School Payouts: A Little Sunshine

Amherst Regional High School (Amherst, Pelham, Leverett, Shutesbury)

Emails between School officials and the Regional School Committee clearly show Carolyn Gardner wanted the $180,000 MCAD lawsuit settlement to become public.

In fact the settlement would not have been reached without the Schools issuing a press release fully disclosing all aspects of the agreement.

Ironically School Superintendent Maria Geryk takes the School Committee to task for a security breach where I published an email she had sent to Vira Douangmany (copied to the entire Regional School Committee) on this now rather PUBLIC matter.

Damn bloggers!

   Carolyn Gardner incident Emails by Larry Kelley

March 31 memo outlining $821,668 school settlement payouts in just the past 4 years

Downtown Parking Final Report

Plenty of parking on a summer Sunday early morning

The three Downtown Parking Forums held over the past year have been summarized in a comprehensive Downtown Parking Report by senior planner Jeff Bagg.   The Amherst Planning Board received a copy on Friday and it will be presented tonight at the Amherst Select Board meeting by John Musante during his packed "Town Manager's Report."

Simply put the 68 page document highly recommends two things:  start the process for ascertaining the need and feasibility of constructing a new downtown parking structure; and come up with strategies and regulations for more efficient use of current parking -- both public and private.

The downtown now has a total of 2,019 parking spaces but 1,159 of them, a whopping 57%, are private.  If the town could strike a deal with private landowners it would increase utilization rates of parking overall, and with the town taking over maintenance and enforcement duties on those parking spots private owners would have one less thing to worry about.

   Amherst Downtown Parking Report

Yes, a 2008 study by the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission decreed, "current parking supply in the downtown area sufficiently meets the current parking demand."  Since that study seven years ago the Amherst Cinema has become a downtown anchor, new restaurants have opened and the Jones Library (our other downtown anchor) may double in size.

And that study did find that some highly desirable downtown public parking locations "meet or exceed 100% utilization."

More important the number of residential units in the downtown will grow 36%, from the current 330 units to 550, when Kendrick Place and One East Pleasant Street five-story, mixed-use developments come on line.

Kendrick Place opening soon with 36 units housing 104 tenants

The Parking Report does suggest that perhaps the Planning Board and Select Board should consider tweaking the Municipal Parking District which currently exempts mixed-use buildings from a parking requirement.

While the town needs to do another updated parking study this Parking Final Report recommends laying the groundwork for a new parking facility and increasing overall efficiency of the current parking system should start immediately.

In fact, by virtue of this comprehensive report, it already has.

The 5 member Select Board as "keepers of the public way" have final say over simple parking tweaks, but Town Meeting controls the purse strings.

Any expenditures to enhance the downtown requires Town Meeting approval.  More ominously, any zoning change would require a two-thirds majority vote of Town Meeting.  And the current preferred location for a parking structure (behind CVS) does require a zoning change.

CVS & town parking lot next door

Death By Delay?

Carriage Shops:  future home of One East Pleasant Street

Basic rule of last resort in the NIMBY handbook:  When all else fails file a lawsuit.

Last week Hampshire Superior Court Judge Richard Carey heard a "Motion For Summary Judgement" in the case brought against Archipelago Investments and the Amherst Planning Board.

If the Judge supports the motion filed by the town and the developer, construction on One East Pleasant Street can commence.

Joel Greenbaum, a local property manager with 27 properties in town containing a total of 212 bedrooms filed the suit as an abutter claiming  One East Pleasant Street, with 80 units of housing providing 180 new beds, will cause him unique injury.

Greenbaum asserts that because One East Pleasant Street only provides 36 parking spaces for 180 tenants parking for his nearby units will be negatively impacted.  But the simple counter to that is parking is a general complaint that impacts the entire downtown, thus Mr. Greenbaum is not suffering any unique harm.

Town Attorney Joel Bard told the Judge parking is a policy issue, not a legal concern.

The more specific complaint that one of his properties would suffer harm via a shadow cast by the five story project was shown to be false as part of the "discovery process."

Archipelago's attorney Mark Bobrowski countered the complaint that One East Pleasant Street was a dormitory (not allowed in the downtown district) by pointing out all the units would be leased as apartments and not by the bed.  

Of course the genuine concern for Mr. Greenbaum is that One East Pleasant Street will provide brand new high-end rental units to compete with his tired older offerings.  But land use law does not consider economic injury brought on by all-American competition to be grounds for "special injury."

Even in the unlikely event the Judge turns down the Motion For Summary Judgement and then goes on to rule in favor of Mr. Greenbaum's lawsuit, all it does is neutralize the two Special Permits granted by the Planning Board allowing extra height and lot coverage.

Archipelago would still have "by right" the authority to build a five-story, mixed-use building on that site they already invested $4.6 million acquiring.  And I'm guessing they would.

Bring on the shadow.  

1 East Pleasant, Amherst by Larry Kelley

Drunk Driving: 4th Time The Charm?

Richard Sherwood (left) stands before Judge John Payne

At a revocation of bail hearing on Thursday morning Assistant District Attorney Andy Covington told Judge John Payne that Richard Sherwood, age 30, had violated the terms of his release by consuming alcohol.

