Council Delays Action on School Safety Zones and Reparations

Report on the Meeting of the Amherst Town Council, October 21, 2024

This meeting was held in hybrid format and was recorded.

Present
Lynn Griesemer (President, District 2), Mandi Jo Hanneke, Andy Steinberg, Ellisha Walker (at large), Freke Ette and Cathy Schoen (District 1), Pat DeAngelis (District 2), George Ryan and Hala Lord and George Ryan (District 3), Pam Rooney and Jennifer Taub (District 4), and Ana Devlin Gauthier and Bob Hegner (District 5).

Staff: Paul Bockelman (Town Manager) and Athena O’Keeffe (Clerk of the Council)

Proposed Safety Zones Referred to Committee
Town Councilors Ana Devlin Gauthier (District 5), Cathy Schoen (District 1), and Council President Lynn Griesemer (District 2) submitted a proposal to create safety zones near the Amherst Regional Middle School and High School. Devlin Gauthier explained that the safety zones were previously limited to schools serving students in grades 1-8, but Massachusetts General Law was revised in 2022 to make schools with grades K-12 eligible. 

The sponsors wanted the proposal to be implemented by the Town Engineer and Department of Public Works (DPW) without a review by the Town Services and Outreach (TSO) Committee. Devlin Gauthier argued that the location of School Zone signs and 20 mile per hour speed zones is strictly prescribed by the Massachusetts Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), so there would be little for TSO to decide. She stated that the DPW was the body with expertise on where the signs should go, using the guidance from the MUTCD, and that referring it to TSO would further delay the creation of the safety zones. Cathy Schoen (District 1) said that the sponsors met with representatives from Safe Routes to School and school personnel who supported the safety zones and suggested the times that the reduced speed and flashing signs should be in effect. 

However, the proposal met with opposition from some councilors. Devlin Gauthier’s motion was to establish the designated school safety zones “on all streets that provide access to the Amherst Regional Middle School and the Amherst Regional High School with flashing indicator lights to be placed at the discretion of the Superintendent of Public Works and to be illuminated between the hours of 6:30am and 10:00am, and between the hours of 3:00 pm and 6:00pm with a review of this timing by the Town Services and Outreach Committee one year after implementation.” 

Mandi Jo Hanneke (at large) felt that she could not vote for a proposal that did not specify where the School Zone signs would be. She argued that to do so is “bad legislative process,” and said that the normal council process should be followed with a referral to TSO. She added that one of the requirements for establishing a school safety zone is to provide a plan of the routes students use to walk or bike to school, and that has not been met. George Ryan agreed with Hanneke, although he admitted that the referral would cause a delay In implementing the zones. Andy Steinberg (at large) also supported referral, noting that the safety zone near Fort River school was created after a detailed study done by Town Engineer Jason Skeels, and this proposal has no such data. He also worried that the MUTCD only allows school zones to be created on streets abutting a school, so Triangle Street might by excluded because only the town-owned Community Field is on Triangle Street. However, if Triangle Street was allowed in the school zone, “Restricting speed on Triangle Street should not be taken lightly,” he said, adding that the council needed more information and public input before voting, and that could only be obtained by referring the matter to TSO.

Pam Rooney (District 3), however, felt referral was unnecessary, since there were few options for where the signs would be placed. She did feel that the hours of enforcement should be expanded in consultation with the school superintendent.

Hanneke’s motion for referral passed by a vote of 8-5 (Devlin Gauthier, Rooney, Schoen, Ellisha Walker (at large), and Jennifer Taub (District 3) voted no). Griesemer voted against the proposal, which she had sponsored to institute the safety zones without referring. TSO is required to report back to the council on the plan for school safety zones at the middle school and high school by December 2. 

Devlin Gauthier voiced her frustration, saying she didn’t see the need to bog the proposal down in committee. She did not think TSO would come to a different conclusion than the DPW in the placement of signs. As chair of TSO, Steinberg said he did not anticipate that the committee recommendation would take much time, and he would put it on the agenda for the meeting on Zoom at 10 a.m. on Thursday, October 24.

Charge for Amherst Black Reparations Committee Headed Back to GOL
At the October 7 council meeting, the Governance, Organization, and Legislation Committee of the Town Council (GOL) proposed a charge for a successor committee to the African Heritage Reparations Assembly (AHRA), which had submitted its final report to the council last June. The new committee, the Amherst Black Reparations Committee (ABRC) is to establish priorities for use of the Reparations Stabilization fund that the council created to help compensate African American residents of Amherst for several hundred years of slavery and discrimination.

Hanneke voiced several objections to the proposed charge and, after failing to get the proposal referred back to GOL, used her prerogative under Section 2.10c of the town charter to end discussion and postpone a vote on the issue until the next council meeting. In the intervening two weeks, she rewrote the proposal, enlarging the committee from five to seven members, including members from the Affordable Housing Trust, the Human Rights Commission, and the Recreation Commission, and limiting reparations to descendants of slaves. She wanted the new committee to establish three to five priorities for reparations and explained the purpose of the committee “to implement reparations, as defined by international human rights standards, in Amherst for harms caused by support of slavery and post-reconstruction discrimination by the Town, residents, businesses, and other Amherst-associated entities.” She also removed the word “Black” from the committee’s title. 

