Drone Revolution Indeed!

Patriotic drone over Springfield Technical Community College

300 feet over Mt. Sugarloaf summit

I was one of about 35 participants in an all-day educational seminar at the nifty new UMass Center, a  satellite campus of our flagship University located at Tower Square in the heart of Springfield on Thursday.

'Twas an interesting demographic mix of DPW Directors, academics, civil engineers, consultants,  agricultural folks, and a couple of Northampton police officers, although I was the only journalist.

And I came away higher than ever on the future of drones doing amazing things for our economy, agriculture and public safety.

The new FAA rules (Part 107) creating a Pilots Certificate for commercial use of a small unmanned aircraft -- aka drone -- go into effect August 29 and as one of the presenters pointed out, "We are the pioneers, similar to where the aviation industry was in the 1920s."

Previously to use a drone commercially you had to have a pilots license, so the new rules will open things up for the average person who could use an eye in the sky.  Especially Public Safety Departments who could use them to save lives.

 Alpine Commons fire June 4

I mentioned how Birdie assisted Chief Nelson at the Alpine Commons fire on June 4th, giving him a clear enough view of the roof to know it was no longer safe for his firefighters to be in the building.

 Pelham brush fire July 24

And again a few weeks ago at the Pelham brush fire where aerial photos over three days showed the location, size, and how effective firefighter efforts had been over the three day battle.

The presenters pointed out the importance of public education to dispel some of the bad press drones have received, mainly due to irresponsible use that gives everyone a bad name.

Amherst's drone ban came up but I was quick to point out it was only an "advisory" article that cannot be enforced.  Besides, Amherst Town Meeting is now on death row so they have bigger things to worry about.

Cities, towns or states can attempt to pass binding legislation (bylaws) but the FAA has control of airspace from just above grass to the heavens.  Although drones are still limited to 400 feet of altitude.

American airspace hosts 90,000 flights per day with a mix of military, cargo and commercial aircraft.  Already the number of registered drones outnumbers licensed pilots nationwide.

And soon enough some of those aficionados will be trained certified professionals.

Class demo by David Price using Phantom 3

The End Is Near

Maria Geryk is probably out as ARPS Superintendent

So yes, I've been sitting on this memo for a few hours and had no plans to publish it until Tuesday because I try not to negatively influence a story when acting as a reporter -- as opposed to a columnist.

But since the Gazette decided to go with it, thus endangering a source for illegally breaching the sanctity of an executive session, I guess I can, reluctantly, publish it:

 Click to enlarge/read

Terms are 1.5 years of pay (@$158K per year), but will probably also include unused sick days, personal days, etc, so the final price will be over $250,000.

Of course now the interesting thing is with this being splashed on the front page of the Gazette -- above the fold no less -- prior to the deal being done, Regional School Committee members could come under pressure from constituents who think the buyout is too high.

Or Maria Geryk could hear from friends or other professionals that the 1.5 year offer is too low; so either side could change their mind.

Wouldn't be the first time the Gazette was wrong.

No More Free Ride

Amity Street lot is across the street from Jones Library

Or maybe I should say "free park," as the pay machine was just installed at the most popular municipal parking lot in town center, which reopened July 11th after a complete renovation.

Yesterday afternoon

Good thing of course since Amherst needs all the parking it can get and I'm sure shoppers appreciated the free parking over the past three weeks.

Although the town Transportation Fund not so much, since the Amity Street lot generates $150/day in revenues.

Fatal Accident Town Center

Car vs Peter Pan bus Amherst town center

Regrettably the driver of the car, Adrienne Paquette age 22, that crashed head on into a Peter Pan bus that was legally parked at the bus stop yesterday a little after 5:00 PM has died.

She was transported from the scene by Amherst Fire Department (with three aboard) to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield the closest hospital with a Level 1 Trauma Center.

The accident is still under investigation by Amherst Police Department and the Northwestern District Attorney's office.

 Bus air brakes had locked up as a result of impact causing problems for tow truck driver

Brown, Green & Red (Ink That Is)

Town took course by eminent domain in 1987 for $2.2 million  (twice that in today's $)

The municipally owned Cherry Hill Golf Course continues to do what it does best:  squander taxpayer money.  In FY2016, which just ended on June 30, a hefty six digit number or $106,725 to be exact.

FY16 total intake was $210,199.72

Money that could be better spent hiring a few more pubic safety personnel, teachers, DPW workers or simply stashed in a capital savings account for the four major building projects coming up that will cost over $100 million in town money.

Two years ago Town Manager John Musante admitted to the Select Board in a memo,  "This ongoing evaluation will likely include revisiting the cost-benefits of privatizing operations of the Cherry Hill Golf Course."

Unfortunately Mr. Musante died before that could happen and the town's top executive position has been somewhat in flux ever since.

Two years ago (FY14) the beleaguered golf business lost $103,964 and last year (FY15) $86,543.

And based on that catastrophic consistency it was pretty easy for me to predict this year's loss of $100K.

Makes you wonder how closely the ailing operations are scrutinized in advance by the Town Manager, Finance Committee, or clueless Town Meeting.

Secret Sessions Continue

All 12 members appeared for the meeting but 2 of them used "remote participation"

Despite the Open Meeting Law complaint filed against them the night before and over the objection of former Chair Trevor Baptiste the Amherst Pelham Regional School Committee, after 11 minutes of bickering, retreated into execution session for 2.75 hours, calling it a night at 9:00 PM.

This was the third consecutive session (not counting the two that were cancelled at the last minute) the Committee has used the provision of the Open Meeting Law that allows for secret sessions.



Since contract negotiations with Superintendent Maria Geryk -- who still has two years left on her current contract -- was the only issue cited on the agenda the Committee could not discuss her long delayed evaluation, the Open Meeting Law complaint filed against them on Sunday evening or the price of pot in Colorado.

The RSC will meet again on August 9th in open session to, finally, finish up the evaluation of Superintendent Geryk and then retreat back into secret session to discuss the Open Meeting Law complaint.

Yeah, irony.

Take What You Can Get

Cable Advisory Committee (rt), Pete Hechenbleikner (top ctr) Jim Lescault (left ctr)

UPDATE:  Select Board decided to hold off on making any decision about the Comcast renewal until they are at full strength (only 3 of 5 members present this evening).

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In his final day as Temporary Town Manager Pete Hechenbleikner made it perfectly clear to the Cable Advisory Committee and Amherst Media Director Jim Lescault that he was going to recommend the Amherst Select Board accept and sign the ten year cable renewal contract with Comcast.

The CAC met this morning with Hochenbleikner to discuss and vote on a recommendation to the Select Board and after an hour and a half of discussion decided to take no vote but declared a "consensus" that the offer of one time capital payment of $950,000 was too low.

The Committee was concerned about taking a formal vote when two of their most experienced members were absent.

The previous 2006 contract generated only $450,000 for capital and Mr. Hochenbleikner stated this current offer of $950,000 was the highest in the state for municipalities of comparable size (Northampton, for instance, was paid $750,000).

The town will get to continue using the iNet infrastructure at no extra charge for three more years and then can build their own or renegotiate with Comcast for its continued usage.  A new (better) system will cost about $250,000.

Comcast will continue to pay 5% -- the standard amount -- cut of cable TV revenues to the town (about $300,000 annually), which is then turned over to Amherst Media to provide for their programming on three channels, called "PEG Access."

Click to enlarge/read

 To be presented at tonight's Select Board meeting