Guest Column first printed in the Daily Hampshire Gazette, January 28, 2022, p. A8
Amherst Elementary School Building Project
Allison McDonald & Cathy Schoen
The Amherst elementary school building project is now in a busy and exciting stage and a lot of work is happening over the next several months. There’s a lot to keep up with and it can be hard to follow what’s going on or to know when decisions are being made! In this column, we hope to help you learn about the work that’s happening and how you can participate in the process.
Our goal is to have the elementary school open for learning in the fall of 2026. We have multiple major milestones to meet and key decisions to make along the way. Many key milestones will need to be met within the next 12 months. Three of these are:
1. Preliminary Design Plan–this is when we define the options we will study, including whether to build a completely new building, renovate an existing building, or a combination of renovation and addition. We’ll also outline what locations we’ll consider (including what criteria we’ll use to decide) and describe the education program for the school.
The education program provides detailed information about our students and their needs, as well as the programs and activities that we value and that will define the school. Questions such as where our specialized programs and the Caminantes dual-language program will be located will be defined in the education program.
Our goal is to complete this Preliminary Design Plan and submit it for review and approval by the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) by March 15.
2. Preferred Schematic Report-this is when some key project decisions are made for the project, including location and whether we will build a completely new building or some combination of renovation/addition with an existing building.
DiNisco Design, the design team for the project, is currently gathering detailed information about the Fort River and Wildwood locations, assessing the condition of those buildings, and preparing preliminary estimates to evaluate and compare options.
Our goal is to decide on our preferred option and submit the Preferred Schematic Report for review and approval by the MSBA by the end of June.
3. Schematic Design-after the approval of our Preferred Schematic Report, our design team will prepare detailed plans for the building. This final schematic design will enable a comprehensive cost estimation and budget, and will form the basis for the MSBA’s final determination of how much of the project cost they will fund.
Our goal is to complete and submit the Schematic Design for review and approval by the MSBA by the end of December.
These big milestones and decisions need input and feedback from our school and town community. There are multiple ways for the community to engage throughout this year. Here are some:
Visioning Workshops: these sessions enable participants to offer input to help guide the development of the education program. The aim with these workshops is to identify priorities that build on the current curriculum and aspirations for programs. Three workshops have been held in January with the community, teachers, and staff; a fourth workshop is planned for February 17.
Community Forums: forums are a way to hear updates about the project and to ask questions or provide feedback in real time. Forums will be held several times throughout this year with the first happening on February 3.
Project Website: the project website amherst-school-project.com is a one-stop spot to find all the information about the elementary school building project. Details about participating in the Visioning Workshop and Community Forums can be found there. It is also where to go to ask questions, give feedback, or share ideas at any time throughout the project. The Building Committee and the project team will be “listening” and responding through the tools on the website.
Public Comment: community members can offer feedback during public comment at meetings of the Building Committee or the Amherst School Committee. Find out how on the project website.
Email: questions and feedback are always welcome through email! Send email to the Building Committee at amherst.school.project@gmail.com or to the Committee Chair, Cathy Schoen at SchoenC@amherstma.gov.
This is an exciting phase of the project. We have the opportunity, as a community, to create and invest in an inspiring, climate-resilient elementary school building that supports excellent education both today and for decades to come. We hope that many people across the Amherst community will participate and help us make this happen.
Cathy Schoen is a member of the Amherst Town Council-District 1 and Chair of the Elementary School Building Committee. She can be reached at SchoenC@amherstma.gov.
Allison McDonald is Chair of the Amherst School Committee and can be reached at mcdonalda@arps.org.
Redistricting 2021
DONA has been monitoring the efforts of the Districting Advisory Board (DAB) as, using data from the 2020 census, it reapportions Amherst residents into ten precincts and combines precincts into five Town Council districts for use starting in 2023.
Observations:
The DAB was woefully under-personed! During one recent meeting scheduled to begin at 6:00, the call to order had to be postponed for two and one-half hours because a quorum wasn’t reached until 8:30. One of the two missing members had to finish working; the other missing member went AWOL. Having enough town committee volunteers is a concern for our self-government going forward.
Amherst’s University and two colleges reported to the Census the number of students housed on campus, even though by April 1, Census day, the institutions had all switched to remote learning and the students were no longer in Amherst. Forty-one percent of Amherst residents live in campus residences; incorporating these numbers of non-voting residents into even precinct allotments was an extra challenge to the DAB.
