Public Private Parking

Parking lot behind CVS is half owned privately and other half public

Usually when you hear the three Ps mentioned in an Amherst public meeting it's in reference to a Public Private Partnership being used to build residential housing on UMass property to help mitigate the housing shortage in our #1 demographic, "college aged youth."

But of course an offshoot of increased residential dwelling units is a corresponding increase in parking -- even in Amherst, with a highly evolved public bus system, ride sharing apps, and a fondness for walking and cycling.

Last night the Zoning Subcommittee of the Planning Board agreed to take on the issue of downtown parking.

The Municipal Parking District currently gives a free pass to developers on providing parking, and the recent rise of Kendrick Place -- with 36 units of housing and no parking -- has brought that issue to a boiling point (For a few loud individuals at least).

Kendrick Place will open next month

One idea for the Planning Board is the possibility of allowing private business owners who provide surfacing parking as an accessory use to their business to install meters or machines to charge for shared parking.  Currently that would require a Special Permit rather than the more simple Site Plan Review.

Another idea floated was to come up with zoning regulations for a privately owned parking garage, although Business Improvement Director Sarah la Cour told the committee that any structure should be part of a larger overall plan and be "mixed use" rather than just parking.

The idea of a new public (or Public/Private) parking garage has been picking up steam recently.  The current parking lot behind CVS is considered a prime candidate, although Ms. la Cour did mention that it is currently (mostly) zoned RG (General Residence) rather than BG (General Business) and thus would require Town Meeting approval for a zoning change.

And any zoning article requires a challenging two-thirds vote to pass.  Last Spring Town Meeting voted by more than a majority for two "citizens petition" zoning articles that would have devastated downtown development with burdensome parking regulations and redefining what constitutes a "mixed use" building.

Another idea floated is for the Planning Board to tweak the current regulations in the Municipal Parking District to remove the exemption for "residential" uses and require .5 parking spaces per dwelling unit, plus one additional space per 10 total units.

Developers could also pay a "fee-in-lieu" of providing parking at a rate of $2,000 per space, which would be retained in a "Town Center Parking Reserve Fund" that would be used "solely for the purpose of constructing new parking spaces."

Had these regulations been in effect Kendrick Place, with 36 residential units, would then have had to provide 22 parking spaces or pay a penalty of  $44,000.

The Select Board and Planning Board jointly held three Public Parking Forums over the past year, and a final report is expected to be issued by the Planning Department before the end of summer.

The Zoning Subcommittee decided it best to await that report before digging in on any concrete proposal for parking changes in the downtown.

And since Kendrick Place is expected to open next month, it would also allow time to weigh the impact that has on downtown parking.

Zoning Subcommittee of PB:  Rob Crowner, Bruce Carson, Stephen Schreiber, Greg Stutsman

Regionalization Lurches Forward

 Amherst Regional High Schoool

After four years of work by their sub-committee the Amherst Pelham Regional School Committee gave majority support to the concept of expanding the current grades 7-12 Region (Middle & High School) all the way down to Kindergarten - 6th grade.

The RSC voted 5-4 at their June 23rd meeting to forward the Regional Agreement Working Group final report to attorney Giny Tate (again) with one slight amendment -- changing the term of School Committee members from four years to a mix of two and four year terms.

Newly reelected RSC Chair Trevor Baptiste will work this summer with attorney Tate and Superintendent Maria Geryk to ensure the draft agreement is back by September 1st.

But in order for the proposal to really move forward so it can be voted on by all four towns it requires a two-thirds affirmative vote of the Regional School Committee.  That all-important vote is expected to come before March 1st so all four towns can vote on it in the  Spring of 2016. 

The governance of the new Region would be an unwieldy 13 member Regional School Committee with 7 members from Amherst and two each from the Leverett, Pelham and Shutesbury.  Currently the Regional School Committee is a total of 9 members, 5 from Amherst, 2 from Pelham and one each from Shutesbury and Leverett.

Why Pelham currently gets two committee members is anybody's guess, considering both Leverett and Shutesbury's population are considerable larger than Pelham.

And with Amherst providing 88% of the population (and funding) is it really fair for the new governance scheme to reduce the power of Amherst to only a 54% majority?

The Committee kept the provision requiring 8 votes to close a school, even though member Dan Robb suggested two-thirds (9 votes) provided a "higher bar."   Even at 8 that means the seven Amherst members must still win over at least one other member from the other three towns.

 Financial analysis:  $600,000 savings is a tad disingenuous

Interestingly the concept of closing the Regional Middle School, located in Amherst,  and combining the students into the Regional High School, also located in Amherst, is currently on the radar.

The smaller hilltowns are of course concerned that the new Region would close their elementary school for the good of the Region.  Both Pelham and Leverett have declining school populations with status quo budgets getting harder and harder to maintain.

Some Amherst officials fear those two financially strapped towns could someday vote down the Regional budget if economic relief is not found.  The current Regional Agreement requires 3 out of 4 towns vote yes for the overall budget to pass.  

So can those two desperate towns drive the entire expanded Regionalization movement?  The new  Region cannot form without the unanimous support of all four towns.

Shutesbury is certainly not having any part of it.  At the February 24 Regional School Committee meeting RAWG member Michael DeChiara flat out announced he was voting No to the new Region and would be recommending voters at Shutesbury Town Meeting follow his lead.

DeChiara, a former School Committee member, has since gone on to be elected to the Shutesbury Select Board -- the highest political office in town -- so his influence alone could be a deal killer.

