Slow Ride, Take It Easy

Corner of Rt 9 and South Pleasant Street opposite Town Common

When those ubiquitous white tents pop in town center like mushrooms on a moist summer morn you know the last of our institutes of higher education is jettisoning their graduates off to the real world,  while sending Amherst into summer mode.

 Boltwood Avenue, other side of Town Common

And since this is their 195th such occasion you know I can only be talking about Amherst College, our number one landowner, number one taxpayer, and an entity so enthralled with our little college (before we had any) town, they named themselves after us.

 Main quadrangle this morning

Lord Jeffery Inn, Boltwood Avenue

Of course they caved to pressure brought by rebellious students last winter, a movement that is now ABD (All But Dead), and announced they would be changing the name of the Lord Jeff to something that could not trigger a reaction, but they have yet to announce what that name will be.

Maybe someday I'll have to change the name of my blog.

 Only in Emilyville.

Top Of Their Class Still

Amherst College Greenway Project this fine Sunday morning

I don't think anybody is going to feel overly bad for Amherst College being reduced from a AAA to merely a AA+ by Standard & Poor's so they now share, gasp, the same bond rating as the town they are named after.

After all, they still have $2.2 billion in their endowment.  Yes that's billion with a b as opposed to only $9 million the town has in its reserves. 

The cause of the slight crack in their financial armor is the increased debt load, a mere $330 million, brought on by reinvesting in infrastructure, mainly the new Greenway Project.

The four new dorms should be open in the fall of 2016 and the $200 million, 230,000 square foot science center project will get underway, again.

Last year Amherst College donated $120,000 to the town to cover Amherst Fire Department emergency runs to their campus.

And AC does pay taxes on all the one and two family homes it owns and rents out to professors so in that respect they also help fund the huge pubic education costs in Amherst, which consume the lion's share of the municipal budget.  In fact, Amherst College is the #1 taxpayer in town.

But there was some grumbling at the recent Community Preservation Act Committee meeting in regards to a $200,000 request for a fire suppression system at the Amherst College owned Dickinson Museum complex.

Since CPA money can only be used for certain things, perhaps the town can work out a kick back deal whereby Amherst College donates 75 cents to the General Fund for every CPA dollar they are awarded.

Representative Stephen Kulik has a bill pending in the legislature to allow cities and towns to tax private tax-exempt entities like Amherst College at 25% of their assessed value.

Vince O'Connor has started a one-man crusade to get Amherst College to contribute more Payment In Lieu Of Taxes, specifically to relieve pressure on the Regional School Budget.

 Vince O'Connor on the attack, December 7th SB meeting

His theory is Amherst College would be wise to sign a multi-year donation deal now before the state makes it a requirement.

Kind of like working out a divorce settlement with a mediator rather than allowing a probate judge to make the call.

What's In A Name?

The Emily Dickinson Homestead "I'm nobody! Who are you?"

Perhaps we can get Amherst College to increase its Payment In Lieu Of Taxes to the town of Amherst from the current $130,000 up to $1 million or so in exchange for changing our name.  How about Emilyville?

Appropriate enough of course since Miss Emily is more famous than Lord Jeffery Amherst -- and for a better reason.  And ever so conveniently her historic homestead, a mecca for tourists from around the world, is owned by Amherst, err, Emilyville College.

The undefeated Jeffs beat Wesleyan 27-18 at their October 24th home game

I'm not so sure rough and tumble college football players will be psyched about a nickname associated with a long dead reclusive female poet, although anything has got to be better than a flea infested moose. 

Lord Jeff of course never actually ordered the distribution of infected blankets to the hostile Indians, err, Native Americans laying seige to Fort Pitt.  And there's no conclusive scientific proof that the two blankets and handkerchief used in the sick attempt actually worked.

But there's no question Lord Jeff was not a big fan of what was then a sworn enemy threatening the men, woman and children of his command. 

Amherst: Colorful College Town

Hampshire College, South Amherst: student population 1,400

Who needs psychedelic drugs when you have this outside your dorm?

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UMass Amherst, our state flagship: student population 28,635

UMass Southwest area houses 5,500 mostly freshmen, err, 1st year students

$10 million Paradis Steam Boiler Plant  that never worked

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Amherst College: largest property owner in town.  1,785 students 

Now you know why we call this College Street (or RT 9)

Thanks Amherst College!

