A Moveable History?

12 Hallock (circled) will be demolished for parking  and house in front razed for a new multi-level commercial building

The Amherst Historical Commission will hold a demolition delay hearing on Tuesday night regarding two adjacent structures in the north end of downtown owned by two prominent local developers, Curt Shumway and Barry Roberts.

   12 Hallock Street Amherst

Besides dripping in local history the other main factor working against the immediate demolition is both buildings are in excellent condition with a lot of visual curb appeal.

 12 Hallock Street

236 North Pleasant Street

Perhaps a downside of the two local developers being responsible owners over the years and actually taking good care of the structures.  

   236 North Pleasant Street Amherst

The Historical Commission can only impose a maximum of a one-year delay and they appear to be not overly influenced by the status of an owner.

For instance back in July of 2014 they voted to impose the one year delay on Cinda Jones -- dubbed by neighbors as the "Donald Trump of Amherst" -- for a historic barn on Montague Road in The Mill District.

 Cowls barn 134 Montague Road in The Mill District, North Amherst

Although that demolition delay has now expired the barn is still a stately presence looming over the North Amherst Village center.

Vestry now at 12 Hallock Street was originally just behind what is now College/Memorial Hall, owned by Amherst College

Editor's note:  In the interest of transparency Curt Shumway is an advertiser and I was one of the 10,000 babies delivered by Dr. Merzbach 

Unforgettable

The Pub

Although I worked there 35 years ago during my UMass days I'm embarrassed to say I did not know Natalie Cole made her performance debut at The Pub in Amherst town center.  One of the many advantages of being a "college town" I suppose.

Although I do remember her classic "This Will Be" playing as standard fare on weekends when the restaurant turned into a nightclub and my job was to keep the rowdies in line.

What a talent.  Obviously the chestnut did not fall far from the tree.

And now they are reunited for an eternal duet.

New Year Over Amherst

Sacred West Cemetery

Gull Pond

 Owen's Pond

Epstein's Pond

Poor Farm Swamp

Keep Hope

 The two arrows do not take up much space but are a tad ugly

In addition to seeking permission to move Hope the cow across the street to Relocation Park, pointman Jerry Gates also asked the Public Arts Commmission to support his quest to remove the temporary arrow signs the DPW installed back in the early 1970s when North Pleasant Street was initially realigned.

 Jerry Gates (right) at Public Arts Commission meeting 12/17/15

That traffic project created a small island of turf where the road once ran, and in 1994 the Public Arts Commission approved the art project called, appropriately enough, "Realignment Park".

 The Business Improvement District uncovered and now maintains the pocket park

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 Hope is designed to hold three large football lineman

Hope will be  reinstalled just outside the art work footprint to the north, close to where the DPW road signs are currently located and she will continue to face west.  The Design Review Board already gave permission for the move but wish to see whatever signage is attached to Hope.

The Select Board, as keepers of the public way, have final approval over the relocation and the removal of the aging "temporary" DPW road signs.

Half Way To Bankruptcy

Cherry Hill winter wonderland (note DPW did not even bother to plow the parking lot)

Once again at the fiscal year half-way point for the golf business that straddles two calendar years, the municipally owned Cherry Hill Golf Course is, as usual, on a fast track to economic ruin. 

Only it's the taxpayers who cover the losses, not the tax-exempt White Elephant business. 

At closing in mid-November (yes, they did not stay open to take advantage of the warmest December in history) total revenues are a pathetic $99,144, down from last year's $102, 347 at this same time.

And last year they went on to finish FY15 with $211,680 total intake vs $298,133 spent, or a lost of $86,453.

But this year's budget has an extra $16,000 in capital appropriations for yet another lawnmower, so safe bet they will break the $100,000 mark for losses when the books close (June 30) on FY16.  This will about match the $103,964 lost in FY14.

   Cherry HIll Golf $ report 2015

Hey a $100K here and $100K there,  pretty soon you're talking real money.  Money that could go towards hiring a couple of badly needed first responders.

Next spring when all our ambulances are out and AFD Central and North Station are empty, Dispatch should tell a 911 caller to try the golf course.  Maybe a groundskeeper in a golf cart will be free to respond, as they sure aren't overly busy serving golf customers.

Status Quo Housing Allocation

Amherst Housing Authority Board of Commissioners

The Amherst Housing Authority Board of Commissioners voted 4-1 on Monday to set the HUD voucher payment standards for 2016 at 113% of Fair Market Rent for Amherst and 97% for Extended area which covers 388 total vouchers and gives all of them a few dollars more in monthly subsidies.

Commission member TracyLee Boutilier voted against the motion saying the Board should show "more compassion," pointing out a $10 month increase in payments for a family living in a  three bedroom apartment is too little.

The problem is Housing and Urban Development is only giving the Amherst Housing Authority an extra $38,443 in 2016 going from the current $3,077,917 up to $3,116,360.

And with the approved payment standards for 2016 the 238 Amherst vouchers will cost an additional $25,812 and the balance of them another $10,260. To suddenly increase the subsidy any higher would mean defunding some vouchers to make up the difference.

If the AHA went to 120% of the Fair Market Rate for Amherst, Executive Director Denise LeDuc estimates 35-40 vouchers would need to be terminated to fund the increase in monthly payments to the other 200 or so Amherst recipients.

Last year the average cost paid out for all 388 vouchers came to $649/month or $7,788 annually.

The problem in Amherst is too little housing supply combined with too great a demand.  Students who wish to live off campus pack themselves into sometimes sub-standard units and drive up the prices, forcing out families and blue collar workers who cannot compete.

 Click to enlarge/read

Although the recent passage of the town's Rental Registration Permit Bylaw and the successful completion of Kendrick Place, with more large mixed-use buildings on the immediate horizon, the future for affordable housing is starting to look a little brighter.

Five story mixed use Kendrick Place (mostly residential) opened September 1st

Story Of The Year 2015

John Musante

The sudden tragic death of Town Manager John Musante on an otherwise beautiful Sunday morning last September, just as summer turns to fall, is my local story of the year. How could it not be?

Like a large projectile fired into a calm expanse of water the detonation created ripples bordering on a rip tide that will be felt for many years to come.

Not that he was the perfect Town Manager. Heck, he wasn't even the first choice of the Select Board almost ten years ago when they chose, ugh, Larry Shaffer over him.

But the Select Board got it right the second the time around when he was chosen (2010) without an expensive time consuming search after Mr. Shaffer suddenly disappeared. And as I said at the time, immorality is something you never have to worry about with John Musante. Or bad financial decisions.

Although his diffidence in dealing with NIMBYs did cost us greatly in losing the Gateway Project, a collaboration with UMass that could have resulted in a potential $50+ million addition to the tax rolls in badly needed commercial/residential mixed use development.

And the original solar array project on the old landfill was also sabotaged by NIMBYs, although he turned that around just before his death.

While our current form of government is inefficient and outmoded, with John Musante at the helm the good ship Amherst always stayed on a slow steady course of financial solvency.

Still, the vital asset I will miss most about Mr. Musante was his keen sense of humor.