(7/26/07)  The Select Board met Monday, July 23rd at 6:30 p.m.  Gerry Weiss, Rob Kusner, Anne Awad and Alisa Brewer were present, and Hwei-Ling Greeney was absent.  Town Manager Larry Shaffer was also present. 

Public Comment

No one spoke at this time.

Announcements

Mr. Weiss said that a pending bill in the State legislature – H2531 – sought to have local Fire Department staffing determined by collective bargaining.  He said that the Massachusetts Municipal Association was warning that the bill could create financial problems for communities, and he said that Ellen Story should be contacted about it.  Mr. Shaffer said he had already left a message for her expressing his own opposition to the bill.  Mr. Shaffer said he is a strong advocate for safety but that he is concerned the bill would take away the Town's ability “to control our own fate.”  He cited the mutual aid programs with other local fire departments as being helpful and providing all necessary additional resources.  Mr. Shaffer said he will urge that Ms. Story and the House of Representatives not endorse the bill.

Ms. Awad encouraged people to apply to the Nyeri, Kenya Sister City Committee, and said the aim is for it to meet in September.  She encouraged anyone interested in more information to call her at home at 253-1130 or to leave a message for her with the Select Board office. 

Mr. Kusner said that the Select Board had received a request from a citizen to put any returned FY07 money toward the elementary schools' budget to help address class size issues and other budget priorities.  He said that the Select Board might consider a warrant article to that effect for fall Town Meeting, and wanted it brought up now because this is when teacher hiring occurs.  Mr. Weiss asked if Mr. Kusner had contacted the School Committee or the Superintendent.  Mr. Kusner said he had tried, but some members were away, and said he would contact the School Committee Chair about it if the Select Board approved.  Mr. Weiss noted that the letter in question had also been sent to the School Committee.  Mr. Kusner said that this concept had been discussed publicly, and that he was not advocating for it, but wanted to help to put it on the fall Town Meeting warrant.

Public Hearing – Liquor License:  Arigato Steakhouse

Raymond Conners identified himself as the “Manager designate” of Arigato Steakhouse and Arigato Sushi.  He said the new steakhouse expects to be ready for inspection in September.  The restaurant will be located in an alley off the parking garage, near Pho Noodle Soup, below the Arigato Sushi restaurant. 

There was much talk about fire safety, with Ms. Awad expressing concerns about past fires in the building's history, and Mr. Kusner expressing concerns about whether alarms in surrounding units would be triggered by the restaurant's alarms.  Mr. Shaffer assured the Select Board that considerable time and effort had been devoted to issues of fire prevention and separation, and sprinklers and alarms, during the permitting process for this establishment.   

The Board voted to approve the liquor license for Arigato Steakhouse, with 4 in favor and 1 absent.

Haskins View Self-Help Grant

Mr. Shaffer addressed the Select Board on this topic, because David Ziomek, Director of Conservation and Planning, could not attend the meeting.  Mr. Shaffer said that Barry Roberts was working on a 13-parcel subdivision off of East Leverett Road, and that the Town was in negotiations with Mr. Roberts to purchase parcels 7-13 of the planned development with the help of a self-help grant for almost $500,000.  He said that the grant application is due July 27th and requires two appraisals, and the appraisals are expected to come in between $500,000 and $700,000.  He said that a purchase price “within the framework” of those numbers had been discussed with Mr. Roberts, and that money in excess of the self-help grant might come from Community Preservation Act funds, if CPAC and Town Meeting endorsed that option.

Mr. Shaffer said the seven parcels the Town was seeking to acquire comprised 40.5 acres on the western portion of the property.  He said the other six parcels still available for development made up 14.5 acres. 

Ms. Awad said she was surprised that the grant money would be aimed at parcels 7-13.  She said she had hiked that land and said she thought that development and creation of wells would be difficult there.  She said she found parcels 1-6 most appealing, and said that they represented a turtle habitat, and said development meant “obliterating their breeding ground.”   She said that she was disappointed that the identified parcels were the focus of the self-help grant.

Mr. Shaffer said he understood that parcels 1-6 were more desirable, but that they were already being marketed and sold, and that if the Town wanted them, the price would be much higher than the other parcels. 