Amherst College knows how to be a good neighbor

Yeah, yeah, yeah cynics will say  -- after all this is the Internet -- that when you have an endowment over $2 billion, anything measured in mere tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands is chicken feed.

But the point is Amherst College is a tax-exempt entity and as such is not forced to pay anything for Amherst Fire Department's high quality service.

Besides, they do pay property taxes on all the houses they own and maintain so nicely.   As well as the two commercial businesses that have been around forever:  Downtown anchor Lord Jeff Inn and the 9 hole Amherst Golf Course, which unlike our own Cherry Hill, actually makes money.

Last year those total taxes came to $502,080, or a cool half million.

Click photos to enlarge

 Lord Jeff pays property taxes like any other business in town

On Monday night just before the 9/11 flag controversy came up for discussion, Comptroller Sonia Aldrich mentioned that Amherst College, our #1 landowner in town,  had increased their "gift" last year from $90,000 to $130,000 .

They don't like to call it a Payment In Lieu Of Taxes because it then ties them in to an expected annual payment but they have been paying it annually for almost ten years now.  The first year it was $120,000 but all the other years it has been $90,000.

The payment is for Amherst Fire Department services, so as far as I'm concerned if it looks like a pilot, and flies like a pilot, then it's a PILOT.

That extra $40,000 -- a 44% increase over last year -- is enough to fund one new starting firefighter position (not counting employee benefits).

UMass on the other hand is now over three years behind for re signing the previous "5 Year Strategic Agreement," which currently pays us around $375,000 for the over $1 million in services they get from overworked AFD.
 

 New Amherst College Greenway Dorms (4 residence halls) will be protected by AFD as will the new 230,000 square foot Science Center

The (High) Cost Of Preservation

Cost to repair old barn at 35 Tyler Place:  $48,614

Earlier this month the Amherst Historical Commission hit Amherst College with a one-year demolition delay -- the maximum extent of their powers -- to (temporarily) protect the Little Red Schoolhouse.

On June 15 Amherst College will go before the Dickinson Local Historic District Commission to request demolishing an ancient, dilapidated barn at 35 Tyler Place, tucked away in a location invisible to the general public.

The Historical Commission, at their May 19th meeting, voted not to even bother holding a hearing on the matter.  In other words, tear down this barn!  (with apologies to President Reagan).

   Old Amherst College Barn

Interestingly the Dickinson Local Historic Commission is required to hold a hearing and if they vote not to allow the demolition, then that is the end of the story.  Do not tear down this barn! 

In other words they have unlimited power when it comes to preserving a building within the Dickinson Historic District. 

No wonder NIMBYs are chomping at the bit to form Local Historic Districts. 

I'll Huff, And I'll Puff

Little Red Schoolhouse facing west (Stone dorm in immediate background)

Two years after a major controversy arose over the eviction of a preschool business that used a (somewhat) historic building on their campus, Amherst College has decided the cute little brick building needs to come down ... along with the four nearby dorms -- Pond, Crossett, Stone, and Coolidge.

The extensive demolitions are the result of the proposed new science center construction project.

Since the building is over 50 years old the Amherst Historical Commission at their May 19th meeting will hold a public hearing on the matter.  At most the Commission can impose a one-year demolition delay.

   Little Red Schoolhouse Demo App

Amherst College is the #1 landowner in town as well as the #1 taxpayer (around $500,000 this year) due to houses owned and rented to college employees; and the Lord Jeffery Inn and Amherst Golf Course which are taxed like any other commercial property in town.

In addition the college donates $90,000 for Payment In Lieu Of Taxes to cover Amherst Fire Department services.

 Little Red Schoolhouse facing east

In other words they are a good customer/partner to the town.

And since the Little Red Schoolhouse is somewhat centrally located on their property and it's looking pretty sad these days, the Historical Commission should let it die a quick noble death.

Higher Education Subsidy?

Ladder 1 at UMass HVAC malfunction fire 12/2/14

Undoubtedly the presence of Amherst College (our #1 land owner), Hampshire College (#3 landowner) and UMass/Amherst (#2 landowner) provide the #1 opportunity for employment in town while also providing boatloads of "college aged youth" for our anemic business sector.

