The Catcher in the Rye

To fill a void

Amherst Regional Middle School

UPDATE (Monday morning): According to an email from SB Chair Stephanie O'Keeffe the School Committee is now scheduled to discuss this important matter at their 1/17 meeting and will make a recommendation to the Select Board for their 1/22 meeting. Let's hear it for transparency!

I also loved former chief legal counsel to Governor Romney and now State Rep Dan Winslow's tweet about this all too typical Amherst affair: "Taxation without representation in my hometown?!? Say it ain't so Amherst."
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ORIGINAL POST (Sunday night): According to policy published on the Amherst Regional Public Schools website, "When a vacancy on the Amherst or Pelham School Committee should occur for any reason the School Committee will notify the Selectmen that a vacancy has been created within 30 days after it has occurred. After one week’s notice has been given by the Committee to the Selectmen, so that voters of the town may have the opportunity to state their candidacy, the two governing bodies will meet to fill the vacancy by roll call vote."

Also, according to a 1/4/12 email from the Town Clerk to the Select Board, "Chapter 41, s. 11 provides for such vacancy to be filled providing the remaining school committee members give written notice thereof within one month of said vacancy, to the selectmen, who, with the remaining member or members of such board, shall, after one week’s notice, fill such vacancy by roll call vote."

According to the 1/6/12 Amherst Bulletin, however, Amherst School Committee Chair Irv Rhodes has no intention of following state law and filling the seat left vacant by the December 30 resignation of Steve Rivkin. Mr. Rhodes declares the seat will remain vacant until the next local town election, April 3.

Fortunately, according to the Town Clerk, "Chapter 41, s. 11 further provides for such vacancy to be filled by the selectmen if such board (school committee) fails to give said notice within the time herein specified."

I respectfully request the Select Board place on the agenda for their 1/26 meeting a public discussion about filling the vacant School Committee seat ASAP, with that follow up vote by the Select Board scheduled for their February 6th meeting.

(And yes, I do know of one qualified candidate willing to compete for the open seat.)

Thank You,

Larry Kelley

Cc: Select Board, Town Manager John Musante, Amherst School Committee, Town Clerk Sandra Burgess, School Superintendent Maria Geryk, Nick Grabbe

More $ down the drain

Amherst Cherry Hill Golf Course (metaphorically speaking)

Just so all of us "customers" have time to adapt, Amherst announced six months in advance a 3% price hike in water and sewer rates. Yeah, that $24 annual increase takes a long time to soften the shock. Thanks.

Or I suppose households could cut back--a bath here and a toilet flush there. But try telling that to my two kids.

Now too bad the town could not correspondingly swing a magic golf club and guarantee an increase in the bottom line at our floundering golf business. Interestingly, the town has incrementally increased rates almost every year for the past decade or so but it still loses money hand over fist because of sinking interest in the expensive game of golf.

And with H-U-G-E capital infrastructure expenditures coming up soon, those already too large losses will only grow exponentially.

Government seems to do just fine in the marketplace when it has a monopoly on a vital service like running water or education, but tanks in a competitive arena where good quality at a fair price matters.

Unfortunately the taxpayers are all too easily tapped to cover the difference.

What's Old is New

Welcome to Amherst indeed

Our somewhat high-profile Amherst town website just started promoting Public Service Announcements about the wonders of Amherst, under the banner headline "NEW!" Interestingly some of the production is recycled from a few years ago when, errr, another town manager first hatched the deal with a slick marketing ad agency: free PR videos for the town, but with paid local ads around them.

I actually like the older ones a little better mainly because the voice over lady knows how to correctly pronounce the town's name. Since Am_erst seems to have adopted the motto "Where only the h is silent," you would think somebody would ensure the same from official public relations materials.

And a little fact checking would also help as the "new" education tourbook promo states Amherst is "home to five renowned colleges," including Mt. Holyoke and Smith College--a not so trivial mistake the national lamestream media occasionally makes as well.

And we now have only three "town elementary schools" (thanks to Catherine Sanderson).

Lord Jeff returns

Lord Jeffery Inn

After a too long hiatus of three years the historic--now LEED certified--Lord Jeffery Inn, revived by a $14 million overhaul, has returned to service as a downtown anchor just off the Amherst town common.

Amherst College President Biddy Martin welcomes the crowd

The project was originally announced as a $20 million endeavor but the stock market chill took a major bite out of Inn owner Amherst College's $1.3 billion endowment, so revitalization plans went into hibernation.

The return of the majestic old Inn that first opened in 1926 is good news for Amherst College, providing a high profile location to entertain important visitors and even better news for the bottom line of the town's coffers. Like their 111 year old Amherst Golf Course, the Lord Jeff Inn is on the tax rolls with an assessed value to jump from the current $2.4 million already up from $832,600 last year resulting in significant tax monies paid to the town to provide vital services.

Representative Ellen Story: Along with Jones Library the Lord Jeff is the "heart" of Amherst

Amherst also enacted the extra local option tax on food and lodging thus providing yet another lucrative benefit of having a new hotel/restaurant open for business. All in all, a great day for downtown Amherst.

Staff and dignitaries on one side spectators and media on the other

Town Manager John Musante

Last holdout surrenders

Steve Rivkin

Like our beleaguered forces at Wake Island, Steve Rivkin's surrender is an honorable one as he is moving on up to another job in Chicago at the University of Illinois.

Rivkin was elected to the Amherst School Committee two years ago and shared a foxhole with Catherine Sanderson, constantly drawing fire for daring to question why Amherst spends sooooooo much money per student with less than stellar results--especially with low income, minority students.

If fellow school committee members decide they want him replaced before the next town election in the spring, they need to send written notice to the Select Board within 30 days so the Select Board can call a joint meeting with the Amherst School Committee and pick a successor to fill out his term.

Or if the School Committee is too lazy to ask for a replacement, the Select Board can take it upon themselves to fill the position with just their majority vote.

Either way, only the "usual suspects" need bother to apply.

AG makes Fitness Zombie pay up

Letter from AG bearing a check

The New Year started off shockingly well for aerobics instructor extraordinaire Catherine Sanderson--not that she needs extra spring in her double step--as a check arrived from the Attorney General's office for back wages owed when the Leading Edge Gym (Amherst Fitness, Inc) suddenly locked their doors way back on October 20, 2010 with barely a few hours notice to staff and members.

The AG's Fair Labor Division confirmed mailing restitution checks to 37 former employees with a combined value of $14,800. Unfortunately health club members who paid for long term memberships (some of them only days before the closing) are not part of this settlement.

Don't feel bad for the former owners, Peter Earle and Joanne DeLong, as they recently sold the fire damaged small business condo in downtown Amherst for $190,000. Plus Peter (the Duke of) Earle seems to be creeping forward with his woman only fitness center a few doors down from their old "Leading Edge" location.

Although, the only thing accomplished since my previous 9/30 expose was vital window washing. And we are now into January, the number one sales month for the fitness industry nationwide. Not a great way for a new fitness business--especially one saddled with a negative rap sheet--to start the new year.

9/30/11

1/3/12

Cooper Mine tanning salon: never opened for business. Sold 7/1/11 $190,000