizen Petitions is March 8 and I will have no trouble
getting 600 signatures to put the item on the agenda at Town Meeting: “Why is
the Select Board, our governing body, forcing many residents to sell their
homes?”. Amherst citizens MUST KNOW!

This is a question that must be answered: Why is the Select Board, our
governing body, forcing many residents to sell their homes? I will file a
petition today.

Thank you all for your effort and hard work making our town great.

Best,

Kevin Collins
Amherst

cc: Town Meeting members, attached Amherst Bulletin

#################################################
From: amherstac@aol.com
To: gawles@verizon.net; kevin@redbarnmusic.com; selectboard@amherstma.gov; townmeeting@amherstma.gov; moderator@amherstma.gov; ngrabbe@gazettenet.com
Sent: Mon, Mar 1, 2010 9:06 pm

Subject: Re: Why is the Select Board forcing many residents to sell their homes?

Can we keep a secret and not tell this tenderfoot you only need ten signatures--not 600--to get on the venerable annual TM warrant???
Larry K

Equal opportunity flag disparager

So at least His Lordship (about to become a mere Commoner) Gerry Weiss even has problems with a People's Republic of Amherst town flag, in addition to the 29 commemorative American flags that he likes to see as little as possible unfurled in town center.

And since those US flags only cost $40 each, safe to say a new flag of the same size with the town seal (or whatever a committee comes up with) will not be overly expensive.

Mr. Weiss loved to champion the subsidy of golf at Cherry Hill and considered $10,000 in tax monies nothing when applied to that pursuit, but God forbid we spend a couple hundred on a flag.

Gotta love the cocky, self centered body language at the very end.

What are town officials afraid of?

Click to enlarge/read

So when No More Overrides! gets back up and running (and I promise never to attempt tweaking ever again) you will note the salaries for town employees including the schools, as many of them are quite notable.

The town salaries are FY10 (the current year) and the School salaries are for upcoming FY11, so they do include the COLAs and step increases that may be reduced due to a teachers union giveback--although I'm betting the amount will be pretty token/negligible.

Curiously, MIA (somewhere in Miami) School Superintendent Dr. Rodriguez coughed up the requested salary information, but ignored the other part of the request for the additional cost per school employee for benefits package, which are typically about 30% more.

Stan Gawle has filed an appeal with the Supervisor of Public Records in Boston.

The taxpayers strike back!

No More Overrides! (click here to save your hard earned dollars)

UPDATE: 5:30 PM Where's Mr. Hood when you need him? So I was trying to add a sitemeter to the website and somehow managed to republish a draft version from a month ago. Yikes! Have contacted tech support and our other webmaster, so hopefully it will be restored to the version seen above soon.

UPDATE: Saturday morning: So Ricky Boy Hood, unfortunately a shoe in candidate for School Committee, is reporting over on Catherine Sanderson's blog that A-Rod is having a medical procedure done in Miami (which had originally been planned for mid-to-late April, when of course the weather in Amherst turns rather pleasant.)

Ricky Boy does not explain the sudden change in plans, or why the Superintendent did not think it important enough to let the Regional School Committee know or why officials did not post it on the ARPS website for all to see.

Hmm...so much for "transparency."

ORIGINAL POST:
Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning. Winston Churchill (no relation to Andy)

Where's A-Rod?

Click to enlarge/read

UPDATE: 2:00 PM (Friday) The New York Post is reporting that black/blind NY Democratic Governor Paterson is ending his reelection campaign because of the scandal involving interference with an investigation against one of his top advisers for sexual assault that he tried to cover up.

Gotta wonder what the People's Republic of Amherst School Committee member Kathleen Anderson, who is black but not blind (although sometimes I wonder about the latter) will chalk this one up to.
##########################################

10:30 AM So according to the memo/spreadsheet that stated, "In keeping with the spirit of transparency and maintaining our lines of communication open, listed below are the dates I have been, or will be out," a memo Superintendent Alberto Rodriguez tossed to the Regional School Committee on February 9th; it clearly indicated he was taking "vacation" from February 16 through February 19, and then on Monday February 22 a "sick" day, and then nothing more until April.

Today is February 25. And now I hear (from two reliable sources) Dr. Rodriguez is staying in sunny Miami until March 8th. Hmm...

Interestingly an Anon posted a Comment on this blog at 8:46 AM questioning his current whereabouts. At 8:55 AM--about ten minutes--later I get a hit from somebody in Miami, Florida doing a Google search for this blog. Hmm...

