Democratic Bully Pulpit

 

Vince O'Connor on the attack

Vince O'Connor is now 1 for 2 after last night's epic fail at an attempt to hack 10% from the Planning Department budget, which was to go hand-in-hand with with his 79-74 victory Monday night to increase Social Service spending (charitable organizations) by $125,000.

So obviously many of the 79 Town Meeting members who supported his motion to bring Social Service spending back into the routine budget disagreed on his version of financing that.

Even though Mr. O'Connor last night backed away significantly from his original plan to cut $200,000 from Planning Department by reducing the amount to $100,000 -- still a 10% cut. 

O'Connor also appeared yesterday afternoon at the Rental Implementation Bylaw Group to discuss his other (of many) Town Meeting articles, #42, which originally would, "suspend the operation and enforcement of the Rental Permit bylaw" until a new more "inclusive" committee is formed.

Yeah just what Amherst needs: yet another committee, working group, or task force.

This too he has now watered down significantly by removing the threat to "suspend the operation" and now simply wants the new committee to make recommendations.  Building Commissioner Rob Morra will take Mr. O'Connor's suggestions to the Town Manager and if he buys in to the grand scheme O'Connor will move to dismiss Article #42.

Kind of a toothless threat since Town Meeting overwhelmingly supported the Rental Permit Bylaw last year  and like all new bylaws it also had to pass muster with the Attorney General.  And yes some folks (parties with a vested interest no doubt) tried unsuccessfully to sabotage that.

Plus Article #42 is last on the list of a l-o-n-g Warrant.   When the weather turns terrific with thoughts drifting to summer vacations, the last thing Town Meeting members want to do is listen to Mr. O'Connor drone on, and on, and ...

If It Ain't Broke ...

 

Maurianne Adams, Phil Jackson, Rob Morra (Building Commissioner)

The Rental Bylaw Implementation Group heard a detailed report this afternoon from Building Commissioner Rob Morra on the implementation of the new Amherst rental registration and permit bylaw which went into effect January 1st

Originally it was thought the town had 1,570 rental properties that needed to comply, but after a mailing to all of them Morra reports a number of phone calls from homeowners who should not have been on the list.

After the dust cleared, about 1,300 properties remained.  So far just over 1,000 have paid the $100 fee, filled out the forms and received their permits.

18 have already gone before the Zoning Board of Appeals for a parking permit or to remove a "owner occupancy" condition on their original Special Permit and another 40-50 remain in the pipeline for Zoning hearings.

But that still leaves around 250 who are not in compliance and do not seem interested in coming into compliance.  Next week the town will send them a "more formal notice of violation" with a short two week time frame for coming into compliance.

If not, the Building Commissioner will issue fines which will be enforced by Eastern Hampshire District Court.

Morra reports that the 250 outliers are almost all "absentee owners" and that local well known landlords have been extremely cooperative, as has the Zoning Board of Appeals with rental housing related cases.  

Amherst police Chief Scott Livingtone has agreed to work with the town's Information Technology department to allow Noise and Nuisance tickets and arrests to be made available on the Amherst Rental Permitting page of the town website.  Morra hopes this will happen over the summer.

Currently the database only includes building code and zoning violations.  Considering the impetus for the entire permit system was the noxious influence party houses were having on neighborhoods it only makes sense to include police data.

 Vince O'Connor, a 40 year Amherst rental tenant

The Committee also heard from Town Meeting member Vince O'Connor, who filed a petition article (#42) to, "suspend the operation and enforcement of the bylaw" until after a new more inclusive committee is appointed by the Moderator consisting of 8 Town Meeting members -- four of them tenants (but one has to be an undergrad student) and four homeowners (at least one a rental housing owner).

In other words a do over.

O'Connor has now amended the article to take out, "suspend the operation and enforcement" of the bylaw and the new committee of eight would simply review the current Self-Certification Checklist and make suggestions to the Town Manager, Select Board and report to Town Meeting in the Fall.

Morra and three-out-of-four members of the Rental Bylaw Implementation Bylaw Group, while remaining polite, did not seem overly impressed with Mr. O'Connor's idea. 

