Town of Amherst Town Council Meeting Monday, June 21, 2021 6:30 p.m. Town Room, Town Hall 4 Boltwood Avenue Minutes
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Town of Amherst
Town Council Meeting
Monday, June 21, 2021
6:30 p.m.
Town Room, Town Hall
4 Boltwood Avenue
Minutes
Complete video is available online: https://youtu.be/hXkW_Uib3F4 & https://youtu.be/aUAEuDywcsk
1. Call to Order
Councilors Present In-Person: De Angelis, Griesemer, Hanneke, Pam, Ross, Ryan, Schreiber
(arrived at 6:47 pm), Schoen, and Steinberg,
Councilors Participating Remotely: Bahl-Milne, Brewer, DuMont, and Swartz
Councilors Absent: None
Others Present: Town Manager Paul Bockelman, Clerk of the Council Athena O’Keeffe, Sean
Hannon, Sean Mangano, Sustainability Coordinator Stephanie Ciccarello and Energy and
Climate Action Committee Chair Laura Draucker
Others Participating Remotely: Minute-taker Lindsey McConnell
President Griesemer welcomed participants to the first meeting back in the Town Room, stated
the meeting is in hybrid format and all councilors are participating on Zoom, even if they are
present in the Town Room. Griesemer confirmed the councilors participating remotely can hear
and be heard and called the meeting to order at 6:38 p.m.
Griesemer said that members of the public are welcome to attend in person but there is limited
capacity in the Town Room and masks are required. She said an option for remote attendance
and participation is being provided and if the broadcast is interrupted the meeting may not keep
going, depending on if public comment has already occurred.
2. Announcements
Upcoming Town Council Meetings:
• June 28, 2021, 6:30 p.m. - Regular Town Council Meeting
Upcoming Council Committee Meetings:
• Community Resources Committee: June 22, 2:00 p.m.
• Special Meeting of the Community Resources Committee – Zoning Board of
Appeals Candidate Interviews: June 23, 5:00 p.m.
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Minutes approved by Town Council on [date]• Finance Committee: TBD
• Governance, Organization, and Legislation Committee: June 23, 10:30 a.m.
• Town Services and Outreach Committee: June 24, 7:30 p.m.
All meeting agendas and details are posted at www.AmherstMA.gov/Calendar
COVID-19 Call-in Number and Email:
The COVID-19 Concern Line (413) 259-2425 and email address
covidconcerns@amherstma.gov are now available for residents to communicate
their concerns about masks, social distancing, gatherings, etc.
3. Hearings – None
4. General Public Comment
Brewer called a Point of Order and clarified that this is the only public comment section of the
night.
Brianna Owen & Elisha Walker, CSWG Co-Chairs - spoke on the budget. They said the CSWG
had a two-part charge 1) to make recommendations for alternative ways to provide public safety
as a result the recommendation include creating CRESS, resident oversight board, DEI and
BIPOC led youth empowerment center and BIPOC community center. They said the 1st part of
the charge may have felt uncomfortable because it is hard to hear the system that served some
didn’t serve others in the same way. They said that discomfort has been what BIPOC felt for
decades and the CSWG had the opportunity to engage with marginalized groups. They
highlighted the information that Russ Vernon-Jones shared with the Council via email. The Co-
Chairs reviewed call statistics and noted that $475k is not a sufficient commitment by the town.
They asked councilors to reject the budget as proposed and request the new one proposed. They
addressed the second part of the CSWG charge, to make a recommendation to the organization
and restructuring of the APD. They asked for an extension on their work to achieve the second
part of the charge.
Schreiber joined the meeting 6:53pm
Michele Miller, co-founder of Repartitions for Amherst – Miller said today NPR reported that 11
US mayors committed to develop pilot projects for reparations. She cited the Mayor from LA
stating that the city will never have funding for reparations on their own. She said the Council’s
actions will lay the foundation to begin the collaborative healing process. Miller expressed her
pride in the CSWG and urged the Council and Town Manager to establish an implementation
plan based on the CSWG recommendations.
Matia Cramer – Cramer thanked the Co-Chairs of the CSWG and stated their full support for
what the group has asked for. She said if tonight’s actions fall short, everyone as a community
needs to find a plan for how funding will be developed now and in the future, and develop a
robust plan on how the CSWG recommendations will be phased in.
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Minutes approved by Town Council on [date]Irv Rhodes (Zoom) - Rhodes acknowledged the work that Griesemer has taken on and expressed
his appreciation for the CSWG. He said the Council is left with the decision to pass a budget that
can stand, and he hopes a budget will not go forward if it is not sustainable. He said he fully
supports this budget and the great job the Town Manager has done. He acknowledged that the
financing mechanism for reparations that has been identified is just one financing mechanism
and not the only one they will be looking at. He said they need to identify funds that are
sustainable, reliable and consistent over time.
