The Select Board met Monday, December 4th.

Chair Anne Awad opened the meeting. Rob Kusner lead off with an announcement that the new bus route 32 running from Puffer’s Pond to Atkins Farms is now running. He also praised the Department of Public Works for the new bike lanes on East Pleasant Street.

During the Public Comment period, Sonja Bak read a long statement criticizing the Amherst Survival Center for controlling access to goods and services and “life support.” Bill Elsasser recommended that the Select Board or Town Manager create and moderate a forum on ACTV for discussion of community issues.

The Select Board then addressed their consent calendar, which appeared to consist of approving the minutes of November 27th’s meeting, signing an International Human Rights Day declaration, and granting one-day liquor licenses. The minutes were approved. Ms. Awad announced that Human Rights Day is December 10th and said that the Human Rights Day declaration would be read aloud on the steps of Town Hall, at a time to be announced on the Town web site. Hwei-Ling Greeney wanted to offer a “friendly amendment” to the declaration, citing concerns about grammar, language and punctuation. Mr. Kusner read the declaration into the Public Record. Ms. Greeney cited concerns about it referencing “citizens” when Amherst’s population includes many non-citizens as well, and suggested the term "citizens" be changed to “residents.” All agreed with that suggestion. The vote to proclaim December 10th as Human Rights Day was 4 in favor, 1 abstention, with Ms. Greeney noting that she abstained because the changes she recommended “would make (the declaration) a better document.”

Health Insurance Update

The Town’s Human Resources Director Kay Zlogar and Finance Director John Musante updated the Select Board on the state of the Town’s health insurance situation. Ms. Zlogar said that during the open enrollment period many employees chose to switch from the HMO option to the PPO option, which is expected to be a cost-savings for those individuals. Additionally, employees will now be able to purchase prescription drugs from Canada.

Ms. Zlogar and Mr. Musante described the worsening deficit in the Health Care Trust Fund, due to an unusually high number of expensive claims, which will require an increase in premiums as of January 1st amounting to 6% for the second half of the fiscal year for employees and employers. The employers’ share will total an additional $400,000, with $250,000 being the Town, elementary schools and libraries’ share, which Mr. Musante said would be requested at spring Town Meeting as a transfer from Free Cash. He said the remaining $150,000 is the Region’s share.

There was discussion about alternatives to self-insurance and the State’s pending municipal plan. Town Manager Larry Shaffer explained that regarding questions of whether the Canadian drug program had legal implications for the Town: because the employees would do the purchasing and then get reimbursed, rather than the Town itself doing the purchasing, that is said to comport with the law.

There was much discussion about how the large number of expensive claims was driving the increases, how those figures compared to recent years, and how alternatives to the current self-insurance program would not be less expensive, though the situation is always being monitored.

Town Meeting and Election Calendar

The Select Board was to approve proposed dates for spring Town elections and Town Meeting. Ms. Awad explained that she, Mr. Shaffer, Joyce Karpinski, the Moderator and the Finance Committee Chair coordinate the desired dates with other factors such as availability of the school auditorium. Mr. Kusner was concerned that the election date was a week earlier than last year, but that Town Meeting would start the same time, April 30th. He said that people have expressed a desire to start Town Meeting sooner because it goes so long. There was much discussion about how dates can be added or dropped as needed, and that many deadlines and schedules are taken into account. Eventually the proposed dates were unanimously approved.

[Calendar added 12/6/06 2:30 p.m.]

Public Hearing Continuation – Tax Classification

Ms. Awad explained that the Select Board needed to set the tax rate and was considering three rate change possibilities: a Residential Exemption, a split rate for commercial versus residential, and a small-business exemption. Mr. Weiss read from his Bulletin column on the subject by way of explanation, and said that he found that the Residential Exemption and the split tax rate, which typically go hand-in-hand, work well in places such as Somerville, Brookline and Cambridge. Mr. Kusner raised the issue of public housing units and Mr. Weiss explained that the Town-owned elderly and disabled units pay no taxes and hence wouldn’t be affected by the anticipated rent increases as landlords pass along their higher tax rates to tenants; the Town-owned family units make a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) at half the regular Town tax rate, and would be affected by potential increases.

