Let The Sunshine In

From: Larry Kelley
To: AG Division of Open Government 

Sent: Mon, Apr 8, 2013 2:22 pm 
Subject: Open Meeting complaint

I was prevented entry to a meeting on April 4 at the UMass Police Station between high ranking school officials, town officials and private landlords to discuss a matter of utmost public concern:  rowdy off campus student behavior by a minority of students who attend the University. 

I was told in an email from a UMass offical that the meeting was closed because it was a "working meeting."  

UMass did issue a press release before the end of the day but, for instance, did not provide the names of the ten landlords who attended the meeting.  A violation of the very first rule in journalism concerning the five W's (WHO, what, when, where and why). 

 Since this issue is an ongoing problem in the town of Amherst and since these meeting will probably happen again, I would like the Attorney General to issue a ruling as to whether they should be open or not.  

Sacrificing transparency for the expediency of public employees is not a healthy trade off. 

Thank you for your attention and time spent upholding the People's right to know. 

Larry Kelley 

#####

To: buffone Cc: jeankim ; jkennedy ; egelaye ; edblag 
Sent: Mon, Apr 8, 2013 7:35 am 
Subject: Public Documents Request 

Could I please get any and all written correspondence -- email, text, snail mail -- between any UMass employee and Amherst town officials (either appointed or elected) between January 1, 2013 up until this morning concerning off-campus student behavior especially but not limited to the recent "Spring Strategy Meeting" held April 4, as well as any correspondence concerning Amherst's Safe & Healthy Neighborhoods upcoming town meeting bylaw. 

Since this request is in the public's interest I would also request a fee waiver.  

Larry Kelley

#####

To: MusanteJ ; selectboard ; ZiomekD  
Sent: Mon, Apr 8, 2013 9:42 am 
Subject: Fwd: Public Documents Request 
Subject: Public Documents Request 

Could I please get any and all written correspondence -- email, text, snail mail -- between Amherst town officials (either appointed or elected) to any UMass employees between January 1, 2013 up until this morning concerning off-campus student behavior especially but not limited to the recent "Spring Strategy Meeting" held April 4, as well as any correspondence concerning Amherst's Safe & Healthy Neighborhoods upcoming town meeting bylaw. 

Since this request is in the public's interest I would also request a fee waiver.  

 Larry Kelley 

 #####

Sent: Mon, Apr 8, 2013 11:19 am 
Subject: Public Documents Request 
Sally Linowsky Campus and Community Coalition 

Could I please get a list of the  ten landlords who attended the April 4 "Spring Strategy Meeting" held at UMPD as well as a list of all the landlords who were invited.  

Thanks, 

Larry Kelley

Vote Early, Vote Often

I actually like my borrowed tagline better than the one the League of Women Voters came up with for these lawnsigns.  My 11-year-old daughter was confused by them; when I explained their purpose she replied, "That's kinda dumb."

And the fiscal conservative in me would have avoided printing the exact date so that they could be reusable.  Amherst's tagline used to be "Recycling works for Amherst," although that has been replaced by "Open Government To The Max".

Well ... except when engaging in secret meetings with UMass about matters of great public concern.

As I posted earlier, this particular local annual town election tomorrow will be a snoozer.  Even if every voter violated the law and voted twice, the turnout would still be pathetic.

 

Town website today, and reverse 911 call from Town Manger will not help much

But I do, however, have one endorsement ... only it concerns Hadley, Amherst's original Mother who wisely jettisoned us 254 years ago.

 Guilford Mooring, Amherst DPW Director

Guilford Mooring for Selectman.  Yes, in Hadley they still call it "Board of Selectmen".

I have known Guilford Mooring since he became Amherst DPW director in 2002, and if I had to pick the most popular employee in town (even with curmudgeons in Amherst Town Meeting) it would be him.

Guilford runs a tight ship fiscally, makes the trucks run on time, and has a sense of humor -- much needed in this town.

Plus he's a proud veteran, which probably plays far better in Hadley than it would in Amherst.  And he's a great neighbor. 

Going, Going ...

 

608 South Pleasant (Rt 116)

This big old sugar maple at 608 South Pleasant street is coming down after perhaps 75 years of service to my neighborhood providing shade, drinking up water run off, absorbing carbon dioxide while infusing the area with good clean oxygen.

And in it's time,  quite the beauty.

 

Tree required a large crane

 Tree Warden Alan Snow reports the tree was dying in the wrong spot and could not be saved, but in its place the town will plant four more. 

Such is the cycle of life.  And death.

 All that remains

Taking It All Off (for a good cause)

Tony Maroulis Amherst Chamber of Commerce Director (after shot)

It was actually nice to go to an Amherst party scene with loud music, alcohol and lots of good friends all having a great time, without worrying about a police response ... or more precisely, the crowd responding to the police response.

Live (above ground) band

And even though there was not a cover charge at the door (for an all-you-can-drink red plastic cup) the St Baldrick's shave your head to help children with cancer event at Rafter's Sports Bar has thus far raised almost $50,000.

 Heck, I'll drink to that!  (NA of course).

