The Clickers are In, The Clickers Are In!

The 260 unit system cost $26,000

The electronic voting system hardware arrived at Town Hall in three convenient carry cases earlier in the week just in time for the 258th Annual Town Meeting, although probably too little too late to save the quaint but antiquated form of government.

 Sort of like buying a new saddle for a dying horse.

The system will help speed up the cumbersome process of Tally and Standing Votes cutting the time from 10 minutes down to less than one, and will provide better transparency as more votes will be recorded.

Fortunately the units can also be used for other meetings and public forums.  For instance the new Charter Commission at their first public hearing could ask the audience if it's time to ditch Town Meeting in favor of a City Council.

The units could send either a simply yes or no, or the questions could also be framed "On a scale of 1-10 how effective and responsive is Town Meeting?"

Town Meeting will also be asked for $25,000 to hire an expert consultant to assist the Charter Commission over the next year.

Kind of ironic if Town Meeting votes down that request using the new $26,000 voting system, eh?

Another Principal Resigns

Fort River could merge into a mega school if a $30+ million Override passes in November

Well today certainly has been a day for high profile resignations, first the Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce and now the Fort River Elementary School principal.

I've lost count of how many principals have left the Amherst school system over the past six or seven years but suffice it to say, a LOT.

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Amherst Chamber Leader Resigns

 Don Courtemanche

While Amherst is heading into the final stages of hiring a new Town Manager the Amherst Chamber of Commerce will also have to start looking for a new Executive Director, as Don Courtemanche has stepped down after only two years on the job.

The Board of Directors has appointed Jerry Guidera to serve as Acting Executive Director for the time being.  Mr Guidera helped found 'Amherst For All', the organization that collected 3,250 signatures to place a Charter question on the ballot, which was easily passed by voters on Tuesday.

In addition to the Chamber of Commerce promoting business we also have a tax surcharge supported Business Improvement District that specializes in downtown programming.

And the town recently hired Geoffrey Kravitz as Economic Development Director.

The Cost Of Democracy

Andy Churchill, who received the highest number of votes for the nine member Charter Commission at Tuesday's election, appeared before the Finance Committee last night to defend his petition article to Town Meeting requesting $30,000 in seed money over the next year or so for Charter expenses.

 Andy Churchill is a former School Committee Chair

Churchill told the fiscal watchdogs he had talked to a member of the Collins Institute, a think tank who has provided such work to 14 Charter Commissions, and he corroborated the amount as "ball park".

Furthermore, the 2001 Amherst Charter Commission spent a total of $29,249 (over two campaigns) and East Longmeadow recently approved $30K for its Charter Commission.

The money would mainly go towards a consultant who would provide, "Expert support, do the legwork between meetings, research, organize articles, collect citizens input, and help draft the final legal document that will pass muster with the Attorney General."

The town is legally required to provide $5,000 to a Charter Commission within 20 days of the election and Churchill said his $30,000 figure did not include that amount, so he would amend his motion down to $25,000.

Finance Committee Chair Kay Moran also suggested he be less specific and simply make it a request for "Charter related expenses" rather than directly tying the entire amount to a consultant, since there will also be advertising and printing costs.

In addition he should spell out a source for the funding.

FinCom member Marylou Theilman suggested Churchill verify with the rest of the Charter Commission at their first meeting April 5 whether they approve of this request and get back to them by next week's meeting.

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The Charter Commission's initial agenda is to organize themselves by electing a Chair, Vice Chair and Clerk.

Since Churchill was by far the #1 choice of voters, he should be given the leadership role. 

Mill District May E-X-P-A-N-D

(red) Trolley Barn left, Atkins North top center Cowls Building Supply foreground

Atkins North and the Trolley Barn could get some company in the near future in that large lot on the south side of Cowls Road behind Cowls Building Supply, currently home to the saw mill that closed in 2009.

Beacon Communities, who purchased Rolling Green Apartments with $1.25 million in town assistance in order to keep it on our Subsidized Housing Inventory, is considering a mixed use, mixed income rental development with commercial space on the ground floor.

Beacon would manage the residential component and W.D. Cowls would maintain control of the commercial space.

The town's Master Plan calls for development exactly like this in Village Centers and the last two housing studies done for the town indicate an across the board shortage of housing -- especially affordable housing.

Since Atkins North opening last year the Mill District has already established itself as a destination spot.

Ye old saw mill will be demolished

The infusion of more potential customers within walking distance of the current amenities can only add to the vibrancy of North Amherst.

Beacon Communities is still in the planning stages and will no doubt do community outreach before any shovels hit the dirt.

Mill District is within easy walking distance of North Amherst center

Jones Library Jumping Through Hoops

Amherst's "living room" wishes to expand by about 40%

The Jones Library will need to negotiate a pair of hurdles at the upcoming Town Meeting, one of them a tad more sizable than the other because it requires a two-thirds vote: In order to buy adjacent property from the Strong House History Museum, a zoning change from Residential to Business is required otherwise the Strong House becomes "non conforming".

 Land behind the Jones Library and to east side of Strong House needed for expansion

And Amherst frowns on anything non conforming.

The other interconnected problem is the property that the Library hopes to build on currently hosts the Kinsey Memorial Garden and the Strong House History Garden, both considered jewels in an emerald necklace of badly needed downtown greenery.

A citizens petition article #39 to Town Meeting calls upon the Library not to touch the Kinsey Memorial Garden. That will only require a simple majority vote to pass, although it is non-binding.

But it will however -- if passed -- cast doubt on the viability of article #43, the needed zoning change for the Strong House (last article on a l-o-n-g warrant).

 

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Charter Question Passes! (Again)

 In 2001 with a 17% turnout Amherst voted to support a Charter Commission by 63%

By a comfortable -- some would say crushing-- margin of 2039 Yes to 1,340 No the voters of Amherst have spoken, and it's clear they wish to see change in the current antiquated form of government.

And since opponents of the Charter Question chose to make it entirely about Town Meeting using the moniker,  "Town Meeting Works" , it's a pretty good bet the message voters just sent is, "Town Meeting doesn't work."

The 9-member Charter Commission will meet April 5th at 6:30 PM to organize themselves by voting a Chair, Vice Chair, and Clerk.  Then the work really begins.

Turnout for 2016 election was 17.75% with 60% approving Charter

And the winners are:

 Two-thirds of the 'Amherst For Change' slate won

Celebration at The Pub 

Vince O'Connor was thrashed by 2-1 by both opponents

Vince O'Connor was the biggest individual loser of the election and School Committee member Vira Douangmany Cage by strongly endorsing him on her Facebook page also caused damage to her campaign for the state legislature.

The Town Meeting form of government also took a thrashing at the polls in Framingham, as voters there by a whopping four-to-one-margin (4099 to 886) favored forming a Charter Commission.

Ah, progress.

 Long time Town Meeting members Irwin & Martha Spiegelman failed to get reelected.  She was on the 2001 Charter Commission and filed a "minority report" opposing the Mayor/Council/Manager government they came up with and was supported 7-2

Charter proposal that failed by 14 votes in 2003 and 252 votes in 2005

Official unofficial results from our hard working Town Clerk's office