David Burgess, Principal Assessor for the Town, explained that in cities such as Mr. Weiss cited, there is a large difference in the split rate between the commercial and residential sectors, so the Residential Exemption has little impact on renters and others who don’t qualify and are thus affected by the higher rates – the rates aren’t that high anyway.

There was discussion about other tax assistance programs for elderly residents who have difficulty with the tax burden, as well as clarification from Mr. Burgess about why no open space discount would be included in the Residential Exemption: that’s because the Assessor’s office already discounts the assessment on unbuildable land by 20%.

Ms. Greeney stated her opposition to the RE proposal because of the negative effect on renters. Ms. Awad noted that the Town had to comply with State guidelines on exemptions and couldn’t craft one that specifically excluded rental housing. Mr. Kusner noted that he has heard no requests to create these changes, but wondered if there was any point at which a large expensive property should be expected to pay proportionally more.

Peter Ward, a retired school teacher and 35-year resident of Puffton Village, opposed the RE, because he was certain landlords would pass along the increases, and felt that amounted to renters paying more than their “fair share.”

Larry Kelley noted that the proposed changes would give him a small benefit as a homeowner but would be devastating to him as a business owner. He also spoke of his past experience as an apartment renter, and how renting can be a stepping-stone to homeownership. He talked about the tax base being 90% residential and 10% commercial and said the commercial base “is dying.”

Mr. Weiss said he agreed with Mr. Kelley up until the part about businesses dying. He said our commercial tax base percentage is the same or higher than almost 200 other towns in the State and that the idea of businesses being worse-off here is “not borne out tax-wise.”

Nancy Gittleman, an owner-occupier landlord, said that she can’t pass along all increases to tenants, saying that one can “max-out” on what can be competitively and fairly charged for rent.

Dan Feldman, a homeowner, business owner and landlord said he opposed dividing the rates among residents, and spoke of the expense of operating a business locally. He cautioned the Board to weigh the pros and cons of the decision carefully.

The Board voted unanimously not to split the tax rate between residential and commercial properties.

Discussion continued about the proposed Residential Exemption. Mr. Kusner noted that it was not intended to pit owners against renters and that the Board was trying to understand what other towns do with such an exemption and why.

Phil Jackson cautioned against underestimating the number of people who are “house rich and cash poor,” and said if people are driven out of town by the high taxes, fewer houses would be owner-occupied. He said everyone was looking to maximize their profit with their housing investment, and people who buy bigger houses have taken on a bigger risk and pay more taxes than those with smaller houses. He called shifting the tax burden to larger homes “a misguided social policy, not a fiscal policy.”

The Board voted unanimously against creating a Residential Exemption.

After brief discussion about wanting more information for the future about exemptions for small businesses, the Board voted unanimously not to create that exemption this year either, and no rate changes were made.

Return to Untimed Items

Ms. Awad suggested that Board members make editing suggestions to the Human Rights Declaration which can be incorporated into next year’s document. Mr. Weiss brought up the street closings which had been approved for last week’s Merry Maple event. The event was postponed until this week, so they would need to amend that previous motion, and they did. License renewals were then addressed. Ms. Greeney was concerned that she didn’t have enough information about the businesses and didn’t know if they had committed any violations. Others assured her that if there were violations, it would be noted, and that violations come in and are addressed by the Board as they occur. She requested a summary report for next year from the Town Manager stating that all the businesses up for renewal are free of violations. The licenses were then renewed in a unanimous vote. In a separate unanimous vote without discussion, a common victualler license was granted to Pho Noodle Soup.

