Ascertain This!

Final speaker Jim Lescault, Director of Amherst Media, addresses Amherst Select Board

The Amherst Select Board and Cable Advisory Committee hosted their first of two "Cable Ascertainment Hearings" last night with the second one scheduled for Wednesday September 30 at the Bangs Community Center at 11:30 AM.

The Select Board voted to adjourn their meeting after hearing an hour-and-a-half of testimony but they kept the public hearing on all things cable open until their October 5th routine Monday night meeting so citizens have plenty of time to provide them with written comments.

The ten-year contract with Comcast expires in October, 2016 and Federal law requires two public hearings as part of the Request For Proposals targeted to Comcast.  Rates and programming are off the table as is anything related to Internet or phone service.

Cable Advisory Chair Kris Pacunas:  These public hearings are "The most important tool for our committee."  

A couple dozen citizens showed up, many of them associated with Amherst Media to champion our local cable assess entity that operates channels 12,15, and 17 -- aka, the local government beat.

Amherst School Committee member Vira Douangmay:  "Amherst Media is important for our Democracy.  People freak out when School Committee meeting are not televised."

Amherst Media is funded by a 5% cut of Comcast's overall Amherst revenues ($6.5 million) from its 7,000 subscribers, which came to $317,000 last year.

And once every 10 years a "technology upgrade" capital expense for new equipment, which came to $450,000 ten years ago.

But more than a majority of the audience came to complain about various service issues with Comcast -- either billing, quality of product or just overall customer service.

Wendy Jones Boisseau:  I own a house on Pulpit Hill Road that's hard to rent because Comcast wanted $8,000 to install cable/internet service.

Staff liaison and town I.T. Director Sean Hannon said the Comcast fiber optic access is "very valuable," but the equipment used by Amherst Media is "very old and should be replaced."

The Cable Advisory Committee will come up with a ten year contract proposal that must first be approved by the Town Manager and then final approval rests with the Amherst Select Board.

Of course if you the customer don't like the final contract, the alternatives are pretty slim.  All the more reason to make your voice heard NOW.

Another 1 Gone: Carriage House Demolition

Circa 1860 Carriage House, 1081 South East Street

After more than an hour of discussion punctuated by a few pregnant pauses and four votes taken, the Amherst Historical Commission, finally, decided unanimously NOT call a Demolition Delay Hearing which would have resulted in one-year protection for a historic circa 1860 South Amherst carriage house.

Architect John Kuhn was forthright with his presentation saying, "Let me be clear:  We don't want to have a hearing.  The building is not worth putting money into."

Kuhn presented the replacement building (already approved by the ZBA) which will serve as a garage and office to the current owners, but is designed to allow for a better view to the rear of the main house onto land recently purchased by the owners.

After filing a demolition permit the Historical Commission has 35 days to call a Demo Delay Hearing, which requires time to post legal notices.   So the 9/21 meeting was pretty much the last chance to call that Hearing.

The Commission's concerns were of the standard "vanishing landscape" variety.  This carriage house was a "contributing structure" to the South Amherst Common Historic District, and the only one left of its kind in that District.

Commission members were also unhappy with the new design not matching the original structure it would be replacing.

Kuhn responded somewhat indignantly: "I didn't think this was a design critique kind of meeting.  The building is set back from the house so it does not dwarf it.  My clients have already spent a lot of money on design so we are not here to look at alternative designs."

Kuhn also pointed out the Zoning Board of Appeals had already approved the new design.

The first vote on the motion NOT to call a Demolition Delay Hearing was met with total silence.  On the second attempt two voted yes to not calling a Hearing and two hesitated.  Again.

The Chair then offered to write a letter to the owners expressing their concerns and requesting their presence at a Commission meeting.  The motion to table a decision until next meeting passed 3-0 with one abstention.

But then Senior Planner Nate Malloy pointed out the next meeting would be too late to hold an official demolition hearing (as the deadline will have passed) so they took yet another vote on simply writing a letter of concern but NOT holding a demolition delay hearing.

That passed 3-0 with one abstention.  Kuhn promised to take the official letter "seriously."

Carriage House at 1081 South East Street is currently used as garage and office

Skin Of The Earth

Sculptured artwork "Essential Voyage" Amherst North Common

Perhaps it's fitting that in one of his final acts as Town Manager John Musante approved the placement on our historic North Town Common the fragile artwork "Essential Voyage," a life sized sculpture made of raw clay, hemp fiber, chicken wire and wood.