   Amherst Regional School expansion vote

The Big H

John Kydd, age 49, arraigned in Eastern Hampshire District Court yesterday

Maybe I should start a "Heroin Dishonor Roll" just so drunk drivers don't feel singled out.  Yes, the bubble that envelops our little college town does not protect us from the opioid scourge that has swept the nation.

And growing up Irish Catholic -- even though not still practicing -- (almost before Amherst was known as a "college town") one ingrained belief you never lose is the concept of a second chance.  As in everyone deserves one. 

This was Mr. Kydd's second offense.

He was released on his own recognizance, assigned a public defender (at a $300 charge) and will return to District Court on August 18.

DUI Dishonor Roll

On average, 2 out of 3 people will be involved in a drunk driving crash in their lifetime

Again this past weekend Amherst police took three impaired drivers off the road -- Amanda Gray, age 27; Claudimila Deoliveiramartin, age 22 and Michael Lewandowski, age 36.  All three had pleas of not guilty entered in their behalf this morning in Eastern Hampshire District Court and their cases were continued until next month.

And since all of them took and flunked the Breathalyzer test back at APD headquarters -- the one that is admissible in Court -- they all would be wise to accept the Commonwealth's standard offer of a 24D disposition.

Amanda Gray

Claudimila Deoliveiramartin

Click to enlarge/read
 

Michael Lewandowski

Misty Lightning Rod

Kendrick Place Saturday morning just before the mist rolled in

Normally I post to this blog first, created a tiny url, come up with a snappy one sentence teaser, and then post to Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, which combined drive about 33% of my traffic.

These days I also post a fair amount to those three social media sites photos or slice-of-life incidents that don't quite rise to the level of a full-story blog post.

But this is the first time I'm doing a blog post based on a simple Facebook item, which as of now has attracted more feedback than any Facebook post in my short history (beating out I'm sad to say a picture of my darling daughters from a couple years back.)

Obviously Kendrick Place is a lightning rod guaranteed to attract attention.  Kind of like cute kitty videos on YouTube.

Some people see it as an ugly monster dominating the skyline in the northern end of dowtown, while others see it as a tax generating symbol of progress that helps to fill the number one need in the town today:  housing.

Interestingly enough as of this writing the simple Facebook photo op has drawn 32 comments, but only seven outright negative.  More interestingly it also has 37 "likes," and I assume my friends would not hit the like button unless they kind of liked the idea of the building.

 Kendrick Place in the mist (some would like it do disappear altogether)

Or maybe it was just the artsy photo.  Oddly enough the mist rolled in 5 or 6 minutes after my drone went airborne and had already snapped a few photos.  When looking at my iPad Mini monitor I at first thought it was just condensation on the lens but a glance up quickly proved otherwise.

 Carriage Shops: future site of One East Pleasant Street

Whatever the case, with all this attention generated by a five-story mixed-use building with only 36 residential units you have to wonder what's going to happen when One East Pleasant street goes up pretty much next door -- with over twice that capacity.

I hope the developers plan to install extra heavy duty lightning rods.

   1 East Pleasant, Amherst by Larry Kelley

UPDATE 8:30 PM So I'm pleased to report I have a new winner for all time high likes on Facebook (yeah, that was quick):

The High Cost Of Racist Graffiti

Carolyn Gardner was allegedly targeted by racial notes and graffiti numerous times

UPDATED 3:00 PM 

(Scroll down for School Superintendent Maria Geryk response to School Committee member Vira Douangmany)

Under increasing public pressure the Amherst Regional Public Schools just released the settlement amount in the sad case of math teacher Carolyn Gardner:  $180,000 total payout from three sources:  $90,000 insurance, $60,000 from the Regional School District, and $30,000 from payroll.

But only $120,000 went directly to Ms. Gardner, the other $60,000 was paid to her esteemed attorneys Sasson, Turnbull, Ryan & Hoose, LLC.

   Carolyn Gardner $180K Agreement

Some will argue the total amount is W-A-Y too much, but considering her initial request was $500,000 maybe not so much.  Others will argue it's W-A-Y too little for the indignity of it all.  Most, however, will agree the lawyers got too much.

The truth, inevitable, stands somewhere in the middle.

Click to enlarge/read

Email from School Superintendent Maria Geryk to Regional School Committee member Vira Douangmany, copied to the entire School Committee

Hush Money

Amherst Regional High School

The recent settlement with Carolyn Gardner that school officials refuse to release any details about is only the most recent example of tax money paid out to, presumably, right a wrong or make an individual whole again so they can get on with their life.

Somewhere other than the Amherst Regional Public Schools.

Over the past four years the Public Schools have paid their attorney Giny Tate $562,066, or an average of $140,516 per year for legal services.  And "Legal Settlements" cost the taxpayers $821,668 over that same time period or an average of $205,417 per year.

Thus legal activity taken as a whole cost taxpayers an average of $345,933 per year for the past four years.

   Amherst Public Schools Legal Costs by Larry Kelley

The report to the Regional School Committee is dated March 31 so FY15 was three quarters completed (ends June 30), thus the Carolyn Gardner settlement is not included.

 Chart composed by HR Director Kathy Mazur

A few years ago I requested all the (former) employees who were paid a settlement greater than $5,000 and was given a chart showing 13 individuals (between 2006 and 2013) paid a total of $367,427.

The Schools refused to release the names of the individuals or any further details even though the Secretary of State's Public Records Division clearly told them to do so. 

Back then I had figures but no names, today we have a name (Carolyn Gardner) but no figure.

Go figure.