Costly Conflict

  

In case you thought the Amherst Pelham Region School Committee is a rubber-stamping flock of sheep, ponder this snippet from their 2/12 meeting where Rob Detweiler gave a budget update for the half-way point of the Fiscal Year.

So he tells the committee that with the year only half over ARPS has already paid out $200,000 in legal claims putting that part of the Special Education Budget over by $330,000.  Yikes!

And what is their response?  Nothing, nada, zip.  No questions, no observations, no nothing.

Anyone else concerned over why the taxpayers are out over $200,000 in legal settlements?

Tenants United

About 25 people packed into the Family Outreach office located in a commercial building owned by Eagle Crest Management, AKA Jamie Cherewatti, to strategize a response to sudden eviction notices for all the tenants living in Echo Village Apartments located next door, 24 units of -- by Amherst standards anyway -- affordable housing.

A little less than half the crowd was made up of a (Section 8) tenants and the rest was a fusion of government and non-profit personnel from the Amherst Schools, Amherst Housing Authority, Planning Department, Legal Services and even the NAACP.

Also hard to miss was former Echo Village tenant, who said he was "paid to leave", Motown Benny.  Although at one point in the meeting he was asked to stop talking and "get down off his political soapbox."

Motown Benny (Johnson)

The good news was tenants did not have to abide by the 3/31 deadline demand to vacate the premises. But that is the trigger date for Mr. Cherewatti to start legal eviction proceedings  in Housing Court, and then of course it's up to the judge to decide.

Eagle Crest claims all tenants can "reapply" for tenancy on April 1st (no foolin) as long as they have moved out by March 31.  Although one official reported Eagle Crest must give 60 days advance notice before implementing a rent increase to Section 8 tenants, which he has not done.  The management firm has, however, giving notice of "termination."

The really bad news is that Cherewatti can indeed raise the rent and that will price all Section 8 tenants out of the market anyway.  Said one frustrated official, "Our hands are tied on so many levels."

Six weeks ago Cherewatti purchased the property, assessed at $2.1 million, for $3 million, and is now raising rents the same 30% or so he overpaid.  Just business.

Although, you can't put a price on a positive public image. 

An Unattended Death

 Station Road Bike Path parking lot

Last Tuesday in the early morning hours first responders descended on the Station Road Bike Path parking lot to deal with a tragic sad scene:  a suicide.

But one that endangered them as well, because Jim Tan, age 22,  had set off a chemical cocktail in his car, which posed a potentially deadly threat to anyone else who should come into contact with it.


Fortunately he took the time to post warning signs on the car window. This is the second time someone has chosen to end their life in this manner in our little town. 

EMTs stood by for hours, Amherst Police closed off Station Road and the State Fire Marshall and the regional state HazMat team arrived to perform a careful investigation/clean up, which took six hours.

Why are you just hearing this disturbing detail now?

Well, UMass doesn't want to acknowledge/advertise one of its students committed suicide, state officials don't want Copy Cats getting any ideas, and traditional media -- even if they did have the story -- would have privacy concerns much like those dealt with in the case of rape victims, although in this case the concern is for the family.

But the death occurred on public property, potentially endangered public employees, and highlights what could be a growing problem.

The People have a right to know.  

Seek help!

Amherst Bulletin catches up

Much Needed Development Planned

Cowls woodland since 1888 

Up to 170 cottage style student housing units sheltering a total of 680 tenants could soon be developed in the Cushman Village Center near Amherst's number one employer and target demographic, the University of Massachusetts. 

Landmark Properties bills "The Retreat" as a "cluster conservation subdivision" that will "provide students with an award winning, high quality, highly amenitized lifestyle in their own community of single family and attached homes."

Map of proposed development (click to enlarge)

 
The 154 acre parcel is currently owned and manged by the W.D. Cowls company, the state's largest private landowner. The property is in Chapter 61 Forest Conservation.  As a result the wooded acreage is current valued at $67/acre or a little over $10,000. 

The Amherst Select Board will have to sign off on releasing the land from Chapter 61, and they have 120 days to implement a"right of first refusal".

Considering the $6.5 million purchase price, it's highly unlikely the town will buy it.  Amherst could, however, transfer the right of first refusal to another non-profit agency, such as the Kestrel Land Trust.  But again, at that price, hard to match.

If developed by a private entity the project would also pay Amherst hundreds of thousands in property taxes annually.  

Amherst currently has an exceedingly tight 3.5% vacancy rate and conversions of single family homes to student rooming houses have caused problems all over town.

A classic Catch 22:  any proposal to add student housing is met with NIMBY resistance for fear of it becoming a riotous Frat Row.  Because no dense developments have been constructed to match increasing enrollment at UMass, the penny ante developers have converted traditional single family homes to student housing with no professional management, a recipe for disaster.

Safe to say locals are already sharpening their pitchforks and soaking torches in gasoline.

Letter to abutters from developer

What Are They Afraid Of?

The infallible Amherst Select Board

The Amherst Select Board this evening by a 3-2 "consensus" declined to place an advisory question before town voters to get their opinion on the merits of flying the commemorative flags in the downtown annually on 9/11, rather than the once-every-five-years plan currently in place.

Chair Stephanie O'Keeffe was, as usual, the deciding vote -- although she did not have the courage to actually let the board take a formal vote.

And now they have denied the people of Amherst the right to vote on this (Only In Amherst) volatile issue.

ETOH!

So in addition to all the dangerously drunk (ETOH) college aged youth AFD and ambulances from four surrounding towns transporting to the Cooley Dickinson Hospital from the Tiesto concert at the Mullins Center Thursday night, the weekend did not go much better when it comes to all things alcohol.

   AFD Weekend late Feb by  

Two * calls had to be handled by mutual aid ambulances

Amherst Fire Department transported 9 patients (out of a total of 11 EMS calls) from UMass to the local hospital because of alcohol abuse. Of course UMass will cite all their survey statistics to show binge drinking is going down or "72% of UMass students support the campus alcohol policies."

Put that on the gravestone of the next kid to die from alcohol related abuse.

A Stirring Symbol

What so proudly we hailed ...

Two paramount things the American flag represents -- which I hope we ALL agree on -- is the right of the People to vote on matters both great and small, and the right to petition our government for a redress of grievances.

Tonight both those qualities come in to play, as I go before the Amherst Select Board to request they place the question of flying 29 commemorative flags in the downtown every 9/11 on the upcoming April 9 town election ballot.  That way citizens can finally decide this ongoing issue, which annually brings notoriety to the town.

On the night of September 10, 2001 while a pernicious plot against our country was just starting to unfold, the Amherst Select Board voted to allow 29 commemorative flags to fly on only six occasions, some sad, some celebratory.  

Six weeks after 9/11 I asked that Select Board to add 9/11 to the permanent days the commemorative flags could fly.  They refused, but allowed them up on the first anniversary and again in 2003.

But a change in leadership ushered in a Dark Ages and the flags did not fly again until 2009 under a "compromise" that said they could fly once every three years.

That ridiculous compromise was based on a shameful May16, 2007 two-thirds Town Meeting vote  (96-41) against flying the flags on 9/11 -- ever!  In 2010 SB Chair Stephanie O'keeffe hatched yet another compromise to allow them to fly every 5th year on "milestone anniversaries". 

Tonight the Select Board will take up discussion of a proposal/promise I made to them on September 10, 2012.  I'm not a betting man, but I firmly believe they will do the right thing.

Amherst Firefighters support the flying of the flags

The infamous Fox News Report