Occupy Amherst...briefly

Agile Gazette photographer Gordon Daniels keep pace with the protesters

About 60 mostly college aged folks descended on the downtown yesterday carrying signs and banners and chanting slogans and only briefly snarling traffic. Amherst Police Department monitored the situation closely but did not interact with the crowd. The marchers retreated from town center, down Rt 9 up Triangle Street and then North Pleasant back to UMass, with a cruiser following closely behind.

Hard to walk and keep the banner taut (must be from Hampshire College)

This was the first Occupy action in Amherst since the clash with Tea Party supporters a month ago, where they seemed a tad intimidated by direct counter confrontation.

A costly legal maneuver

Amherst's Special Ed legal bill first quarter FY2012

Even though Gini Tate's $225/hour contract was terminated by a 5-4 Regional School Committee vote (9/22/10) for Special Education legal services commencing 12/1/2010, with the contract turned over to Dupere & Dupere for a $36,000 total annual cost, taxpayers recently paid the law firm of Murphy, Hesse, Toomey and Lehane (Ms. Tate's firm)$13,646 for special education legal services for only the first quarter of FY2012.

According to Regional School Committee Chair Rick Hood:

"There were three cases carried over from the transition between Dupere and MHLT (Attorney Tate). Two of the cases have reached conclusion and/or are awaiting the BSEA to issue their decision. The third case was a re-filing of a case where MHLT (Attorney Tate) had already worked extensively on it during the FY11 school year prior to Dupere being appointed the new SE attorney. Probably this is the case you are referring to.

Where MHLT was already deeply involved in a case it was thought best (and less expensive) to keep MHLT on it."

Of course that case he claims attorney Tate being "deeply involved in" had only been filed 11/13/10, less than a month after the Regional School Committee vote to terminate Ms. Tate and only two weeks before the 12/1/10 date of implementation. In fact, the case was withdrawn and refiled April 4, 2011 well after Dupere & Dupere took over.

But no, rather than let the new law firm handle it at no extra cost we have town officials opening a spigot--as though taxpayer money springs from an endless well.

Expensive "internal" copy costs

Trip the light fantastic

Town Moderator Harrison Gregg calls the meeting to order (the usual 10 minutes late)

So in addition to the usually screw ups--PowerPoint snafus and sound system screeches--two hours into Town Meeting, after I had already taken 35 photos (equally divided between pro and con speakers) from my front row seated position which is designated for media, after Mary Streeter trudged to the microphone 40 feet from me, Molly Turner interrupted with a "point of order," claiming I was distracting speakers (of course she meant those on her side who opposed the article) by "flashing" in their faces.

Moderator Harrison Gregg, who I had already photographed three times, seemed confused and asked her what she was talking about. Obviously I was not a distraction to him, even though seated almost directly in front of his podium.

And Ms. Streeter certainly did not seem to notice, as she was juggling papers and asked about removing the microphone. I was taking two photos of every speaker and you can barely notice the first flash (the lighting is lousy in the auditorium and does require a flash for usable photos) and then the second and final one a full 24 seconds later.

He then flippantly bans my flash. Now yeah, I could have done what Luke Gelinas did with the South Hadley School Committee and get arrested and then suit for a First Amendment violation. But I figured a major disruption could cost votes as most people know I favored passage of the Form Based Zoning article.

That night before Town Meeting started, the Moderator announced that a member wished to enact a rule to limit all speakers to no more than five minutes. But he said since town meeting had not formerly adopted such a rule, he could not suddenly try to enforce it now.

Last spring the Town Meeting Coordinating Committee briefly discussed the use of flash photography and photographers moving about on the floor of town meeting potentially distracting or "intimidating" speakers--but nothing ever came of it. No enforceable rule enacted.

I guess that makes me and my flash...special.

Form Based Zoning: DOA

Amherst Town Meeting members call for "tally vote" by holding up cards

Despite 80% support from the Select Board and 60% of Town Meeting members, Form Based Zoning in North Amherst village center and Atkins Corner in deep South Amherst failed to clear the high hurdle of a two thirds vote, going down to defeat after 2.5 hours of discussion with 119 yes votes and 79 no.

The majority of the discussion centered on North Amherst where Town Meeting was told by two speakers that over 100 "residents of Montague Road" had signed a petition opposing the article (turns out to be more like a dozen actual residents), but Atkins Corner in South Amherst also drew criticism because the two new roundabouts are not yet functioning and the noise from the Norwottuck Gun Club was portrayed as a major detriment to health and safety.