Ms. Awad said her other concern was to have the Comprehensive Plan done and to see its priorities before committing CPAC money.  She noted that completion of the updated open space plan was important for the Comprehensive Plan. 

Mr. Weiss asked if the self-help grant funds could be transferred to other parcels, or had to be used for this land.  Mr. Shaffer said the appraisals for this land support the grant application, and that appraisals of the other parcels would probably be necessary to use those funds elsewhere.  Mr. Weiss wondered whether they might be used on other parcels of higher priority in other areas of town. 

Vince O'Connor of the Community Preservation Act Committee said that he understands that an abutter is privately seeking to preserve one of the lots among the parcels 1-6.  He said that CPAC funding for this land had been requested by the Conservation Commission for the Annual Town Meeting, and that CPAC wasn't able to recommend it because there were not enough funds available.  He predicted that about $100,000 more would be available next year with the State matching Amherst's additional half-percent increase to the CPA surcharge.  He said that CPAC's understanding was that the Conservation Commission strongly supported this request, and he said that CPAC would have supported it if sufficient funds had been available.  He said that the property was part of the regulatory process at the time the request was made, making the situation more complicated, and said that if the timing had been different it might have had a higher funding priority. He said that CPAC was persuaded by a map that showed the parcels connecting two other areas of conservation land, creating a significant block of protected space.       

Mr. Kusner said he understood that people were working to leverage additional CPA funds from Leverett to preserve additional parcels to the north of the ones in questions, and said that this was a good opportunity to work with Leverett on that effort.  He said he shared Ms. Awad's mixed feelings on the use of the grant for this purpose, but asked if a letter from the Select Board supporting the self-help grant itself would be helpful.  Mr. Shaffer said it wasn't required, but because the Select Board is the Town's policy-making body, he would welcome it. 

There was additional discussion about the motion only supporting the grant, not the prioritization of its use, and then a vote was taken.  The Select Board voted 3 in favor, 1 opposed, and 1 absent to support the self-help grant application.  Ms. Awad voted to oppose. 

Approval of Past Minutes

With much discussion, the minutes of a number of past meetings were approved.

There was also discussion about having staff, perhaps on a rotating basis, take the minutes of the meetings, instead of the Town Manager doing so. 

Tree Removal

Mr. Shaffer said a number of petitions had been filed protesting the removal of cherry trees on North Pleasant Street for the DPW reconstruction project, and two Norway Maples and a Linden on Amity Street for the Jones Library reconstruction project.  He said that Tree Warden Alan Snow had held public hearings on the issues, and there was no resolution to the petitions.  He said that Chapter 87 provides for the Select Board to then conduct its own public hearing on the matter, and he recommended that they do so.  He said that petitioner Nancy Gordon would be away in early August, and suggested that they schedule the hearing for a time when she can attend. 

There was much discussion about potential scheduling times in relation to the construction projects, the public's and Mr. Kusner's summer availability, people's feelings about Norway Maples, how other places deal with trees and sidewalks, and the use of “structural soils” for future tree plantings.  Eventually it was decided by a vote of 4 in favor, 1 absent, that a public hearing about the cherry trees would be held at 6:30 p.m. on August 20th.  The hearing on the Norway Maples and the Linden will be scheduled separately. 

Chapter 61A – 539 Market Hill Road

Mr. Shaffer said the Select Board had received notice from an Attorney Lieberman about a portion of the parcel at 539 Market Hill Road being subject to Chapter 61A.  He said the attorney had provided an offer for the Town to purchase parcel 1, which is part of an “Approval Not Required” (ANR) subdivision plan.  He said that the parcel is 200 feet to the east of Atkins Reservoir in Shutesbury.  He said that the Town's Water Director and Town Engineer had looked at the parcel and determined that surface water doesn't run to the reservoir from the site, and that a ground water test had not been conducted.  Mr. Shaffer said that while the parcel was not of the highest priority, potential groundwater and security issues and the site's proximity to the reservoir made its acquisition worthy of serious consideration.  He said there aren't many opportunities to acquire such parcels around the drinking water supply.  He said only a small parcel is available under Chapter 61A, and said that it wouldn't make sense to acquire parcel 1 and not parcel 2, and also suggested a conservation restriction on the other parcels.   Mr. Weiss noted that such an acquisition would be financed by water fund money.