Committee Appointments

The position of clerk for committee appointments rotated from Robie Hubley to Ms. Greeney on December 1st, creating some confusion about who was offering the current candidates – Jeffrey Blaustein for Town Commercial Relations Committee and Richard Mathews for the 250th Anniversary Committee. Mr. Hubley put forth their names and handled their process due to when this meeting’s agenda needed to be completed. Ms. Greeney was concerned that they fell under her clerkship and would be “her responsibility,” but that she hadn’t interviewed them. Others pointed out that everyone votes for the candidates, so they share responsibility as a group. It was also clarified that any Board member may suggest a nominee to the committee clerk at any time. After Mr. Hubley assured the Chair that these nominees had gone through the normal process, their appointments were unanimously confirmed.

Town-wide Traffic Calming

Ms. Awad described the Select Board’s role as “keepers of the public way,” and said that there has been a big increase in the number of complaints and concerns about traffic issues that have been brought to the Board’s attention recently. She said it has been their policy to refer the concerns to the Public Works Committee, and Committee Chair Rob Crowner and DPW Superintendent Guilford Mooring were invited to give an update on that situation.

There was much discussion about speed limit setting and enforcement rules, and the relative merits of different traffic management “tools.” Mr. Mooring said that the Town lacks a specific policy on how to manage concerns as they come into the DPW, and that they are not able currently to deal with them in a consistent manner, due to staffing and other issues. Mr. Shaffer agreed that the lack of a standard policy has been a problem but that a new system is being attempted. The system calls for a concern coming in to the Select Board and being referred to the Public Works committee. The committee then collects and analyzes data, and vets the various suggestions through their own committee and the Public Transportation Committee, and through neighborhood meetings. The recommendation is then “field tested” and comes back to the Select Board for a formal change. Mr. Shaffer said that process will continue to be fine-tuned.

Various aspects of the speed limit formalities and regulation at the State level prompted Mr. Hubley to recommend that the Town try to suggest new legislation to change those laws. This concept segued into an untimed item from Ms. Greeney regarding increasing the committee’s size from 5 to 7 members in order to better address these and other concerns.

Vince O’Connor, a member of the committee, said they had been trying to fill a vacancy on the committee for a year and a half and that he had concerns about expanding membership if it meant adding people who were there only for issues of special personal concern. The pros and cons of how more members would affect participation and quorums, as well as possibly merging the committee with the Public Transportation committee were discussed.

Mr. Kusner recommended delaying a motion to expand the committee until next week, when it could be considered in the context of actual candidates and a new proposed committee charge. That was agreed to, and by way of promoting potential committee members, Ms. Greeney offered to provide homemade dumplings to anyone who calls her at 253-4882 with the correct answers to three “True or False” questions about public works: that the Town has 150 miles of sidewalk; that the Town plows all the sidewalks; and that property owners can be fined $10 for not clearing sidewalks.

Proposed Haskins View Development on East Leverett Road

Ms. Awad introduced this topic by reminding everyone that the Select Board cannot duplicate the work of the Planning Board. She then recognized Sheila Seaman, a UMass professor and Leverett resident.

Professor Seaman gave a detailed presentation about her concerns about water issues surrounding the proposed development of 27 houses with 27 individual wells and septic systems on this property. She described the geological complexity of the site and the unpredictability of the quantity and quality of water, due to complicated rock formations and the unknown rate of recharge for the aquifer. She suggested that the hydrologic study done by the property owner was inadequate for the complexity of the site. She also mentioned the possibility that a capped landfill in Leverett could contaminate that water supply, and suggested that while unlikely, a public health disaster was possible. She asked that the Select Board send a memo to the Planning Board about these concerns.

Ms. Awad asked if Professor Seaman is an abutter to the property. Professor Seaman said that she lives half a mile away and her concern about the property originated through her involvement with the Rattlesnake Gutter Trust, which has been trying to establish a wildlife corridor there.

