Merriest Maple Yet

Merry Maple, UMass Marching Band

Okay, so it may not be visible to the astronauts aboard the space station, but it certainly is bright enough to warm the heart of the most curmudgeon of Amherst citizens (including me).

Well done Business Improvement District, well done.

The One's For You

Nelson Mandela 7/18/1818 – 12/5/13

To paraphrase Winston Churchill: Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few, the one.

Expanded Region Moves Forward (sort of)

 12 member RSDPB outnumber spectators in the audience

The 12 members Regional School District Planning Board, made up of three representatives from all four towns (Amherst, Leverett, Pelham, Shutesbury) in the current 7-12 Region, struggled with developing a "model" palatable to all four towns, but still allowing one (Shutesbury) not to participate at the pre-K through 6 level. 

But leaving the door open -- using the term "on ramp" -- for them to fully join the expanded Region at later date, but within a deadline.  And in the meantime allow for a possible sharing of the Superintendent who would be in charge of the expanded Region.

At one point in the somewhat contentious meeting the facilitator asked "Is there anything you all can agree on?"  To which Pelham representative Trevor Baptiste waxed philosophically, "Aligning curriculum among all four towns is a laudable goal." Dead silence.  "I was just trying to be positive" he quickly added.

Almost three hours later the entire Board voted unanimously to support the motion:

"To amend the current 7-12 agreement to a preK-12 agreement with the option that one of the existing four towns can remain 7-12 as long as that town is not Amherst, and that the town that remained 7-12 has the option to become a preK-12 member within a specified period of time, and that the town that remained 7-12 can negotiate with the Regional School Committee regarding shared superintendency services for their preK-6 school."

The motion is more of a memo that will be sent to the Mass Dept of Elementary and Secondary Education for a preliminary finding on whether the state would consider the creation of such a "Hybrid Region" legal. 

The RSDP Board also discussed turning over the process from here on in to the Regional School Committee but decided they want to stay involved. The Regional School Committee could appoint them as a sub-committee to continue shepherding the process.

The Leverett representative to the RSDPB, Kip Fonsh, is also Chair of the Regional School Committee and he reported their plate is full enough now without taking on this added burden.

During "public comment" Town Meeting member and parent Janet McGowan brought up the issue of governance, concerned the make up of a new Regional School Committee would disproportionally water down the voting power of Amherst who has a population that comprises 88% of the Region.

"Regionalization can't be at the expense of our constitutional rights," said McGowan.

If the state approves the RSDPB memo and the Regional School Committee votes to amend the Regional Agreement to form this "Hybrid Region" all four towns would then have to approve it, each at their individual Town Meeting.

At the end of the almost three hour meeting Chair Andy Steinberg thanked the entire Board saying it was an honor to work with them these past two years, but he was stepping down as chair.

 Andy Steinberg (left) announced he is stepping down as RSDPB Chair

Steinberg on Monday announced he is running for the Amherst Select Board. 

Town official corrects the media

Northampton Fire

NFD Ladder truck

Northampton Fire Department knocked down a blaze in less than an hour at an industrial building on the outskirts of city center heading towards Easthampton early this foggy afternoon.

AFD Engine 1 and Assistance Fire Chief Lindsay Stromgren were also on scene providing mutual aid assistance.

 

AFD Engine 1, Assistant Chief's car on scene

Regular ladder comes in handy as well

NFD huddle

L-o-n-g way to the nearest fire hydrant

MassLive reports

A Bigger Piece of the Pie?

Should Amherst settle for less representation in a Regional School district?

The headlong rush to regionalize local schools at the pre-K through grade 6 level was derailed by our current partner in the 7-12 Region, Shutesbury, pulling out of the proposed merger.  

The Amherst Regional School District Planning Board has been meeting for almost two years and like the gambler who has invested a fortune in a slot machine the urge to see a "return on investment" is exceedingly high.

