A $2.2 Million Hearing

 Temporary Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner (center) hit the ground running with Cable Advisory Committee

Temporary Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner attended this afternoon's meeting of the Cable Advisory Committee, who is starting to feel a bit overwhelmed by the pace of negotiations with current cable franchise holder and all around behemoth, Comcast.

The Town Manager had already spoken to CAC legal consultant Peter Epstein who "strongly recommended" yet another (3rd) public hearing be called by the Select Board to outline and defend the $2.2 million the Committee is requesting of Comcast for one time capital infrastructure improvements.

Ten years ago that amount was only $450,000, so pretty much everybody expects significant push back from Comcast.  Originally the CAC was going to put the capital amount and rational for the request in a memo to the Select Board.

The Town Manager told the Committee his first order of business was to get them two additional new members.  Currently only three members remain as two have recently resigned, so they all have to show up just to have a quorum.

After the Select Board calls the public hearing to defend the $2.2 million in capital, those arguments will be incorporated into the Request For Proposal and sent to Comcast, who will have one month to respond.

The contract also calls for the usual 5% of revenues to go to Amherst Media (around $300,000 last year).  The Select Board recently approved a request from Amherst Media to authorize a two year audit of Comcast to make sure they are getting their fair share.

The 10 year contract with Comcast expires in October, and if push comes to shove the town could simply let it expire and cable television would go dark.  Comcast is said to be not overly responsive to customer complaints, but a wailing of that magnitude will be hard to ignore.

Super Dorms

 Olympia Place: opening this summer

Looks like the four new Amherst College Greenway Dorms holding 300 students and Olympia Place,  first ever private dorm complex near UMass housing 236 students, are both on schedule to open this fall.

Greenway Dorms:  opening this fall

Amherst College has always housed 100% of their students so these new replacement dorms have no impact on the housing crises in town, but the Olympia Place addition of 236 beds do represent an increase in badly needed supply.

And even better, since the dorm complex is privately owned, Olympia Place is on the tax rolls.

By helping to satisfy the high demand for student housing that will also take some of the pressure off single family homes in quiet neighborhoods from being converted into student housing.

Since both these dorm complexes are brand new, chances are those lucky enough to live there will take pride in maintaining them.

After all, even if it's only for four years: there's still  no place like home

The Cost Of Art

 Should $65 million Wildwood Building Project divert $650,000 for art?

If the Amherst Arts Commission gets their way the two new building projects currently in the pipeline would be tapped 1% of their budget with that money redirected for public art.

We already know the cost of the new school -- $65 million -- so that comes to $650,000, and the Jones Library expansion renovation could easily be another $35 million total for another $350,000 to the fledgling art fund, or a cool million for both projects.

 What else could Jones Library buy with $350,000?

Of course you have to wonder what the state, who is reimbursing about half the cost for both projects, is going to think about 1% of their money being used for "art." 

The Select Board will decided Monday night whether to sponsor the 1% for art warrant article and it only requires a simple majority vote.

But anyone can get anything on the warrant with just ten signatures, so even if the Select Board refuses to endorse it safe bet it will still make the warrant for upcoming Town Meeting.

Fire In The Sky!

The Evergreens is owned by Amherst College and is part of the Dickinson Museum Complex

 

While in overly educated Amherst you don’t really have to worry about “some stupid with a flare gun” burning an important building to the ground, fire is by its very nature a devastating creature born of surprise:

A pot left unattended on a stove, a cigarette disposed of in the wrong way or the spark from a plumber’s torch, and before you know it the ravenous beast is in full feeding frenzy. 

 First Congregational Church is located in the Dickinson Historic District

Yes AFD Central Station is less than a mile away from either The Evergreens or the First Congregational Church, but these days chances are the first engine on the scene of a box alarm may not have enough staff aboard to actually start fighting the fire.

So in mere minutes hundreds of years of history could be lost ... forever.

The Community Preservation Act Committee heard both fires suppression proposals last Tuesday night -- a $358,000 request from the First Congregational Church and $200,000 for The Evergreens.  

Amherst College plans to match the CPA grant so that is why their request is comparatively low, although CPA Chair Mary Streeter wondered why the College was not paying more.

Another member pointed out the CPA Committee has less than $2 million to fund all the requests before them while Amherst College has $2 billion in its endowment. 