Click to enlarge/read

I had forgotten that only four out of nine Regional School Committee members voted in favor of his salary/benefits contract (one now gone and another stepping down--and both of them championed the modular classrooms costing taxpayers $215,000 at Mark's Meadow School that never hosted a class of students.)

Umass, Town, ARA team up for development

Thursday update: I live-blogged this last night and participated as an ARA member so please excuse the quirky writing style.
#####################################
7: 30 PM
First meeting in forever: All 5 ARA (Amherst Redevelopment Authority) members are present, four members elected one appointed by the Governor, a quasi state agency with the power of eminent domain. Aaron Hayden, Jeanne Treaster, John Coul, Margaret Roberts and me (or is it I?).

First up election of officers: John Coull Chair, Larry Kelley Vice Chair, Clerk Jeanne Traester (the Governor's appointee who's term is up soon.)

Town Manager Larry Shaffer making a presentation: Concept of a "Gateway Redevelopment District" near the University of Mass. He's been approached by two large corporations who wish to build large upscale student housing projects ($80 million worth) and a luxurious Hotel project ($25 Million worth.) Umass is talking about increasing student population by upwards of 3,000 students.

Downtown is split up between a few heavy hitters. These new folks require 2 to 5 acres of contiguous property for their projects. UMass may convey property to the town (or ARA) the former "frat row" on North Pleasant Street, now just level open space.

ARA could bundle or assemble these properties for the developers. We want the property to be taxable, and close to the downtown so they provide business for our merchants. Grow our tax base (currently 2 billion) by 10%.

7:40 PM Town Manger wants ARA to be "lead agency". Actually had 2 developers talking about hotels--each requiring about 2 or 2.5 acres of property. Frat Row is 1.8 acres. Construction costs are at historic lows. He's been in touch with all the local heavy hitter (Jones family, Barry Roberts etc) but just can't "puzzle our way" through it. Too many property owners each with too small a piece of the overall pie.

Umass would give up Frat Row to the ARA, with conditions (about the projects undertaken). Umass thinks it will not be a problem to convey the property. Looking at taking a Sorority just north of Frat Row and the University Lodge (20 unit hotel owned by former ARA member Curt Shumway) just south, both contiguous with what once was the 4 rowdy frathouses to make for a larger contiguous property.

Private developers need the help of the town (to keep the NIMBYs at bay).

7:55 PM: Rezoning would be required: two thirds vote of Amherst Town Meeting...ouch!

8:20 PM: Jonathan Tucker (Planning Director): In order to go forward you need a plan and the state has to approve it.

8: 30 PM Unanimous vote of the ARA to "prioritize the Gateway Redevelopment District" as a near and present project.

ARA would shape the project and then put it out to RFP (Request For Proposals bid) and let the private sector do the actual project.

Next Meeting March 10 with Umass officials (some of it will be in Executive Session)
Big green spot in middle is former Frat Row: church and commercial hotel immediately below and sorority above.

Previous post on Frat Row.

Public safety held hostage

So first we had Jones Library Trustee Chair Patricia Holland boasting that closing Friday afternoons would inflict the most damage to the public for the least amount saved ($8,575): "This will be an argument for the Override," she naively declared.

Now we have the Town Mangler telling the Select Board to place the snuffing of street lights back on the death row Override list (saving $40,000 if 400 are doused due to Override failure) because it will scare the Hell out of old people who vote, and anal cyclists like former Select Board member Rob Kusner, who may still have a friend or family members who vote.

I have been teaching self-defense for over 35 years and the best advice I can give people is not to be there when trouble arrives. And trouble thrives under cover of darkness.

Street lights help to prevent rape, assault, and other crimes too numerous to mention. Threatening basic public safety to score political points is fearmongering at its worst. Only in Amherst--and Iran.

The Blunders Continue

The Internet Petition to support the Override is still floundering, only garnering 631 signatures in six weeks (many from "name not displayed," or kids too young to vote, or folks from outside the state.) Recently Select Board member Aaron Hayden signed on:

12:11 pm PST, Feb 19, Aaron Hayden, Massachusetts
This year the override is a sound investment in the value of our homes, the quality of life in Amherst, in our children and for our safety and well being. This investment is equal to the cost of a cup of coffee each week - it is hard to be wise because it is easy to taste that cup of coffee right now while we don't need the Fire Department's help today and won't need to return our library books for a few weeks yet.

Hmmm...

So, 52 cups of coffee divided into the cost of the Override for the average homeowner at $264 works out to over $5 per cup.

Amherst College must pay Mr. Hayden really, really well.