A Sad, Sad Sunday Indeed

Amherst Town Manager John Musante 1961-2015

Some days I wish I did not listen so closely to first responder radio traffic, or know the town and town officials so well.

With medical calls I try not to listen all that carefully mainly because they are, usually, private and only subject to public scrutiny if it involves a high ranking pubic official.

Well in our little town they don't come any higher ranking (or nicer) than Town Manager John Musante.  And it's my very sad duty to report he passed away in his sleep, possibly from a heart attack. 

Amherst Ambulance (A4) with four aboard (usual crew is two) responded to his home Sunday morning around 8:45 AM and had a major Amherst police escort to Cooley Dickinson Hospital.  Umass and Hadley police assisted with traffic control at intersections along the way.

As many of you may remember our Town Manager suffered a head injury four years ago after falling while out walking his dog.  And in late July he fractured his foot in another accident while walking  back to his dorm room where he was attending a professional development course at the Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge.

 John Musante was kick off speaker at town's Solar presentation last week and seemed happy with the public response to a solar array on closed landfill

But he seemed happy and healthy of late.  I would often see him walking along Main Street around the lunch hour for exercise, and he was out mingling with the general public at the Celebrate Amherst Block Party on Thursday night.

John Musante, a long time Amherst resident, replaced Larry Shaffer as Town Manager in 2010 but had served as Finance Director since 2004.

Assistant Town Manager Dave Ziomek, who is in Philadelphia at the moment, will become interim Town Manager.

 Town Manager John Musante with Amherst Select Board. Chair Alisa Brewer (center)

The Amherst Select Board has a regularly scheduled Monday meeting tomorrow night.  Open Meeting Law allows for, "Topics the Chair did not reasonable anticipate 48 hours before the meeting".

And this shocking event is something nobody could have anticipated.

Well I Hate That Dirty Water

UMass dredged the Campus Pond last month

UMass Landscape Architecture students have set up a living laboratory on North Pleasant Street near the Bertucci's parking lot directly across from Kendrick Park to demonstrate a simple solution to the storm water run off that oozes into Tan Brook and then dumps into the UMass campus pond.

Plants can provide natural water filtration

Some plants actually like yucky gray water and by planting them in the flow path of Tan Brook  they would naturally absorb some of the pollutants before they do damage to the pond.

The space required is pretty minimal, as little as five square feet.   A series of these green patches could be planted along the path of the underground brook, brightening our downtown street scape while improving the environment.

 Balloons on Kendrick Park above Tan Brook represent the Campus Pond

You Can Always Go

Amherst after dark, North Pleasant Street

If the Business Improvement District keeps this up the Celebrate Amherst Block Party will become a downtown tradition, much like the Taste of Amherst or Merry Maple Tree lighting ceremony, which also brings thousands of folks to the heart of our town for a family friendly event.

 

She flew through the air ...

And have for quite a long time now.

5:30 PM

8:45 PM

While the Block Party is the new kid on the block -- with four winning events now in the record books --   the secret to success is the same:  bring lots of people together in a controlled but wide open area for a feel good event.

Kendrick Park on the far north end of town looked like Christmas

The weather of course is a major factor.   Mother Nature should win an award as best supporting actress in last night's event.

 Downtown restaurants did a booming business

 AFD Central Station is always a popular attraction

 AFD Engine 1 and A2 staged at DPW building a mile away to respond to calls

And the town too deserves major kudos for their supporting role by providing the stretch on North Pleasant street running through town center and the town employees -- Police, Fire and DPW -- to assist with making things go as smoothly as possible.

I'll Drink To That

Hills Reservoir, Pelham

Amherst Town Meeting will be asked to spend $170,500 (if a matching state grant is approved) from the water/sewer fund to purchase 141 acres of woodland in Pelham owned by Bob Romer for protection of our drinking water supply.

The land, aka Romer Woods, is currently appraised at $455,000 -- mainly because two house lots could be carved out of it.  The land is currently in the state's Chapter 61 program with numerous unmarked trails throughout.

Assistant Town Manager Dave Ziomek told the Water Supply Protection Committee last week that Mr. Romer is a "very willing seller who wants the property protected."

And even with the tax break Mr. Romer will get for allowing the town a steep discount, it still would not make up for the $105,000 he is taking off the appraised value.

Hills Reservoir is one of seven bodies of water Amherst uses for its drinking supply.   The town currently has 2,662 acres of land set aside as "watershed protection" and of that 1,537 acres are in Pelham. 

The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow

 

 Proposed layout for 3.7 megawatt array

 Newer 56 acre closed landfill is lined and currently home to transfer station

About 60 people showed up this evening for the town's "Community Information Session On Solar" and the vast majority of them were in favor of solar installations on the town's closed landfills -- more so on the newer of the two.

 Town Manager John Musante:  "Our efforts to be green continues"

About a half dozen Amherst Woods residents, however, voiced the usual complaints about ye old landfill: An environmental catastrophe would be brought on by building a solar array on the unlined landfill with a Walmart quality cap.

 Sun Edison has an impressive resume

The Town Manager can negotiate a deal with Sun Edison on the old landfill because Town Meeting granted him that authority back in 2011 even though that particular deal fell through due to NIMBY concerns.  He would need Town Meeting approval to negotiate over the new landfill which seemed to have pretty strong support.

Last year the town and schools spent $1.373 million in electricity costs and if the 3.7 megawatt deal goes through Amherst would get around $75,000 Payment In Lieu Of Taxes on the solar array plus savings on electricity of $130,000 per year or a total annual gain to taxpayers of $205,000.

Plus we would be walking the walk of a "green community."