You Can Always Go ...

 Children's Memorial Flag (in red)

Downtown Amherst is a tad more colorful at the moment with the bright red Children's Memorial Flag flying from the flagpole near Town Hall and the strip of lawn between the pole and the historic old brick building sprouting colorful pinwheels.

April is "Child Abuse Awareness Month," and the Northwestern District Attorney's office and the town are doing their part to make folks aware.  The same tagline used for terrorism probably applies equally well to suspected child abuse:  "If you see something, say something."

DPW workers forgot to take down one of the 25 or so commemorative flags that went up for a few days to remember Patriot's Day.   Probably because it blended in to the Bank of America color scheme.  Maybe after Labor Day they will forget to take them all down until, say, September 12.

 A lone commemorative flag in the heart of the downtown

The League of Women Voters book sale is coming to the town common this weekend, and workers have already erected the huge tent.  This annual event, marking its 66th year, predates the annual Farmers Market or weekly Sunday anti-war protests by decades. 

Amherst League of Women Voters subscribe to the Big Tent doctrine

 Sweetser Park fountain, bone dry

And while the Gazette certainly got all excited on Friday about Sweetser Park fountain bumbling again, it did not last long: the pump died.  DPW Chief Guilford Mooring said a new one should be installed by this coming weekend.

Sweetser Park fountain in Amherst bubbling again after remaining dry all last summer http://t.co/zYAIRKRg1q
— GazetteNET.com (@GazetteNET) April 26, 2014

Town Meeting Omen

 Jones Library Director Sharon Sharry

The moderate surprise this evening at the kick off to the 256th Amherst Town Meeting was the Jones Library getting blow back over Article #6,  a $25,000 appropriation to couple with a state grant of $50,000 to fund a 2-year study to prepare for a major renovation of the building (possibly doubling in size).

The state grant application also requires a clause seeking possible site approval if an entire new building in a new location is called for.  Library Director Sharon Sharry told Town Meeting that site selection is an inherent part of the grant process but stated confidently, "If I were a betting person I would bet the library will stay right where it is."

 Pitched roof bombs patrons with snow and ice during winter

One town meeting member had tried to refer the article back to committee and another member tried to amend the motion to nix the clause referring to a new building on a new site.  But both motions were voted down on voice votes by a comfortable margin, and after about 45 minutes of discussion the main motion passed by the same comfortable voice vote.

 

Vince O'Connor, comeback kid 

The bigger surprise of the night was the resurgence of activist Vince O'Connor, who has been somewhat marginalized over the past few years.  His motion to add $125,000 to the Community Services budget to support Social Service agencies went against the recommendations of the Finance Committee, Select Board and Town Manager.

Town Manager and Amherst Select Board

Although the $125,000 was never in doubt since Article #21 coming up later in Town Meeting had that amount coming out of Free Cash for the same Social Service agencies.  The difference is by putting it in the General Fund budget as a line item, it comes out of taxation.

According to Town Meeting member Renee Moss, "Having this $125,000 as a regular line item does say as a town we are committed to this and proud of it."  Amherst is one of the very few, possibly only, municipalities in the Commonwealth to spend town tax money on Social Service agencies.

In his initial presentation O'Connor told Town Meeting that he would be moving to cut $200,000 from the Planning Department when their $327,729 budget line comes up for discussion. 

The last few years the town used Community Development Block Grant money (federal money) to fund the Social Service agencies, but last year Amherst lost its status as a "mini entitlement" community.

After about an hour of discussion O' Connor's motion passed on a recorded Tally Vote of 79 "Yes" to 74 "No."

O'Connor has a few expensive petition articles coming at the end of Town Meeting, including Article #37, a request to double the Community Preservation Act surcharge to 3%.  Amherst already has the highest property tax burden in the area.

And under Article #38, spending $750,000 to take by eminent domain 40 Dickinson Street, the old car dealership recently purchased by Amherst College. 

Too Many (Hair) Triggers?

