Let The Sun Shine!

 Amherst Old Belchertown Road:  Ye Old Landfill

I just love documents with the heading "Confidential:  Not a Public Document."   But yes, Amherst is the home of "Open Government To The Max" initiative, so they even release documents with such a secretive heading even before I get around to a public documents request.

About the only newsworthy thing in this litigation update (at the half-way point in the Fiscal Year) is entry # 3, the status of the lawsuit by ten NIMBYs opposing the solar array at the old landfill.  Looks like the lawsuit is deader than some of the things buried in the old landfill.

So let's hope construction of the solar array commences soon.  Too bad it cost Amherst taxpayers over $8,377 to clear this legal hurdle. 

Legal costs, however, have been fairly low this year -- as evidenced by this rather brief half-year update. The other PUBLIC document being discussed tonight at the Select Board meeting is the half-way point budget update.  Legal Services has only consumed $28,157 out of an annual budget of $110,000.

Although I'm now told that the actual amount as of today is $40, 536 ... still, pretty low at the almost half way point.  The law firm of Kopelman and Paige have a minimum retainer of $44,000 with the town, so it' s not like they are ever going to starve.

Attorney Joel Bard, the face of Kopelman and Paige, at a recent ZBA meeting

Scott Brown: A Lively Conversation

 Scott Brown at the podium, Amherst College Johnson Chapel

Private citizen Scott Brown's reception on a return visit to Amherst was a radical departure from his first visit 18 months ago as US Senator where a hoard of activists treated him rudely, some to the point of disrespect, and attempted to hound him all the way up Bare Mountain, although the vast majority could not match his brisk pace to the top.

Of course it was a "republican" group who had invited him to speak today, and about 75 mostly college aged youth answered the call.  The night-and-day difference was not lost on the former senator who pointed out this speech represented,  "The first time I have not had any protesters".

 Good crowd, mostly college aged youths, came to hear Scott Brown speak at Amherst College

Perhaps remembering that exact Amherst incident he continues, "I'm a moderate -- the most bipartisan senator in the senate and I'm being protested?!  But that's what makes our country so wonderful:   We have ability to have that free speech. We have that ability to question authority, to make a difference." 

Moderate indeed:  Brown touched on his socially liberal beliefs from campaign finance reform to supporting gays serving in the military,  and a woman's right to choose.

Which brought on perhaps his most exasperating moment, remembering the bitter campaign just ended, only his first loss in a dozen elections.  "I'm a pro-choice, moderate, bipartisan republican ... and I'm going to help take away women's rights?  Really!

He continues earnestly, "I'm from a house full of women.  I have three of the most hard charging, high powered women in my life and apparently I'm going to change -- just like that."

Scott Brown with his "hard charging, high powered" wife, Gail Huff

Brown repeated the word "bipartisan" over and over, saying that would be the key to his credibility now as a critic of the status quo.  We all need to "work together as Americans first."

He went on to poignantly remember the height of cooperation that made him "most proud" of the US Congress, when members from both sides of the isle stood together, some arm in arm, on the US Capitol steps and sang "God Bless America" on the late afternoon of 9/11.

But those days a l-o-n-g gone.

We have moved away from "tolerance and cooperation and the ability to work as Americans first ... We're in deep trouble.  What do I mean by that?  Economy is flat, unemployment is up, $16.5 trillion national debt.  When I went down there it was $11.95 trillion.  $16.5 trillion now!"

Turning to a post mortem on his recent senate loss he started with a forthright, "I wouldn't change a thing."   Because as a Republican he had an amazingly steep climb right out of the starting gate.

In a state where only 11% of voters are registered republicans, fighting a contest in a presidential election year with a peak turnout, competing for a seat that was formerly owned by a Kennedy, a family name in Massachusetts only one step down from God on the reverence scale.

Yet he lost by only 7.5%, while Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney -- a former Governor no less -- lost the state by a whopping 23%.

Scott Brown left the rapt audience with a challenge:  "Are you going to be a part of the go-along-to- get-along crowd or are you going to be a leader at the college.  Are you going to make a difference?"

