Planning For The Retreat

 About 50 people attended tonight's Select Board hearing on The Retreat

After over two hours of public discussion the Amherst Select Board took no official vote this evening on a recommendation to the Planning Board concerning The Retreat, a "Cluster Subdivision" in Northeast Amherst consisting of 123 lots holding 175 housing units with a total of 641 beds. All of them rented to students.

Neighbors once again packed the Town Room and speaker after speaker brought up a litany of complaints over parking, noise, "unsafe" private roads, and the overall impact of forever changing the character of a historic neighborhood, Cushman.

Even Select Board Chair Stephanie O'Keeffe acknowledged that if the roads in the development are private rather than town accepted public roads, the Amherst police department could not enforce "open container" laws.  And to that Ms. O'Keeffe admitted, "I'm disappointed."

Although she was quick to point out "noise" bylaws could be enforced on the private property.

The Select Board took note of all the complaints and Ms. O'Keeffe will prepare and present a statement to the Planning Board at their Public Hearing on Wednesday night, where no doubt the same crowd will show up to once again voice their disapproval of the student housing project.

Early in the discussion O'Keeffe summed up what tonight's SB meeting was really all about:

"What we’re really doing is sending a message:  It's the obligation of the town to ensure that this is as responsible a project as it can be.  We are all watching this.  This is BIG, significant, and impactful.  Of great concern and interest to many." 

And perhaps the key statement of the night, a sentiment shared by everyone in the room:  "We have an obligation to get it right." 

As does the Planning Board, who will pick up the hot potato on Wednesday night.

All Quiet on the College Town Front

So this past Thanksgiving weekend has got to be a record of some sort:  APD did not make a single arrest and AFD did not transport a single alcohol poisoned college aged youth.

Although Amherst police did investigate a Breaking & Entering at 146 Mill Lane and APD and AFD had to break into a home in North Amherst on Thanksgiving based on an (erroneous) call indicating someone inside needed medical attention.

   AFD Thanksgiving Wknd by larry_kelley_1

APD en route to a Breaking & Entering, Mill Lane, Amherst.  Drawers rifled, belongings strewn around house.  Items missing.
— Larry Kelley (@amherstac) November 30, 2013

Let The Race Begin

Finance Committee Chair Andy Steinberg

Andy Steinberg is first to announce his candidacy for the five member Amherst Select Board, our executive branch of government. As an entrenched insider -- i.e. Town Meeting and Finance Committee -- Steinberg, a retired lawyer, is a slam dunk for one of two open seats.

Especially since he touts "collaboration and transparency" on a shortlist of his priorities.  Who can argue with those?

And as a Town Meeting member he voted in favor of flying the commemorative American flags every 9/11.  Well okay, maybe that one will cost him a few votes.

Interestingly enough, he's probably the only North Amherst/Cushman homeowner who does not have a "Stop The Retreat" lawn sign prominently displayed in his yard.  So yeah, that too may cost him a few votes since NIMBYs usually patronize the ballot box.

If they really possessed political power, however, they would not have been so unceremoniously blown out of the water at the last Town Meeting.

It's been a while since two incumbents both decided to retire from their Select Board seats, thus the field this coming election (March 25) is pretty wide open.  Fitting I suppose, since Stephanie O'Keeffe and Diana Stein both won their seats almost six years ago in a strongly contested election (5 candidates) but at the election three years ago neither had competition.

The odd thing about an election with two open seats is a voter gets two votes.   Thus like-minded candidates usually form an unofficial team, quietly telling their ardent supporters to throw their second vote to candidate B.

Theoretically Candidate A can have only 750 entrenched supporters as does Candidate B; but with each telling their supporters where to throw their second vote both candidates end up with a whopping 1,500 votes.

Thus making it tough on lone-wolf Candidate C, an outsider who tells their voters to "bullet vote"  (don't cast second vote) with a respectable 1,000 supporters,  but still ends up coming in a distant third.

Whereas if voters were only allowed one vote, Candidate C would have come in first.

Since there's no Proposition 2.5 Override or change-our-antiquated-form-of-town-government Charter issue on the ballot, voter turnout will be in the usual range ... dismal.

Over the past five years annual spring town elections averaged a pathetic 15% turnout (with an Override question on the ballot, 2010 had a 32% turnout) while the 2012 November Presidential election garnered a 69% turnout.

In addition to the two Select Board seats other town wide contests for three years seats include one seat on Jones Library Trustees, one  seat on Amherst School Committee, one seat each (for five year term) on Amherst Housing Authority and Amherst Redevelopment Authority (that did not meet once in the past year).

