Town Meeting: The Horror ... The Horror!

Amherst Planning Board in the hot seat

If you ever wondered why the Charter change movement came ever so close to replacing Town Meeting with a more efficient City Council ten years ago, last night's session provided a grim reminder.

After an hour-and-a-half discussion that ranged from BIG government has no right to intrude on artists and piano teachers, to slumlords are ruining our neighborhoods, Town Meeting failed to muster the two-thirds vote required (90 yes, 76 no) to pass a simple Home Based Businesses zoning ordinance. 

The measure would simply have brought Amherst into the 21st century by categorizing and approving home based businesses and giving the Building Commissioner the authority to grant waivers to keep things simple.

 Building Commissioner Rob Morra, leading the Charge of the Light Brigade

And unlike the new Rental Registration and Permit system the Building Commissioner also oversees, there would be no registration fee for a low-impact businesses like teaching piano, guitar or knitting.

Head Planner Jonathan Tucker pointed out his mother used to teach piano at her home in South Amherst.  And there is a difference between having one or two students per day more as a hobby than seeing a half-dozen or more students daily as a full-time profession.

The Planning Board was one-for-two however as Town Meeting, after an hour of discussion,  did approve rezoning land owned by Hampshire College around Atkins Farm Country Market to "Village Center" thus allowing mixed use (commercial and residential) development to take place.

Property above and along side Atkins Farm Market rezoned to Village Center:  ("If you build it ...")

Unlike our other two institutes of higher education, Hampshire College pays NO Payment In Lieu Of Taxes.  UMass pays $325,000 and Amherst College pays $90,000 annually (although they insist on calling it a "gift")  for the protection of Amherst Fire Department.  And Hampshire College requires about the same number of responses as Amherst College.

Thus allowing them to develop these parcels with a mix of business and residential will at least add to the tax rolls and maybe help alleviate an exceedingly tight rental market. 

Currently the tax base in Amherst is exceedingly lop sided with residential making up 90% and commercial only 10% of the revenue generating tax base.

Gonna Need A Bigger Fence

Vandals left their mark on the town owned water tower on E. Pleasant Street

Umass just last summer refinished the larger of the two water towers located atop Orchard Hill on East Pleasant Street at a cost of just over $1 million dollars.

I guess the huge blank canvas was too much for vandals to ignore even though a new six foot high fence was recently erected around both towers.  The smaller one is owned by the town of Amherst.  

Adjacent larger water tower owned by UMass was also hit

 

Both water towers are enclosed by a standard 6 ft chain link fence

The Company You Keep

 APD on scene College Street Saturday 4:00 p.m.

While there were somewhat loud graduation parties all over Amherst on Saturday afternoon into the overnight (10 complaints) -- many of them with live entertainment -- Amherst police made no arrests and issued no $300 fines.

These parties were more like traditional family-and-friends ceremonial affairs rather than exclusively "college aged youth" gatherings we've seen and heard all semester, so apparently the presence of older adults tends to keep things from getting out of control.

Perhaps all party houses should be forced to have a grandparent move in after the second noise offense.

No AFD runs at all to UMass for ETOH (alcohol intoxication) students: 

   AFD runs Graduation Weekend

An Unattended Death

UMass Amherst: Not exactly a drug free zone

UPDATE January 24, 2015

My sitemeter tells me a bevy of folks are now coming to this post after doing Google searches for "heroin death UMass Amherst" or something similar, no doubt in response to the ABC 20/20 episode aired last night, which interestingly enough used the same alias for Eric Sinacori as did the Boston Globe, "Logan."

So they can interview his Mom on camera and show his picture, but not use his real name?

And I wonder when the next student dies of a heroin OD supplied by an on campus dealer who was free to ply his pernicious trade because UMPD can no longer use student informants, will 20/20 cover that?

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ORIGINAL REPORT 

Although nestled in a quaint little New England town, UMass/Amherst, the flagship of higher education in the state, is virtually a city unto itself.

So it's not overly surprising that death on occasion comes calling, even to the young of age.

Last Fall two sudden unattended deaths occurred that were (initially) covered by the local media -- Eric Sinacori, age 20, and Evan Jones, age 19.  Although technically Sinacori died off campus in his Puffton Village Apartment.

But since they both died in the town of Amherst the medical examiner files a certificate of death with the Town Clerk, although it takes up to six months. 

In Evan Jones case, death was caused by a "seizure."

In Eric Sinacori's case the injury occurred because of "Illicit substance abuse," and the immediate cause of death was, "Acute Heroin Intoxication."

Governor Deval Patrick and Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan have declared war on opioid abuse.  At a press conference in late February, DA Sullivan called the surge in drug overdoses, "A public health crisis" while citing, "19 deaths in Hampshire and Franklin counties since November 1st, 2013." (Twice the rate of the rest of the state.)

And since Mr. Sinacori died just prior to November 1st he would have pushed the DA's list to 20 deaths! 

Last week in the little town of Deerfield, three individuals were saved from death by heroin overdose over the course of three days by a quick spray of Narcan.

Governor Patrick has signed off on allowing first responders statewide to carry Narcan, as well as friends and family of opioid users (with proper training).

