Downtown Construction Commences

Jersey barriers have sprouted on Kendrick Park

The north end of downtown will get a major cosmetic improvement this summer with the undergrounding of ugly utility poles and lines all along the eastern side of Kendrick Park.

Last year the state awarded us a $1.5 million MassWorks grant to cover the costs of the infrastructure improvements.

Click to enlarge/read

 East side of Kendrick Park will be off limits to bikes and pedestrians

The town is also moving ahead next year with a roundabout at the East Pleasant/Triangle Street intersection which is a main gateway to UMass, our number one employer.

One of the provisions of the $1.5 million MassWorks grant was for the town to do something to improve that intersection.

Intersection of Triangle and East Pleasant Streets will go the way of roundabout

Mega School Update

New school footprint would shift to the rear of current Wildwood location

A couple dozen concerned parents/guardians showed up last night to the Regional Middle School for a public forum on the Wildwood School Building project, which of course now includes Fort River School under the same roof.

 30 people total at the forum, about one-third of them town officials

Although proponents are quick to point out the footprint of the new two story mega school will actually be smaller than the current footprint of Wildwood alone.

Wildwood Building Committee

The Wildwood Building Committee had convened a couple hours earlier to hear the same presentation from the consultants, although only 12 of the 22 members were in attendance.  

Both newly elected School Committee members were in attendance, Laura Kent as a participating member of the Building Committee and Anastasia Ordonez in the audience.

Although when Ms. Ordonez tried to interact she was shushed by School Committee Chair Katherine Appy because her presence constituted a Committee quorum and it had not been posted as a public meeting.

The consultants confirmed the project was still on track for an Massachusetts School Building Authority September meeting to approve the schematic design and their May meeting for an overall approval which garners a 55% or so reimbursement rate on the $64.4 million overall costs.

 Wildwood Building current cost estimates

Amherst officials will then bring a Debt Exclusion Override to Town Meeting in November for approval of the $30.6 million town share of the costs.  That requires a two-thirds vote of Town Meeting, and then a majority of the Select Board must agree to place it on the local election ballot for town wide approval.

At Monday night's Select Board meeting Chair Alisa Brewer skewered Doug Slaughter over his final report of the Joint Capital Planning Committee to Town Meeting for showing a Debt Exclusion Override on the immediate horizon to fund Wildwood while also showing both Jones Library expansion and new DPW building, but not even mentioning the South Fire Station.

The town is looking at over $100 million in costs for the four major upcoming building projects -- Wildwood, Jones Library, DPW, and Fire Station -- and so far no BIG picture plan has been formulated to fund them.

If the Wildwood School Building project manages to negotiate the challenging funding gauntlet ahead the plan is to use decommissioned Fort River School property as a location for the new $30 million DPW building.   And the old decommissioned DPW on South Pleasant Street would become the location for the new South Fire Station.

Gray area in front of new building is current footprint of Wildwood.  Hawthorn on far left

The current plan for Wildwood construction is to build half the building behind Wildwood,  move students into it and then demolish the original building.  Phase 2 would be the second half of the new building, with students from Fort River moving in upon completion.

Playing areas for the children are a concern since the topography of Wildwood is hilly and a fair amount of pavement is required to handle the 23 buses needed for transportation.

The current schematic shows use of the Hawthorn property, although that too is hilly and will require expensive landscaping not currently in the $64.4 million school building budget.

Assistant Superintendent Mike Morris also said a "land use agreement" could be worked out with the Regional School District for use of the adjacent Middle School playing fields.

Two schools will share kitchen and gymnasium

A Tree Grows In South Amherst

20.5" White Oak in front of 666 South East Street  (yellow caution tape around it)

The Planning Board voted 4-3 in favor of removing a 20.5" healthy white oak at the crest of a hill on scenic South East Street last night.  

But since Tree Warden Alan Snow disagreed with them, as did a single resident of the town who did so in writing, the controversy now goes to the Amherst Select Board, keepers of the public way.

 Alan Snow, Tree Warden; Christine Brestrup, Senior Planner

At their most recent meeting Monday night, at the urging of Mr. Snow, the Select Board officially declared April "Arbor Month."

Scenic Roads Public Hearing explanation

Unlike two and a half years ago this time the town is the petitioner to remove the tree, more specifically the DPW.  And yes Alan Snow is the DPW Director of Trees and Grounds, but his separate role as Tree Warden is a higher calling.

 Planning Board (still shy two members)

Assistant Town Manager Dave Ziomek told the Planning Board the removal of the tree would increase sight lines and improve safety ... a relatively "easy fix." 

But some members of the Planning Board thought that could contribute to an increase in speeding, a factor everyone seemed to agree was a problem on that road. 

In response to residents concerns over the past few years the town has installed new signs, increased police traffic enforcement, and trimmed trees along the roadway. 

 Sign at bottom of hill

Mr. Snow, however, reaffirmed the line he had drawn: "Pruning is one thing, but removal has to be taken seriously."