Thus tonight's meeting is  a crossing (or not) of the Rubicon ... or maybe a Waterloo. 

#####

I've written a letter on the need for proportional representation on any new Regional School Committee. Under the new Regional school committee proposed last Spring, an Amherst resident'

s voting strength was to be 1/10th of a Pelham resident and 1/8th of a Leverett resident. Proportional representation is a Constitutional right but could be given away if Amherst voters or Town Meeting members agree to it by voting to accept a disproportionate new Regional School Committee. 

The smaller towns are greatly concerned about Amherst's size and fear their elementary schools may be closed due to declining enrollments. These are reasonable concerns and the towns should think hard whether to join with Amherst which has 88% of the population of all the towns. But it is, I think, really unreasonable to make it a goal and condition that on any new Regional school committee Amherst's voting power be reduced from 88% to less than 55%. This could make it harder to address the issues and concerns faced by Amherst's elementary school children, parents and schools. Right now, our elementary school committee that is made up of 100% Amherst residents and we control 100% of the $22 million elementary school budget.

If you want to sign this letter, please email me back at janetmcgowan30@comcast.net--with your name, address and your precinct number. Please share my letter with anyone else who you think might be interested. If they want to sign, please ask them to email me with their name, address and say whether they are a Town Meeting member.  The response to this letter has been strong.  

I will present the letter at both the December 5th meetings (and continue to collect names after). The Amherst's members of the RSDPB (Regional School District Planning Board) will meet this Thursday, December 5th in the 1st Floor meeting room at 5:45 at Town Hall and the entire RSDPB will meet in the Town Room from 7 pm to 9 pm.  Please come to these meetings to learn more and voice your concerns.

Thanks.

Janet McGowan

janetmcgowan30@comcast.net

__________________________________________________________

An Open Letter to all Members of the Regional School District Planning Board:

We urge the RSDPB members now exploring different options for regionalizing the elementary schools of Amherst, Leverett, Pelham and Shutesbury to consider both the educational advantages—and the fair and equitable representation for Amherst residents. Amherst now pays 77.37 % of the assessment for the current 7-12 Region, and our population is 88% of the total population for all four towns. Under the one man, one vote Constitutional principal, Amherst must have its fair proportion of the votes on any new Regional school committee.

We support Regionalizing our schools—

· if there are concrete educational benefits for Amherst students,

· if it improves the economic sustainability of Amherst schools, and

· if the votes of Amherst residents have equal weight to the votes in the other towns.

In Amherst, we are from many different cultures, nations, ethnicities, educational backgrounds, economic levels and races. Our voices should be heard in the governance of our Regional school committee and we want our votes counted equally. We do not support Regionalizing if representation on the new Regional school committee is disproportional and Amherst votes are diluted. With the exception of a single Region, in the Commonwealth all other Regions have proportional representation on their school committee or weight the votes of members by town. Each town elects their own members onto their Regional committee. A proposed Pre-K-6 Regional Agreement must recommend no less.

We hope that you will address this critical issue soon. We hope that you keep the public well informed of your discussions and deliberations through media, meetings (with public comment), and emails to town residents and parents—all taking place well before any town votes on a new Region.

Signed:

(name) (address) (town meeting member?)

Planning Board Receptive to The Retreat

Crowd outside the overly packed Town Room (Jim Wald photo)

Tonight  in a marathon overly-packed four-hour meeting the Amherst Planning Board heard all the usual complaints about the The Retreat, including traffic congestion, the supposed dangerousness of 10% grade roads (vs 8%), perpendicular parking vs parallel, too much parking (768 spaces for 641 residents) and, as always, the destruction of community in the adjacent historic Cushman Village.

This Preliminary Plan presentation was just a formal starting point for a long involved process that includes every aspect of Amherst town government: Police and Fire Chiefs, DPW, Conservation Commission, Board of Health, Building Commissioner and even the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority.