Considering the obstacles he has overcome, Scott Brown provided them a timely role model.

Tony Melendez, who plays guitar with his feet, also provided an inspirational talk and musical demonstration of how the human spirit can overcome adversity.

Amherst College Johnson Chapel, under a majestic American flag, provided a bright cozy setting for uplifting talks

Mass Daily Collegian managed to muster a reporter (what say you Gazette, Republican, Ch 22, Ch 40?)

"Shelter In Place"

Amherst Town Hall closed at High Noon Friday, but the work had just begun for DPW, Police/Fire/Dispatch 

Town Hall after the storm. By the next morning about two feet of the white stuff had fallen

DPW parking lot the morning after. All hands on deck, all night long. A remarkable job done.

Amherst Police Department was not inundated with calls as everyone took the Governor's advice and stayed in although Dispatch fielded numerous calls concerning the driving ban.

Truck vs tree around 3:45 PM Friday

Amherst Fire Department Central Station: only sign of life in town center overnight or this morning.  Make sure you clear fire hydrants and vents near your house!

AFD Central around 11:00 PM last night with nearly white out conditions

Amherst Town Center 8:30 AM cleared but abandoned

Town Center looking North

Peoples Bank, American Legion, Town Center

Bank of America town center (closed)

Amherst Coffee closed

UMass Amherst closed

The Dickinson Homestead: the quiet helps Miss Emily work

Taylor Davis Landscaping crew helping to fight drifting snow in town center

Almost home. Car blocked Jeffrey Lane stuck in snow overnight

Buried by Nemo. These cars will take a while to dig out

East Pleasant near Kendrick Park looking south toward town center. Easy to share the road with no traffic

Bramble Hill Farm South Amherst 3:00 PM today. Dog says, "What, are you crazy?"

Exterior Makeover

 The Boulders, East Hadley Road, Amherst

The Boulders, circa 1975 when it was known as "Brittany Manor", one of the original large professionally managed apartment complexes in town, is getting a major exterior renovation, shedding the quaint but dated looking wood shingles in favor of a cleaner, tighter vinyl siding and new energy efficient windows. 

The project is estimated to cost $849,996 and has generated $8,700 to the town in building permit fees.  Although town assessor David Burgess confirms that current assessed value of $11,651,200 ($240,000 in property tax payment) will not go up as the renovation is "considered a reasonable expense to maintain the property."

Not a bad idea, as it gives landlords an incentive to do basic maintenance. Although we have a few in town that consider basic maintenance above and beyond their call of duty.

Tools of the Trade

Hobart Lane:  PTV in action

If ever a term described Amherst Police Department's capital equipment requests for next year it would be "the usual".  Well, almost. (No drones however).

Three front line cruisers, AKA patrol cars, i.e. "black-and-whites," at a total cost of $105,000.  These vital vehicles are on the go 24 hours a day, seven days a week and as a result only last two or three years.  The department is currently on a four year replacement cycle: replace three cruisers annually for three consecutive years and then four in the fourth year.

Since the iconic Crown Vics are no longer manufactured, the replacement vehicles will all be Ford Taurus Police Interceptors, which are crash rated to 75 MPH.  Thus the vehicles are safer, as well as roomier for extra comfort, and fiscally sound via better gas mileage.  

 A reliable response vehicle is required for first responders

Last year was a replace-four year but there is still money left over from that appropriation, so the department is putting $45,000 of it towards a new Personal Transport Vehicle or PTV.

Not to be confused with the racially insensitive term "paddy wagon."  Although I heard a number of college aged youth use that term as they were being loaded into the vehicle last fall.  The current van has over 136,000 miles on it.

Left over FY13 money ($12,000) will also be used to purchase a Harley Davidson motorcycle coming off lease (with only 1,492 miles on it).  A few years ago APD had a mounted horse division but that was put out to pasture due to budget constraints.

No horse patrol but we have (2) Harleys

Also requested is an in-cruiser wireless camera system for two cars ($10,500) that shoots digital audio and video and immediately downloads as the patrol car pulls into the station parking lot.  The raw video protects officers from liability (false claims of inappropriate conduct) and can be used in a court of law for evidence in drunk driving arrests.

