There He Goes Again

Larry Shaffer (far left) gets thumbs down from Jackson, Michigan City Council

UPDATE:  Friday afternoon.  Since the Jackson City Council clearly violated their Open Meeting Law to settle with Mr Shaffer (at his urging of course), just as the Amherst Select Board pushed the envelope two years ago, perhaps the $64,000 settlement will be thrown out by a judge.

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So it will come as little surprise to those in Amherst who were paying attention during the short reign of Town Mangler Larry Shaffer that he has once again suddenly decided to retire in the middle of his contract, taking with him--after only a year of service--a cushy $64,000 in taxpayer monies, almost exactly the same amount he absconded with from Amherst as he suddenly "took stock" of his life and decided to retire...at least until he found another job.

One of the weaknesses of the Mass Public Documents Law is exempting employee performance evaluations from exposure.  When Shaffer and the Amherst Select Board hatched his $62,000  severance package  they did so under the cloak of an "executive session" and even refused to take proper notes during that hour-and-twenty-minute closed door pow wow, summing up the entire meeting in just two sentences and redacting one of the two when responding to my request for the meeting minutes.

And now, two years later, the Jackson City Council has given Larry Shaffer a $64,000 going away present after meeting in a brief executive session. Furthermore the severance package contains a mutual "non disparage" clause to forever gag those public officials.

At the very least Larry Shaffer's two recent fiascos will be forever available via the web as a warning to the next community.  After all, a little transparency now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical. (Note to readers: last line, borrowed from Thomas Jefferson, is sarcasm.)

Solar Energy Deal Moves Forward

Old landfill on Belchertown Road

After more than a year since Town Meeting overwhelmingly gave him the authority to do so, Town Manager John Musante brought before the Select Board a 31 page draft of the "Solar Power Services Agreement" he negotiated for electric energy created at a solar farm situated on the old landfill.

The 25 year deal calls for Amherst to lock in electric rates at 6.75 cents per kilowatt hour from the energy produced at up to a 4.25 megawatt operation, with total savings estimated at between $1.8 million and $6.8 million over the life of the contract.  Original value estimates first floated over a year ago were as high as $1 million annually for thirty years in electricity savings and property taxes paid.

The state is proposing solar farms be exempt from paying local property taxes thus the $15 million operation that would have paid $300,000 annually to Amherst will, like some of our academic and cultural institutions, pay nothing.

Musante also disclosed that he was in negotiations with another provider of solar energy from a site located outside of Amherst (Easthampton?). This secondary source could reduce the need for such a large solar array footprint proposed for the old landfill, which could somewhat appease concerned neighbors.

Town Manager John Musante, Stephanie O'Keeffe Select Board Chair 

The Select Board did not take a formal vote on the agreement, but Chair Stephanie O'Keeffe told the town manager he had their "full support."

The Solar Farm still has a number of significant hurdles to clear before any energy starts to flow:  A lawsuit brought by immediate neighbors of the proposed solar farm is still active, the Amherst Zoning Board of Appeals must also support the project unanimously and the question of a "threatened species", the Grasshopper Sparrow, means a National Heritage Species permit must be secured.

But tonight's presentation certainly demonstrated there's light at the end of the tunnel.

Amherst Solar Power Agreement

The Yucky Underbelly

Mill Street Bridge North Amherst 

I guess now you know why Amherst closed the Mill Street Bridge.  But you do have to wonder why it took six months from the date of a state inspection that uncovered safety concerns to actually let the town know the bridge was dangerous.

Mill Street Bridge Northern side

                                                    Mill Street Bridge southwest end

Mill Street Bridge southeast end

DPW was removing this sign and replacing it with a "bridge closed" sign this morning

You can always go...downtown.

The Amherst Crafts on the Common Fair has been attracting devotees for over thirty years now.  Even though the weather Saturday was a tad oppressive it did not stop a gaggle of folks from descending on the downtown main common.

Good for our downtown and great for the sponsor/beneficiary of the event, Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Meanwhile Miss Emily was back, stationed between the Farmers Market and the Crafts Fair, this time in a standing position--even on a such a hot humid day.   Can't image that bronze makeup being anything but lava like.