But do these tax-exempt institutions really pay their fair share, especially considering property taxes are the #1 revenue source for municipal services?

 AFD Engine 1 at Amherst College Crossett Christmas disturbance 12/7/14

A look at the cold hard facts reveals a simple answer:  Hell no!

In his budget presented yesterday to the Select Board and Finance Committee (and almost certainly to be passed this spring by Amherst Town Meeting) Town Manager John Musante allocates to the Amherst Fire Department $4,466,729.

 2014 was busiest year in history for AFD medical runs (2nd busiest overall)

In 2014 AFD had their second busiest year in history with a total of 5,914 runs with 1,566 of those going to our three institutes of higher education, or 26.5%, which works out to $1,182,789 worth.

UMass paid us $350,000 for AFD protection via a "5 Year Strategic Agreement" (that is now 2.5 years past due for renewal) and Amherst College paid $90,000.  Hampshire College paid zero. 

So total intake to the town coffers is $440,000 on a fair share of $1.2 million!  All these monies simply go into the town's General Fund, not directly to AFD.

Based on service provided, UMass (19% of AFD runs) should have paid us $848,678; Amherst College (4.25% of AFD runs) should have paid $189,835; Hampshire College (3.18% of runs) $142,041.

Amherst College is our #1 landowner and #1 taxpayer because of all the houses they own and rent to professors, and some commercial property (Amherst Golf Course and Lord Jeff Inn).

Last year Amherst College paid around  $490,000.  Hampshire College is our #3 largest landowner, but only paid $67,000 in property taxes on all their holdings last year.

 AFD on scene Hampshire College 12/9/14 for minor fire

Amherst College donated $90,000 to the town last year for AFD protection while Hampshire College -- one of the most expensive liberal arts colleges in America -- donated zero.

If the Town Manager could get our Colleges and University to pay their fair share for vital services, we could easily add a few firefighters to that overburdened public safety department.

And have money left over for a downpayment on the forever talked about, new South Amherst Fire Station.

Pernicious Top 10 List

Hampshire College founded 1970

Here's a sad story you will not read about too much in the local media:  Two-out-of-three Amherst based institutes of higher education made a (legitimate) top-ten list for reported per capita sexual assaults on campus.

And no, UMass is not one of them.  Not even close.

Washington Post 10/28/14

So yes that leaves Amherst and Hampshire Colleges, two of the most expensive liberal arts colleges in the country.  Clearly Hampshire College needs to take a long hard look in the mirror.

If the Washington Post updates its sexual assault story with current 2013 numbers, Hampshire (20 assaults = 13.3/1,000) our local "alternative" college would most likely be #1 in the nation.

 Amherst College:  Named after the town, not the General

To their credit, Amherst College would fall further down the list (9 assaults = 5/1,000).

The current #1 Gallaudet went from 18 to 17 rapes in 2013 and current #2 Grinnell College dropped dramatically from 18 assaults down to 8.  Thus Hampshire College would leap ahead of both of them.

UMass, where a tiny minority of nitwits want to return to the Animal House glory days by using the malicious moniker "Zoomass", has less than 1 sexual assault per 1,000 students (22 out of 27,269 students).

Or another way of looking at this astounding comparison is if UMass had the same 2013 assault rate as Hampshire College that would come to 363 assaults.

 UMass Amherst Clery Report

Other esteemed members of the Five College Consortium -- Smith College and Mount Holyoke -- also have tiny assault rates compared to Hampshire College, at 1.5/1,000 for Smith College and less than 1/1,000 (.87) for Mount Holyoke.

And the town of Amherst overall is lesser still at .45/1,000.

Hey Hampshire: You're doing it wrong.

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Only 20% of female college students who are victims of sexual assault report it to police. http://t.co/HpOTlVYv8i pic.twitter.com/5qoaZvmPZ4
— WBUR (@WBUR) December 11, 2014

Good & Bad

LifeFlight helicopter dropped in for a visit to Amherst College

The crew of the Worcester based UMass Memorial LifeFlight helicopter dropped in to do all-day EMT training at Amherst College on Sunday. That is of course the good.  In fact, great.