 

"Sleepwalker," Wellesley College.  Photo courtesy theswellesleyreport.com

Last week during a Community Emergency Response Training class the instructor showed a five- minute dashcam video wherein a police officer perishes in the line of duty, right before your very eyes.

Before clicking play he informed us of the tragic outcome and asked if anyone wished to leave the room.  Nobody did.

I didn't think anything of it as the class was made up of 21 citizen volunteers from all walks of life including a few who are middle-school aged.  So his sincere offer to shield anyone who may be unduly traumatized by the clip struck me as common sense.

The video was indeed hard to watch, but drove home a vital safety lesson I don't think any of us will soon forget.

But I still wonder if rules and regulations need to be formerly enacted to ensure/mandate instructors -- especially college professors who are full-time professionals -- issue "trigger warnings" before making presentations. 

Academic freedom and the First Amendment aren't always pretty.  It's the price you pay for freedom, something we Americans take for granted.

Amherst, a "college town," already has enough problems with political correctness run amok.

Our High School was the only entity in history to cancel a performance of "West Side Story" due to alleged "racism."  And then, only five years later, became the only High School in the nation to allow minors to perform the decidedly R rated "Vagina Monologues," which uses the C-word as often as Valley Girls use the word "like."

Yet they now wonder why our high schools kids feel comfortable spouting the N-word.

Former Amherst Town Manager Larry Shaffer threatened to not issue a parade permit for the privately run July 4th Parade Committee because they would not allow anti-war protesters to march (or the Westboro Baptist Church had they applied).

Last week. to their credit, thousands of UMass students appeared at a rally to counter the Westboro Baptist Church picketing with their hateful signs.  But then a few hours later, some students shamefully heckled former Attorney General John Ashcroft trying to give a speech curtesy of the UMass Republican Club.

A few years ago five committee chairs sent a letter to the local District Attorney requesting an investigation of Amherst School Committee member Catherine Sanderson, concerned over the freewheeling discussion generated by her blog.

Last week on this blog, long time Amherst School Committee member Rick Hood (who formerly had his own blog) tried to stir up the trolls just so he could brand blogs as an electronic version of bathroom stall graffiti.

And we know in Amherst, town officials get overly excited about bathroom stall graffiti.

Interestingly Oberlin College, who seems to have started the hot potato rolling with a proposed passage in its Sexual Offense Resource Guide admits that, "anything can be a trigger."  Um, okay, then lets not discuss "anything."

Amherst Town Meeting starts tonight.  Perhaps before I give any of my usual, gasp, conservative minded (God, Mom, Apple Pie or the American Flag) speeches, I should issue a trigger warning.

Only in Amherst does common sense require such a preamble. 

Daffodil Delight

And they're off!  11:30 a.m. Kendrick Park

Hundreds of runners and walkers of all ages, including a few dogs, turned out for the 4th annual Daffodil Fun Run Road Race to benefit Big Brother Big Sisters, a long-time iconic Amherst social service agency.

Back of the pack

Unlike yesterday, the rain held off for the pre-race festivities, sprinkled a bit as runners were lining up but then held off again for at least the time it takes for the average runner to complete the 3.1 mile course.

Last year 475 runners completed the course with the event raising a total of $40,000.

A site to see: 40,000 daffodils to bloom in Amherst this May http://t.co/iXd8TD139k @AmherstDowntown @MassHort pic.twitter.com/VtT0LdjgTr
— GazetteNET.com (@GazetteNET) April 25, 2014

April Showers

While police and fire personnel were probably doing a rain dance this morning other town officials were certainly hoping for sunshine as the soggy, still recovering,  town common hosted the 5th annual Sustainability Festival.

But the rains won out, reducing the crowds attending the town sponsored event -- especially compared to the Extravaganja festival a couple weeks ago, which of course was not a town sponsored event. 

The good thing about the rainy weather (besides bringing the flowers that bloom in May) is it inhibits outdoor partying, thus making a Blarney Blowout or Hobart Hoedown highly unlikely. 

Although the usual party house disturbances will probably still happen later tonight during the bewitching hours (10:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m.).