 Miss Emily strikes a pose

The downtown has another attraction, this one at the always attractive Jones Library.  A photo exhibit from the "Children's nature photography workshop" held over three consecutive days in mid April with visits to three conservation areas that the Kestrel Land Trust has been instrumental in forever preserving as open space/conservation.   My daughter was one of the participants and yes, even at age 10, she takes better photos than her dad.

 Jones Library Atrium (2 photos by Kira K)

And tomorrow night the Select Board will discuss and is expected to approve a rather large "street closure" request encompassing half the downtown for the "Celebrate Amherst Block Party" scheduled for Thursday September 13 from 6:00 PM until 10:00 PM, the first major production of the new Business Improvement District. (So it better be good!)

The event will have live bands stationed on Kendrick Park in the far north of town center and another band in front of Central Fire Station and is designed to bring together people of all ages for some good clean, controlled fun.

As opposed to the rowdy late-night weekend kind, that is no fun at all for neighborhoods all around this college town.

AFD Central Station (rt) is pretty centrally located

Can't get there...

Mill Street Bridge

The town just closed Mill Street Bridge near Puffers Pond in North Amherst for an indefinite period.  Not that it will inconvenience any businesses out that way since the bridge is pretty out of the way, and one can still walk or bike across it.

 South Amherst Village Center

Meanwhile nicer signs have appeared around South Amherst advertising Atkins Farm Country Market and how to get there. The Atkins Corner construction/destruction has reached the farthest point north, passing the main entry to Hampshire College.  Now maybe they will get a tiny taste of what Atkins has endured these past few months.  

Lower West Street (RT 116) just above main entry to Hampshire College 

Hampshire College is not in session during the summer but they do rent out their facilities for summer camps.  Perhaps that's the main reason they decided not to aid Atkins by allowing a simple, easy cut through campus from Rt 116 over to West Bay Road to come within a frisbee toss of Atkins.  Now of course you have to drive miles out of the way to get there.

Unfortunately,  when faced with those extra miles, more than a few customers go elsewhere.   And every customer counts--especially at this time of the year.

Puffers Pond dam shot from Mill Street Bridge (and not from my car)

Well this should stimulate business (depending on how large his staff is)

Cherry Hill Continues to Gush Red Ink

Cherry Hill should be closed because "it's the economy stupid."

A coin toss can decide the convenient excuse town officials will trot out for our municipal golf course continuing to squander taxpayer monies: The reliable standby going on 25 years now--inclement weather, or the more recent favorite--tough economy.  Actually of late they have been using them both in combination.

FY12 ended June 30 with total revenues standing at around $239,000 well under the projected budgeted amount town meeting was told they would intake, $268,000.  And those offsetting expenditures at $232,815 or a "net profit" of $6,185.  And that is the only math town officials ever wish to present.

But those expenditures do not include an additional $49,000 in hidden costs: $31,497 for employee benefits, $14,000 in capital improvements (a lawnmower) plus $3,300 in liability/clubhouse insurance.

Now do the math that small business owners (and homeowners) have to live by:  total expenditures $281,815 against total revenues of $239,000 or an actual loss of $42,815.  Yet our senile,arthritic, toothless, "watchdog" Finance Committee promised Amherst Town Meeting the business  "would show a small profit."

Even worse they dared to say "continue" to show a small profit.  In FY11, the previous year, accounting for the hidden costs Cherry Hill lost $40,000.  What the Finance Committee should have said is the course will continue to generate the same amount of red ink, or more.

The Fiscal year that just started has an extra $12,500 in capital expenditures (turf mower) over last year and next year the ailing operation requires $135,000 in hidden capital costs!


The Solid Waste Fund took a multi million dollar hit when the landfill closed as commercial haulers took their business elsewhere.  The transfer station was created to allow folks who do not have a private hauler to still manage their trash and recycling as well as for the town to dispose of its waste.

But rising fuel prices and the bottoming out of recycling reimbursements have squeezed the operation budget of the transfer station and for the first time in history town officials are actually considering closing it down to the general public, impacting 2,000 current customers--more than ten times the number of season pass holders at the Cherry Hill Golf Course.

The transfer station, however, finished the fiscal year in the black, unlike Cherry Hill.

Trash and recycling services are a necessity, golf is not!

 

Public Art: Both Sides of The River

Old Courthouse lawn Northampton city center

Amherst Cinema building town center