 Amherst College quad late Saturday night (the not so good)

 Shaki Holines, age 20, stands before Judge Payne

The AFD weekend report shows the bad influence on public safety wrought by the Amherst College "Crossett Christmas" late Saturday night. Amherst police also made two arrests.

   Weekend Runs Crossett XMass by Larry Kelley

In Eastern Hampshire District Court yesterday Mitchell Arthur and Shaki Holines had pleas of "not guilty" entered in their behalf for their Assault & Battery cases which were continued until January 26th.

 Mitchell Arthur, age 18, stands before Judge Payne

They both were released on their own recognizance.

Double Fault?

Amherst College: Half dozen courts near the bike path destined for demolition

Okay, okay so I'm probably just being maudlin.  After all, my first brush with tennis occurred there (or the adjacent courts) in the oppressively hot summer of 1964 during a subsidized recreation program run by Jack Leaman, before he became famous at UMass.

But I'm still willing to bet most anyone who has walked or biked past these courts over the past fifty years will miss them when they're gone.  Kind of like the chain link maze at the UMass football stadium. 

Amherst College, our largest landowner, goes before the Amherst Conservation Commission next week to give notice about the demolition/conversion of the tennis courts to a -- you guessed it -- parking lot.

Since the footprint will remain the same, probably not a big environmental impact to worry about.

And the larger adjacent courts complex remains, so the fair weather grunts and thunks of balls meeting racquets will not be completely silenced.  The sounds may even carry to the bike path.

But for those of us who grew up with the fenced in fun, a little piece of paradise -- like our youth -- will be lost.

 Courts a little farther north have already been converted to a parking

Box Alarm Amherst College

 College Street in front of Valentine Hall (midnight)

The call went out clear as bell a minute before midnight last night, and the public safety response was the usual coordinated cacophony of personnel and heavy equipment descending on the scene.

Within minutes AFD Engines 1, 2 and 3 (Student Force) lined up in front of Valentine Hall along with an ambulance, two assistant Chiefs, AFD Chief Nelson, and a bevy of Amherst town and Amherst College police.

Box Alarm Valentine Hall Amherst College smell of smoke in kitchen.
— Larry Kelley (@amherstac) February 4, 2014

The fire started in clean folded linen stored in a hamper, but it was quickly extinguished, so additional off duty personnel were waived off (although three did show up.)

 

Many AFD personnel responded to Valentine Hall fire

The smoke alarms rang loud and clear, and in the pitch black cold winter night the warning strobe lights were also hard to miss.  Valentine Hall also has a sprinkler system, but the fire never got hot enough to activate them.

On the rear side of the building a bevy of students gathered after evacuating the building.  

 

Back side of Valentine Hall (midnight)

Amherst College "gifts" to the town anywhere from $90,000 to $120,000 per year to offset AFD responses like last night.  Although I'm told by the Town Manager this year it will be the lower figure.

Either way, they get more than their money's worth. 

College Street side Valentine Hall

   AFD runs end January

A Fair Share

UMass, Amherst & Hampshire Colleges account for 27% of all AFD calls

On Thursday all the head honchos -- Select Board, Finance Committee, Town Manager John Musante and Finance Director Sandy Pooler -- will meet in Town Hall for the unveiling of the Town Manager's Fiscal 2015 budget.

Don't expect any earth shattering changes.  Although maybe, finally, a much overdue increase in staffing for our beleaguered public safety departments.

One thing that should be discussed is reimbursement monies from our three institutes of higher education.  You know, the reason why Amherst is a "college town."

The main one of course is UMass.  The original 5-year "Strategic Agreement", which pays the town $350,000 in new monies annually, expired June 30, 2012 but was extended for a year.

NFD mutual aid ambulance, AFD Engine 3 Pierpont Dorm UMass for ETOH student 

In 2013 Amherst Fire Department responded to UMass 1,162 times with 843 of those (73%) responses for medical emergencies requiring an ambulance, with 219 of those (26%) for "substance abuse."  So that means the other 319 responses required a fire engine.  Ambulance runs generate insurance revenues, fire engine runs do not.

 AFD Engine 2 on scene Crossett Dorm Amherst College

In 2013 AFD responded to Amherst College 212 times with 152 of those (72%) responses for medical emergencies requiring an ambulance, with 39 of those (26%) for "substance abuse."  The other 60 responses required a fire engine (or two).  Last year Amherst College "donated" to the town $90,000 as payment towards those emergency services.