And in Amherst, it certainly is.

A Slight Miscalculation

Wildflower/Trilliam Way intersect bottom looking south

The Select Board on Monday night unanimously approved recommending to Town Meeting $3 million in borrowing to complete phase 2 of the Amherst Woods Sewer project.

 Click to enlarge/read

The original guestimate for the entire project was $4.2 million but then our consultant, CDM Smith, seemingly got it down to $3 million, which was approved by Town Meeting in 2011.

But during the final bid process it was discovered that estimate was a tad too optimistic.  By a LOT.

So the actual total cost is now $6 million, hence the need to borrow another $3 million.

The mistake was simply in properly estimating the cost of the work -- which was always really $6 million from the get go -- so it's not like they made a mistake that required costly additional correction work to rectify it.

And they are providing extra services without billing for it as a make good. 

Yes, the town is also using CDM Smith for the roundabout project at E. Pleasant/Triangle Street but DPW Chief Guilford Morring says that it's different set of consultants from another city branch.

 Iduna Lane (right) also on the list

Unlike the design mistake with the $10 million UMass Paradis steam plant that resulted in a total loss

DUI Dishonor Roll

About 300,000 people drive drunk daily with only 3,200 arrested

Once again we had a relatively safe weekend on our public roads when it comes to the significant dangers presented by impaired drivers.

Amherst police took only one driver, a college aged youth, off the road and charged him with Operating Under the Influence.

 Shear-Yashuv Shearammisha, age 22, stands before Judge Thomas Estes

Interestingly Mr. Shear-Yashuv took both the Portable Breath Test (not admissible in Court) and the official chemical breath test (Court admissible) back at the station with the same results, .12 -- or 50% over the limit.

 Click to enlarge/read

But it does go to show the PBT, widely used in the field, is accurate.

The other area arrest (in Hadley) we may see more of all too soon once recreational pot is legalized.  Again, the chemical breath test is interesting because it shows 0.0 for a reading, as obviously it is designed to detect alcohol, not pot.

So in this particular case the prosecution will have to rely on the observations of the arresting officer.

 Shane Leehim, age 26, stands before Judge Estes

   Hadley Pot Arrest

But Is She Overqualified?

Amherst College President Biddy Martin at reopening of Lord Jeff (does not require a microphone)

Precinct Five Town Meeting members, of which I am one, will meet on Tuesday to fill a vacancy for a three-year seat among three individuals who each received two write in votes on election day: Christopher W. Benning, Steven D. Heim and Carolyn Arthur Martin.

Not to be sexist, but she gets my vote.  If Biddy Martin can run Amherst College she sure as heck can handle Amherst Town Meeting.

I guess the real question is, can Town Meeting handle her?

Only 7 names appeared on the 3/29 ballot for 8 open seats

Charter Commission: So Far So Good

Town Clerk Sandra Burgess swears in the 9-member Charter Commission

The first meeting of the Amherst Charter Commission in over a dozen years went as well as could be expected, probably better.

All nine newly elected members showed up, the meeting started on time and the Commission organized itself with unanimous votes making Andy Churchill Chair, Mandi Jo Hanneke Vice Chair and Nick Grabbe clerk.

All three officers had been supported/endorsed in the election by Amherst For Change, an offshoot of the group who helped collect over 3,000 signatures required to force the potential change in government question on the ballot.

The Commission heard an Open Meeting Law primer from town attorney Lauren Goldberg who formerly worked for the Secretary of State and specializes in governmental issues like this.

She laid out the state mandated time frame starting with a public forum to get public comment that must be held within 45 days of the election, meaning not later than May 13th.

Within 16 months after the election they must publish their "preliminary report" and then within four weeks of that hold another public forum to get public reactions to the report.  And the drop-dead deadline is 18 months from their election to get their "final report" to the Select Board for placement on the town election ballot.

About 2 dozen spectators showed up for the meeting and it was broadcast by Amherst Media

As for discussion in general among the Commission it didn't take long for the battle lines to be drawn.  When Chair Andy Churchill brought up the $30K request of Town Meeting for charter related expenses the three Town Meeting loyalists -- Diana Stein, Gerry Weiss and Meg Gage -- balked.

They said it was too early in the process to be asking for so much money and it would breed discontent and suspicion.

Irv Rhodes worried about losing six months by waiting for Fall Town Meeting and he pointed out that if any money is left over at the end of the process it automatically goes back into the town coffers.

In his first act of diplomacy the Chair decided to put off the vote until their next meeting Monday night.

Churchill had gone before the Finance Committee last week and Select Board last night on his $30K proposal but both bodies requested he get a vote of the full Commission before they decide on whether to recommend it to Town Meeting.

Temporary Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner said he was paid $22K as a Charter consultant by Wellesley and he suggested the Commission stick to the $30K figure.

The first vote next week on the money request will be indicative of how the process will play out over the next year.  And two-thirds support is plenty enough.