Blizzard of 2015: Another Bust?

Town Hall 7:45 AM

Thus far the storm of the century has not lived up to the hype, which is of course a good thing. The scanner was so quiet last night I had to double check to make sure it was on. Which is of course a good thing.

Carry on.

Amherst makes The Onion (We're somebody now!)

Update from Governor Baker

 Miss Emily to Mr. Frost: "Don't believe the hype."

But the wind is still whipping

Bring It On!

DPW supply teepee is one of the busier locations in town this morning

Assuming the venerable Amherst Select Board is hardy enough to meet this evening they will hear a half-year budget update that shows good news and bad news from the DPW budget line:

  

Original budget, Amount spent, Encumbered, % of budget spent

Good news is of course the ambitious LED lighting retrofit of all the street lights in town is paying off handsomely in electricity savings (only consuming 15% of the budget at the half-way point).

And, almost as important, the new LED lighting in the Amherst Town Room (where the SB meets) makes photos look a lot better as well.

The snow and ice budget is not really 29.4%  in the red, as Guilford Mooring points out the amount shown as "encumbered" reflects a full season's worth of supplies. But he does verify that tomorrow's Snowmageddon will most likely bust the budget:

Click to enlarge/read

Even that, however, should be mitigated by Federal Emergency Mgt Agency reimbursement if things turn out as bad as universally predicted.

The DPW are the unsung heroes at times like tonight, tomorrow and maybe even into Wednesday.

Public safety personnel simply could not do their potentially lifesaving jobs if not for those big yellow trucks keeping the streets passable.  Another good reason to stay off the roads once the snow starts to fly: 

Let the police, fire and DPW do their vital work.

Tips from the town

Rusty Public Art

Northampton, Old Courthouse lawn, city center

Amherst Kendrick Park

Snowthings

Amherst College professorial snowman

Snowman corner of Mass & Commonwealth Ave, UMass

An hour later these young ladies were building a mate

Playing field off Commonwealth Ave

Boys will be boys

If You Can't Beat 'Em ...

Mission Cantina 485 West Street, South Amherst

One of the gripes you hear about food carts is that they have an "unfair" advantage over traditional bricks-and-mortar restaurants since they pretty much pay the town only a $100 annual fee to operate.

Restaurants of course either  pay a hefty downtown commercial rent to their landlord, or if they own the building, pay the whopping Amherst property tax that is twice that of neighboring Hadley.  And recently became even more oppressive with the doubling of the Community Preservation Act tax.

But because the lunch cart system, unlike liquor licenses, is not overly regulated it really is an equal opportunity, two-way street.

For instance, Mission Cantina, one of the more wildly successful restaurants located in the heart of South Amherst's microscopic business district will go before the venerable Amherst Select Board Monday night for a lunch cart license to bring their Mexican fare downtown this coming nice weather season.

Currently the town has two active lunch carts, Sun Kim Bop and New York Halal Food but this will be a first for an established restaurant entering the market.

Viva la competition!

Coming soon to a street near you

But Did You Inhale?

Stan Rosenberg speaking at Kendrick Park last October

Here's yet another reason to love the new state Senate President and actual town "local", having passed the 25 year mark for living in Amherst:  When asked by a Boston radio station if he ever smoked pot State Senator Stan Rosenberg replied, "Did I go to college in the 60s?"

Well ... yes.  Umass actually.  Back when it really was known as "ZooMass".  But not anymore fortunately.
 
Rosenberg, being the savvy experienced politician, anticipates a referendum question to legalize marijuana for recreational use will be forthcoming in 2016.

After all he's from Amherst, so he remembers the town vote in 2000 where a pot advisory question asking police to "deprioritize" marijuana arrests passed handily1,659 in favor to 981 opposed.

A local election with a much better turnout than most (20.4%) propelled in a large part by students.

With the state-wide referendum process being used to decriminalize up to an ounce of pot back in 2008 and most recently in 2012 legalizing pot for medical uses, it is indeed a safe bet advocates will go for all the marbles in 2016.

So why not be prepared?  Although Governor Baker is opposed to recreational use of pot he supports Rosenberg's formation of the "Special Senate Committee on Marijuana."

Now will somebody please pass the brownies.

End Of An Era

Crop Circles?  Nah, former War Memorial wading pool

Those of you old enough to remember when the Amherst Regional Middle School was called the Jr. High School probably remember as well referring to the War Memorial wading pool as "the little pool."

War Memorial Wading Pool looking a tad forlorn 6/21/13

Built alongside "the big pool" back in 1960 the wading pool has provided a respite from summer's withering heat for generations of Amherst youth, especially those of limited economic means.

The wading pool was closed the last two summers because of a leak which would be expensive to fix (tens of thousands).   And new state regulations that would require removal of the spray unit in the center of the pool, which most kids probably found to be the best part.

Town officials have been talking about replacing the wading pool with a spray park for all too many years now.

Town Manager John Musante is expected to appoint an Amherst Center Recreation Working Group any day now, headed by Assistant Town Manager Dave Ziomek, to look at an overall plan for Memorial Field, adjacent public schools playing fields, and the Hawthorn property. 

Unfortunately they will take a full year to do their study, so the chance a spray park will be spurting this coming summer is about as likely as UFO landing in town center.