[This recap is very late.  Sorry for the inconvenience.  S.O'K]

(6/18/07)  The Select Board met Wednesday, June 13th, at 6:00 p.m. at the Middle School, prior to Town Meeting.  Gerry Weiss, Hwei-Ling Greeney, Anne Awad, Rob Kusner andAlisa Brewer were present, as was Town Manager Larry Shaffer.

Public Comment Period

No one spoke during this time.

Article 17 – Library Services

The Select Board talked about their original vote to support giving the $19,000 in overdue fees to the library in the FY08 budget.  As no funding source had yet been identified for that money, they discussed whether they should reconsider their original vote and pursue the library being able to keep those funds next year.  Points made at previous meetings were reiterated regarding the situation being similar to the MassHealth reimbursements that some want the schools to keep, about how keeping the fees is an incentive for staff to collect them, and how a revolving fund for that purpose can only be established with an article on the Annual Town Meeting warrant. 

Ms. Awad said that she assumed such an article could and would be prepared for next year and would likely pass.  She asked if it would be possible to factor in that revenue on the assumption that it would pass.  Mr. Shaffer said that it was possible, and that Town meeting could appropriate this year's revenues toward the account to be established next year.  He said that the Library Board of Trustees might consider using endowment funds to bridge the gap if they were confident they would be paid back next year. 

Library Director Bonnie Isman said that with the expectation of keeping those funds, the library did collect more money than in the past and said that the total exceeded $19,000. 

Mr. Weiss asked what the process would be for making the revolving fund happen next year.  Mr. Shaffer said an article would be drafted and vetted by Town Counsel and all relevant boards, and then be placed on the warrant.

Ms. Greeney said that she felt a larger discussion about the issue including the school reimbursements should be held in order to be fair to all, and supported reconsideration of the Select Board's original vote. 

Mr. Kusner spoke against reconsideration and said that an active group of library supporters would make donations to the library instead of paying the fines. 

Ms. Awad moved to reconsider the original vote, in order to have the issue on the table for discussion.  Ms. Greeney seconded. 

Ms. Isman said the Library Trustees considered the $19,000 to be new revenue and not tax-based support, and said that people were used to paying late fees at video stores, and have taken easily to paying late fees for videos at the library as well. 

Kay Moran of the Finance Committee said that the fees have always gone to the Town's General Fund, and that if the Library received the $19,000 on top of the 1% budget recommendation, it would be an increase of 2.3%, which she said the Finance Committee couldn't justify with the Town and Elementary Schools being held to 1%.  She said that the Town has many services with fees going into the General Fund, and said that a larger discussion about changing that system needs to take place because there could be unanticipated consequences.  She said the $19,000 is already part of the projected reserves for next year.

Mr. Shaffer agreed with the point of it already being part of the revenue stream for next year, and said that without it, another $19,000 would need to be levied.  He said that part of the consideration in establishing a revolving fund was that it provides motivation for entities to collect more revenues.  He said that motivation wasn't a factor in inspection fees, but would be for library fees, and said that he considers any funds that are outside of property taxes to be positive. 

Mr. Kusner said he thought people paid fees willingly to the library, believing those fees were contributing to the library's support, and said it was a bit misleading to have it be otherwise.   Ms. Greeney said she had no objection to the library or schools keeping their fees but wanted to be fair and not change how things work for one but not the other, and wanted to pursue the issue for next year.  Ms. Awad said she agreed with Mr. Kusner but was concerned about the lack of a revenue source in the budget for that money this year, and said she would commit to resolving this for next year so that the library can keep its funds. 

The vote to reconsider the previous vote was 3 in favor, one opposed, with Mr. Kusner voting in opposition.  Ms. Brewer did not vote, as she just arrived at the meeting as the vote was taking place.

Mr. Kusner said he too would work to make it happen for next year and said that it had been intended for this year's warrant, but that the Select Board had signed the warrant a week earlier than it had needed to, and that the language of the warrant article for a revolving fund hadn't been finalized at that point. 

Ms. Awad moved to recommend a library budget of $2,097,199 with $1,461,162 coming from taxation, and that was seconded.  It was determined that the budget number was incorrect because it included the $19,000, though the taxation appropriation did not.  After some discussion, it was determined that they would not fix the budget number, allowing the higher amount in case the library found other sources for that money.   The vote in support of that recommendation was unanimous.

Mr. Kusner then moved that the Select Board support creation of a revolving fund for the library for next year's warrant, and Ms. Awad seconded that.  Ms. Greeney said that she would like to explore other possibilities and not commit to a revolving fund.  The vote in support of Mr. Kusner's motion was 4 in favor, 1 abstention, with Ms. Greeney abstaining. 

Article 21 – Capital Equipment

There was some discussion of the whether or not the Select Board had already voted its position on this article and what was the correct figure.  Ultimately, they voted unanimously to recommend $1,095,378 for the Capital Equipment budget.

Procedural Motion

There was discussion about moving Articles 27 and 28 to the end of the warrant, after Article 31.  Mr. Kusner said they were not ready for discussion at Town Meeting yet, and that Article 28 might be referred back, but he recommended keeping them together in this motion because they provide context to each other.  Mr. Weiss said he would do so, and said that Conservation Director David Ziomek had contacted him about this. 

Municipal Partnership Act Resolution

Mr. Weiss read the letter the Select Board was sending to Beacon Hill in support of the Governor's Municipal Partnership Act.  The vote to sign the letter was unanimous.

