A Long Range Plan

Jones Library, downtown anchor and the town's "Living room"

Thursday's meeting of the Jones Library Board of Trustees became a bit more spirited during the "Long Range Plan Approval" item on the agenda, which was scheduled for 20 minutes.

   Jones Library: 5 year Long Range Plan

The discussion lasted perhaps twice that long, mainly because Trustee Bob Pam wanted to do a line by line review for possible changes of the document -- both substance and style -- while Tamson Ely and Chair Austin Sarate most definitely did not.

 Jones Library Board of Trustees in the homey Goodwin Room

Pam had sent an email to the group earlier suggesting changes that go somewhat beyond simple editing of typos or style.  And he stated firmly at the meeting that, "It is the long range plan of the Board of Trustees, not the Director."

The Trustees did vote 5-1 (Pam voting No) not to wordsmith the entire document for style or typos but whatever "policy" issues they wish to add or change should be sent to Director Sharon Sharry, and they would then discuss and vote the entire document at their next June 4th meeting. 

The "Long Range Plan" is required for the state grant covering building renovation/expansion project the Jones is now busily moving forward on.

Interestingly the Long Range Plan compiled extensive customer survey results -- 86% of them Amherst residents -- with "lack of adequate parking" being the main complaint (66%) and customer service being the main compliment (63% "extremely helpful.")

  CVS & Town parking lot located close behind Jones Library (bottom front) and could someday be the site of new (real) Parking Garage

Sunny Sayonara

McGuirk Stadium 4:25 PM

Things seemed to be going smoothly at the packed McGuirk Stadium as 5,500 graduates will now bid our town farewell.  Well at least the vast majority of them.

For four years (or more) they called Amherst home, helping to make us the vibrant town that we are.  And come this September that small cycle of life, in our little college town, starts all over again.

Thankfully.

Looks better/fuller viewed here  (Note flag flapping in breeze, but video is steady)

Historic Halt?

Old Chapel, UMass Amherst

A group calling itself UMass Alumni for Campus Preservation is calling for a mid-course correction on the $30 million Old Chapel preservation project, citing specifically the "trendy modernization" usage of glass entry doors.

 click to enlarge/read

Arguably no other structure on the sprawling campus has such a recognizable iconic stature, borne back ceaselessly into the (distant) past. 

Scenery vs Safety

This double pine will come down on Monday

After a thoughtful 45 minute discussion deliberating the fate of ten trees along both sides of Pine Street the Planning Board and Tree Warden came to the unanimous conclusion that 9 of them be removed immediately and more efforts will be forthcoming to save the remaining one.

Unfortunately the twin pine is not the one.

The trees are all in the later stages of their lifespan and most of them show their age.  The discussion among Planning Board members and neighborhood residents who attended the meeting centered on the safety issue.

Pine Street is in dire need of a sidewalk and the trees, unfortunately, are rooted firmly in the way.

The Amherst Shade Tree Committee had voted in March to "save as many of the trees as possible," but in the end only one of the ten earned what may be only a temporary reprieve.

Tree Warden Alan Snow was going to take extra measures to try to save a 30" Silver Maple, but did not seem confident it would last for long after the sidewalk is installed.

 30" Silver Maple not coming down ... yet

The hearing Wednesday evening was required by state law since Pine Street is a "scenic way".  And yes, even with the loss of all these trees will still be considered so.

In 2012 Amherst Town Meeting approved borrowing $612,000 for the purchase of 2,000 trees, an inventory that has not yet been depleted.  So replacements will go back in the ground over the next few months. 

No Move For You!

Simeon Strong House, one of the oldest in Amherst

The Jones Library Board of Trustees heard a report this morning about the conspiracy theory floated on the floor of Amherst Town Meeting last night citing rumors that the Jones was going to absorb the Amherst History Museum Stong House next door and then sell some of the property at market rate to fatten their endowment.

As usual with rumors, partial-truths make them all the more believable.

 Strong House (left) rear of Jones Library (right)

Library Director Sharon Sharry has mentioned in public a number of times now that the Jones is in "discussion" with the Amherst Historical Society about a mutually beneficial collaboration that could include land purchase.

And Select Board member Jim Wald, who is now President of the Amherst Historical Society. first mentioned it back in January at a Community Preservation Act Committee meeting.

The piece of property in question is not the spacious lawn in front of Strong House that stretches out to Amity Street.  It's the plot behind the historic building.

And if the sale should happen it would not involve trying to move the Strong House forward closer to Amity Street, or be a merging of the two entities.

 Jones Library (lower right) Strong House (top left, red roof)

Because the Jones is in the beginning stages of a $10 million renovation/expansion, 50% state funded, buying property behind the Strong House will contribute significant funding to the Amherst Historical Society.

And give the Jones Library desperately needed room to expand.  With half of it state money.

A win-win of historic proportions.

Diffident Defenders of the 1st Amendment

"Fair is foul, and foul is fair"

So today's Gazette banner front page headline only makes me wonder where they were when a true believer Nitwit woman grabbed my iPhone at a highly public presentation in the taxpayer owned Amherst Regional Middle School and Maria Geryk, the town's highest paid employee, backed up her heavy handed actions.

And I would argue that a School Superintendent is more representative of "the government" than an Amherst Town Meeting member, elected with 70 votes, who only has the "power" of office when Town Meeting is in session.

Simply put some Cover-Your-Ass UMass bean counter  (since it was a Sunday morning probably not all that high ranking) fell for a perceived threat that was more bluff than substance, and turned off the WMUA radio transmitter.  And yes, I'm sure all three listeners were very disappointed.

On average I get threatened almost daily to remove names, stories, or on more rare occasions questioned about my reliable anonymous sources (which I NEVER give up).  My standard response comes from my favorite journo professor:  "Fuck 'em!".

Well, maybe I don't actually say that ... but you get my drift. 

Every now and again the First Amendment requires a staunch goal-line defense. "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."

If you're not up to the task, then get the Hell out of the way.

You're All Under Arrest

Amherst Town Meeting

Another good reason to replace Town Meeting with a professional more accountable Mayor/Council is that -- like the Mass State Legislature -- Town Meeting members are immune to Open Meeting Law, and to a large extent, Conflict of Interest Law.

The privately owned Amherst Town Meeting listserve has over 200 members (w-a-y more than a quorum) and we can discuss at length among ourselves the business of The People.  And not just over the newfangled Internet.

For instance yesterday late morning, leading members of the BANANA/NIMBY crowd met with Amherst town officials in Town Hall for a private pow wow concerning Inclusionary Zoning Articles 21 & 22.  Which only further strengthens my hunch that both are now destined to fail.   

   Amherst Self Interest

So I somewhat sympathize with exuberant member Kevin Collins, and he certainly does have a point about rookie member Claudia Brown having a h-u-g-e conflict of interest. 

If Town Meeting membership was purged due to NIMBY self interests it would end up being not much larger than a City Council.   Which would of course be a good thing.

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Apparently Mr. Collins got their attention:

Click to enlarge/read

List serve owner weighs in (this is getting better by the minute):