Lighting The Way

Crosswalk bollards that light up now straddle Snell Street

The Public Works Committee meets next week and will discuss "Amherst College placing bollards on Snell Street," in the public way.  Safe bet they will support the safety move and then pass on that recommendation to the all powerful Select Board who will then vote to approve the project, which is pretty much completed.  

While the more expensive regular full sized pole mounted lighting do a better job illuminating the crosswalk and immediate area, the stubby bolards illuminate just the pedestrian and create a contrast that is more visible to a driver.

Elaborate crosswalk below President's House S. Pleasant Street

A few years ago Amherst College also installed major crosswalks on South Pleasant Street and College Street contiguous to their campus.

Although Amherst College is, like UMass, a tax exempt institution it is also the town's number one taxpayer ( to the tune of $491,364 last year) due to all the houses it owns that are rented to staff, and two businesses that also are on the tax rolls:   Lord Jeffery Inn and Amherst Golf Course.

In addition the College donates $90,000 annually for Amherst Fire Department services. 

Meanwhile the Amherst DPW is installing new LED lighting in all town streetlights, a project funded by a $300,000 state energy grant.  Town Meeting recently voted $130,000 in capital funds for a new bucket truck that could help speed up the project. 

DPW relamping South Pleasant Street

BabeTown Belligerence

 

621 East Pleasant Street, Amherst aka Babe Town

So after seven consecutive $100/day fines the owner of the van parked on the lawn at Babe Town, a venue for underground music concerts, showed great initiative and backed it up the ten feet required to come into compliance with Amherst zoning bylaw.

Moved 7 car parking problem to Sherman Lane Saturday morning (neighbor submitted photo)

I also could not help but notice the new addition on the overgrown front lawn: a pup tent, that went up when a 4' by 8' plywood illegal sign came down. Maybe the bear gets to sleep there at night.  And no, neither the bear or pup tent or combination therein are illegal.  But you gotta wonder what 's next, Christmas lights?

House next door for sale.  "Shocked, shocked I say ..."


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On my way back from the Hampshire Athletic Club, I routinely stop at the Cumby's on lower College Street (assassins take note). Around 11:45 a.m. today, a college-aged youth accosted me with his cell phone snapping at least a dozen pictures as I left the store heading to my car carrying my coffee, egg salad sandwich, and diet root beer.

  

 Shy college aged youth presumably resident of 621 E. Pleasant aka BabeTown

At one point I stopped and looked directly at him saying, "Can I help you?"  But he just kept snap, snap, snapping away. So I open my car door, as he snaps more pictures of my car and license plate, grab my iPhone and he then bounds back to his car leaving the parking lot like a bank robber fleeing the scene of a crime.

Well, I had to run out to North Amherst anyway, in my roles as a Town Meeting member and reporter, so as I drove by 621 East Pleasant Street, aka "Babe Town..."

I could not help but notice from the very public street that East Pleasant Street is, the very same college aged youth sitting on the front porch of his Daddy's mansion.

Who Ya Gonna Call?

 AFD Ladder 1 to the rescue

AFD assists the DPW replacing main cord to town flagpole this morning.  Big flag was blown down in the thunderstorm two nights ago.  Cord was 15 years old and due for replacement.  Flag will go back up later today, in plenty of time for Memorial Day observance on Monday.

 Saturday morning

Private Interest, Public Money

 Unitarian Universalist Society of Amherst.  Tiffany location now boarded up

I can't remember the last time going into a night of Town Meeting not knowing how I was going to vote on any particular article.  Last night there were two such articles -- both dealing with historical preservation -- and I'm not overly confident either of my votes will turn out right.

The Tiffany Window inside the Unitarian Church -- even in its tired state -- is an absolute thing of beauty.  When viewed from inside the church looking out.  But when looking from the outside in, not so hot.  And $106,000 of public money is a LOT of money.

Angel of the Lillies Tiffany Window from the inside

I also wonder why St Brigid's Church directly across the street can manage to do historical capital projects without asking for town tax money.  

St Brigid's Church this morning

And there is the matter of them whacking the 100+ year old healthy pin oak for the convenience of their expansion.  Sure they grudgingly made an effort (that probably cost less than $3,000) to see if the towering tree could be saved.

Town took down unhealthy Pin Oak near telephone pole

If someone from the town had said a long time ago that you can do your expansion only if the tree survives, you can bet they would have come up with a plan that saved the tree.  And if that plan and change in construction cost an extra $100,000 they would still be $6,000 to the good.

