One Million Down ...

So I should have stayed up a little later last night because sometime just before midnight the milestone one millionth visitor came a calling.  Not that my sitemeter gives me their email so I can award him/her a prize.

Over the past seven years I have tried to cover the stories that my friends in the bricks and mortar media may have missed, or to cover them in a way that offers more of the backstory.

Living here all my life and having operated a small service-oriented business for 28 years gives me Google-like institutional memory and a fairly extensive list of ultra-reliable sources.

Sources who trust my use of "off the record," knowing that North Koreans could hold a flamethrower to my head and I would never give them up.

If you looked at my widget for "popular posts" (which is continuously updated real time) four months ago, six of the top ten stories had nothing to do with  "rowdy student behavior."

Cowardly Anon Nitwits constantly accuse me, a proud UMass grad, of being "anti-student" where all I ever write about is the tiny minority of students who screw up.

So I kind of liked that I could respond with, "60% of my top ten stories have nothing to do with students behaving badly."  Well unfortunately, that is no longer the case.  This year's Blarney Blowout -- not exactly a "tiny minority" of students -- pushed not one, but two new posts into the top ten.

Now 60% of my "popular posts" do involve student bad behavior (4 of them specifically related to Blarney Blowout).

But I take great journo pride in the two stories that were pushed out of the top ten:

The potentially catastrophic basement fire at a Hobart Lane (students) apartment that exposed a (well known) landlord coverup of shoddy conditions -- including orchestrated violations of the bylaw restricting one family units to no more than four unrelated tenants.

A case that came at just the right time to help pass the Amherst Rental Registration & Permit Bylaw last year, the most important piece of legislation enacted by Town Meeting in a generation.

And the other case that you have also read about here more than any other media outlet:  A working class family unfairly sanctioned by an overly PC Amherst School system.  A sad story that is still ongoing.

I hope to be around to bring you a conclusion.

Blowing The Whistle

Competition of a different kind

Since Amherst Regional High School officials overreacted to the initial incident by declaring a "lockdown" over two errant assistant coaches from Smith Vocational High School, no big shock they are now blowing the whistle on the earnest young recruiters ... which may not look good on their resumes.  

Since both assistant coaches signed in the day they visited ARHS obviously they were not trying to hide anything.  And by not signing out they only demonstrated unfamiliarity with a security system that is a tad confusing.

Smith Vocational High School, operated by our sister city to the west, Northampton, is one of two vocational schools that attracts away Amherst Regional students (thereby impacting the school's budget via payouts).  

Between Smith Vocational and Franklin County Technical ARHS lost 38 students this year.So maybe there's a measure of payback involved in this bit of hyperbole.

Of course when the shoe was on the other foot ...

The past four months in the Amherst schools have been a three ring circus.  

Continuous lockdowns, racist graffiti in the High School bathrooms targeting a teacher of color, and a racial bullying incident (that did not fit the PC agenda) that lead to a Facebook "threat" that closed the High School.

Fortunately the senior prom went off last Friday without incident (or at least any incidents that required police intervention).  This Friday ARHS graduation is hosted at the Mullins Center, which seemingly straddles three police jurisdictions -- Hadley, Amherst and UMPD.

According to APD Chief Livingstone:

"I have met with school officials and with Chief Horvath of UMPD regarding the High School graduation and after graduation party and I’m confident that the security measures planned will be adequate and sufficient.

 

Our goal is that it is a safe and enjoyable evening for all of those in attendance…"

Attempted Coup d'état

Tellers huddle with Moderator at June 2 Town Meeting

Apparently members collaborated before the final session of Amherst Town Meeting Monday night, although all the usual suspects were involved so probably not much more collaboration than usual.

The Planning Board wished to refer a hot potato zoning article they had placed on the warrant back to themselves for further study after it was not overly well received by the business community.

With Vince O'Connor absent, his mini-me Jim Oldham led the sneak attack by asking Town Meeting to vote down the "motion to refer" so the article would stay on the floor and he could then make a simple amendment (although with zoning nothing is simple) "within the scope of the article" targeting mixed-use developments in the downtown.

After an extra unanticipated 55 minutes of discussion, Town Meeting did pass the motion to refer 86 Yes 70 No, which actually sounds kind of close.  But since a zoning article requires a two-thirds vote to pass, not close at all.  Keep in mind this gerrymandering occurred in the final hour of the 9th and final session of the 256th Annual  Town Meeting, which started back in April.

The real scary overthrow of decorum occurred just before this article, when once again Vince O'Connor caused Town Meeting to waste over an hour-and-a-half discussing citizen petition zoning articles that had been ruled illegal the week before.

 Vince O'Connor strutting to the podium last year

Since O'Connor had submitted his 100 signature petitions too late for the Planning Board to hold a Public Hearing and issue their required report, the Moderator ruled the two articles could only be "refereed back to a committee" or "dismissed."

Mr. O'Connor demonstrated supreme hubris by not only refusing to make the motion to refer but he did not even bother to show up to Town Meeting.  The Select Board made the motion to dismiss.

 And then the drones took over and squandered even more time.

Each motion to dismiss was adamantly opposed and each required a Tally Vote (which takes up another ten minutes) because of doubters who could not accept defeat.  The first motion to dismiss passed 88-78 and the second one 87-77.