Today UMass graduates 5,500 dedicated young adults who have worked hard over the past few years to attain their degrees.  Governor Patrick is the keynote speaker.

I hope he remembers the students who will never make their graduation ceremonies.

The Cost Of Education (In a College Town)

Amherst School Committee: in the hot seat

Town Meeting went pretty much as planned Wednesday night.  The Elementary and Regional School budgets all passed rather handily after a fair amount of discussion, but not a whole lot centered on cost -- as reflected in the (not so)average cost per student.

The Elementary Budget of $21,490,563 represents an average cost per child of $19,136 and the Regional Middle and High School budget of $29,618,478 represents $20,328 per student.  State average is dramatically lower at $13,636 per student.

Or another way of looking at it is Amherst spends at the Regional level $6,692 more per pupil than state average.   Thus the 1,457 students projected next year cost almost TEN MILLION DOLLARS ($9,750,244 to be exact) over state average.

One reason for the high cost (which are fast approaching private school price points) is "administration cost"  is 66% over state average.   And even though an overhead showed a slight increase in the percentage of the elementary budget eaten up by administration, it generated no discussion from the floor.

Overhead used at Town Meeting

Mass Dept of Education data base

Early in the Elementary School budget discussion Town Meeting member Walter Wolnik read a statement praising the financial prowess and presentation skills of Rob Detweiler, the Schools Director of Finance who mysteriously disappeared three months ago.

Wolnik wished to know if and when he would return to his duties? 

 

School Superintendent Maria Geryk and Sean Mangano (Dettweiler's replacement) listen to Walter Wolnik's statement

Detweiler was on paid Administrative Leave for six weeks (costing taxpayers $15,000) and is still on unpaid Administrative Leave.  School Superintendent Maria Geryk confirmed that he, "will not return in his role ... I appreciate your support of Mr. Detweiler, however I will not be speaking further about the reasons why he is no longer in this role."

Typical layout of classrooms at Wildwood. "Temporary walls" (going on 25 years now) don't go all the way to the ceiling

Article 17 was also an expensive school item, a $1 million Feasibility Study of Wildwood Elementary School (built 1970)  with 60% of that picked up by the state.   As usual some folks had sticker shock over the $1 million price tag even though it's really only $400,000 of town money.

But the motion passed with a solid two-thirds majority, solid enough that no standing or tally vote was required.  And the very next article, to rescind a $400,000 appropriation from last year for new boilers for Wildwood School, passed after a long discussion, thus covering the town's share of the feasibility study.

Since that study will eventually lead to a new school or major renovation (with the state picking up 60%) it doesn't make sense to replace the boilers now at 100% town cost.

 Amherst Elementary Enrollment Trends (going down, down, down)

Town Meeting Strikes Again

Amherst Town Meeting counted standing vote

Two episodes from Monday night's Town Meeting 3rd session, one amusing one not so much.

During a discussion of borrowing $322,000 for mega lawnmowers used to groom the massive amount of open space property the town owns, member Shavahn Best moved to reduce the amount by over one-third and have the DPW shop on the Internet for battery operated mowers.



When DPW Chief Guilford Mooring threw up a photo of the mower in question there was little question as to whether an electric mower could do the job.  Actually no question at all.

Town Meeting overhead of DPW mower request

Town Meeting almost unanimously voted to spend $151,000 for 20 acres of open space property (2/3 state money) in East Amherst, the same property they voted down 72 "Yes"-90 "No" back in the Fall when it required a two-thirds vote to pass.

Town officials, not taking any chances, removed the term "eminent domain" from the article and since the town was using CPA money ($41,785) it then only required a majority vote. Not that it mattered since the "Yes" votes were thunderous.  

The very next article Town Meeting once again near unanimously voted (death to the lone malcontent) to place on the November ballot a doubling of the CPA tax from 1.5% to 3%. 

Amherst already has the highest property tax rate in the area ($20.97/$1,000 compared to Hadley $10.64/$1,000).

The huge financial burden for homeowners in Amherst is they make up 90% of the tax rolls and commercial property only 10%.  Even more debilitating, half the property in Amherst is owned by tax-exempts, meaning the other half -- home and business owners -- have to carry twice the weight.

That tax exempt disconnect only worsened with the 20 acres in East Amherst acquired by the town on Monday night.

And if you are a commercial property owner, the first $100,000 in valuation is NOT exempt from CPA (costing you an additional $62.37).   If you own property in the downtown, there's the Business Improvement District extra surcharge to pay as well.

When Town Meeting voted an increase in the water/sewer rates the Town Manager defended it as "only" a couple dollars per month.  Now the CPA tax increase will add "only" $69 per year to the average home ($113 for a commercial property).

Adding to an annual tax burden that's already too big a burden.  More so if you own commercial property.  Even more so if it's located in the downtown BID area.

No wonder Amherst is considered an unforgiving place to do business. 

Party House of the Weekend

31 Shumway Street, owned by CIBA, LLC

Not only did they tie up APD, but AFD as well (as did a couple other locations)

In Eastern Hampshire District Court on Monday all four agreed to pay the $300 town bylaw fine fee to settle the matter.