Mr. Kusner spoke of Amherst's drinking water supply being irreplaceable, and how the reservoirs are already compromised by septic system effluent as well as pharmaceutical and chemical contaminants that he said can't be removed, and that end up in the drinking water. He said the cost to acquire the land now would be much less than if construction were to occur there.  He moved that the Town conduct a hydrogeologic study of these parcels and those at other reservoirs to determine which have surface and ground water entering the reservoirs; to complete the studies by September 30th; and to have those results before considering the Town's right of first refusal on the properties.

Ms. Awad said she wasn't ready to second the motion without knowing more about what such a study would entail and what it would cost, and said she was skeptical it could be done by September 30th.

Mr. Kusner said more information about sewage percolation of ground water was needed on this and other parcels in order to make informed decisions about their acquisition.  Ms. Awad asked about the timeline on the process, and Mr. Weiss asked when an opinion would be received from Town Counsel.  Mr. Shaffer said he did not know but would find out.  Ms. Brewer seconded the motion for the purpose of continuing discussion.

Mr. Kusner said he didn't want the study to cost a lot of money and hoped it could be done in-house, and suggested seeking the assistance of a consultant or someone from UMass.  He suggested focusing on this parcel for now and said that the university may have already studied this parcel and might have the desired information.  Mr. Weiss suggested tabling the motion and checking with the Town Engineer.  Ms. Awad said she wanted more than just a report on August 1st; she said she wanted information and the ability to move forward with it. 

Mr. Kusner said that this parcel had come before the board a year ago, when there was no potential buyer or development.  He said the board owed it to the property owner to start the process and said that if they had started a year ago, they would have more information.  He said the information is important for all watershed areas, and said that he withdrew his motion.

Mr. O'Connor talked about the geology departments at UMass and Amherst College being valuable information resources and said that people might be surprised how much of the land in Amherst and other towns that these departments have thoroughly studied.  He said the area in question was important because it doesn't have Town water or sewer service and that all development there requires individual septic systems.

Amherst Redevelopment Authority Vacancy

Mr. Weiss noted that the board had discussed the ARA vacancy several weeks ago, and that that body was supposed to provide the Select Board with formal written notification of it.  Mr. Shaffer said that the ARA did vote at its last meeting to provide the Select Board with written notification, and said that Chapter 41 of Mass. General Laws says that such notification triggers the timeline for appointing a replacement.  Mr. Shaffer said that he had not yet received notification, and had requested it from the ARA Chair.  Mr. Shaffer said he hoped to have a joint meeting between the Select Board and the ARA to appoint the new member.  Mr. Weiss asked if the meeting could be scheduled before the notification is received.  Mr. Shaffer said he wanted to have formal notice and hoped an e-mail would suffice. 

Ms. Brewer said that she had a different understanding of the process, and that having not yet received notification, the matter was now in the Select Board's hands.  She said she believed it was both legally and sensibly within their rights to proceed. 

Mr. Kusner agreed and said that a joint meeting to fill a School Committee vacancy was appropriate because that is an entirely elected body, but he said that because the ARA also has Governor's appointees, it was not the same situation and shouldn't require a parallel process.  He said that his recommendation was for the Select Board to appoint the interim member to serve until the next election.  He said that the last election should have included that vacancy on the ballot, and because it didn't, “calls into question whether the participation of the currently-elected members is appropriate.”

Mr. Weiss agreed, and said he thought the Select Board had already re-set the clock on the process more than a month ago, and that a special meeting was not needed.  Mr. Kusner said that one person had submitted a CAF for the position, and that he hoped others would do so as well, so that there is more than one candidate for the seat.

Mr. Shaffer said he wants to see the ARA fully-populated and hoped that their participation in the election of a new member would be a new starting point for that group.  He said he understood the Select Board's statutory obligations in the matter, and agreed that under a strict reading of the statute, they were not currently in compliance. 

Ms. Awad asked Mr. Shaffer to explain the ARA's role.  Mr. Shaffer said it is a separate authority under the Town's umbrella with the ability to identify and undertake projects.  He said its heritage is with the Boltwood Garage.  He said that candidates are asked to fill out a CAF in order to understand the responsibilities of board and committee members.  Ms. Awad emphasized that those seeking more information could contact the Town Manager's office for additional materials and to learn about the nature of the ARA's work.