Although Hanneke said that she had consulted with Michele Miller, Amilcar Shabazz, and Debora Bridges of the AHRA and also with Schoen and former Town Councilor Anika Lopes, Miller and Shabazz disagreed with many of the points in the revised proposal. Both disagreed to limiting reparations to descendants of slaves, although they felt that should be the primary focus. They pointed out that other Black residents have continued to experience racism, and Miller stated that proving the relationship to enslaved individuals is difficult. Also, they disagreed with increasing the committee size to seven, feeling that a smaller “nimble committee” would be more efficient. Shabazz took issue with placing volunteers from other town committees on the reparations committee. He said that volunteers on committees should not have to do additional work outside their committee and that the reparations committee can consult with other committees as needed. He also objected to limiting the priorities of the committee, which could result in not considering a worthy proposal for reparations that fell outside the priorities.

Councilors also had some disagreements with Hanneke’s proposal. Bob Hegner (District 5) agreed with Miller and Shabazz that the committee should not be expanded and that the committee should have the authority to come up with its own ideas for reparations to recommend to the council. Walker objected to removing “Black” from the committee’s name. She added that many of the goals of the successor committee are stipulated in the AHRA final report, and that the committee should decide what direction to pursue. 

Schoen noted that this committee would be using tax dollars, and recommended that it be structured like the Community Preservation Act (CPA) committee in establishing several priorities and soliciting proposals. 

The councilors agreed with Walker’s assertion that the revised charge was difficult to evaluate during the meeting, and they voted unanimously to refer it back to GOL. Although Devlin Gauthier voted for the referral, she again voiced her frustration that GOL “had multiple rounds of committee discussion and did not receive comments from other councilors, and instead, a full substitute motion was proposed.”

Human Rights Commission Gives Annual Report
The Human Rights Commission gave its annual report to the council, with co-chairs Rani Parker and Liz Haygood stating that the commission sponsored 13 public events during the year and dealt with 10 complaints. The commission also revised its bylaws and developed a three-year outreach plan to train business leaders and municipal and school employees on human rights, collect data, and then “determine appropriate responses to the data where it sees trends or where parties are open to support. Responses could include “additional training, restorative justice, fixing capital accessibility problems, mediation and more.”

The group voiced some frustration that they were unable to deal with any of the complaints, but could only record them and refer them to the DEI Director or another agency. The new three-year plan was designed to allow the commission to make a positive impact on human rights in town. Haygood said that, this past year, most of the commission’s time was spent in organizing the public events, and they planned to hold fewer events in the coming year, but that the events would be larger.

UMass Vehicle Directional Signs Approved
The council unanimously approved the placement of seven vehicle directional signs on North and East Pleasant Streets to direct motorists to the campus. DPW superintendent Guilford Mooring stated that none of the locations conflicted with plans for town signs or a future sidewalk along East Pleasant Street.  

Table Proposed to Measure Progress on Town Manager Goals
Devlin Gauthier proposed a table to track progress made toward the Town Manager’s goals set by the council. The table has four columns: Goal Areas, Objectives, Action Items, and Status. There are 13 goal areas: climate resilience, community health and safety, economic viability, housing affordability, racial equity and social justice, personnel management, administration and leadership, capital investments, relationship with higher education institutions, finance, infrastructure management and maintenance, community engagement, and relationship with the council. Devlin Gauthier recommended that each goal area have no more than three objectives, with specific action items for each objective. The framework received a positive reception from the councilors. 

In preparation for the annual Town Manager evaluation, Bockelman submitted his self-evaluation to the council. The council is soliciting feedback from department heads, employees, committee chairs, and the general public. Comments are due by midnight on October 31. The councilors will have a reading period to review the feedback received at 5 p.m. on November 18, after which Griesemer will compile the comments into a report. 

The public can submit comments about the Town Manager at towncouncil@amherstma.gov. The Indy also has a survey for readers to complete.

Announcements
The council issued a proclamation recognizing the 2024 South Asian Festival of Lights, or Diwali. The proclamation was sponsored by Councilors Devlin Gauthier, Freke Ette (District 1), and Griesemer, along with community sponsors Shalini Bahl-Milne and the Pioneer Valley Indian Association, and town sponsors the Town of Amherst DEI Department, the Human Rights Commission, and the Recreation Department. 

The proclamation states: NOW, THEREFORE, we, the Amherst Town Council recognize the religious, historical, and cultural significance of Diwali, the Festival of Lights and its message of tolerance, compassion, and the victory of good over evil, which resonates with the American spirit, and BE IT FURTHER PROCLAIMED, we the Amherst Town Council express our deepest respect and best wishes for South Asians and all Americans in our community who celebrate the festival of Diwali on November 1. 

The Pioneer Valley Indian Association is holding a public celebration of Diwali with cultural performances and dinner on November 10, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Wesley United Methodist Church, 98 North Maple Street, Hadley. 

Griesemer also announced that students from Amherst’s sister city Kanegasaki, Japan will be visiting Amherst for three days, beginning October 31. There will be a welcoming ceremony in Town Hall at 4  p.m. on Thursday, October 31. The students will also be visiting Amherst College, the regional schools, and UMass dining. They will be staying with host families.

Bockelman announced that the subcontractor bids for the Jones Library expansion project came in about $2 million less than during the previous bidding period last spring. The general contractor bids are due on October 31.

The next Town Council meeting is scheduled for November 4 at 6 p.m. The financial indicators for the FY2026 budget will be presented to a joint meeting of the council, the school committee, and the Jones Library trustees.

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