10 Cents On The Dollar

Let's not talk about the mega-millions UMass has squandered on football

So no I'm not surprised the new l-o-n-g overdue (3 years) UMass/town Strategic Partnership Agreement is a lousy deal for the town, which is probably why John Musante did not jump at the chance to sign it when it first landed on his desk well before his tragic untimely death.

The $257,000 payment for hotel/motel tax is simply money that was owed us, collected, and put in escrow.

Since Senate President Stan Rosenberg clearly stated he wanted the Campus Center Hotel to pay the 6% local option tax when he filed special legislation a few years back, safe bet UMass was told in no uncertain terms to pay the hell up and keep paying it from now on.

Sort of like a homeowner withholding a year's worth of mortgage payments and then suddenly making it current before the bank forecloses.

The status quo payment for public safety are also grossly inadequate:  AFD spends 20% of their time dealing with on-campus calls while APD spends 20% of its time dealing with off-campus students, so with a $10 million public safety budget that comes to over $2 million for both departments.

In return UMass is paying us less than $500,000 for AFD services only.

 Click to enlarge/read

But the biggest booger is the payment for education of 56 students living in UMass tax exempt housing attending our expensive public schools.  Superintendent Maria Geryk told Amherst Town Meeting last spring  that alone amounts to $1,267,000.

Thus an annual payment of $120,000 amounts to less than ten cents on the dollar.  At a time when the Regional School budget is $600,000 in the hole.

You would think a bastion of public higher education would put more value on, you know, public education.

3.5 Year Strategic Partnership Agreement

Town owned $200,000 Mark's Meadow portable classroom were demolished by UMass

Signed, Sealed & Registered

Attack of the drone

I was very pleased to see the FAA drone regulations did not include night flying on the list of banned practices.

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Some of the neater photos I've taken were of the town fair at night (both Amherst and Belchertown), or more recently the Merry Maple Christmas tree in town center.

Amherst  Town Fair 5/30/15

Belchertown Fair September 2015

It's actually a lot easier to keep your drone in "line of sight" at night because of the flashing lights against a black background.  

I was also most pleased the entire registration process took just under five minutes (online) and was FREE.

They did charge $5.00 to my credit card but that will be instantly rebated for all registrations done within the next 30 days.

Now all I have to do is to continue flying safely.

Western Mass News Reports

 Merry Maple

3,457

Amherst Town Meeting lovers may soon be in mourning

The final certified signature count to force placement on the ballot a question about forming a study group -- aka Charter Commission -- to come up with a new & improved local government came in 242 signatures over the 3,215 threshold.

And it's all or nothing, so as along as a formal challenge does not negate 243 of the signatures, the question will appear on the March 31 ballot. 

In addition 9 Charter Commissioners will be elected on that same ballot and already five citizens have taken out nomination papers, which require 50 valid signatures:

Cheryl Zoll, Irv Rhodes, Aaron Hayden, Stephen Schreiber, and Janet McGowan are the brave souls who have stepped forward thus far, but now that enough signatures have been certified to make the ballot other candidates will no doubt soon enter the fray.

 Amherst For All celebrates in the hallway in front of Town Clerk's office this morning

Since the Select Board can also place a non-binding advisory question on the ballot they should also do what a previous Select Board did a dozen years ago and ask the voters if indeed it's time to lay Town Meeting to rest.

That way the Charter Commission can focus on the real solution:  Mayor/Council.

Brick By Brick

West Experiment Station back in June

Let's hope UMass has not bitten off more than they can chew with the West Experiment Station reconstruction project to make way for the new $100 million Physical Sciences Building.

 West Experiment Station 11/29/15

As of today the historic old building has been completely dismantled and will hopefully be reassembled by 2018, integrated into the new Physical Sciences Building, for a unique blending of the old and the new.

West Experiment Station today

Trolley Station on North Pleasant Street, built 1911 trashed June, 2012 by a contractor without full approval

At The Top Of The Pole

Red/white/blue flag instead of just baby blue

For the first time in town history -- a whopping 43 years anyway -- the flagpole immediately in front of Town Hall flew a lone flag other than the United Nations flag, for which it was erected back in 1973.

A good cause of course:  the 150th anniversary of the signing of the 13th Amendment to end the pernicious practice of slavery.

Besides being a good reminder that our sacred constitution can be amended, it is also fitting we pause to remember that slavery was once the routine here in our land of the free.

The flag that flew alone on the pole for barely 24 hours was an American flag but a reproduction of a vintage 1865 U.S. flag with only 36 stars.

The Select Board somewhat routinely allow various flags to fly -- Rainbow Flag, Puerto Rico, Black Liberation Flag, Children's memorial flag against child abuse, etc -- but always with the UN flag above them.

US flag protocol however clearly states the American flag never flies below that of any other entity.  Unless of course it's an act of God.

UN Flag flies above Black Liberation flag, February this year

Top Of Their Class Still

Amherst College Greenway Project this fine Sunday morning

I don't think anybody is going to feel overly bad for Amherst College being reduced from a AAA to merely a AA+ by Standard & Poor's so they now share, gasp, the same bond rating as the town they are named after.

After all, they still have $2.2 billion in their endowment.  Yes that's billion with a b as opposed to only $9 million the town has in its reserves. 

The cause of the slight crack in their financial armor is the increased debt load, a mere $330 million, brought on by reinvesting in infrastructure, mainly the new Greenway Project.

The four new dorms should be open in the fall of 2016 and the $200 million, 230,000 square foot science center project will get underway, again.

Last year Amherst College donated $120,000 to the town to cover Amherst Fire Department emergency runs to their campus.

And AC does pay taxes on all the one and two family homes it owns and rents out to professors so in that respect they also help fund the huge pubic education costs in Amherst, which consume the lion's share of the municipal budget.  In fact, Amherst College is the #1 taxpayer in town.

But there was some grumbling at the recent Community Preservation Act Committee meeting in regards to a $200,000 request for a fire suppression system at the Amherst College owned Dickinson Museum complex.

Since CPA money can only be used for certain things, perhaps the town can work out a kick back deal whereby Amherst College donates 75 cents to the General Fund for every CPA dollar they are awarded.

Representative Stephen Kulik has a bill pending in the legislature to allow cities and towns to tax private tax-exempt entities like Amherst College at 25% of their assessed value.

Vince O'Connor has started a one-man crusade to get Amherst College to contribute more Payment In Lieu Of Taxes, specifically to relieve pressure on the Regional School Budget.

 Vince O'Connor on the attack, December 7th SB meeting

His theory is Amherst College would be wise to sign a multi-year donation deal now before the state makes it a requirement.

Kind of like working out a divorce settlement with a mediator rather than allowing a probate judge to make the call.

Hadley Barn Fire

Hadley has distinctive yellow apparatus

Surround and drown

Despite the best efforts of Hadley, Northampton, Sunderland and South Hadley fire departments the beast  completely consumed a Hadley barn immediately off River Road (Rt 47) not far from the scene of another barn fire just over the town line in Sunderland six weeks ago.

Fortunately there were no injuries to man or beast.

The fire spread to an adjacent brushy/wooded area, but was quickly controlled