Ms. Brewer clarified that a joint meeting would not be held, and suggested assigning the election to a specific agenda time.  By a vote of 4 in favor, 1 absent, the Select Board supported holding an election to fill the ARA vacancy at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 1st. 

Select Board Representation on JCPC, BCG and the Chamber's Government Affairs Committee

Mr. Weiss recapped the last meeting's discussion about which members wish to represent the Select Board on the JCPC, BCG and Chamber of Commerce's Government Affairs Committee.  He said that he had suggested to Ms. Awad that she replace him as a Zoning Subcommittee representative, a position which Mr. Kusner indicated that he would also like to continue. 

Mr. Weiss said he had suggested to Finance Director John Musante that perhaps two members from each body weren't necessary for JCPC, and that one might suffice, and Mr. Musante had said he would think about it.  Mr. Weiss said that JCPC is very well-run and that Mr. Musante does most of the work.   Ms. Brewer agreed that it is well-run, said that she had served on it for three years already as a School Committee rep and didn't wish to continue serving there.  She said it was important that the information from the JCPC meetings get relayed back to the representatives' home committees. 

Mr. Kusner reiterated his point from the previous meeting's discussion about the benefits of appointing alternate members to serve in case of absences. 

Ms. Brewer said that she appreciated the group waiting on these decisions while she was away.  She said she would be willing to serve on the Chamber's Government affairs committee, but said that as the newest Select Board member, she would defer to the choices of more senior members.  She said she had great reservations about serving on the BCG and found the group to be ineffective.

Ms. Awad agreed with Ms. Brewer's BCG assessment, but said they might try it for another year.  Ms. Awad said that Mr. Shaffer's new budget process plan might make BCG unnecessary, and said that it had been an idea worth trying, but it didn't have to continue, and might move to disband itself.  Mr. Kusner agreed, but said that he was willing to try serving on it and hoped it could work effectively. 

Per the question of one rep or two on JCPC, Mr. Shaffer said he hadn't discussed that with Mr. Musante, but thought it could work as well either way.  Mr. O'Connor said it worked as well as it has because of how it is structured, and the relatively large number of people who become educated about the capital budget because of it.  He said that structure has helped to make the process non-controversial, and he encouraged them to not change that.  Ms. Awad suggested telling the group that the Select Board would send one representative, unless the meetings were moved to 5:00 p.m., and then she would attend as well.

CPAC Funds for Town Hall Repairs

Mr. Weiss said he believed that JCPC supported using CPAC funds for Town Hall repairs.  Mr. Kusner said the group had voted to meet with the Historical Commission to discuss the possibility.  Mr. Weiss said he thought there was also support among the group for it.  He said he had spoken with Planning Director Jonathan Tucker about arranging for a meeting with the Historical Commission.  It was suggested that the two bodies have a joint meeting on a night in August when both already have meetings scheduled.  Mr. Weiss said he would try for August 13th, so that Mr. Kusner could participate. 

It was suggested that CPAC be added to the meeting as well.  Mr. O'Connor said the CPAC Chair's policy has been to not be involved with initiating projects, but only to receive them.  Mr. O'Connor said that a legal opinion should be sought about using CPAC funds in this manner, because there is a specific prohibition against using the money to replace Town funding. 

Committee Appointments

Mr. Shaffer recommended the reappointment of Sandra Sulsky to the Board of Health.  The recommendation was approved by a vote of 4 in favor, 1 absent. 

Mr. Kusner recommended the appointment of Hope Crolius to the Amherst Cultural Council.  The recommendation was approved by a vote of 4 in favor, 1 absent. 

Mr. Kusner recommended the following reappointments to the 250th Anniversary Celebration Committee:  Isabelle Callahan, Daria D'Arienzo, Lyle Denit, Ann Grose, Dolly Jolly, Wendy Kohler, Joan Ross Logan, Richard Mathews, Martha Nelson-Patrick, Janice Ratner, Barry Roberts, Fiona Russell, Adrienne Terrizzi, Patricia Wagner, David Yaukey and Stan Ziomek.  The recommendation was approved by a vote of 4 in favor, 1 absent. 