As usual the Town Meeting Moderator position is up (although Jim Pistrang has a 20 year lease). And Town Meeting will have the usual rotation of eight seats per Precinct up for three year terms (80 total) and a dozen other shorter term seats contested.

Amherst currently has 17,851 registered voters.

In his own words ...

Going In Circles?

 

Fort River School historic East Amherst Village

So maybe school officials should simultaneously teach history by having the kids sing "Marching through Georgia" or  -- to be fair and balanced -- "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" while traipsing around the school on these brisk mornings coming up. 

Or let the lead kid carry a Chinese flag. 

 Fort River School Monday 8:35 AM

#####

Email sent to parents November 18th

Dear Families and Guardians,

At Fort River Elementary School, we will implement a before school walking program, beginning December 2^nd (the Monday after Thanksgiving).  This is a successful program at Wildwood, and we are modeling our system after theirs (thanks, Wildwood!).

This program is designed to provide an effective and safe method of increasing physical activity by taking advantage of time not in use for academics.  Currently, our students arrive between 8:30 & 8:45 and have 3 choices:  eat breakfast in the 1^st cafeteria, socialize in the 2^nd cafeteria, or socialize in the gymnasium.  We seek to change this morning supervised time to offer more productivity for the students.   

This program, to be implemented at Fort River Elementary School, will hopefully allow for two things to occur:

1. Increase academic engagement and success.  School aged children who started their morning off with vigorous physical activity while waiting for classes to start showed results of improved focus and attentiveness, and decreased overall behavioral problems (Quick, 2008).
2. Improve overall health of our students.  An increase in physical activity will be used to aid in the battle of childhood obesity and support students to develop a routine for daily exercise.

Students who need to eat breakfast will still come in the building after 8:30 and have a supervised meal in the cafeteria.  All other students will drop off items in the lobby (if necessary) and go back outside to begin walking around our building, supervised by adults stationed outside.  We will follow the guidelines set forth by the district regarding outside activities in relation to cold weather, and offer an inside walk on days that are too extreme.  All students will conclude their walk at 8:45 so that they may begin class at 8:50.

We anticipate that the students will need support for this transition, so we will have many adults on hand outside as we begin implementation (and continued supervision as the program proceeds).  We will also discuss this with them in class in the days ahead so that they may ask questions and be prepared to begin!   Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns. 

Fort River Administration

Occupy Walmart

 Hadley Walmart under siege (sort of)

In addition to the usual bevy of shoppers coming and going at the Mall this Black Friday, the Walmart in Hadley also has a gaggle of protesters occupying a high profile location near their front doors and the subsidiary police presence (looks like the entire Hadley force) and mainstream media.

 

And what is the cost of "justice"?

Heeding the words of President Calvin Coolidge, "The chief business of the American people is business," most shoppers stopped for a moment to survey the scene or listen to the speakers, then quickly headed into the store.

 

Walmart employee tells crowd she makes $10/hr after 5 years 

 

If they gave a demonstration and the media didn't show up it does not make a sound

Walmart fights big hit on Twitter

Christmas Tradition

Now open for business:  Boy Scouts Christmas Tree store

The other Christmas tradition commencing on Black Friday also involves sales, but a tad less cutthroat than what occurs at your local Mall.  

Since the 1950s Boy Scouts have used Kendrick Park as a sales showroom for their #1 fundraiser.  Some of you may remember the "only in Amherst" incident back in 2007 (A story I broke of course) when then Town Manager Larry Shaffer -- supported by then Select Board Chair Anne Awad -- wanted to charge them rent via a $1/tree tax.  

Which of course went over like drilling oil wells in a national park.  

Today the Grinch, err, Larry Shaffer, is long gone and the town even allowed the Business Improvement District to decorate one of the trees on Kendrick Park near the showroom with holiday lights.

Yes Virgina, there is a Santa Clause (even in Amherst).

A Thanksgiving Tradition

 Volunteers young and old help make the Senior Center Thanksgiving go smoothly

Public safety personnel -- God bless them -- are not the only ones working today in the little college town of Amherst (now with the school break, thankfully, feeling a bit less like a college town). 

For the 32nd consecutive year Nancy Pagano, Amherst Senior Center Director, coordinated a sumptuous Thanksgiving dinner at the downtown Bangs Community Center, serving 90 in-house and another 60 via meals on wheels.

 90 folks served at Bangs Center and another 60 in their homes

Or 150 people who otherwise would have had to fend for themselves on this day designed for camaraderie.

 

Six 25+ pound turkeys went into the mix