Hold Your Water

Community Field

Sweetser Park

In response to the recent hot weather, which has already pushed July to the highest consumption rate for that month in five years, Amherst will institute water restrictions to deal with the current drought starting tomorrow morning at 8:00 am.

The town has already fired up Well 4 which normally does not occur for another month in preparation for the return of our college aged youth which spikes demand for the month of September.

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Phase 1 for now is "voluntary":  watering of lawns are now on an every other day odd/even schedule according to house numbers but only before 9 am after 6 pm.

Cars also can be washed but only with those same time restrictions. And no filling of swimming pools.  Farms are exempt as are the municipal pools.

Phase 2 would be "mandatory" restrictions and could come via a state mandate.

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

Pelham brush fire Saturday 4:45 PM

Pelham brush fire Sunday morning 6:00 AM

 UPDATE:  Monday noon FIRE IS OUT

What a forest should look like (from 300 feet)

For the 3rd hot day in a row fire crews from a bevy of area local and state departments will go toe to toe with a stubborn brush fire in the woods of Pelham.  Crews have managed to encircle it with a fire line, so hopefully today they can close in for the kill.

Brutal today

 Pelham brush fire Sunday 3:00 PM

Pelham Brush fire Monday morning 6:00 AM

The blaze was first reported on Saturday and since then over 30 firefighters have traipsed into the Pelham woods each day for the past three days just off Old Pratt Corner Road, a rocky dirt road that had me singing John Denver's "Country Road" every time I was headed back out to paved Buffam Road.

Early Saturday morning meet up at Pelham Fire Station

Staging area off Old Pratt Farm Road 

Pelham Engine 1

Large 3,500 gallon tanker left refills Hadley 1,000 gallon tanker on right

Water is vital to fight fire and stay hydrated

 AFD treated one female firefighter for dehydration/heat exhaustion


Monday morning 6:00 AM

Rescue Me!

Descending into a sewer to rescue Nani, age 10

After spending nearly an hour barking plaintively from deep inside a dark scary storm drain AFD and APD combined forces to free the little guy and the DPW will make sure her entry point is sealed.  With a side benefit of also keeping out the raccoons.

Now you know why AFD carries so much equipment

All's well that ends well:

Dog speak for "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Nani an hour later (fully recovered)

And yes I though about using Birdie  to scare Nani back out the way she came but it would have been a tight fit

No Fun For You!

Groff Park Wading Pool is closed due to technical difficulties

I knew something was wrong this afternoon as I approached the pool and three families were heading back towards their car with the children looking bone dry. And they looked pretty disappointed.

No wonder.

The Groff Park Wading Pool -- one of only two in town -- only opened last week and was getting plenty of usage from both parents and young children.  Plus this weekend will probably be the hottest one so far this summer.

Maybe it's time to break out the sprinklers on the town common.

UPDATE:  Pool reopened on Sunday morning.  Yea!

A Shining Light

"

Umass  three solar parking canopies will save $45K annually

Senate President Stan Rosenberg, a tireless workhorse for Western Mass in general and UMass/Amherst in particular, joined forces with Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy, outgoing State Rep Ellen Story and Judith Judson, commissioner of the state Department of Energy Resources (DOER), to officially welcome/unveil the first parking canopy solar arrays to our area.

 Good crowd on hand for the 10:30 AM ceremony

Over the next year the University will install two more of these parking lot canopy solar arrays as well as placing arrays on six buildings, a total of 15,576 panels, which will provide 5.5 megawatts of energy and save $6.2 million over the next 20 years.

 Vira Douangmany Cage, Amilcar Shabazz and Stan Rosenberg

Ellen Story:  "This is great advertising for UMass"

Stan Rosenberg:  "Emblematic installation highlighting the green future we desperately need"

Judith Judson:"Partners like UMass help us establish our goal of clean energy"

Chancellor Subbaswamy

Marijuana Quota Met?

169 Meadow St RMD site for GTI

Last night the Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously approved a Special Permit to establish and operate an Off-Site Medical Marijuana Dispensary at 169 Meadow Street, North Amherst by GTI Massachusetts NP Corporation, the second such permit issued over the past four weeks.

 Attorney Tom Reidy presents to ZBA last night

But, in all likelihood, the last such permit to be issued over the foreseeable future.

55 University Drive location received a Special Permit on June 30th

ZBA Chair Mark Parent made it perfectly clear that he considers two dispensaries in Amherst (and the one already operating in Northampton) more than enough to satisfy local demand over the next five years, saying "I don't see anything beyond two in Amherst.  I cannot image giving a 3rd permit for a dispensary given the numbers I've seen."

A Special Permit requires a unanimous vote off all three ZBA members.

Seated in the audience UMass community liaisons Tony Maroulis and Eric Beal seemed relieved to hear the ZBA Chair's candid remarks about maintaining a cap of only two dispensaries in Amherst, thus leaving out in the cold two remaining non-profits who have applied for locations on University Drive, the main gateway to UMass Amherst.

85 University Drive was the first to get Select Board approval but has not yet appeared before ZBA

Mr. Parent also made it perfectly clear the Special Permit was for medical use of marijuana, NOT recreational use. 

So if the recreational pot legalization ballot question passes on November 8th any dispensary in Amherst already issued a Special Permit would need to come back to the ZBA for a change in conditions.

Rafters,  a local landmark for 25 years, is a proposed site for Happy Valley Ventures, the 4th entity to get Select Board approval but has not yet appeared before ZBA

Letter from Select Board read into public record last night:

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Growing In The Way Of Progress

Linden Tree will be removed for a sidewalk/crosswalk project

At the joint meeting of the Planning Board and Tree Warden last night all six trees scheduled for demolition received a stay of execution, but not because of any of their actions.

Because of Mass state law if one person files a letter of protest over a tree removal then the matter is automatically diverted to the Amherst Select Board our "keepers of the public way."  And by last night there were two such letters filed.

The Planning Board did vote anyway and unanimously approved removing the Linden tree in front of the Jones Library for placement of a sidewalk and all but one of the trees along the north border of Kendrick Park.


Three of these four on Kendrick Park will go to make room for a new roundablut

This entire island will be removed for new roundabout

But not without some badgering of DPW Chief Guilford Mooring concerning the roundabout approved to go in that location.

New PB member Michael Birtwhistle more than once demanded to know if the town has a funding source in place for the new roundabout, to which Mooring responded he honestly did not know.

The motion that passed unanimously (but cannot be carried out until Select Board decides) allowed for the removal of three of the four trees, but only after a funding source has been confirmed for the construction of the roundabout.

 A roundabout has been approved by Public Works Committee and Select Board