Select Board members wondered about their authority in the matter, particularly in regard to their role as the water and sewer commissioners. Mr. Hubley requested that the Town Manager prepare a memo outlining the Select Board’s areas of responsibility and options over such matters.

Mr. Shaffer suggested that it would be premature for the Select Board to take any action before the Planning Board has completed its regulatory authority over the matter. He said that the Select Board would have the option of taking action against the Planning Board if they were to oppose the Planning Board’s decision. He also said that there are options he can pursue with Planning and Board of Health staff, who are under his management.

Mr. Kusner suggested a memo of concern to the Planning Board could be helpful, but if it would be considered interference then it shouldn’t be pursued. Ms. Awad suggested that having indicated the Select Board’s concern to the Town Manager, that this might be action enough.

Mr. Shaffer said that he is always looking for options to shield or protect the Select Board and the Town, and advised that no action be taken yet by the Board. He said he would pursue conversations with Town staff.

The Board continued to consider its responsibilities and options. Mr. Hubley reiterated his desire for a memo outlining such. Mr. O’Connor spoke to disagree with the idea of waiting until after the Planning Board has made its decision, because at that point, suing them is the only option and that would not be desirable. He said that the rarity of having a subdivision of this size without Town water and sewer made it an anomaly in the usual planning and notification process, and that this probably merits Select Board involvement. The Board ultimately took no action but expected to have a presence at Wednesday’s Planning Board meeting on this topic.

Pioneer Valley Planning Organization’ Metropolitan Planning Organization

Ms. Awad said that the Board needed to vote for a voting member and an alternate member for the Metropolitan Planning Organization, from a list of nominees. After brief discsussion, they unanimously voted for Northampton’s Mary Clare Higgins as the primary member and Hadley’s Gerry Devine as the alternate.

Pioneer Valley Planning Commission – Memorandum of Agreement for Valley Vision II

The Board had many concerns about signing the Memorandum of Agreement for PVPC’s Valley Visions II. There were concerns about the language, about the goals of the entity it would be creating, about whether they knew enough about it and what sort of participation it would require. Concerns were noted about the kinds of growth it would be encouraging, and the ratio of participation for those in the building trades versus the conservation community, and the lack of transportation engineers. Ms. Greeney pointed out that they could rescind participation at any time and that other citizens could be encouraged to participate, but the sense of the body was that there was concern about signing on to something the group didn’t have the energy to monitor or participate in fully. Ms. Awad suggested that no action be taken at this time.

Long-term Revenue Enhancement

Ms. Greeney suggested deferring this topic until the following week because it was getting late, but discussion commenced. She wanted the group to have some preliminary discussion about the possibility of a tax override, so that she and Mr. Hubley might report back to the Budget Planning Group on the Select Board’s position. She said the Finance Committee was being asked to explore the pros and cons of an override and that all involved groups were being asked to discuss where they stand on the topic. Because it would be the Select Board’s responsibility to put such a question on the ballot, she said that they should take a leadership role in the discussion.

Ms. Awad said that the Finance Committee’s subcommittee on the subject wouldn’t be ready to give their report until January 15th and that the Select Board’s leadership role should be in determining budget priorities that fit the 1% increase. She said that there isn’t enough information available yet to have such a discussion.

Ms. Greeney suggested that they discuss budget enhancement instead, and offered to put that off until next time also. Mr. Shaffer reiterated the importance of the Finance Committee’s subcommittee information. Mr. Kusner noted that adjusting the percentage of expenses put toward the capital and operating budgets might be helpful also, even though it “doesn’t grow the pie,” and noted that the JCPC would be meeting December 14th. Ms. Greeney suggested that long-term options need some attention before all discussion turns to the FY08 budget starting in January. Mr. Shaffer agreed to prepare some general recommendations for discussion at next week’s meeting.

The meeting adjourned a little before 10:00 p.m.

-- Stephanie O'Keeffe