 

Usual Suspect:  Hipster Rob Kusner

Now put that together with the final vote (86-70) on Mr. Oldham's attempt to hijack the Planning Board article at the end of the night and you get an idea of the overall strength of the drone bees.

While 70 or so out of 250 is a distinct minority -- they are dedicated.  The average turnout on any given night is under 200, so those 70 can block any zoning article that requires a two-thirds vote.

Usual Suspect:  Mary Streeter

Unfortunately, any pro-development zoning article is viewed as a conspiracy to benefit the rich and powerful while trampling upon the rights of "the people." 

Or the folks with too much time on their hands.

 Jim Oldham at podium, David Webber, beleaguered Planning Board Chair in front

Blarney No Blowover

Blarney Blowout, March 8 "in the area of 374 N. Pleasant Street"

At almost the three month mark from that day of infamy, the court system is still dealing out justice to those (58) "college aged youth" arrested during the Blarney Blowout.

Dana Mahar standing before Judge Payne

On Monday in Eastern Hampshire District Court before Judge John Payne, Dana Mahar, age 22, accepted what now seems to be the standard plea deal:  Case continued without a finding for six months (probation) plus $200 restitution to Amherst Police Department, 20 hours of community service  and a letter of apology.

 Page 2 continues: " ... from the other individuals in the area.  Additionally, during the struggle, the strap on my pepper ball gun broke and caused the gun to fall.  This rendered it temporarily out of service."

Meanwhile, I'm told the (Ed) Davis Report with recommendations on how to avoid another Blarney Blowout should be completed within the next three weeks "or so".

Hey, for $160,000 I guess it's better they spend a little extra time to get it right. 

DUI Dishonor Roll

I guess it's a good thing the majority of drunk driving arrests occur in the late night early morning hours as Meghan M. Gesek, age 21, was taken off the road after crashing her vehicle into a fence on a school playground. 

Affordable Housing Deal is Done

UPDATE:  Tuesday afternoon

Town Officials want it made clear that Amherst currently is not below the 10% threshold for a CH40B development.  The state did a survey about a month ago and the results should be known late summer early fall, where the official number we have to live with will be announced.  

It was agreed, however, that Rolling Green alone could be a deciding factor depending on whether the state allows us to keep all 204 units on the SHI or just credits us the 41.

#####

Original post (from the floor of Town Meeting no less)

Even though one of the better selling points of the town entering into a private deal -- with a $1.25 million entry fee -- to preserve 41 affordable units of housing at Rolling Green Apartments  evaporated like morning mist on a hot summer day, Town Meeting still voted near unanimously to do the deal. 

Let me explain:

For the past generation Rolling Green has accounted for 204 units on our Subsidized Housing Index, a state formula that requires cities and towns to maintain a minimum of 10% of its housing stock as "affordable," or be subject to a developer using Ch40B as a trump card for a mega-development (as long as 25% of the units are "affordable.")

 Even though only 41 of the Rolling Green units were actually affordable, because of a clause in the federal loan agreement used by a developer to finance the facility, all 204 units were counted.  Equity Residential, the current owner, paid off that loan in September, so now that provision is gone. 

With all 204 units counted Amherst stood at 10.8% on the SHI index. With only 41 of the units counting Amherst will register 9% and with all the units lost, 8.5%.  In other words Amherst is now below the minimum SHI index required to stave off a Ch40B development from happening.

But Town Manager John Musante pulled a stunt that would have made P.T. Barnum proud, by announcing that an "offer had been accepted" by the current owner, Equity Residential, from affordable housing developer Beacon Communities.  An offer that required $1.25 million of Amherst tax money that was not yet appropriated.  

Town Meeting then took the bait and voted overwhelmingly to do the deal.

Thus the good news for affordable housing proponents is those 41 Rolling Green units are preserved (although town officials are not sure how many of them are the larger 3 or 4 bedroom units).

The even better news is now that we're (unofficially) below the 10% SHI another affordable housing developer will soon come calling, holding a "build-whatever-you-want" card courtesy of Ch40B. 

Jim Oldham:  $1.25 million is a "little bit of money."

Sophie's (Housing) Choice

Rolling Green Apartments

Having grown up in Amherst, on the wrong side of the tracks, in a single parent household, where my Irish mother had to rent out over half our home, I appreciate the monthly struggle to makes ends meet.

Amherst was not an easy place to afford back in the Kennedy era.  And it's far worse now.

So I sympathize with the tenants of 41 apartments at Rolling Green who face annual rent increases until all the subsidized units hit "market rate."  Which in Amherst only takes one word to describe:  expensive.

But I'm just not sure throwing $1.25 million in public money at the problem is the best solution.

Amherst Town Meeting will be asked to chip in that amount so that a unnamed "highly reputable affordable housing developer" can buy the entire complex -- all 204 units -- just to keep the 41 units forever affordable.

Kind of like the affordable tail wagging the market rate dog.

Two weeks ago Town Meeting approved the Amherst Affordable Housing Trust Fund as a repository for funds to be used to help put together public/private partnerships to jump start affordable housing building projects.

Might that $1.25 million be better spent enticing a brand new development in town rather than helping to purchase units that over 50 years old?

Because what Amherst really needs is more housing -- and LOTS of it.