Walpole Letter Regarding Suspension of Chapter 40B

Ms. Greeney moved that the Select Board send a letter in support of suspending the part of the law that deals with accepting Chapter 40B applications.  Ms. Brewer questioned why the Select Board would do that without having heard from the Planning Board or the Fair Housing Partnership Committee about their opinions of Walpole's letter on the subject.  Ms. Brewer said that some towns oppose 40B because they haven't met the 10% affordable housing guideline, and wondered if Amherst wanted to ally with such communities in speaking out against it. 

There was discussion about the harsh penalties for falling below the 10% guideline and that that is the frustration that Walpole is and Amherst would be expressing, and about how the regulations can be used in friendly and unfriendly ways, and that some parties have a vested interest in keeping the law onerous in order to use it to their advantage.  Ms. Brewer suggested that Amherst send a letter that says Amherst supports affordable housing and has achieved the 10% requirement, and we also have concerns about the Chapter 40B penalties.

It was agreed that Ms. Brewer would write up a paragraph to that effect and send it to Ms. Greeney who would bring it and the Walpole letter to the Fair Housing Partnership meeting the next day for discussion.  It was hoped that with input and a recommendation from that committee, that the Select Board might be able to vote on such a letter at its next meeting.  Ms. Greeney withdrew her original motion about the Select Board sending a letter now. 

Elementary Schools FY07 Budget Update

Superintendent Jere Hochman said that he had reported to the School Committee that the Elementary Schools would be closing the fiscal year with unencumbered funds.  He said that variables such as utility costs and changes to insurance plan selections had contributed to the surplus, and that he was confident that the schools would be able to purchase needed supplies and return about $120,000 to the Town.

Mr. Shaffer said that such funds would return to the Town and go into Free Cash.  He said that it could be viewed as reducing the burden of the additional $238,000 regional assessment by half. 

Mr. Hochman said that the School Committee's perspective is that that money is equal to about the 1% figure of the additional 2% assessment, and said that he didn't know how much the Town had expected to get back from the Schools, and if this number was high or low compared to what has occurred in the past.  He said he wasn't sure what the total of unencumbered funds would be, but that $120,000 would go back to the Town and the rest would be spent on supplies.  He said these were one-time funds resulting from cost cutting, lower than expected utility costs, keeping vacant positions unfilled, and people choosing cheaper insurance plans or opting out of the system to go with a spouse's insurance plan instead.  He emphasized that such funds would not be available in the future.  Ms. Isman said the Libraries also return such unspent funds to the Town at the end of the year. 

Vince O'Connor said the extra money going back to the Town made it more important that the Town give the schools their Mass Health reimbursements, calling it “a matter of honor.” Mr. Shaffer said that as he understood it, that could only be done through the creation of a revolving fund, which could not happen this year. 

Mr. O'Connor asked if any of the money would be spent on teachers.  Mr. Hochman said the Schools are feeling confident that they will be able to cover their most pressing needs for teachers, and that it is the priority.

Committee Appointments

Mr. Kusner recommended the appointment of Matteo Ramos to the Human Rights Commission.  Mr. Kusner said Mr. Ramos is a student at the High School.  The vote to approve his appointment was unanimous.

Mr. Weiss recommended the appointment of Fran VanTreese and Mr. Kusner to the Norwottuck Rail Trail Advisory Committee.  He said that it is not a regular Town committee, but rather is made up of two representatives each from Amherst, Northampton and Hadley, and that they work with Connecticut River Greenway staff and are the interface between the government body managing the Rail Trail and those that use it.  He said that it is not unusual to have a Select Board member serving in such a capacity, noting that Ms. Awad is on the PVTA Advisory Committee.  Ms. Awad also noted that former Select Board member Carl Seppala was on the Amherst Redevelopment Authority (ARA) during his Select Board tenure.   The vote to approve Ms. VanTreese and Mr. Kusner was unanimous.

Mr. Weiss noted that there is a vacancy on the ARA.  Mr. Shaffer said that Town Counsel has advised that such a vacancy gets filled in a way similar to how the School Committee vacancy was recently filled.  It was noted that there is a timeline involved in such processes and that the ARA vacancy is longstanding.  Mr. Shaffer said that he would prefer to have the ARA involved in the process of filling that vacancy, but that if he doesn't receive word from them quickly, that the responsibility for filling the vacancy will rest with the Select Board.  Mr. Kusner said that the vacancy had existed at the time of the Town election, and that the ballot should have said to vote for more than one person.  Ms. Greeney suggested that Mr. Shaffer contact the ARA Chair.  Ms. Brewer suggested using the date of the Town Counsel's e-mail on the topic – June 5th – or its receipt the next day as the date that starts the 30-day process.  Mr. Weiss said Ms. Brewer's suggestion would be fine with him as long as that would be legal. 

Article 11 – Subsidized Housing Inventory

Mr. O'Connor said that discussion of this article, of which he is the petitioner, was awaiting a report from the Planning Board.  Mr. Shaffer said he would look into that.

Article 33 – Energy Conservation by Maintaining Dark Night Sky

Mr. O'Connor said he had received the Town Commercial Relations Committee's report on this article, of which he is also petitioner, but had not received Town Counsel's opinion.  Mr. Shaffer said he would send that to Mr. O'Connor and the full Select Board.

The meeting adjourned at 7:34.  The next Select Board Meeting is scheduled for 6:15 p.m. in the Middle School music room, prior to Town Meeting.

-- Stephanie O'Keeffe