 

Large crowd under the bigtop

Ryan Willey before

Ryan Willey soon after

Who ya gonna call?

Large crowd starting to form Townhouse Apartments around noon

A huge contingent of UMass police helped APD prevent another "Blarney Blowout" yesterday with a great number of officers patrolling in a highly visibility manner the usual hotspots, especially in North Amherst:  Meadow Street, scene of the "Blarney Blowout riot" and Hobart Lane, home of the infamous "Hobart Hoedown," and all along North Pleasant Street which cuts through the heart of UMass, our omnipresent neighbor for 150 years.

Townhouse Apartments main entry

At one point around 4:00 PM Hadley Police called for UMPD's special tactical unit (a four person rapid response team stationed at AFD North Station) to assist with an out of control party, but had to fend on their own as the unit was busy dealing with problems in North Amherst.

But the problems in Amherst never reached the level of a month ago when a great number of State Police were required to quell the rowdy throng at Townhouse Apartments.

Let's hope our local PDs can maintain this level of vigilance over the next five weeks.

UMPD officers help disperse large crowd starting to gather Townhouse Apartments

Townhouse Apartments West entrance

Bumper to bumper Meadow Street traffic early afternoon

Rooftop party Meadow Street, North Amherst center

Joint APD UMPD checkpoint Hobart Lane

Party House North Pleasant Street

Another Frisky Friday?

 

UMPD hands out ticket this morning on Fearing Street (town property)

UPDATE Midnight:

 Baby Berk

The Baby Berk, a large UMass food truck, was not doing a whole lot of business around 11:30 PM, parked alongside Mass Ave in a parking lot near Lincoln Avenue.  The food truck was supposed to draw students away from migrating down Fearing Streets and Lincoln Avenue by giving kids an incentive to walk through campus.

A large group of perhaps a dozen volunteers were stationed at the corner of Lincoln Avenue and Fearing Street attempting to redirect students away from the residential neighborhoods, but they were gone by midnight (although advertised to be out until 2:00 AM).

APD has been busy all night doing "liquor violations" and they have made many arrests.  The Personal Transport Vehicle was activated at 11:00 PM to efficiently cart the perps to APD headquarters.  

UPDATE 10:15 PM

I can almost guarantee there will be no problems on Phillips Street this evening as the APD/UMPD joint patrol includes UMPD's mounted patrol unit. Unlike last September.

UPDATE: 9:00 PM 

Fire at Mill Valley Estates 7:30 PM

A "box alarm" at Mill Valley Estates apartments in South Amherst around 7:30 PM brought a massive and swift response from both APD and AFD.  The stove fire was quickly put down by an officer first on the scene with a portable extinguisher carried in the trunk of his cruiser.

UPDATE 3:15 PM

Hadley police just chased a motorcycle into Amherst on Rt 9 at speeds over 100 mph, sometimes on the wrong side of the road.

The errant bike took a right in town center and headed south on Rt 116.

And no, he did not slow down two miles down the road for Crocker Farm Elementary school, which was just getting ready to let out for the day.  Grrrr.

The perp abandoned his bike, and APD now has it tagged as evidence.

Original Post 1:00 PM

Amherst Police patrols have been doing CP (Community Policing) activity all morning with the usual suspects: rental properties along Fearing, Phillips, Meadow streets, and the infamous Hobart Lane.

Thus, if after knocking on doors and politely informing residents to be on civilized behavior over the weekend and then later having to respond to said location for bad behavior, let's just say a stern response is more easily justified.

Amherst PD and UMPD joint patrols start in earnest this weekend, AFD will have two extra ambulances staffed and ready to go -- paid for by UMass -- and State Police are but a phone call away. Yes, the little college town of Amherst is ready.  For anything.

Stan Rosenberg reports on his Facebook page (and Twitter) that he met this morning with Amherst and UMass officials to discuss student off campus bad behavior.

Let's hope he champions the idea of an off campus RA bouncer to nip problems in the bud, as done at Boston College.

Wow, I'm somebody now.  A discussion topic at Reddit.

Show Me The Money!

So unlike Northampton, our real Sister City to the west, Amherst will not be voting on a Proposition 2.5 Override to balance the FY14 budget which starts July 1, 2013.  Although in Hamp's defense, it should be noted their property tax rate is only $13.35 compared to Amherst's $19.74 per $1,000 of valuation.

In addition to $6.2 million in reserves (plus the Regional Schools $1 million) Amherst also has unspent monies stashed in capital accounts previously appropriated by Town Meeting.  For instance the $200,000 for War Memorial Pool reconstruction.

After Town Meeting appropriated funds the state came through with a grant obviating the need for town money, so that's $200K sitting in an account without a mission.

   Amherst Capital Spending Report

Since it was appropriated for a recreational item at the town's oldest and largest playing field, why not use it to replace the aging wading pool with a spray park?

Spray parks are cheap to operate, easy to maintain, safe for our youngsters and not overly labor intensive.  After all, our kids grow up to be taxpayers.  And in this town, that's a heck of a burden.