The developer had requested numerous waivers and modifications to codes -- reductions in lot sizes and increases in maximum road elevations (from 8% to 10%), and a few long dead end cul de sacs -- in order to make a "cluster development" work.

A cluster development allows for denser construction, thereby preserving open space.

The Planning Board "proposed conditions" include:  Streetlights at the end of all cul-de-sacs; but the "less dead ends the better", so the board also suggested adding more interconnectedness with other streets to reduce the number of cul de sacs.

Foot traffic was also addressed as the board suggested paved pathways throughout the development with one running outside to the Cushman Store in the village center. 

Parking must allow emergency access for police and fire vehicles with islands every 10-15 car lengths.  Handicapped spaces must be provided and a plan for snow removal.

"Careful landscaping" that preserves as many trees as possible, but the board also recommended clearing some areas of the woodlands for other recreation/socializing opportunities.

Oddly enough the board thought the developers were providing "too much" parking (1.2 cars per bedroom) and should "come back with less."

The Planning Board also championed the Select Board's concern about future ownership, wishing to avoid what happened at Townhouse Apartments when the complex went condo.  The developer was amenable to a deed covenant preventing the units from being sold off piece by piece.



The Retreat will not be a "gated community" as the Planning Board was unanimous in rejecting the idea.  The board was also pleased to hear all units would have sprinklers, which are not required but were highly recommended by Amherst Fire Department Assistant Chief Don McKay.

The rejection of a reduction in lot widths from the current 100 feet will have the greatest impact on the overall design. Landmark Properties will return with a "Definitive Plan" that incorporates tonight's suggestions.

If the Planning Board does not approve it, the developer could file a regular subdivision plan that would give them the same number of lots (123) but spread out over the entire 146 acre parcel.

 Jon Williams, Athens GA, the face of Landmark Properties (center) flanked by attorneys Peter McConnell (left) Michael Pill (right)

Tried to live Tweet the meeting but hard to perform as a sardine

Packed well beyond capacity Town Room #AmherstMA for Planning Board hearing on The Retreat development. pic.twitter.com/y6qOnXG7so
— Larry Kelley (@amherstac) December 5, 2013

Ch 40 Reports on "tense meeting"

ZBA Okays Frat Conversion

ALPHA CHI OMEGA  Pi Kappa Phi, 38 Nutting Avenue, Amherst

The Amherst Zoning Board of Appeals last night seemingly changed their minds about the former Alpha Chi Omega Sorority at 38 Nutting Avenue (which touches UMass property) and will now allow its conversion of use to a Fraternity, Pi Kappa Phi.

The Board found the transformation/conversion is "not substantially more detrimental to the neighborhood than the existing use."

Two years ago the ZBA voted unanimously to uphold the "cease and desist order" of the town building inspector who found fault with the conversion as being a "change in use" (females to males) which should require a "Special Permit" from the ZBA.

The owners of Alpha Chi Omega immediately filed suit against the ZBA, and the case started two years later in Hampshire Superior Court (this past September) but was quickly dropped in favor of the meeting that occurred last night.

According to Senior Town Planner Jeff Bagg:

"The ZBA voted unanimously to approve the extension of the pre existing non conforming sorority use to a “Fraternity or Sorority building, social dormitory, or similar use related to Amherst College, Hampshire College, or the University of Massachusetts” (same language as Section 3.326 of the Zoning Bylaw).  

Because it is a pre existing non conforming use, the ZBA had to make a finding under Section 9.22 that the extension was not substantially more detrimental to the neighborhood than the existing use. 

They made that finding based on the conditions which limit the total number of occupants (to the same number that was allowed under the 2005 permit), a requirement for a resident manager, and a requirement for review and approval of a new management prior to occupancy by any other tenant.

Additionally, the relationship to one of the institutions was deemed important as it provides an additional layer of regulations which do not necessarily apply to other non-institutionally related rentals.  

Finally, consideration was also given for the fact that the use under goes bi-annual inspections by various Town departments, where other rentals do not. "