A Sobrietor test the night before (9:01 PM) indicated the presence of alcohol, with a .031 reading.  Four minutes later a follow up test confirmed it with a reading of .029.

As per protocol a fax automatically went out to the Easthampton Police Department and they came to Mr. Sherwood's apartment and arrested him.

Back at the police station he took the Breathalizer test and passed with flying colors, as in a 0.0 reading.

But ADA Covington pointed out to Judge Payne that the breath test at police headquarters occurred at 10:47 PM, one hour and 46 minutes after the Sobrietor test, and with the normal elimination of alcohol from the bloodstream a zero reading would be expected.

Covington also pointed out to Judge Payne that Mr. Sherwood was most recently arrested in Amherst back in May with a very high breath test (.20), but do to an oversight APD only charged him with 3rd offense DUI, and in fact it was later amended to 4th offense DUI.

And had the state been aware back in May of that fact the Commonwealth would have moved for a 58A dangerousness hearing requesting Mr. Sherwood be kept in confinement until his trial.

Covington also told the Judge the State would be moving next week for a Grand Jury Indictment against Mr. Sherwood, which would then bump this drunk driving case up to Hampshire Superior Court.

Mr. Sherwood's defense attorney pointed out a Sobrietor, like a Portable Breath Test used by police in the field, is not admissible in court as stand alone evidence.  And the test that is admissible (the machines used at police headquarters) showed his client to be at zero for alcohol.

Sherwood's fiance was in the courtroom and would testify that she was with him that night and he did not have a drink.  In addition, earlier in the day of the Sobrietor test Sherwood had used a flea/tick bomb purchased at Dave's Soda and Pet Food City in his apartment which had trace amounts of alcohol in it.

Therefor the Sobrietor results were simply a "false positive."

Judge Payne asked when was Mr. Sherwood's trial date?   "September 2nd your honor," replied Covington.

"Motion to rescind denied," said the Judge.  Richard Sherwood was released (with the original $5,000 bail still in effect), until his September 2nd court appearance.

Home Again

Engine 2 this morning at North Station (because she doesn't fit into Central Station)

Engine 2, "the quint", is back at North Station after a couple weeks hiatus for repairs.  The quint is one of two aerial trucks in the AFD arsenal.

Ladder 1 is a traditional heavy duty aerial truck with a 102' ladder while Engine 2 is a lighter version with a 75' motorized ladder.

The quint is essentially a hybrid of an engine and a pumper and gets its nickname because of the five basic functions it serves:  firepump, an on-board water tank, hose storage, an aerial/elevated platform with water gun at the top, and a bevy of ground ladders.

Engine 2 seats 6 (although probably has never hit that limit) and carries 500 gallons of water.  Thus the 2,000 gallons per minute pump could drain the on-board water supply in 15 seconds.

 Engine 2 has a 75' aerial ladder

AFD's other (circa 1988) aerial platform truck, Ladder 1, is currently out of action for yearly maintenance and repairs/upgrades. 

 The quint on scene this morning for 2 car MVC.  Lexus rear-ended APD supervisor's vehicle

Drunk Driving Déjà Vu

Kathleen Brennan appears before Judge John Payne.  Again.

In Eastern Hampshire District Court yesterday Amherst resident Kathleen Brennan, age 50, appeared before Judge John Payne for the second time in less than a year for the serious charge of driving under the influence of alcohol.

Although technically, both times, she was not actually caught driving, but simply passed out at the wheel of her red Lexus. This time, however, the incident occurred in the middle of the week (Wednesday) at 5:30 PM, in the heart of a fairly densely populated family neighborhood (Amherst Woods).

   Amherst 2nd offense drunk driving

Back in December she approached me in the courtroom -- with her husband at her side -- requesting I not cover her plea deal.  Since becoming a self appointed court reporter two years ago that was the first time I had fielded such a request, although I get plenty after publication demanding removal.

Sometimes in not such a polite manner.

Brennan, with a well known Amherst DUI attorney at her side,  took a 24D disposition -- offered only to 1st time offenders.   Thus she lost her license for 45 days, paid $650 in fines/fees, attended a state run alcohol education program, and was placed on probation for one year (doesn't expire until this coming December).

She told Judge Payne she would be hiring the same attorney as before.   Judge Payne continued her case until August 20 but kept the $1,000 bail she posted in effect and made "random alcohol screening" another condition of release.

Yes in America everyone is innocent until proven guilty.  But the same could be said for Timothy McVeigh, up until he was proven guilty and executed by lethal injection; or Dzhokhar Tsarnaev who will rot in jail for the rest of his miserable life. 

Fountain Runs Dry

Cook Fountain, Sweetser Park this morning

Murphy's Law summer edition dictates your lawnmower or air conditioner will break down mid peak season.  Mr. Murphy's municipal version, now playing out in Amherst town center, translates to a pump failure -- for the second time in two years -- at the historic Sweetser Park Cook Fountain.

UPDATE Friday afternoon:  Acting Town Manager Dave Ziomek just called and said the fountain was a "top priority" for the DPW, as it is a "crown jewel" of the downtown, and it would be fixed "very soon."

Better days (last month)