Unfortunately the cumulative effect of having two large separate areas involved--each with its own set of NIMBYs--doomed the ambitious undertaking. Perhaps if someone had divided the motion and let each village center be voted on separately one of them could have passed.

Overall, like the demise of the Gateway Project, the fear that increased density of development was not family friendly and would bring more student party houses to disrupt neighborhoods with late night noise, traffic, fighting, vandalism, unsightly trash and body fluids caused the defeat.

Maybe now town and UMass officials will get serious about controlling rowdy, alcohol fueled behavior of the tiny minority of students who are having such a detrimental impact on civility at large.

Selectman and North Amherst resident Jim Wald presented the article

Quintessential NIMBY Mary Streeter cited safety and environmental concerns with Atkins Corner

Atkins neighbor Seymour Epstein cited noise and pollution to a trout stream, calling the planning charrette a "charade"

Former Selectman Gerry Weiss was concerned the village centers would compete with downtown businesses

More trees to fall?

Rosemary Street North Amherst

Shade Tree Committee Chair Hope Crolius gamely gave a brief presentation/report on the opening night of Amherst Town Meeting, where she acknowledged that "trees are not everybody's favorite part of the ecosystem about now," but implored the legislative body to "keep your faith in trees, despite any havoc they may have wrought on your cars, houses or lawns."

As she retreated from the podium, Town Meeting, uncharacteristically, applauded.

So as you can imagine, she responded cautiously last night as a homeowner on Rosemary Street, a bucolic subdivision in North Amherst built in the mid-to-late 1990s, made a pitch to whack all the healthy Norway Maple trees because they are an "invasive species," and replace them with a presumably tamer "native species."

Committee member Bob Erwin thought, after the recent devastation to our urban tree canopy, this idea was doubly bad: both the timing of this request and the precedent it may set. The seven member Shade Tree Committee took no position but suggested the homeowner poll his neighbors to ascertain their opinions.

The Shade Tree Committee is a sub-committee of the more powerful Conservation Commission, and either committee can make recommendations to the Tree Warden (Alan Snow) who has state authority to remove trees in the public way. Those who disagree and wish to appeal a decision of the Tree Warden can appeal to the Select Board who has final authority over the public ways.

Tree Warden Alan Snow

The town could charge the homeowner $55/diameter inch to have the trees taken down (most are in the 6" to 10" range) by a private contractor, also at his expense. Or if the town likes the idea of clear cutting and replanting a new species, it could all be done at taxpayer expense.


Unless of course they ask the Lorax for an opinion.

Amherst Shade Tree Committee 11/15/11

Firefighters union, finally, signs contract

AFD Central Station

After more than a year of working without a contract the Amherst Firefighters Local 1764 settled with the town garnering 1% salary increase (retroactive) for last year and January 1, 2012 a 2% salary increase and July 1, 2012 another 2% salary increase. BUT, no increase in staffing!

Currently Amherst is covered 24/7 with a minimum staffing level of 7, half that of our comparable sister city Northampton, which has 14.

The teachers union recently inked a two year contract with a 1.5% pay increase while non union school employees (bus drivers, janitors, secretaries, etc) settled for 0%; and on the town side non union employees (department heads) received 2% and the Town Manager a whopping 10%. SEIU 888 with about 70 municipal members is also being offered 0% but will go into mediation for a contract resolution.

AFD Chief Tim Nelson Firefighter Union President Stephen Gaughan

Town Website breaks the news
Press release from Firefighters Union (note extra paragraph the town nixed on their post...hmmm)
3:45 PM UPDATE: So apparently between noon when I published this and late this afternoon, the town corrected their posting on the website to include the extra paragraph that had been inadvertently left off.

Say it ain't so Scott

Senator Scott Brown: dressed for a hike

I find it hard to believe that Senator Scott Brown would turn down the opportunity to speak at the annual meeting of the Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association, a conglomeration of every daily newspaper and about half the weeklies in the state of Massachusetts where he is now in pretty much a dead heat with a political rookie rock star, Elizabeth Warren--who is going to speak at the old fashioned Fourth Estate luncheon.

I mean, this is the guy who came to the People's Republic of Amherst--ground zero for entrenched liberal ideology dating back to the 1960s. Can a roomful of journalists possibly be any worse?

Sure newspapers are nowhere near what they used to be for providing news and information to the masses--especially those under age 30--but they are still a formidable institution, rock solid with older folks who always vote.

I don't care if your campaign is three times richer than Ms. Warren's, news coverage is priceless--and free!

Henry Street North Amherst this morning (not sure if they are a supporter or not)