Educational Merger?

 

Amherst Regional High School

Starting with the school year September, 2018 if all goes according to plan, 7th and 8th graders will be home based in the Amherst Regional High School building while high school seniors will be taking college courses via dual enrollment in the (former) Middle School building located well within walking distance next door.

Kathy Mazur (left) addresses Regional School Committee

Last night an animated Director of Human Resources Kathy Mazur updated the 9 member Regional School Committee about the ambitious plan.  Both buildings are owned by the Region and are bound by the Regional Agreement signed by all four towns:  Amherst, Pelham, Leverett, and Shutesbury.

And according to their attorney Giny Tate, there's nothing in the Regional Agreement that precludes such a reorganization.

Amherst Regional Middle School

The plan involves a major collaboration with  Greenfield Community College, who will use the former Middle School building as a satellite facility in exchange for below market rate rent and offering Amherst Regional School students reduced rate college courses.

And the main niche they would fill is in vocational training.  In the upcoming fiscal year (FY16) the Region will lose 55 students to out of district vocational schools (mainly Smith Vocational in Northampton) at a cost to the Region of $18,000 per student or a total cost of $990,000. 

The High School was renovated/expanded in 1996 when enrollments were at a high water mark so the building is capable of handling 1,725 students.  Current enrollment in both Middle and High School is 1472 and five years from now is projected to be only 1,372. 

In the Fall (2015) Amherst Regional Public Schools will host an "Educational Summit" (facilitated by state Representative Ellen Story) to discuss strategies for dealing with education in 21st century with of course particular emphasis on this collaboration.

   ARPS Merger Memo

DUI Dishonor Roll

Amherst Police took three impaired drivers off the road over the weekend: Richard Sherwood (his 3rd offense), William Sevene, age 49, and Sky Walters age 20.  Three sounds like a lot but only because there have not been all that many over the past few weekends.

 Sky Walters arraigned from lock up

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Now that the students are gone APD will have more time on weekends to keep an eye out, so we may see this higher average hold up for the summer.

In Eastern Hampshire District Court on Monday Sky Walters was assigned a public defender for which he will pay $150 and his case was continued until June 22.  Mr. Sevene will also return for a pre-trial hearing next month.

Inclusionary Zoning Strikes Out ... Again

Amherst Planning Board last night (like lambs to slaughter)

Last year at the very last minute the Planning Board pulled back their Inclusionary Zoning overhaul that would require across the board 10%  affordable units in any new housing project of 10 units or more.

They were reacting to concerns from the business community who complained it would make things especially arduous in the downtown or Village Centers where development costs are higher.

One good result was the town came up with Article 21, tax incentives to help alleviate the pain for developers who otherwise can't make the affordable unit requirement work.

Last night Town Meeting, considering it required a two-thirds vote, overwhelmingly rejected the Planning Board's two-years-in-the-making Inclusionary Zoning Article 22 by a 100 No to 88 Yes vote after 1.5 hours of sometimes snippy discussion.

Critics said it was unnecessary simply because the Planning Board was not correctly interpreting the current Inclusionary Zoning bylaw which trips the 10% affordable unit requirement whenever a Special Permit is required.

The Kendrick Place development (36 units) required two concessions -- an extra 10 feet of height and extra lot coverage -- but they were not considered major enough to trip the existing bylaw.

And of course this same scenario played out just up the road with the same developer's  One East Pleasant Street (80 units).

 Using future home of One East Pleasant as leasing office for Kendrick Place

As a result certain BANANA (Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything) types now consider the Planning Board to be made up of Robber Baron, pro-development hacks.

Will the Planning Board take another shot at appeasing the unappeasable next year?  Who could blame them if they do not.

Sure Article 21, the property tax breaks package, did pass because the unholy alliance of the BANANA/NIMBY crowd faltered.  But will that alone make a difference?  Probably not. 

Perhaps the best idea last night came from black sheep Town Meeting member Kevin Collins, who floated the sometimes-you-have-to-destroy-the-Village-in-order-to-save-it concept by suggesting we allow the town to fall below the 10% Subsidized Housing Index.

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That way any developer can come in and build pretty much whatever they want as long as it is 25% affordable.

Maybe now that town/gown relations seem to be at a high water mark, it's time to revive the Gateway Project. 

Gateway Area with former Frat Row (on right) shovel ready for a signature project

3rd Strike Drunk Driving

Richard Sherwood, age 30, stands before Judge Laurie MacLeod

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Mr Sherwood is hiring his attorney and will return to Eastern Hampshire District Court next month. He paid $5,000 cash bail (mainly because it was his 3rd DUI offense) over the weekend to be released and that will remain in effect. He will also undergo random alcohol screens and must check in with a probation officer twice per week.

And, obviously, no driving.

Last Man Standing ... Falls

Captain Video, North Amherst.  Last of a kind

Sad:

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(Just Another) Manic Monday

AFD Engine 2 blocking entry to Cottage Street

Now that higher education, our #1 industry, is on hiatus it's tempting to assume Amherst can roll up the streets, businesses downtown can put up "gone fishing" signs on their front door and AFD can while away the hours washing their big bright trucks.

Well, no.

This morning for instance two calls unrelated to college aged youth occurred almost simultaneously on opposite ends of town:  a dumpster fire at the Pomeroy Lane Co-operative Housing complex and a gas leak on Cottage Street caused by a backhoe hitting an underground line.

AFD Engine 1 on scene Pomeroy Lane, South Amherst

Neither incident turned out to be a step above routine but still the on-duty crews were stretched enough so that two off duty firefighters had to be called in for "station coverage." 

Last year AFD handled 5,914 calls or an average of 493 per month.  Thus far this year (as of May 1st) AFD is running at a record breaking 2,200 calls, or 550 calls per month.

Overpowering Symbol

Kendrick Place: 5 story, mixed use (mostly residential) building opening by September

If the pro-development warrant articles #21 & #22 fail and the anti-development articles #24 & #25 acquire a majority vote (shy of the two-thirds required for passage) on the floor of Amherst Town Meeting Monday night, the shadow cast by Kendrick Place will have loomed large in that nightmarish outcome.

At the moment the building, unfortunately, is still ensconced in its protective exterior winter coat -- so it indeed looks a lot less inviting than it will two or three months from now.  Critics will argue it's downright ugly.

Those same critics point to perceived insider concessions bequeathed to the local developers, Archipelago Investments.  The Planning Board granted Special Permits that allowed an extra 10 feet in height and lot coverage pretty much out to the public street.

Since Kendrick Place is located in the Municipal Parking District no off street parking is required for the 36 units which will house 104 tenants. Such a building outside the MPD would require 2 parking spaces per unit. 

And since it is a "mixed use" building (some commercial on the 1st floor) the town's Inclusionary Zoning bylaw, mandating 10% of the units being "affordable," doesn't apply.

Throw in the recent $1.5 million state grant the town acquired for burying ugly above ground utility wires in and around Kendrick Place and you have a full blown conspiracy theory worthy of a Hollywood movie.  

Of course the other way to view Kendrick Place -- which will be a lot easier to do a few months from now -- is it represents the derring-do of the private sector, who were willing to risk the expensive development costs and work with local boards and committees to bring a desperately needed project to fruition.

While the beleaguered downtown businesses, who could use the walk-in traffic from those 104 tenants, will see Kendrick Place epitomizing the most powerful symbol of all:  hope.