Mr. Kusner recommended the reappointment of Anita Licis to the Design Review Board.  The recommendation was approved by a vote of 4 in favor, 1 absent. 

Mr. Kusner recommended the reappointment of Nancy Gordon to the Electricity Deregulation Study Committee.  Ms. Awad asked if that committee was still active and functioning.  Mr. Shaffer said he had met with them several months ago, and said that they are active and knowledgeable and are working to make the town more energy independent.  The recommendation was approved by a vote of 4 in favor, 1 absent. 

Mr. Kusner recommended the reappointment of Jean Haggerty and Claude Tellier to the Housing Partnership/Fair Housing Committee.  The recommendation was approved by a vote of 4 in favor, 1 absent. 

Mr. Kusner recommended the reappointment of Michael Kent to the Hampshire Regional Emergency Planning Committee.  The recommendation was approved by a vote of 4 in favor, 1 absent. 

Mr. Kusner recommended the reappointment of Nancy Bess and Carolyn Platt to the Kanegasaki Sister City Committee.  He noted that more members were needed for this and the La Paz Centro Sister City Committee, as well as the Nyeri, Kenya Sister City Committee that Ms. Awad had mentioned earlier. 

There was some uncertainty as to whether Ms. Bess and Ms. Platt had already served two terms.  Ms. Awad said that in order for the sister city committees to be dynamic, they need to have an influx of new people with new ideas, or else the committee and the sister city relationship would stagnate.  She suggested that people who have served two terms should rotate off for a year and then reapply.  She said that it is part of the responsibility of all committees to recruit and bring fresh blood into the system.

Mr. Kusner noted the large number of vacancies on the committee and the lack of applications for it.  Ms. Awad said that they needed to be consistent, because people from other committees had not been allowed to serve beyond their second terms.  Mr. Weiss said that his feeling was that if another person was waiting to serve, than someone who had served two terms must step down, but that if no one was waiting to fill the seat it was more of a gray area. 

Mr. Kusner said that not approving the recommendations would put the Board and himself in an awkward position because these people had been invited to reapply.  Ms. Brewer suggested that this issue be added to the list of committee issues to be dealt with, along with the role of liaisons, what committees are needed, and so forth. 

Mr. Kusner said there was a difference between statutory and cultural committees, and that long-serving members of cultural bodies were not monopolizing policy.  He said that the term limit should not necessarily apply equally to the two types of committees. 

Mr. Kusner had enough information available to suggest that the reappointment for Ms. Bess would only be for her second term, and that recommendation was approved by a vote of 4 in favor, 1 absent.  Ms. Platt's term of service couldn't be verified, and so Ms. Awad abstained from that vote, and the recommendation was approved with 3 in favor, 1 abstention and 1 absent.

Mr. Kusner recommended the reappointment of Anne and Ed Stanek to the La Paz Centro Sister City Committee.  The recommendation was approved by a vote of 4 in favor, 1 absent.  He then recommended the reappointment of Cynthia Asebrook and Charles and Nancy Milch to the same committee, and due to a similar uncertainty about their terms of service, Ms. Awad abstained from that vote as well.  The recommendation was approved with 3 in favor, 1 abstention and 1 absent.

Mr. Kusner recommended the reappointment of Guilford Mooring and Jason Skeels to the Pioneer Valley Joint Transportation Committee.  The recommendation was approved by a vote of 4 in favor, 1 absent. 

Mr. Kusner recommended the reappointment of Frank Wells to the Public Transportation Committee.  He said that this would be Mr. Wells sixth year.  After more discussion about turnover and term lengths, his reappointment was proposed for a single year, so as not to exceed six years total.  The recommendation was approved by a vote of 4 in favor, 1 absent. 

Zoning Amendments

Mr. Shaffer said that he had instructed the Planning Department to advocate for several zoning amendment changes for fall Town Meeting:  1) to allow bioresearch in proposed zones; 2) to rezone Spring Street to accommodate planned changes by Amherst College; 3) to rezone the Village Center at the intersection of College and South East Streets; and 4) to change the PRP zone to allow for incidental office visits.  He said the process was starting with the Zoning Subcommittee, and that he would keep the Select Board apprised of progress.