The department requested these two camera systems last year but was delayed to save money.  That year the department had to upgrade its communication system at a cost of $125,000 to come into compliance with FCC "narrow band" regulations.

Captain Pronovost left, Chief Livingstone left center Kay Moran JCPC Chair right

Joint Capital Planning Committee's target goal is to spend 7% of total budget for capital items.
 
While a total police request of $172,500 ($57,000 already appropriated) may sound like a lot, considering the FY14 APD operation budget is, like the Amherst Fire Department, just over $4 million, a 7% slice for capital should come to $280,000.

Not a bad deal for safety.

Branded: A Public Slander

Edited to protect the innocent

About the only thing worse than losing all your possessions in a structure fire (besides your life of course) is to later have a lawyer publicly brand you as the culprit who caused the conflagration.

As another lawyer so famously asked of a bully on network TV, "Have you no sense of decency, sir?"

According to the Amherst Fire Department the cause of the 9/13/12 blaze at #28 Hobart Lane was "accidental" and "undetermined".

But according to Attorney Farber, hired gun for property owner Grandonico Properties, LLC, the blaze was caused by an occupant of a (illegal) basement bedroom. 

Oddly, he puts forth a scenario that is remarkably close to an another fire that occurred in South Amherst over a year before due to the Halloween Snowmageddon storm.  A young lady was drying her hair when the power went out, so she dropped the hairdryer on the bed and a few days later when the power finally returned, puff.

The fire department report clearly traces the fire origin to a bedside table, not the bed itself. Miss X also reports she does not own a "curling iron."

Yes the Hobart Lane basement area had one smoke detector but it was too badly damaged in the fire to determine if it was in proper working order.  Either way, with a basement illegally subdivided into two bedrooms, three smoke detectors are required and they need to be hardwired rather than battery operated.

Plus the entire basement area has only one window as a second means of egress, so the person with the bedroom that did not have a window could easily be trapped and turned into toast.

#28 Hobart Lane:  One basement window, two bedrooms

The other vital safety equipment missing that day was a carbon monoxide detector.  Attorney Farber even admits there were none, and that the Gilreath Manor complex uses gas water heaters located in -- you guessed it -- the basement.

In fact, a safety inspection immediately after the fire discovered one of the water heaters was not operating properly because it was covered by a blanket, a potential two-way death sentence by carbon monoxide poisoning, or a gas explosion.

Attorney Farber also admitted Miss X had concerns over unlabeled fire extinguishers.  Since there were no labels on them she would not have known they only contained water and therefore, should NOT be used on an electrical fire, which would have only made things worse.

Miss X also confirms she never tested any smoke detectors in the basement, only on the first floor, as she was unaware there was even one there.  The fire department inspector found one on the second floor was not working on the day of the fire and issued the Grandonicos a $100 fine.



ZBA Chair Eric Beal (also an attorney) was obviously upset by the written testimony put before his board, and he spent a fair amount of time "reading it into the public record".

Just as obvious on display -- via attorney Farber -- was the Grandonicos wish to place blame anywhere but where it belongs: on them.

As a result, a hard working young woman who -- through no fault of her own -- suffered the trauma of losing possessions to fire, gets thrown under a burning bus.

To quote that iconic theme song of the 60s, "What do you do when you're branded, will you fight for your name?"

The entire 2 hour meeting, brought to you by Amherst Media

A Little Awkward Indeed

Attorney Larry I've-got-a-secret Farber 1/31/13 ZBA Meeting

So yes, I was tempted to scream at this point in the meeting (or assume a lotus position and self immolate).  But I figured the sparsely attended meeting was being recorded by Amherst Media, so at some point the whole world could see -- and hear. 



Of course one thing the Grandonicos wish to keep secret is the provision that ties students into a 15 month lease (June 1 through August 31 the following year) that spans two summers. 

Thus the average UMass student, who does not live in Amherst year round, pays for 15 months but only gets 9 months worth of use.

Or they could spend $450 each to get out of the last three months.

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