The DAB final report to the Town Council can be found here. It contains the new precinct and district map recommended by the DAB (see below). The Council will review the report and map in its 10/18/21 meeting and vote to accept or reject it on 10/25/21. If you would like to watch the Town Council meeting it will be live streamed on Amherst Media. You can also join the meeting via a zoom which is on the Town Council web page here. The DAB is early on the agenda.
A redistricting decision must be submitted to the Commonwealth no later than 10/31. Should the Council reject the DAB’s recommendations, there likely is insufficient time for the DAB to adjust them; when no report is submitted to the Commonwealth by the deadline, it is the understanding of the DAB that the Commonwealth will make its own plan.
The DAB final report also contains in its appendix six maps showing the distribution in Amherst of Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian, American Indian and Alaska native, Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, and Other Race populations. These maps are based on information self-reported to the Census. A Census respondent might indicate as many races and ethnicities as her heritage includes, so when the total population of each map is added, it is larger than the individual resident count used for the redistricting. However, the distribution of these different populations on separate Amherst maps allowed the DAB to assign precincts and districts that kept intact neighborhoods with a high concentration of these individuals so as not to dilute their community voting strength.
As much as possible, the DAB attempted to keep precinct and district the same as currently assigned. Most notable and commendable is the redistribution of campus residences into all five districts.
The changes to District One are modest, keeping intact the Historic District at the North Amherst Village intersection. District One will now include the section of Cushman north of Pine St., although not the Cushman Market. We have lost some student housing and gained some residential neighborhoods off Pine Street and along East Leverett Road. Therefore, the District One population will be more representative of the Town as a whole than it has been in the current districting plan.
The Master Plan
Amherst is going through a spate of zoning changes. The Master Plan is frequently referenced in the discussion by people who are both for and against the changes. Do you wonder what they are talking about? Click here for a link to the Town of Amherst’s Master Plan document, grab a pot of tea, and maybe something sugary, and start reading!
Town Elections: important dates
Sept 14 Last date for candidates to file their petitions. Check out who is running.
Sept 30 Last day for candidates to withdraw from the election
Oct 1 Town Clerk draws names for placement on ballot
What will District One look like next year?
Amherst voting districts will be changing after this year’s required decennial census redistricting. You can read more in the Amherst Bulletin here.
North Commons Repair/Renovation and Parking
Public Hearing Monday May 24, 6:30 pm
Cathy Schoen, District One Councilor, writes:
On May 24 there will be a public hearing on the configuration of the North Commons which includes the parking lot in front of Town Hall and the North area of the commons.
The North Commons parking lot and green grassy area need repairs and are scheduled for a potential redesign of pathways and other features. With support of Community Preservation Act funds, the Town has about $1.4 million for the repairs and reconfiguration. There are currently two plan design options that vary mainly in parking. One plan would repair and keep most of the existing parking lot. The other would remove the parking lot in favor of grass.
The current parking lot has 34 parking spaces, another 9 along Boltwood Ave by Town Hall, and 5 along South Pleasant by the Commons for a total of 43 current spaces.
The Council and a subcommittee reviewed several possible designs and focused on two possible options: Plan 2 Modified and Plan 3B Modified. Pictures of both are below
- Plan 2 Modified would retain 19 parking spaces on a “flatter” parking lot and would make Boltwood Avenue north of Spring Street one way with parallel parking on both sides to enable 14 spaces. The total parking spaces, spaces including 5 on South Pleasant Street by the Commons, would be 38.
- Plan 3 B Modified would eliminate the parking lot, create 5 diagonal back-in spaces on Main Street, and convert Boltwood to one way as in Plan 2 with 15 spaces. The total spaces with this plan would be 27.
The Town also has the option to do nothing other than minor repairs.
The Council initially voted March 17 for Plan 3 B (remove the parking lot): with 8 in favor and 5 against. However, they discovered that the change in parking and the public way required a public hearing. The Hearing will be followed by Council vote.
Parking downtown affects all residents and downtown business. Notably, more than two-thirds of the business contacted opposed removal of parking. This parking lot is widely used and brings in some $52,000 a year in parking meter revenue, higher per space that other public lots.
It will be important for the Council to hear views from residents in advance and at the hearing.
Pictures of the two options follow below.
