A Day To Remember

Downtown Amherst Labor Day morn

Considering how arduous was the struggle to bring about sane regulations to protect the rights, health and safety of everyday workers, Labor Day is indeed something to remember.   And to celebrate, even though it should be tinged with reverence and respect for those who died in the endeavor.

Labor Day is one of only six days the Amherst Select Board allowed on the list of holidays worth remembering with commemorative flags in the downtown, at their infamous September 10, 2001 run-of-the-mill Monday night meeting.

Amazingly 9/11 is still not on the list.  Well at least not on the "annual" list.  The town grudgingly allows the commemorative flags to fly on 9/11 every five years on "milestone anniversaries," with the next one not until 2016.

How many of the almost 3,000 Americans murdered that morning were everyday working folks going about their daily work routine?

Between police, fire and military a day probably does not go by without someone dying in the line of duty.  That awful morning we lost 343 firefighters, 60 police officers, 55 military personnel, 15 EMTs and 3 court officers.

But the vast majority of casualties were just civilian workers both blue and white collar.

Slaughtered in cold blood on a Tuesday morning that deserved to be in the record books, but for a different reason:  A stunningly crystal clear blue sky, one of those majestic dying days of summer, which started off without a care in the world ...

If the town can annually fly the commemorative flags on Labor Day, and even more somber days like Memorial Day,  the worst attack on American soil in our entire history certainly merits the same level of respect.

A deserving protocol paid for in the most pernicious currency possible:  the vaporized blood of thousands of innocent Americans.

The Best Laid Plans ...

27 Kendrick Place

I guess the only way to ensure a contract is carried out after you die is to never die, or quickly return as a vengeful ghost.

Eva Schiffer, former Select Board, Finance Committee member and long-time German language professor at UMass, left very specific instructions when she bequeathed her cute little house on Kendrick Place (the street, not the five-story mixed use building currently under construction in the north end of town center) to the Amherst Housing Authority.

After she dies, sell the house for 40% off to a blue collar town employee -- police, fire or DPW -- who would otherwise find it hard to afford the high property values in town combined with the highest property tax rate in the area.

In fact she was so specific she even banned anyone associated with those other branches of Amherst public services, the schools and library.

   Agreement for Eva Schiffer House

Thus the buyer, a town employee, would have benefited somewhat greatly via a hefty discount; but not so much the Housing Authority for brokering the deal.

Instead we have a town employee, Sandy Pooler, with a bleached white collar and member of the $100K club benefiting by a reduced price, $225K vs $269,700 assessed value ($307,000 appraised).

And the Housing Authority also greatly benefits by about $200,000 vs zero if the original contract had been followed.

Finance Director Sandy Pooler presenting to Amherst Town Meeting (showing them the money)

A dozen people did make inquiries about the property and they had equal opportunity to place a bid, so no special favors were shown to Mr. Pooler, the sole bidder.   Plus, those that know him would agree he's about as strait laced, goody two-shoes as they come -- so no aspersions on his involvement.

After all, who doesn't like a great deal on a house within walking distance to your office.

But there's also no doubt that the auction could have been better publicized, or the project turned over to a professional real estate agent (of which Amherst has many) who would have been motivated to work tirelessly for the greatest return.   

Saving Miss Emily

 Sun going down on Emily Dickinson

I'm not a lawyer of course, but I do understand English.

And the wording -- especially "perpetual" -- of the legal easement between Carriage Shops owners/Trustees, the late Dick Johnson and Jerry Gates, and the town clearly indicates in plain English that the wall used to paint the historic mural was guaranteed to remain standing and undisturbed ... forever.

Sure, back ten years ago the owners obviously never thought they would sell the entire complex lock, stock and mural.  But a local developer friend of mine told me 30 years ago, "When you own property everything is for sale ... if the price is right."

 Carriage Shops main building from above (Mural on back wall facing West Cemetery)

But when million of dollars are on the table, it's hard not  to be convinced otherwise.  Problem is the town does not stand to gain an immediate windfall, and they do have a legally binding document that should cause major design considerations, or torpedo the lucrative deal.

"The trustees shall not undertake nor permit any activity which will alter or deface the appearance of the mural."  Like, maybe, a wrecking ball for instance?

   Amherst History Mural Easement

From the vantage point of her placement high on the wall, Miss Emily looks out over her final resting place and that of her entire family.  In a town brimming with history, West Cemetery is our most hallowed ground.

So too is the mural. 

 

Miss Emily (and Lavinia)

Building With A View

Looking north from above The Trolley Barn, North Amherst

The Trolley Barn, Amherst's newest mixed-use building, is ready for (full) occupancy after only one construction season, although many hurdles were overcome before first breaking ground.

Kuhn Riddle design, Integrity Development construction gurus

The $2 million 12,000 square foot three-story building will provide 4,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor hosting up to three small businesses.  

