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Date: 4/12/2022
AMHERST – Amherst Town Council unanimously approved traffic flow improvements, the $33 million Amherst Regional Public Schools budge, and the recognition of June 19 as Juneteenth among other items in its meeting on April 4.
The Juneteenth proclamation said, “Juneteenth is a reminder of the explicit mistreatment and cruelty that African Americans endured while building the Nation’s wealth, and commemorates the day of freedom for African Americans and acknowledges the resilience and determination of African Americans while honoring all those who have paved the road to freedom.”
It invites residents to join for a weekend of celebratory events honoring our history and community and encourages them to view Amherst’s Civil War tablets in the Bangs Center to honor all residents who served in the Civil War.
“We have quite a weekend planned for you, starting with a collaboration between ancestral bridges and the historical society that is a wonderful walk which will highlight the places and neighborhoods that are important to the black history of this town,” said District 4 Councilor Anika Lopes. “It will be a taste of a larger, ongoing walk.”
The council also reviewed and approved traffic changes to the section of North Pleasant Street that runs parallel to Kendrick Park. Public Works Superintendent Guilford Mooring presented the update saying that he had been working with the Transportation Advisory Committee and Disability Access Advisory Committee to finalize the changes.
“We moved all the parking to the east side of the street so it’s adjacent to the park,” Mooring said. “We made it back-in parking so it’s easier to back in and unload your minivan or the stuff in your car or to unload your children and have them run towards the park and not be forced to run towards the street. We accommodated bikers with a bike lane going in both directions, and the sidewalk will get improved. We made a lot of changes here, but we think it’s what everybody is hoping for.”
The plan will now move to the Town Services and Outreach Committee for a public hearing on recommendations provided by the town manager regarding the changes to parking regulations. They will report back to the council by May 15.
Amherst Regional Public Schools Finance Director Doug Slaughter presented the district’s budget request, which needs to be approved by town governments in Pelham, Leverett and Shutesbury in addition to Amherst before moving on.
The proposed budget totals over $33 million, $1.2 million more than last year. Slaughter said most of the increased expenses are either a restoration of funding or support that goes back to pre-pandemic levels.
“Some of those expenses like food service and information systems are ones where we’re returning to a level we had in previous years so that’s by virtue of either COVID [-19]-related funding or supports that were happening through COVID [-19] that were allowing us to support those budgets through grants or other means,” Slaughter said.
The budget includes a 13 percent increase in student services and a 9 percent increase in transportation. The Amherst Regional School Committee also presented a plan to renovate the track at the high school which has been inadequate for meets since 2018. The project would cost over $1.5 million.
The councilors agreed to recommend the budget after confirming that no cuts were being made to the education portion of the budget to account for the cost of the track.