2016 Story Of The Year

'Twas a story that played out over too many months, too many Regional School Committee executive sessions and a final payout of way too many tax dollars -- $309,000 -- before it came to an ignominious end.

The precipitous fall of School Superintendent Maria Geryk, the highest paid town employee, is a cautionary tale that serves to remind us of the old maxim about absolute power corrupting absolutely.

Mike Morris, Maria Geryk, Amherst School Committee at Town Meeting May, 2016

Sure, there were grumblings over her entire tenure about failed academic programs, a seemingly revolving door for school principals, the high average cost per student driving our taxes skyhigh  and the steady stream of students choosing charter schools over our hometown offerings.

But over the course of five years nothing seriously challenged her throne until Ms. Geryk made one fatal monumental error in judgment:  issuing a "stay away order" to a single mother simply trying to get the public school system do something about the somewhat racially charged bullying of her 7-year-old daughter.

A story I first broke on April 14th and published over a dozen follow ups over the next four months. 

But that first story was my highest read (20,000+) and most commented story (210) of the year and it set off a slow rumble leading to a major earthquake whose aftershocks will be felt for a very long time.

For instance the failure of the $67 million Mega School can be directly attributed to Maria Geryk's insistence on having it her way even though the vast majority of parents and teachers preferred a different academic model to solving the physical problems with Wildwood and Fort River Elementary schools.

And after almost four years of deliberations the attempt to e-x-p-a--n-d  regionalization from the current 7-12 system all the way down to K-6 went front burner to back burner to dead & buried as well as the idea of merging the Regional Middle School students into the Regional High School thus freeing up that building for other productive uses.

Now the schools are searching for a another Superintendent and a couple of Principals.  And of course I will get the blame for bringing down Maria Geryk and creating a "toxic" atmosphere that no sane bureaucrat will wish to endure even for the overly generous salary the position guarantees.

Eric Nakajima was appointed to Amherst School Committee by Select Board and School Committee vote

But the recent appointment of Eric Nakajima to the Amherst School Committee and his quick election as Chair of the Regional School Committee to replace Laura Kent, a rookie who couldn't handle the pressure,  offers the best hope we've seen in a l-o-n-g while.

2017 promises to be an interesting year -- hopefully not in the Chinese curse sort of way.

Amherst Coated In White

Sunrise to the east

 Town Center 

UMass our #1 industry (quieter than usual)

Click photos to enlarge

Amherst College (still under construction)

The Notch deep South Amherst

Hampshire College

The Lord Jeff

Courtyard Marriott in Hadley (close enough)

Sundown to the west

Runner Up Story Of The Year

A new Town Manager, a water ban to prevent the recurrence of the great 1980 UMass shut down, and an almost unheard of handgun murder at Southpoint Apartments all made my short list for top local story of the year, but not quite #1.

And perhaps I'm a little too attached to the story that comes in at #2, especially since I predicted one year ago around this time that it would be the #1 story of 2016.  Oh well, close enough for the internet I guess.

 9 member elected Charter Commission sworn in by Town Clerk April 5, 2016

In fact if the Charter Commission had not, finally, come to a (straw) vote on December 19 to ditch Town Meeting their doings over the past nine months would not even have made my top ten list. 

The previous Charter Commission came within a whisker of updating our antiquated local government from Selectboard/Town Meeting/Manager to Mayor/Council/Manager.   Their straw vote to ditch Town Meeting, however, came a little earlier in the process.

Our current Charter Commission has to produce a draft version of their proposal by July, 2017 and it will go to the voters at the March, 2018 annual election.  This recent vote to terminate Town Meeting was a h-u-g-e step in the right direction. 

Now they just need to avoid the fatal mistake made by the previous Commission keeping an unelected Town Manager with more authority than the Mayor, who was more figurehead than actual leader. 

Pot Delayed Is, well, Pot Delayed

It is still legal to grow your own pot and share with friends and family

So apparently only two State Senators can upend the will of the voters and enact a six month delay on the commercial sale of marijuana in our fair state, moving the original deadline (six months) from one year from now to 1.5 years from now.

The measure passed in Amherst almost as overwhelmingly as the town supported Hillary Clinton for President.

Originally municipalities had until January 1st, 2018 to line up their ducks for granting permits for recreational sales, or at that point any facility that had approval to sell medical marijuana could then start selling it to anybody over the age of 21 with no medical approval required.

Now that drop-dead deadline has been pushed back to July 1st, 2018.  The measure still requires the approval of Governor Baker but since he's an opponent of recreational sales I'm sure he will be happy to sign the delay.

