Deadline!

No breathless last second candidates showed up a minute before 5:00 PM

The die is cast, the Rubicon has been crossed and Amherst voters will have enormous choices in the only race that matters this coming election, Charter Commission.

The nine member committee will decide the fate of town government for the next few generations. Well, actually, the voters will decide that. Because no matter what the Charter Commission comes up with after a year of deliberation the voters must approve it at the annual election in 2017.

I asked the Select Board on Monday night to place on the March 29 ballot a non binding advisory question asking the voters if it's time to retire Town Meeting. This was done 15 years ago and the voters said "yes".

Maybe even throw in a question about retaining a Town Manager. If the voters say "yes" it might make the potential candidates for a new permanent Town Manager feel a little more comfortable applying for the $155,000 job.

And for sure these questions should be asked of the 20 Charter Commission candidates who will all do doubt give the stock answer that their mind is open and they have not decided one way or the other.

Which only makes you wonder why they ran for the job in the first place.

The Big H

 

Well if you can't trust your heroin dealer to stand by you in a time of need, who can you trust?

Not only did Jacob Kinney abandon his client who was overdosing courtesy of Mr. Kinney's heroin, but he stole his phone so he could delete contact information that would implicate him.  Which did not do him much good since his client survived the OD and fingered Kinney as the dealer.

Click to enlarge/read

 

Jacob Kinney, age 28

The best laid plans ...

Kinney was held on $1,000 cash bail.  He had a warrant out of Holyoke and another from Texas (although Texas is not interested in coming to pick him up).  He will appear again before a Judge on March 7 in Eastern Hampshire District Court.

Library Lament

Large crowd of parents/guardians/staff/volunteers turned out tonight to protest library cutbacks

The Amherst School Committee didn't need tea leaves to read the consternation caused by the proposed axing of one paraprofessional library assistant at all three elementary schools, leaving each library with only one full time employee, the librarian.

The cost cutting measure will save $75,000 -- yes, full time paras make only $25k per year --and is being instituted as part of a $429,000 overall cut to the elementary school budget to keep level services within Finance Committee guidelines.

During public comment over a dozen speakers implored the school committee not to gut the library programs at all three elementary schools.  Many parents said the library was the favorite part of their child's school day and it provided a "safe space" for learning to take place.

School Committee candidate and long time Town Meeting member Vince O'Connor told the School Committee that a motion would be made on the floor of Town Meeting to increase the budget to cover the three positions.

O'Connor also argued UMass should step up and pay the town significantly more annual revenues to cover all the children (56) coming from their tax exempt housing into our high average cost per student public schools.

The recent "Strategic Partnership" signed with UMass did include $120,000 in new money to help cover  education costs of those children, but the town threw it into one big pot rather then using it in a line item direct sort of way.

Rick Hood suggested the School Committee simply ask the town for an extra $100,000 since the elementary schools did turn back that amount to the town last year and the year before. 

The idea will probably be brought up at the next Budget Coordinating Group meeting at the end of the month.

Downtown Turnover

Insomnia Cookies coming soon to 30 Main Street

When the former prime location of Alden Credit Union, which lasted less than two years, is replaced by a cookie delivery business you know you're in a "college town." 

 11 Amity Street, former First National Bank

Last summer TD Bank abandoned the ornate former First National Bank building in the heart of the downtown and thus far the luxurious location is still unoccupied.  As is All Things Local just down the street and soon to be shuttered The Mercantile next door.

All three locations are owned by Barry Roberts so there's little doubt they will be occupied soon enough.

And since Mr. Roberts understands the value of having the right mix of businesses, chances are none of the three will become a pizza place or bar.

 Just across the street from Insomnia Cookies

Superstar Wanted

Probably the easiest way to choose our new "permanent" Town Manager by this summer is to escort the short list of final candidates out to highly acclaimed Puffer's Pond and see which one of them can walk on water.

The marketing profile issued by our headhunter consultant Bernie Lynch is nothing if not thorough. Who wouldn't want to work/lead such a progressive passionate "college town?"  Especially when you start at $155K and don't even have to live in the costly community.

The Charter Commission that will be elected on March 29 could very well come back a year later with a new form of government, minus a Town Manager.  But obviously whatever they come up with could still use a Finance Director.

John Musante, our most recent beloved Town Manager who died suddenly last September, was the Finance Director for five years prior to becoming Town Manager.

 Former Town Manager John Musante & former Finance Director Sandy Pooler

So all is not necessarily lost spending a bevy of time and money coming up with our new Town Manager even if the position is lost in a governmental reorganization.  They could still be a vital part of the town administration.

And the majestic marketing piece Mr. Lynch came up with is still useful as a template for another critically needed leadership position:  A mayor.

   Amherst Profile For New Town Manager

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