Ms. Awad said that there has been support for the College/South East Street proposal on the Select Board, but that it has been awaiting the completion of a survey of the boundaries of the historic East Amherst Common.   She said she was skeptical that long-awaited survey would be ready before fall Town Meeting. 

Mr. Shaffer said the survey was underway, and other issues that have been raised including how other public improvements might be made and funded were also being examined.  He said that he and Town staff need too move forward with due diligence on these issues, and that he wants to make sure that these proposals are brought forward and vetted well in advance of Town Meeting.  He said he knows there is support for these projects and that details need to be fully attended to, or else the situation invites controversy.

Mr. Kusner talked about infrastructure such as transit stops and utilities and drainage, not just on the sites in question but other places in town, and said there are tools available to the Town to help accomplish those improvements through the zoning process. He suggested not just looking at individual site needs, but considering how issues might be dealt with on a larger basis.  He also said that there were questions about how the College and South East Street rezoning would mesh with the Comprehensive Plan.   He said that the PRP plan should be fine-tuned to seek not just the required 2/3 majority approval, but strong consensus.  He suggested that different PRP zones might be considered separately, based on the public utilities available in their respective areas.  He said he hoped the Town Manager and Town staff could be open-minded about such issues. 

Mr. Shaffer said he understands that there is concern that changes to the PRP zone might encourage offices in the central business district to relocate to PRPs, for no net gain of business.  He said that the market to focus on for the PRPs were larger firms of 30 or more professionals, seeking larger complexes, such as environmental and engineering firms.  Mr. Weiss said the PRPs are already zoned to allow for such, and Mr. Shaffer said that those larger firms require the ability to have client appointments, which is not allowed under the current PRP zoning.  Mr. Shaffer said the focus would be on larger firms, and Mr. Weiss said that was different than the past.

Mr. Kusner said it would be important to manage such a zone so that it could be used without being used up.  He said the original PRP intent was for research campuses for university spin-offs, and he wanted that to remain an available option.  

Ms. Brewer said that issues to be considered before the proposal is brought forward include the fact that university spin-offs tend to want to be closer to the university than where the PRP zones are located.  She said another issue from the last attempt to make this zoning change was an emotional discussion of commercial vacancies and why neighborhoods should be impacted by this change when such vacancies exist.  She said that issue had not been well-handled. 

Mr. Weiss said that his concern was that any time a small office moves out of the downtown area, its related foot traffic is lost as well.  He said that large offices are different because they can't be accommodated downtown. 

Mr. Kusner said that downtown is well-served by public transportation and that it makes sense to have business of a service nature located there.  He said he would like to see such proposals as Mr. Shaffer talked about happen, and that he would see them as opportunities for human development as well as economic development.  He said he would like to see them be environmentally-sensitive and be served by public transportation.

Special Municipal Employee Status

Mr. Weiss said that some of the applications the Select Board had received seeking SME status had shown a lack of understanding of what the status does and doesn't do.  He said the Board had agreed to comment on the applications and send them back to the committees to help to educate them about these details, and that someone needed to handle this project.  Ms. Brewer and Mr. Weiss volunteered to work on this.  Ms. Brewer brought up the point about having people who seek reappointments fill out the new CAFs so that they receive updated information on expectations and conflict of interest issues.  Mr. Weiss suggested that that be noted in the reappointment opportunity letters.  Mr. Shaffer said he would do that, and that it would be a good way to keep track of records and ensure that people have read the new information.  Mr. Kusner suggested that a way might be found for people to update their CAFs in order to change a reference or a committee choice, without having to resubmit the full form as is currently necessary.  He said that would expedite the process and eliminate multiple records.

Bus Route Changes

Mr. Kusner said that he was surprised to learn that Route 32 has had some major schedule changes that occurred without the benefit of a public hearing or Select Board notification.  He said he doesn't know how it happened, but that the early morning and late evening service to South Amherst has been deleted from the weekday schedule, and he was concerned about people who might be depending on that, though he noted that there are alternative bus routes which require transfers.  Ms. Awad said she had put in a call to Al Byum at UMass to inquire about the changes but hadn't heard back.  Mr. Kusner said it would be looked into for the fall.

The meeting adjourned at 9:30 p.m.  The next Select Board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, August 1st at 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall. 

 -- Stephanie O'Keeffe