In an unusual meeting this morning the Select Board met to call a Special Town Meeting to revote  the $67 million Mega School.

 Select Board met this morning and can place anything they want on town ballot

Chair Alisa Brewer also confirmed the SB would soon discuss the idea of placing on the Spring ballot a referendum question allowing Amherst to limit the number of permits for recreational sales to either 20% of the liquor licenses issued, or the same number of medical marijuana dispensary permits issued.

Either measure would limit the number of recreational pot facilities to three or less.  And it's a safe bet UMass will be arguing for less.

The Cost Of Delay

The Mill District

After innumerable public meetings before a bevy of boards and committees leading up to the all important Zoning Board of Appeals Comprehensive Permit hearings, Beacon Communities representatives must feel like one of those purported abductees taken aboard an alien vessel for a close up examination including pokes and prods of every pore.

At the outset the ZBA scheduled three dates for examining the mixed use $45 million proposal, with January 5th being the final one at which they would vote on the measure which requires a two thirds vote to pass.

But at last week's Select Board meeting Town Manager Paul Bockelman told the SB an additional meeting would be required and the next one on the ZBA calender was January 19.

Chair Alisa Brewer somewhat bristled at the news wondering why the extra meeting was necessary and why it was scheduled two weeks from the 3rd one rather than only one week which is the way the Select Board handles important hearings.

Turns out the ZBA has not yet posted the date for that final meeting as they are trying to come up with a night that works for all concerned but it would be sooner than January 19.

Since the 130 unit development is providing 26 units of desperately needed subsidized housing Beacon is seeking tax credits and financing from the state to make the project work and need to have all approvals in place by mid February.

Beacon will also be seeking Select Board approval for a property tax reduction on those 26 below market rate units under the "Affordable Housing Property Tax Incentive" passed by Town Meeting two years ago, an important legacy legislation championed by the late Town Manager, John Musante.

Click to enlarge/read

The usual NIMBYs have attacked the project with the usual complaints about being too big and leading to the destruction of the historic character of their neighborhood like Godzilla stomping through Tokyo.

More ominously they brought in a hired gun attorney to the last ZBA hearing, which of course brings up the prospects of a nuisance lawsuit hoping to delay the project, causing Beacon Communities untenable financial losses.

The same desperate strategy unsuccessfully used against One East Pleasant Street 18 months ago.

But NIMBYs never learn -- especially in Amherst. 

A Plethora Of Pot

Pot is now legal to grow in Massachusetts

The Amherst Select Board, keepers of the public way, is greatly concerned about the implementation of recreational pot which is already legal to grow and share as long as you don't charge for it (wink, wink). 

In their official letter to our good friend Senate President Stan Rosenberg and Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo they outline four requests:

(1) Allow a local municipality an easy way (Town Meeting) to delay recreation sales.

(2) Allow a local municipality an easy way (Town Meeting) to limit the number and location of recreational pot establishments.

(3) Rethink the "home grown" provision so Amherst is not overrun by free recreational pot.

(4) Rethink the 2% maximum local option sales tax on retailers.

The current law allows Amherst to limit the number of recreational pot permits to (a) either no more than the number of medical permits issued or (b) 20% the number of alcohol sales permits.

 55 University Drive received Special Permit from ZBA on June 30th

The Select Board issued four "Letters of Support" for medical marijuana businesses already and two of them have gained the necessary Special Permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals.

But ZBA Chair Mark Parent strongly suggested he would not approve any more than two based on market projections for medical marijuana in Amherst.

169 Meadow Street, N. Amherst received Special Permit July 21st

And Alisa Brewer pegged the number of recreational pot permits that could be issued based on 20% of alcohol permits at three.

Either provision requires a referendum vote at our local election and either provision can be added to the ballot with a simple majority vote of the Select Board.

So at the very least the Select Board should place the limiting provision on the upcoming end of March local election ballot and if they want the least number of recreational permits, tie it to the number of Medical permits issued which may very well end up being only two. 

And to limit it even further simply grant the two medical facilities those two recreation permits, which the state already seems to condone.

Since the revenue to the town is based on a percent of sales (2%) the tax revenues to the town stays the same if it's 2 facilities satisfying the market or 22.

DUI Dishonor Roll

Drunk Driving costs the United States 132 Billion per year

So let's hope this coming Christmas weekend is a drunk free one at least when it comes to driving.  Unlike last weekend where Amherst police took these two drivers off the road.

And since both volunteered for the Breathalyzer test and failed the best they can hope for is the standard 24D plea deal disposition (or I suppose be declared innocent by a jury of their peers).

 Richard Huntoon, age 39

Click to enlarge/read

Jason Howard, age 21