Although after the Crossett Christmas incident last month let's hope they go back to the $120,000 they gave us in 2007.

In 2013 AFD responded to Hampshire College 184 times with 71 of those responses (only 39%) for medical emergencies requiring an ambulance, with 17 of those (24%) for "substance abuse."  The other 113 of those responses required a fire engine.

AFD crew heading toward Hampshire Dining Commons for an  ETOH female 12:20 AM

So out of the three institutes of higher education AFD protects, Hampshire College has by far the higher percentage of responses requiring expensive equipment that does not generate insurance reimbursement.

Last year Hampshire College paid the town zero, zip, nada for emergency services received by the town.  And as a tax exempt educational institute they paid almost nothing in property taxes.  Yet they are one of the most expensive colleges in America at $57,130 per year.

And last year Hampshire announced it would offer an "undocumented student" $25,000 per year to cover those high tuition expenses.  At least that student will be well protected (at local taxpayer expense).

Make Them Real

Newt Gingrich showing off his iPhone 4

Tonight in the ornate Johnson Chapel located on the equally ornate Amherst College campus in the left leaning town of Amherst, Newt Gingrich entertained a crowd of almost 700, mostly students, but a smattering of older folks as well.

 Huge crowd in Johnson Chapel, Callista Gingrich front row

He started out by holding up his iPhone 4 calling it, "the most powerful public health device in America today." Furthermore he insisted smart phones should be given to school children everywhere as an access pathway to education.

Like an enthusiastic science professor he went on to extol the virtues of 3D printing and regenerative medicine to revolutionize health care, although he's concerned the FDA slows down innovation and prevents products from making it to the market.

 Plenty of questions

He championed the Google driverless car, pointing out the army is using the technology for supply trucks which reduces the cost in lives should a convoy come under attack.  Although he asserts we lost the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, costing taxpayers trillions of dollars and inflicting thousands of casualties among our troops.

But his views on energy would lead to a brief firefight with two young ladies later in the question period.  Gingrich championed fracking and horizontal drilling as a means of increasing dramatically the production of domestic oil.

In North Dakota oil production increased thirty fold and wages went up 50% as a byproduct of the energy boom, where even McDonald's employees make $15/hour.

Gingrich aimed his most vitriolic criticism squarely at our nation's seat of power:   "Washington has no interest in fixing things"; or "The Senate as an institution has been decaying for 20 years."  He pointed out he was in D.C. a few days ago and there was a dusting of snow which resulted in the Federal Government shutting down sending all their employees home (even though the White House lawn was still green).

"How do you think that makes the taxpayers in Buffalo, New York feel when they trudge to work through a typical snowstorm"?

 Newt leaves the stage

He closed by recapping his faith in new technology and new ways of doing things:  3D printing, driverless cars, online learning.  "The challenge for your generation is to make them real."

Historic Building Sold (Again)

 40 Dickinson Street, Amherst 

Amherst College, the number one landowner in town, just purchased the former Paige's Chevy, aka Classic Chevy, building at 40 Dickinson Street for $474,000.  A tad more than the former owner of Classic Chevy business paid for it back in August ($325,000) but still well below its assessed value of $548,200.

Thus if it goes off the tax rolls, like the vast majority of Amherst College owned property, it will no longer pay the town treasury just over $10,000 in annual property taxes.

The two-story brick building to the rear of the more recent office addition dates back to 1880,  so if Amherst College is going to raze the building to "put up a parking lot" they will need the permission of the Amherst Historical Commission.  Currently the Commission has the power to implement a one year demolition delay to protect historic structures.

The property also touches the overgrown remains of "Kelley Square", another historic, albeit forgotten, piece of history intertwined with the most historic figure in town history.

Or as faithful servant One-Armed Tom used to call her, "Miss Emily."

Higher Education?

The out-of-control party at Amherst College, aided and abetted by uninvited UMass students, stands out even when viewed through the staid prism of a public safety weekend run report.

All seven weekend emergency responses to Amherst College are of the nuisance kind. 

   Amherst College Disturbance by larry_kelley_1