Artist creator Valerie Gilman sees it as microcosm of life and, all too inevitably, death:

"As the clay dries it will shrink and crack and as the rainwater falls on it, it will wash away the clay.  This process of decay is part of the piece.  We are part of the skin of the earth and our lives are temporary here."

Ms. Gilman has dedicated this timely public art project to the memory of John Musante, gone from this life far too soon.  

There will be an open reception during the Chamber of Commerce Art Walk on Thursday, October 1st with the artist and her collaborator Margaret Bowrys, who was the model for the sculpture.  Bowrys will also perform an improvisational dance.

Over the course of the next few months the artwork will, by design, degrade.  And on December 1st, that which remains will be removed. 

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

   Amherst "Essential Voyage Artwork

Busy Fall Weekend

Saturday noon September 19

This weekend -- especially Saturday -- will be another busy one as our little college town has now fully shaken off the final remnants of a slow but all too brief summer.

The weather is expected to be borderline perfect for outdoor activities so the 28th annual Apple Harvest Crafts Fair on the town common will easily attract an overflow crowd to town center.

In addition, the always popular Amherst Farmers Market will be in the usual spot set up on the Spring Street lot between the North and South Town Common.  And Amherst Regional High School, located nearby, is having its homecoming.

 Grace Church, Boltwood Avenue, Amherst town center

And of course a somber, once in a lifetime event will also attract a standing room only crowd to Grace Episcopal Church next door to Town Hall: the funeral ceremony to remember/commemorate beloved Town Manager John Musante, who passed away suddenly on Sunday morning.

Public Safety departments will be in all-hands-on-deck mode after the sun goes down.  The Fire Department "impact shift" -- extra staffing for two ambulances funded by UMass, a deal brokered by Mr. Musante -- will bring total AFD strength up to 13.

I hope it's enough.

After all a (relatively) quiet weekend would be a fitting tribute to the memory of our Town Manager, who prioritized and helped implement the paradigm shift towards safe and healthy neighborhoods. 

DUI Dishonor Roll

Michal Wojewodzic, age 22 (photo courtesy APD)

Great weather over the weekend brought out droves of college aged youth to all the usual hot spots near UMass for foot traffic  -- Phillips, North Pleasant and Meadow Streets.  Which is what makes this drunk driving incident all that much scarier.

What if he had hit a tender body rather than a solid tree?

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 Meadow Street/Townhouse Apartments late Saturday afternoon

In Eastern Hampshire District Court on Monday Mr. Wojewodzic had his case continued until next month.

Wild Women Weekend

51 Phillips Street

Three 21-year-old women, all UMass students, became the first "Party House" arrests of the Fall  semester.  And seven of nine (one of my favorite Star Trek characters) UMass ETOH drunk runs over the weekend were women, as were both Amherst College drunk runs.

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Ain't equality great?

In Eastern Hampshire District Court on Monday none of the three women jumped at the Commonwealth's usual plea deal offer (which has about a 98% acceptance rate):  Criminal case is "diverted" to civil with payment of $300 town bylaw noise fine, and if they stay out of trouble for four months the case is dismissed.

All the young women wished to consult with a private attorney so their cases were continued until next month.

And all the ETOH women recovered and will be paying (or their parents will) around $1,000 each for their ride to Cooley Dickinson Hospital.

   AFD Runs Mid-September

Digital Age Change

 

Mandi Jo Hanneke, Sean Hannon (left) Sandra Burgess, Jim Pistrang (right)

The Town Meeting Electronic Voting Study Committee voted unanimously 4-0 with 3 absent this morning to send to Amherst Town Meeting a $26,000 warrant article that will purchase 260 hand held digital voting devices to try to speed up the snail-like pace of Amherst's 257 year old political institution.

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Warrant Article will be vetted by Joint Capital Planning Committee and then requires only a simply majority vote at Fall Town Meeting

Meanwhile the Amherst Select Board voted unanimously last night to set the annual town election for March 29, 2016, which could actually be an interesting election for a change.

Charter enthusiasts now have until December 21st to collect the 3,215 signatures required to guarantee placement of the controversial question to change our form of government on that annual ballot for voters to decide.

The main motivation for Charter enthusiasts is to abolish antiquated Town Meeting by switching to a more professional Mayor/Council form of government.

Thus this $26,000 electronic voting purchase could end up being the equivalent of buying a new saddle for a dying horse.