Monday, August 17, 2015

Public Documents Redux

Amherst Regional Middle School

Sometimes you hit a treasure trove and sometimes it's just junk, but a public documents request -- which my friends in the bricks and mortar media make all too infrequently -- is never a waste of time.

At the very least it sends a message that anything public officials say relating to public matters can and will be used against them.  Or for them as the case may be, since sometimes the information gained sheds a positive light.


Click headline "Concern over Public Doc Release" to better read document

As the 4,500 of you who read the previous release of internal emails may remember, the $180,000 payoff of Carolyn Gardner was done without the standard "non disclosure agreement," after the schools did everything in their power to have it included.

Gardner's legal team insisted the settlement not be done under the cloaking device of a non disclosure agreement. 

Of course maybe that's why the Public Schools are more inclined to give away the store with  legal cases, since they assume the non disclosure agreement will protect them from prying eyes.  All the more reason to challenge it.

At every opportunity. 

Good News Crime Report

Eastern Hampshire District Court this fine summer morning

So for those of you who think I spend too much time documenting the sorry underbelly of Amherst i.e. drunk driving and other drug/alcohol related carnage please take note:  For the 2nd Monday morning in a row Amherst Police Department had no arrests/arraignments in Eastern Hampshire District Court.

And yes, based on my boots on the ground coverage of said District Court that is a tad unusual, sort of like a man biting a dog (or a woman scratching a cat).

The relative calm will only last until this coming weekend with the return of our vital and exuberant "college aged youth."

Kick back, suck down the lemonade and enjoy the leisure paced summer quiet over the next few days ... because change is just around the corner.

Sunday, August 16, 2015

Reflections of The Way Life Used To Be

UMass exit ramp Rt 116 in Hadley

You sagacious types may have noticed in June/July the state contractor out on Rt 116 between Rt 9 Hadley and Sunderland center doing work that left mysterious newly patched holes 8" in diameter in the center and side roadway every 10 yards or so.

Over the past week the answer to what was going on became more obvious with the installation of new reflectors in the roadway, although located in a slightly different spot from the ones that had been removed.

 Newly installed road reflector

The reflectors were originally touted as "snowplowable" but maybe the company had Georgia or South Carolina in mind when they advertised them as such.  Those that had not been taken up by New England snowplows were removed and new ones installed.

 Let's hope these really are "snowplowable"

The reflectors of course make it a little easier for night driving but are certainly not a critical component of highway safety.  Amherst town roads have none for instance.

The state can be pretty anal with their roadways.  A half dozen years ago they spent $1.7 million installing mile markers every .2 of a mile along all 776 miles of state roadways. 

And of course what baby boomer can forget the infamous "call boxes" all along Rt 91 (that preceded ubiquitous cell phones) that never worked.


Thursday, August 13, 2015

Judge: Go Ahead & Build It

Kendrick Place (left) proposed One East Pleasant site circled in red

Hampshire Superior Court Justice Richard Carey allowed the town of Amherst and Archipelago Investments LLC "Motion for Summary Judgment," ending a lawsuit filed by abutter/competitor Joel Greenbaum over the proposed construction of a five-story mixed use (mostly residential) building on the site of the former Carriage Shops, in the north end of the downtown business district.


 
Amherst Carriage Inn circa 1960



The Amherst Planning Board, after five public meetings, gave Site Plan approval with two Special Permits allowing the building 5' extra height and 10% extra lot coverage.

Greenbaum filed suit claiming the proposed structure was a student dormitory, had too little parking and would cast an evil shadow on his property.

Essentially Judge Carey found that Mr. Greenbaum, with two nearby private parking lots, did not prove the new building -- which does provide 36 parking spaces where none are required -- is not a an injury "special and different from the concerns of the rest of the community."




And Judge Carey was not at all impressed with the testimony of Rolf Karlstrom, finding he's "not an expert authority on parking."

The Judge goes on to declare, "Karlstrom, as a biology professor and town resident, does not possess the knowledge necessary to evaluate city parking.  As such, any opinion in Karlstrom's affidavit will be stricken from the record."  Ouch!




Kyle Wilson (standing), Dave Williams (seated) aka Archipelago Investments LLC

While Mr. Greenbaum can appeal the decision it's unlikely that a panel of three judges would overrule such a strait forward finding from Judge Carey, who is known and respected for his thorough grasp of land use law.

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Recycling Dirt

Dirt pile on South East Street

That rather large dirt pile growing off South East Street on the grounds of Colonial Village Apartments in East Amherst is from the Presidential Apartments expansion project in North Amherst.  Both complexes have the same owner (Allen Cohn).

Presidential Apartments:  Nine new buildings opening September 1st

The Zoning Board and Conservation Commission both gave permission for temporary storage of 4,000 cubic yards of material and the Con Com will need to approve any future use of the dirt at the Colonial Village site.

Have dirt, will pile

10/18/15  Job complete

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

School Superintendent Individual Evaluations

ARPS Superintendent Maria Gery answers to Amherst & Pelham School Committees, Regional School Committee (4 towns), and Union 26

They say a doctor who treats oneself has a fool for a patient.  But apparently in the operations and management world it's not uncommon to do a self-evaluation for your supervisor -- especially when those overseers are elected unpaid volunteers.

In her personal self evaluation School Superintendent Maria Geryk answered "needs improvement" to only one of 24 statements/traits, "Shared Vision".  She checked off "proficient" for another 18 and the highest rating,  "exemplary,"  5 times.




Interestingly, School officials who evaluated her think "Managing Conflict" was her weakest performance.  Five of 13 checked off "needs improvement" and one (Vira Douangmany Cage) gave her the sole "unsatisfactory" of her entire evaluation.



Of the 15 current and recent past School Committee members invited to evaluate the Superintendent, 13 responded and two -- Amilcar Shabazz and Sarah Dolven -- did not.



3-out-of-4 Ain't Bad

Superintendent Maria Geryk listens to three School Committees evaluation of her

Last night the Regional School Committee, Pelham and Amherst School Committees and Union 26 sat in final judgement of Superintendent Maria Geryk's performance over the past school year. The final verdict was a good one. Mostly.

Overall they gave her a 3.08 out of 4 which is described as "proficient". But the document was quick to point out, "This is the rigorous expected level of performance."

Interestingly the Superintendent's lowest score, 2.8, came under "Management and Operations" which was probably negatively impacted by all the racial turmoil created in the wake of the Carolyn Gardner affair.



The joint committees voted 10-1 in favor of the condensed summary of 13 individual evaluations with only Amherst School Committee member Vira Douangmany Cage voting "No".

Ms. Cage had earlier asked why Pelham School Committee Chair Tara Luce -- an Amherst Regional School employee -- was allowed to evaluate her boss?

The Mass State Conflict of Interest law holds public officials to a very high standard and strongly suggests avoiding even the "appearance of a conflict."

Superintendent Geryk stated the School's attorney had looked at the situation when Luce was first elected and opined that as long as she did not vote on (her own) salary contract, it was not a conflict.

Currently Maria Geryk is the highest paid public employee in town with an annual salary of $158,000 plus $840 cell phone allowance and $10,000 for annuity/life insurance policy.  She does not get a monthly car allowance.