Open Government To The Max?

Amherstma.gov  talks the talk

UPDATE:  Now I'm told the secret meeting will be held Monday at 11:00 a.m.

  I'm always a tad concerned when pubic officials hold a private meeting in a cozy office -- especially when it's the highest elected body in town government, the five-member Select Board. (For those of you outside quaint New England, they are the town's executive branch, aka Mayor if we were a city.)

Even more concerning when they are discussing land acquisition in northeast Amherst that could cost the taxpayers $6.5 million dollars, the most expensive land taking in town history.

To recap:  More than a majority of Amherst Town Meeting rejected the idea of taking by eminent domain (which requires a two-thirds super majority) 154 acres of woodland property in northeast Amherst as a means of stopping the student housing development known as "The Retreat."

A private developer, Landmark Properties, has offered a private landowner W.D. Cowls, Inc $6.5 million to purchase the property.  Since the property is currently in Ch61A conservation the town has a "right of first refusal" on the property, but only a yes-or-no option to match a legitimate offer. 

Town Counsel has twice rejected the Purchase & Sale agreement between the two private parties as not being "legitimate" because it offers the buyer too easy a way out somewhere down the road.  Attorneys for both private parties agreed the first offer was problematic but feel strongly the second one is "legitimate."

 Amherst Select Board Chair Stephanie O'Keeffe speaks to Town Meeting

Yes, Ms. O'Keeffe says she has tentatively scheduled a "public discussion" of the Right of First Refusal for July 29; but I wonder what happens in the first few minutes of Friday's meeting if the Town Attorney tells them -- aka breaking news -- that the Purchase & Sale agreement is indeed legitimate?

Because at that point there's no "bargaining strategy" to discuss. It's an all-or-nothing $6.5 million bid to which the town can either match or fold.

And the vast majority of taxpayers, unless they live in Cushman Village, would prefer the Select Board take a pass. But at the very least, EVERYBODY needs to see this play out in the clear, open, light of day.

Click headline below to enlarge/read or click here

Executive Session email exchange by Larry Kelley

Cart Before The Horse?

 

Maria Geryk addresses Amherst Town Meeting mid May

So in rather all too typical ass backward style the Amherst-Pelham Regional School Committee is taking public input (until tomorrow) on the performance of the town's highest paid public employee ($147, 000), Amherst Regional Public Schools Superintendent Maria Geryk.

I say ass backwards because back in April this same rubber stamp committee extended Maria Geryk's lucrative contract for a whopping five years. 

Yes, Amherst does go though Superintendents like college students go through kegs of cheap beer, so maybe a five year contract will bring stability to the top spot, but you have to wonder how serious the committee takes public input when they are only now asking?

Amherst Downtown Business Shake Up

 
 Alex Krogh-Grabbe addresses Amherst Select Board

The Amherst Business Improvement District announced rather suddenly this morning by way of unscheduled email that rookie Director Alex Krogh-Grabbe will step down as Director on July 1st, start of the new fiscal year.

Krogh-Grabbe was hired last year to lead the fledgling BID which, like the Director,  is still in its start-up year.

The Amherst Select Board gave final approval for the BID in October of 2011 after business icons Barry Roberts and Jerry Jolly spent two years laying the groundwork for formation of the district.

Northampton created a BID in 2009.

According to Executive Committee Chair Barry Roberts the decision of the Executive Board was unanimous and mutually agreeable to the current director, as the BID "needed somebody with different management skills."

According to Krogh-Grabbe, "I'm proud of everything we've done at the BID in the past year, and I look forward to seeing the BID do many more exciting things in the years to come!"

The Executive Board will meet this Thursday and the full board on Friday to discuss the immediate future of the position.

And Then There Was One

 The DV Den, 320 College Street Amherst

The second to the last movie rental store left in Amherst, The DV Den, has called it quits.  Or as they say in Hollywood, "Fade to black."

While the business was ahead of the curve at one time -- becoming the first rental operation in the area to phase out video tapes and go all-DVD in 2006, in the end it was a technological shift in the delivery of movies that all but exterminated the storefront movie rental industry.

Netflix made rentals as easy as point and click for instant access to thousands of movies, and if you did not mind waiting a day or two, first run DVD movies delivered to your mailbox.  All with a comparatively cheap low monthly subscription cost. 

The recent rise of Redbox was probably the final blow as first run moves were conveniently available in ubiquitous vending machines located near and far (one of them within disc throw of The DV Den) where the discs could be returned to any location and only costs $1.20 per rental, almost four times cheaper than the price charged by The DV Den.

Redbox, 360 College Street, Amherst

But you cannot ask a vending machine for a movie recommendation, or briefly discuss how your day is going thus far.

Efficiency always seems to be at the expense of humanity; and Amherst is now diminished because of it.

Party House of the Weekend

 73 Curtis Place, Amherst 

So yes even though UMass, our number one generator of Party House participants, is currently on sabbatical, that doesn't magically flip a switch and guarantee the bucolic village of Amherst a quiet weekend.

Early Sunday morning (12:49 a.m.) Amherst police responded to 73 Curtis Place, an owner occupied home in a tranquil neighborhood, and issued a verbal warning for noise.

The rowdy residents -- not taking the hint -- returned to their noisy ways.  The second time around (2:37 a.m.) Amherst Police issued a $300 noise ticket.

73 Curtis Place, in a tucked away neighborhood

Another Common Sense Zoning Tweak

 

Amherst Town Meeting will take up discussion of article 32 tonight, the second in a "package" of zoning amendments (unanimously supported by the Planning Board) meant to stimulate smart growth development in commercial centers; although North Amherst NIMBYs seem to be the main organized opposition to anything development related that also involves residential uses. 

By reducing minimum lot area and frontage required for development the change would obviously allow for in-fill development on smaller parcels of land.

One other important change would be the way height is measured on a proposed building.  Non usable pitched portions of roofs would no longer be counted towards maximum height.

Kind of like those rear fins that were all the rage on cars in the 1950s, except a pitched roof is far more useful in dealing with heavy snows, solar panel placement or communications antennas.

Combine this new way of measuring with the increase by five feet to a new 55 foot maximum height allowance, and a developer could squeeze out an entire extra floor.  That too is encouraged by increasing the maximum number of floors on a building from four to five.

Amherst has a well earned anti-business reputation built up over generations of obstructionism.  Town Meeting killed more sweeping changes to the zoning bylaws last year with the narrow defeat of Form Based Zoning.

The changes in this article, like article 31 approved last week, are incremental improvements vitally necessary for a healthy mix of much needed development.

Transparency Tweak

 

Amherst Town Flag, Town Hall

So better late than never, the village that -- like President Obama -- wants to be known for transparency has uploaded to our award winning town website all town employee salaries, mimicking the 18 month old state program known as "Open Checkbook."

Well, all town employees -- but that does not include the public schools who eat up the lions share of our $68 million budget.

Northampton, our sister city to the west, has been doing this for years now and of course my readers will note I uploaded both schools and town salaries a couple months ago.

And yes it still attracts a fair number of hits.  And will continue to do so since folks seem more interested in the schools than the town.

Breaking news bulletin from amherstma.gov

Editor's note: opening sentence contains sarcasm