Marisol Bonifaz – Bonifaz said she is working on the campaign to protect school funding
through March. She said they have gathered signatures, hosted a Town Hall, and spoken at
previous meetings. She said this is the Town Council’s last chance to reflect the voices of
Amherst. She spoke of listening to the young voices, those affected, and those working in social
services. Bonifaz added that last year the Council wanted more research, and so CSWG gave that
research. She urged the Council to vote “No” on the FY22 budget to reflect Amherst values.
Theresa Beaudry (Zoom) – Beaudry said she is a recent victim of a horrific violent crime in
Amherst and is here to speak for her family that their feeling of safety has been threatened. She
said they do not support the CRESS or reparations program and are proud of the APD. She asked
for policing to address the new DEI programs within the PD and they have a program in place
that they can use to address these concerns. Beaudry said the PD is educated and with further
reforms they are best suited to address community needs.
Julian Hynes – Hynes said they have gained some funding for CRESS and are appreciative of it,
but it is not enough. He said the Council needs to reject the FY22 budget to find more funding.
He added that it must be understood that making the choice to defund other departments is a
choice to actively defund them instead of the PD. He strongly urged the Council to reject the
FY22 budget.
Abigail Neumann (Zoom) – Neumann said she rejects any budget that does not adequately fund
the CSWG or schools. She said the CSWG got the information that public safety is not working
for all of Amherst and this would be a great change for Amherst to take big steps towards anti-
racism. Neumann said this is not as risky as she hearing it is and this is the start of a big
transition that is needed.
Nancy Sardeson – Sardeson acknowledged the work of the CSWG and said when the first budget
appropriation came out she was shocked and embarrassed. She thanked the Co-Chairs of CSWG
for their tenacity. Sardeson said she does not like what she has seen go on in these meetings,
such as spending a million dollars to rip in to the parking lot to make a common, and then telling
the CSWG that they do not have enough money. Sardeson said it is shameful to leave the CSWG
out of the conversation as they speak about their work and this is not going to work if the
Council does not work with the CSWG.
Jacqueline Smith Brooks – Brooks said as an elderly resident she has found herself even more
drawn to issues that are relevant to seniors especially those of colors. She asked the Council to
consider black and POC residents that are elderly and called on the town to conduct research to
immediately investigate. She also asked that Amherst demonstrate the way it cares about people
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Minutes approved by Town Council on [date]at all stages of life. Brooks said because black elders been invisible, the town needs to open their
eyes to an invisible population.
Ya-Ping Douglass – Douglass said she is speaking on behalf of her sister and mother who are
Amherst residents who couldn’t’ make it tonight. She spoke in favor of rejecting the FY22
budget and requested all of the CSWG recommendations be fully funded. She read quotes by
elected officials around the country including a Pittsfield Councilor who expressed support for
policy change to support the BLM Movement and cited Burlington Vermont’s historic PD cuts.
Douglass added that this town would not be alone, there are many others who are standing up for
this movement.
Griesemer reminded all they are welcome to submit comments by email.
Robert Eastman (Zoom) – Eastman called to fully fund the new CRESS program and the
demands put forth by Defund 413. He read quotes from Ebony Morgan who is coordinator for
Cahoots in Oregon. He quoted Morgan saying Cahoots workers leave for better paying jobs and
if trying to keep these efforts as cheap as possible crisis workers will not be sustainable.
Ashwin RaviKumar, outgoing member of ECAC – RaviKumar thanked the CSWG for their
efforts with a solid core that would allow them to build peer led alternatives that would reflect
Amherst’s values as an antiracist community. He referred to an MLK quote stating that budgets
are moral documents. He said as a person of color when he is in crisis he doesn’t want to call a
cop who’s had better training or will have better oversight afterward, he wants to call someone
who is not a cop. He added that 40 out of the 42 residents of Amherst in the CSWG study feel
similarly to him. RaviKumar said they need to fund this fully as they do the PD and a town that
is committed to climate justice and community safety cannot have 1 sustainability officer, 36
cops and a program with $400k.