Because now the town is partners in their construction project anyway, to the tune of $106,000 to save the Tiffany.

 

Health Pin Oak (center) coming down soon

So I voted "No."  Next year after the Tiffany goes back into the wall facing North Pleasant Street, one summer night around 7:00 p.m. I'll take a look and then decide if it was worth it.

Ashes to ashes, towering tree to large stump

On the other ancient hand I voted "Yes" to Article #36, a zoning change for historic lots on Main Street just below the even more historic Hills House, thus increasing its value to a private landowner, who is also a Town Meeting member.

The measure passed -- but just barely -- by the required two thirds majority 120-55.  And I say just barely because I almost voted no and if only three more yes votes had also changed their minds ...

The pitch to Town Meeting was the property would be sold to Amherst Media to build their new station because big evil corporate Western Mass Electric is kicking them out of their longtime location on College Street.

Amherst Media (formerly ACTV) current location to be demolished soon

And since Amherst Media is a non profit they could build there anyway, but the change in zoning means they can build on more of the property and lease some of it to other businesses.  Of course if they can't raise the millions required to buy the land and build the new building, the current property owner can simply sell it to another more commercial concern.

Historic Main Street lots.  Beautiful view even on a lousy day

I would have felt a lot more comfortable having a contract saying the zoning change is only for the deal with Amherst Media and if that falls through so does the zoning change, but government doesn't work that way.

Retreat Survives 1st Test

154 acre parcel targeted for eminent domain taking

The Retreat, a badly needed student housing development in northeast Amherst managed to dodge the first scud missile launched their way as the Conservation Commission last night abstained from making a recommendation on Amherst Town Meeting article #43, the unAmerican use of eminent domain to steal the property development rights from W.D. Cowls, Inc, the largest private landowner in the state with local business roots predating the American Revolution.

God Bless America.

   Cowls Memo to Conservation Comm

Lonely At The Top

 

And our flag was no longer there

Last night's thunderstorm took out our really BIG town center flag, which was recovered down by the Police Station.  Disadvantage of large size is strong wind has more to work with. Alan Snow is hoping to have it back up and flapping by the weekend.

More Hats Than A Haberdashery

 Larry Kelley, Amherst Town Meeting member, Precinct 5

So yes, I consider myself a digital first reporter who mostly uses Blogger as a publishing platform, although these days strongly supplemented by Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. 

Basic principals of journo are sacred:  Seek truth and report it -- especially when the powerful wish it kept secret -- mitigate harm to the innocent, and protect with your dying breath confidential sources.

But I can assure you other roles on occasion override my role as reporter.  For instance, if a tornado hit Crocker Farm School this morning my role as a Dad would come first should I be early on the scene.  As a matter of fact even if it was not the particular school my daughters attend, my initial actions would be to help rather than report.



Landlord Richard Gold who spoke against article #29 (Rental Registration Permit bylaw)  Monday night bitterly complained about my actions on the floor of Town Meeting and called into question my journalist ethics:

"As a so called reporter who chooses to sit in the front row designated for the press it is your obligation to keep your opinions to yourself and your mouth shut. Not to interrupt speakers so as to disrupt and discredit what they are saying. It was your voice alone that first objected to a portion of my speech."

First off, the moderator clearly states at the beginning of every town meeting the front row " may be used by members of the press or town staff" (with special ID showing they are "non voters") but does not suggest regular town meeting members should not sit there, as about a dozen usually do.

In fact I have been in that location for almost all my nearly 20 years as an Amherst Town Meeting member.

As to my "point of order" (which yes, a few savvy members of Town Meeting use as a weapon to distract speakers), I was invoking the Rule of Decorum that clearly states a speaker should "refrain from characterizing a member's motives or impugning the character of other members."

And as you can clearly see it was not long after that the moderator himself interrupted Mr. Gold for that very reason.  Twice.  So I think his real problem is what most people refer to as "sour grapes".

Over on the Town Meeting listserve Amherst landlord and ZBA member Hilda Greenbaum who was a staunch opponent of article #29 wrote: "Where were the unhappy folks last night against a well-oiled neighborhood? Everyone (including myself) seemed to be cowed by their persistence. "

Mr Gold also lamented "Most of my landlord colleagues were unhappy with Article 29 and it went beyond self-serving. In the end they turned out to be summer soldiers when it came time to speak out publicly."

After all the sound and fury leading up to the epic vote, it was almost anti-climactic.  Notice the somewhat stunned silence immediately after the resounding voice vote:

Voice vote was overwhelmingly in favor

The voice of experience