Smaller layout for old 53 acre landfill (to keep NIMBYs happy) would generate anywhere from 1.7 to 3.3 megawatts

Old landfill has higher concentration of nearby (vociferous) neighbors

The 30%  Federal Tax Credits expire in December, 2016 so this project must have panels on the ground by then in order to work.  And the bureaucratic hurdles are many:  Select Board, Finance Committee and then Town Meeting approval.

 Sandy Pooler:  "The first thing we want to do is have another meeting"

A Special Permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals (that requires a unanimous vote of all three members) is also a major hurdle and possibly Conservation Commission approval, and of course a permit from the Department of Environmental Protection.

But mainly town officials need to win the hearts and minds of neighbors motivated by self interest, or a lawsuit will once again become the weapon of choice.

 Not overly large crowd in attendance but 90% were supportive

Build, Baby, Build

Amherst Carriage Shops, AKA One East Pleasant Street, coming soon!

The August 12 Summary Judgement slapdown to the lawsuit against One East Pleasant filed by abutter/competitor Joel Greenbaum and paid for by dozens of fellow NIMBYs has NOT been appealed to the Massachusetts Appeals Court, where a panel of three judges would review the trial Court's decision; therefor the lawsuit is dead, Dead, DEAD.

   One East Pleasant, Amherst by Larry Kelley

Developer Kyle Wilson said yesterday the first order of business will be hazardous waste abatement in the former downtown hotel turned commercial strip mall, as any building constructed over fifty years ago has asbestos.  Then comes the demolition.

The Carriage Inn was very successful in the early years but fell victim to increased competition for the lucrative academic market from the University Lodge just down the road and the tax exempt Campus Center Hotel.

 

Amherst Carriage Inn circa 1960 

Meanwhile Archipelago's other nearby five-story, mixed-used building, Kendrick Place, is now over 75% occupied and thus far no major problems to report with either rowdy late night partying or a parking Armageddon.

 Kendrick Place 1st weekend of occupancy

At last week's Public Works Committee meeting DPW Chief Guilford Mooring presented up to date plans for the roundabout in front of Kendrick Place.

The curbline immediately in front of Kendrick leading onto Triangle Street will be pushed further north into the intersection to improve traffic flow and all allow better streetscape infrastructure (grass,lighting, benches, trees, etc)  if the town goes with a roundabout.

 Curbline (circled) will move northward a few feet

During the public comment period the PWC heard John Fox request an underground tunnel for the intersection whether it becomes a roundabout or not, citing safety concerns over students commuting to UMass.

 DPW Chief Guilford Mooring assuring Jeff Brown none of his commercial property is needed for roundabout

This of course would probably double the cost of the intersection, and the PWC has already gone on record at their 7/10/14 meeting saying they unanimously support a roundabout -- but only if it is constructed without any town funds.

 Most up to date intersection plan (roundabout)

Although Public Works Committee Chair Christine Gray-Mullen did say the previous recommendation was made over a year ago when the town was in a far different financial situation with road repairs.

Her Committee will continue discussion of the roundabout at their October 15 meeting and will take another vote on a intersection recommendation at that meeting or the following one.

The town is trying to incorporate some of the intersection work using the $1.5 million MassWorks project money already in hand.  The relocation of those ugly above-ground utility poles to an underground location is expected to start soon.

   Amherst NIMBY Court Case

"More Than A Little Bizarre!"

Judge John Payne presiding over Eastern Hampshire District Court

Normally I don't cover the plethora of cases that are adjudicated in Eastern Hamsphire District Court from towns other than Amherst.

Although on any given day I leave the courtroom shaking my head from statement of facts heard in open court concerning incidents that occur in our neighboring towns.

Take Monday for instance. While waiting for Amherst police department arrests over the weekend (4) to be arraigned, I was only half listening to the pre-trial motions, parole violations, magistrate appeals of motor vehicle tickets, etc.

But when Judge Payne changed the tenor of his voice I started paying attention.

 Harry Bonatakis, age 60, stands before Judge Payne

The case concerned a plea deal of nine months probation for a 60-year-old man arrested for Assault & Battery on a young woman.  Specifically he  "massaged her foot" without permission in the parking lot of Big Y in South Hadley.  And she had her four year old child in the car at the time.

He had come over to her as she was entering her car and started talking to her initially complimenting her vehicle but grabbing the top of the driver door preventing her from closing it.

Then he asked if she always went barefoot, to which she replied that wearing high heels at work all day caused her feet great discomfort so she took them off.

He then reached down and started massaging her bare foot saying he was a trained message therapist.  She called police.  He was arrested.

Judge Payne first asked why the Commonwealth was requesting 9 months probation, finding that an "odd number."  The Assistant District Attorney said he originally wanted a full year but the public defender wanted six months, so they split the difference.

The public defender admitted to the Judge the incident was a "little bizarre," but chalked it up to his client "getting his signals crossed."

Shaking his head Judge Payne said sternly, "I'm not comfortable with the plea deal.  I'm troubled by the facts here:  8:30 at night in a public parking lot.  It's more than a little bizarre!"

Judge Payne ordered a Forensic Evaluation saying, "I want to know what's going on and if additional structure is needed for him."  The case was continued until October 20.

Almost next up was one of the four Amherst police arrests, but I should have gone back to not paying attention since his case was designated a "56A" (domestic abuse).  As such the incident is purged from APD logs and the Clerk Magistrate's office will refuse to give out documents relating to the case.

So all I can tell you is Christopher McMahon was arrested by APD and arraigned before Judge Payne for a 56A allegation.  His case too was continued until next month.

Christopher McMahon arraigned before Judge John Payne