The First Congregational Church packed the meeting with supporters but the CPA Committee was not overly receptive, wondering why for instance the Amherst Historical Commission ranked their request last in a recent recommendation letter to them even after suggesting the amount be reduced to $200,000 for "parity" with The Evergreens request.

Church supporters point out that in addtion to the "dramatic gothic presense" it provides the building is also used by Not Bread Alone,  Alcoholics Anonymous as well as the presence of a pre-school.  

 More than half the room cleared out after First Congregational Church hearing

And the Church is know for taking public stands on sometimes controversial social issues like gay rights, race issues or taking an anti-war stance.  A cowardly thief stole both their rainbow flag and an anti racism banner last summer demonstrating not everyone in Amherst is a tolerant progressive.

Some on the CPA Committee worry that by giving these two privately owned buildings expensive fire suppression systems it would open up the floodgates for others to apply.  And at the age of 257, Amherst has a bevy of historical buildings.  

 Henry Hills & Son matching mansions would probably love a new fire suppression system

The CPA Committee will make their final report to Town Meeting by the begining of March.  A positive recommendation is not 100% guarantee that an item will be funded,   but a negative recommendation is certain death.

Grace Church in town center.  Not asking for CPA money (yet)

Pot Battle Brewing

55 University Drive formerly The Hanger (who moved across the street)

Even before the Amherst Select Board took up discussion of a letter of support/non opposition for a medical marijuana facility at 85 University Drive, Chair Alisa Brewer mentioned another request had come in that morning for yet another facility.

   Amherst Medical Pot Facility #2

 55 U drive circled, 85 U drive far right

Since they did not disclose the location -- 55 University Drive -- until this morning this request will not be voted on at Monday night's regularly scheduled meeting since Open Meeting Law requres an agenda item must be posted 48 hours in advance.

And yes, the proposed location is only a snowball throw away from 85 University Drive (currently just a concrete slab), the location approved by the Select Board at Monday night's meeting.

Little Library Expansion Looms Large

Jones Library may purchase land behind them from Amherst Historical Society

Last week Jones Library Director Sharon Sharry updated the Finance Committee about plans for the Library expansion/renovation, and this morning added the Joint Capital Planning Committee to the list.

The Library project is maybe just a step behind the $65 million Wildwood School Building Renovation project. Fortunately both the Schools and Jones Library have the advantage of state money covering half the costs.

   Jones Library Expansion Timeline

The ornate bank building next door, owned by Barry Roberts, is off the table as an acquisition for the expansion as is Central Fire Station. The bank building, with an assessed value of $2.3 million, would be cost prohibitive and taking it off the tax rolls would only add to that cost year after year.

And the Fire Station will hopefully be sold to a private developer to help finance the new South Fire Station with an expanded mixed use building springing up in its place.

 Cramped Central Station opened in 1930 when emergency equipment was a tad smaller

Knowing that four major building projects totaling upwards of $100 million in town money are now being talked about, the Library Director assured the JCPC,  "We will renovate as much as possible, expand as little as possible, to keep the price as low as possible."

Sharry said the Library is also seeking Historic State Tax Credits that could result in a few million towards the construction costs.

 CVS lot behind Jones Library could become site for new parking garage, which would solve library parking concerns

High Cost Of Another Possible Temp Position

Temporary Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner, SB Chair Alisa Brewer

Happy headhunter Bernie Lynch suggested the Select Board set the pay scale for a permanent new Town Manager at $155,000+, a tad higher than the $151,000 or so John Musante was making at the time of his untimely death. 

Peter Hechenbleikner, at his first meeting as Temporary Town Manager, suggested that it was actually kind of low by eastern side of the state standards.  Although certainly high enough to generate interest and bring in resumes.

Bernie Lynch tells SB he's had about a dozen responses of interest thus far

Applicants will need ten years experience in overseeing a municipal operation as a minimum qualifier and there was some discussion about the use of the term "seasoned" vs "tested," which they later went with.   Apparently "seasoned" is a term that favors middle aged white males.

Because the 9 member Charter Commission will form this March 29 and could very well create a government minus a Town Manager, the Select Board thought it wise not to require residency as part of the job requirement.

Buying a house in Amherst is of course more expensive than, say, Hadley; and even renting an apartment in town is a lot higher than our neighboring communities. 

Of course that alone would give the new Town Manager an insight into one of the larger problems facing Amherst:  affordable housing.

And with Amherst being in the top ten statewide for property tax rates, all our residential housing has onerous annual overhead costs.

Timeline to a new Town Manager