The upper two floors are divided into a total of four 4-bedroom apartments, two per floor (although Cinda Jones said she is in negotiation with a party who may rent the entire top floor).

 

 Recessed sprinkler (right), smoke detector (left)

Full sized $70,000 elevator, ready to handle furniture move in

 Since the building is greater than 7,500 square feet it has an elevator and a nifty sprinkler system that provides both form and function. The sprinkler heads are retracted flush with the ceiling until needed (should the beast come calling), and they then drop down to douse the fire.

Without the sprinkler heads sticking out, tenants cannot use them as clothes hangers, which drives the Fire Department crazy.  But it doesn't come cheap, as the cost for the entire building was $85,000.

Since Town Meeting did not approve zoning tweaks last year the building is limited to only two units per floor which means l-o-t-s of room (2,000 square feet) per apartment.

 Kitchen common area

 Each individual bedroom has its own private bathroom, with four bedrooms per apartment.  Rent is $800/bedroom.

Double Vision:  two bedrooms side by side

What light through yonder window breaks?

First development of many in The Mill District

First Day Celebration

Community spirit was alive and well on the Amherst town common as a couple hundred folks turned out for the First Day Celebration, a community party commemorating the first day of school tomorrow.  Parents seemed happier than their school aged children.

Thursday  UPDATE:

Bad start for #Amherst Crocker Farm Elementary School.  Unleashed, unidentified dog bites 2 kids on playground.  http://t.co/CSTw33A2Dh
— Larry Kelley (@amherstac) August 28, 2014

My friends at MassLive pick up the story

School Superintendent Maria Geryk introduced all the principals in the Amherst Regional Public School System and Town Manager John Musante welcomed the crowd as part of the new town/schools Amherst Together initiative.

 Carol Ross, John Musante, Maria Geryk .  All we needed was WHMP radio

Sam The Minuteman greets Ultimate Frisbee members

UMPD mounted patrol brought Miranda

AFD Ladder 1 towers over the Middle School chorus

Electrifying Move

Corner of Pray Street/East Pleasant Street, northern end of town center

Now there's a job that leaves little margin for error:  No doubt why power lineman are in the top ten for deaths per 100,000 workers.  

Probably a combination of working at higher altitudes where the fall can be fatal, and of course dealing with electricity, and often times (think October snowstorm) putting in long hours.  

In discussing the long, l-o-n-g awaited Pine Street renovation in North Amherst, DPW Chief Guilford Mooring told the Amherst Select Board that Western Mass Electric charges a $40,000 per pole relocation fee.   Yikes!

But this relocation work at the corner of Pray Street and East Pleasant is being done at the request of Archipelago Investments the developer of Kendrick Place, a five-story mixed use building that will tower over the Triangle Street/East Pleasant intersection, at the gateway to UMass/Amherst.

On Monday night the Amherst Select Board unanimously approved the DPW/Town Manager request to apply for a $1.5 million MassWorks Grant to pay for those same powerlines to go underground, from Pray Street through the Triangle/E Pleasant intersection up to Chestnut Street.  

Interestingly the Town Manager did admit to the Select Board that this would never happen with town money (not a high enough priority) but since its state money ...

Some anti-development folks are already pretty upset with the town over the development of Kendrick Place -- specifically the Planning Board waiving a traffic study to assess the impact of 102 tenants. 

Since the (student oriented) development is within the "Municipal Parking District," and within easy walking distance of UMass, it's not expected to require much parking.  

School Committee Fires Back OML

Lawrence O'Brien, Rick Hood,  Trevor Baptiste Chair

After a somewhat contentious 45 minute discussion the Amherst Pelham Regional School Committee voted 5-2 to support new Chair Trevor Baptiste's response to an Open Meeting Law complaint filed by former School Committee member Tom Flittie, who was not at the meeting.

The contested 7/14 meeting was called by then Vice Chair Trevor Baptiste to put forth a resolution countermanding a memo signed by the Chairs of the Amherst, Pelham, and the Regional School Committees (but done so without any deliberation of their committees).

Lawrence O'Brien and Katherine Appy -- who both signed the original memo as Chairs -- adamantly opposed Mr. Baptiste's letter, which goes to both to Mr. Flittie and the Attorney General.  But five members did support it, so the motion passed 5-2.



The motion was slightly amended (by unanimous vote) to add to Baptiste's letter a memo from the town attorney suggesting the meeting was not legal, and a copy of the Regional School Committee's policy with regards to duties of the Chair and Vice Chair.

Voting in favor:  Trevor Baptiste, Rick Hood, Sarah Dolven, Dan Robb and Stephen Sullivan.

Two Amherst members who attended the renegade 7/14 meeting -- Amilcar Shabazz and Kathleen Traphagen were not in attendance this evening, but presumably would have voted in favor of the motion.