Charter Two for One?

As of 10:05 this morning 8 candidates have returned their Charter Commission nomination papers with the requisite 50 voter signatures required.  Another 15 have taken out papers but not yet returned them.

Yes former Select Board Chair Gerry Weiss and his wife Jenifer McKenna are among those names that are now guaranteed to appear on the March 29 ballot.

Obviously married couples don't necessarily think alike, but if they have lasted that long under one roof they probably are not opposites like Oscar and Felix.

The new Charter for Amherst is going to the the most important document of our generation.

 Three newest wannabes

Let's hope voters choose 9 Charter Commissioners with a varied background, who can bring strong independent thinking to the process.

DUI Dishonor Roll

Anthony-Denson Rivera, age 25, took the Ch24D deal offered by ADA Bob Opsitnik (rt)

Yes the number of drunk driving arrests on weekends so far in 2016 has been exceedingly low, this being the first.   Which is of course a very good thing.  But the year is still young.

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 ADA Opsitnik confirms he has never lost a trial where a legally admissible Breath Test was used

 

Cost of a Ch24D disposition

Party House of the Weekend

21 Goldenrod Circle

No offense to my New England Patriots loving friends, but I'm pretty sure if our heroes had pulled out a last minute victory the Party House pickings would have been far more ubiquitous.

Thus the first weekend of the spring semester goes down as a relatively quiet one.  Let's hope that continues.  Especially in March.

For the you-know-what weekend.

The Bad Boys appeared before Judge Connolly and they were each assessed a $300 fine with four months probation.

No Charter Cheerleading

Amherst Select Board, the executive branch of town government

The Amherst Select Board heard from two Kopalman & Paige ("The leaders in pubic sector law") attorneys last night on the do's and dont's of all things Charter change.  Most of it common sense, which this current Board has in abundant supply.  

Prior to the March 29 election the Select Board can do nothing out of the ordinary to influence voters one way or the other on how to vote especially if expends taxpayer funds.  No use of snail mail, email list serves, extra notices on the town website, etc.

Joel Bard and Lauren Goldberg update Select Board on Charter matters

After the election the 9 member Charter Commission becomes like any other town body but with the added bonus of $5,000 in town funds, guaranteed office space and direct use of the town attorney. 

And again the same hands off rules apply with the Select Board for dealing with the more epic vote of passing the new Charter.

The Select Board can assign one of its members as liaison to the Charter Commission to attend every meeting and report back to his/her Board, and Open Meeting Law even allows for a quorum of Select Board members to attend any Charter Commission meeting as long as they do not participate in a "deliberative" manner.

The Select Board can, however, take a formal vote as to whether they support the new Charter and issue a press release.  

Interestingly the Interim Town Manager sneaked a pay raise into the upcoming FY17 budget for the Select Board going from a $300 annual haul all the way up to $1,500 (plus an extra $500 for the Chair).  

Yes, a long ways from the $9,000 Northampton City Councilors make -- but still a solid move towards a more professional government. 

Something needed now more than ever.

No Pot For You!

Extravaganja last April 18th, 2015

While the Amherst Select Board did not take an actual vote, their comments seemed to indicate they were in unanimous agreement with Interim Town Manager (for another week anyway) Dave Ziomek refusing to issue a permit this year for the 25th annual Extravaganja pot rally on the historic Town Common.

AFD Chief Nelson (left), APD Chief Livingstone (right)

APD Chief Scott Livingstone and AFD Chief Tim Nelson agreed the rally had outgrown the capacity of the Town Common and represented a potential threat to public safety.  The Select Board took pains to say they were not concerned with the message/content of the event, simply its size.

Connie Kruger pointed out they were a victim of their own success.  But now that she has two grandchildren she has become "more conservative," and public safety is paramount.

Terry Franklin, citing First Amendment, threatens to bring in ACLU

Longtime event organizer Terry Franklin threatened a lawsuit based on First Amendment grounds.

Stop! In the Name Of Common Sense

Valley View Drive intersects directly with South East Street

Acting as "keepers of the public way" the Amherst Select Board will vote tonight to install a stop sign at the intersection of Valley View Drive and South East Street, a 4.4 mile "scenic byway" that connects Main Street to Bay road.

That was just one recommendation that came out of a recent traffic study done by CDM Smith, costing $7,800, that found speeding was a concern, so an additional three speed limit signs, costing $1,700 total, will also be installed.

Interestingly a corresponding increase in accident rates was not uncovered as the problem area of South East Street had a 2.45 MVM (Million Vehicle Miles traveled) accident rate vs state average of 3.74 for this type of roadway.

DPW will hold off on adding a Yield sign near Stop sign in front of South Congregational Church in favor of an intersection redesign somewhere down the road

A Penny Wise Investment

Big changes coming to our little college town

Fortunately after the voters approve the Charter Question at this coming March 29 election the Town Treasurer -- according to state statute -- has 20 days to credit the Charter Commission account with $5,000.  No questions asked.

Since Town Meeting could very well be exterminated by the new government the Commission proposes, they may not be overly friendly about appropriating seed money, which is kind of like a federal penitentiary charging death row inmates an electricity surcharge to power the electric chair.

The nine member Commission that will also be elected on March 29 has 18 months maximum to come up with a new government proposal, but there is no minimum limit.  Then all it requires is a majority vote of the electorate at an annual election.

The Commission can issue a mid-term status report, hold at least two public hearings (1st one within 45 days of election) and must snail mail their final report to all the registered voters in town, so the $5,000 allowance is probably too low.

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Interestingly after the first Mayor/Council/Town Manager idea failed at the ballot box in 2003 by only 14 votes the boundlessly determined Stan Durnakowski went out and got enough signatures to bring it back two years later.

A legal firefight ensued when the Select Board, at the time led by Anne Awad and Gerry Weiss, refused to mail along with the Charter the letter of introduction by 7-of-9 Charter Commission members outlining why they came up with the new proposal.   Which of course was done the 1st time around.

 Select Board annual town report 2005

Yes this is the same Gerry Weiss who became Select Board Chair a few years later and co-conspired with Town Manager Larry Shaffer to tax the Boy Scouts Christmas tree sales on Kendrick Park.

And then trampled the First Amendment rights of the July 4th Parade Committee by denying them a parade permit because they refused to let unregistered protesters march in their private parade.  Something the town's municipal 250th Parade Committee would also do a few years later.

And yes, Mr. Weiss and his wife Jenifer McKenna -- as loyal followers of the status quo -- have taken out nomination papers for Charter Commission.

Those who adamantly resist any change (that must be voter approved) in our inefficient overly guided by self-interest current government, need to answer the simple question:  what are you afraid of? 

Mr Weiss is also not a big fan of transparency