Dr. Demetria Shabbazz (Zoom) – Shabbazz commended the CSWG and said she appreciates the
struggle in which the Council and Town Manager are situated. She said policies are choices and
budgets are values, one of the prevailing thoughts regarding small town growth is to ask this
critical question humbly and to listen- where and how are the people in your community
struggling. She asked the Council to ask the Town Manager to resubmit a budget that fully
services the CSWG and CRESS program. Shabazz said for the most part, BIPOC folks are
unable to participate in shaping town policy and they have a mainly white privileged Council
that does not fully represent Amherst. She said they have seen a wealth gap only widen and there
is a group that is working to repair that gap by creating a multicultural center and youth
programming. Shabazz said this gap will only widen further and if we want the beautiful
community they saw at Juneteenth, they need to support these programs.
Lydia Irons – Irons asked the Council to fully fund the CSWG recommendations and extend
their charge. She also asked that Amherst defund the APD by 45%. She mentioned the quote by
MLK about the stumbling block being the white moderate. She said this perfectly describes some
of the members of this Council. She added that the way that the CSWG has been treated is
disgusting and the CSWG has been trying to point out how little black leadership is involved in
this town. Irons said they must defund the APD and fully fund CRESS.
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Minutes approved by Town Council on [date]Professor Amilcar Shabbazz (Zoom) – Shabazz encouraged the Council to heed the budget
process and slow down until they can get this right and encouraged the CSWG to continue in
some fashion because the town needs that kind of input. He said also for reparations, they need
this movement to keep going. He thanked the Council for keeping this hybrid process going.
Georgia Malcolm – Malcolm said last Tuesday she was driving in Hadley and pulled in to
Walmart parking lot. She said there was a Police Officer talking to a black person and was really
torn because she didn’t want to get involved but thought about her son and all the black men who
have been killed. She said the officers said they are investigating a crime said he assaulted
someone. She said Officer Douglas and Officer Veronese handled it well. Malcolm said the
black man was acting erratic, and she was concerned with just getting him home alive. She added
that there is a problem in Amherst.
Daniel Josh Aaron – Aaron said he is concerned that the budget is being reexamined to honor the
CSWG work and it makes no sense to not include their work that was asked of them to do. He
said he wants to support the fact that the Council has been working hard but they need to support
the youth with a multicultural center which is not funded at all. Aaron added that he believes
putting their efforts in education and supporting the community will reduce the need for the PD
force in the future and he does honor that needs to be looked at with time.
Allegra Clark – Clark asked the Council to fully fund the CSWG recommendation and extend
the charge, so they can lead the implementation of the proposal. She said they have seen hours of
public comment to reinvest in public safety, education and health. Clark stated that an impossible
timeframe was put on CSWG. She said they have heard this takes time and can’t be rushed but
they have seen a rush in other work. She said she likes to think of CSWG as living reparations
that will tear down white supremacy and urged the Council to reject this budget and fully fund
the CSWG’s recommendations.
Joanna Mae Boody – Boody spoke in support of community members asking to fully fund
CSWG and try new and innovative solutions. She asked the Council to set an example for
surrounding communities.
Zoe Crabtree – Crabtree asked the Council to fully fund the CSWG recommendations and
extend their charge, anything less than the requested time will set them up for failure. She said
this is not a mental health crisis program, it is an alternative to police. She pointed out that when
the Survival Center and Craig’s Doors spoke they didn’t’ ask for more funding for themselves,
they asked for funding CRESS. She read a quote by Ebony Morgan quote and said the town
needs BIPOC leadership and they should let CSWG lead and keep doing their jobs.
Margaret Sawyer – Sawyer said she is honored to have worked on a community letter with 220
signatures so far and the vast majority are residents of Amherst asking to fully fund CSWG’s
recommendations. She asked the Council to reject the budget. Sawyer said she is ashamed of the
town has treated the CSWG and is ashamed of the first budget proposal. She added that the
Council’s words and actions matter, and each matter and Councilors are there to represent all
residents. She said this representation begins with funding the recommendations sent to you by
this brave group of people and she will keep sending the Council names as they sing on.
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Minutes approved by Town Council on [date]Ana Devlin Gauthier – Gauthier said the CSWG was founded for a reason and the
recommendations were thoughtfully crafted and based in research, investment of time and
energy. She said she asked about the phased approach and is grateful to their response as to why
that is a bad idea. Gauthier said it is clear it must be fully funded and for change to continue the
CSWG must not be dissolved.
Caroline Murray – Murray said her children do not want to come back to Amherst because of
experiences by police and in the public-school system with the structural racism in this town. She
said Amherst has created a great committee but is afraid they have devolved back to an “us vs.
them” mentality. She urged the Council to understand the proposal is about all of them, it
benefits all of them to invest in social services, housing, education, etc. Murray said the Council
needs to support the CSWG fully and fund their recommendations. Murray added that she has
never seen this many people of color participate and encouraged the Council to ask people to
fully state their names.
Debora Ferreira (Zoom) – Ferreira said she is a CSWG member, and restated that this is
incredibly important, and it is time to stand for safety for all members of Amherst, not just white
property owners. She said the Council needs to reject the budget to fully fund all the
recommendations that are backed up by data and testimony and to continue the CSWG.
Amara Donovan (Zoom) – Donovan said she is in support of all CSWG recommendations and
stated that it is vital that their investment and policy reflect values of antiracism. She said making
a BIPOC group do this work and then disapprove of their free labor and request to do more is
systemic racism in action. She said they will unseat Councilors if they refuse to invest in the
BIPOC community and they have the opportunity to design and create something that has never
existed. Donovan said a vote no won’t be an exclusion of someone’s safety, it is a vote to include
BIPOC safety.
Nadine Mazard (Zoom) – Mazard said she stands behind everything stated so far and noted that
last time Griesemer mentioned they could find a grant. She said Amherst could be at the
forefront of these efforts, and they can find ways to be the light for other towns. Mazard said the
CSWG should not be dismantled and stated that there should be some additional oversight to the
PD. Mazard agreed that they must reject the current budget and fully fund other programs that
are more inclusive.
Pat Ononibaku (Zoom) – Ononibaku thanked all who have spoken in support of CSWG of which
she is am a member. She noted that an election is coming, and they take BIPOC for granted and
then come for their vote. She stated that if the Council tries to cancel the CSWG they will not be
quiet. Ononibaku said they pay the taxes in this town and they need to benefit for all of the
revenue that comes from this town. She added that the demographic of this town is changing, and
they will remember that in November.
Angelica Castro (Zoom) – Castro said as an Amherst business owner and member of the
Business Chamber Task Force, to please support CSWG, adding that BIPOC members must be
safe and heard. She thanked the Council for their commitment to let BIPOC be leaders in this
charge. Castro said she is inspired by the turnout the CSWG has garnered and thanked the
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Minutes approved by Town Council on [date]CSWG. She said they all have a responsibility to act accordingly to BIPOC folks and when they
think about reparations their voices and privilege can make a difference for this town.
Agenda Item 7. Presentations and Discussion
a. Climate Action, Adaption, and Resiliency Plan and Recommendations
Ciccarello presented on the following items:
• Reviewed process and timeline of the group including task group meetings, working with
a consultant, and a stakeholder review
• Origin of Amherst’s Climate Goals
• Plan’s principles and strategies for action
• Roadmap to emissions, including reducing emissions 25% below 2016 by 2025 across 5
sectors (Governance and Communications, Buildings, Renewable Energy, Land Use and
Natural Systems, Transportation and Infrastructure)
• Spoke about equity as the foundation of climate justice and how they align with the
CSWG’s plan
Draucker presented on the following items:
• Implementation Matrix, a snapshot of the plan including readiness, cost, and carbon
mitigation value which was reviewed heavily by Town staff
• Next steps with a focus on collaboration at all levels of Town, the amount of work that
needs to be done, the areas ECAC would like to be involved including: Education,
Financing, Local Energy, Buildings, and Municipal Policy
• Suggested Town Council action steps including accepting the CAARP, opt in to the
Property-Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) and suggested next steps for the Town
Manager
• Proposed timeline over the next few months
Schoen thanked ECAC for a great report and asked about looking beyond Amherst for state and
federal initiatives that could support areas such as CPAC which would require policy and
legislative change.
Draucker said the PACE program is something Town needs to opt into, there are likely more and
more coming. She said at the state level there is a comprehensive climate plan that was just
passed. She emphasized talking to CPAC and looking into other areas where the town can be
prepared to accept funds and where can they be pushing state representatives to fight for more
funding.
DuMont thanked Draucker and Ciccarello for their work and leadership, adding that the plan
provides great actions. She said because the town has decided climate action is a priority, they
need to set up policy infrastructure that will integrate climate action at all levels of the town, one
being the PACE program.
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Minutes approved by Town Council on [date]Pam asked about the reality of the time frame. Draucker said the original goals are based on
those set out by IPCC so they based their plan on that. Draucker said she works for an NGO that
helps push companies to act and that is what they are telling companies to do. She recognized
that they have to work together as well as rely on state and federal action.
Ciccarello said they do have control over policy and how things happen in the community and
they need to look at net zero emissions especially for affordable housing. She added that people
disproportionally affected by climate tend to be renters, so they need to be looking at the needs
of those people. Ciccarello warned that if they keep putting off these commitments, it will keep
getting worse and they are already beyond the point of no return.
Bahl-Milne thanked ECAC and town staff on the hard work. She said UMass is 55% of the
stationary emissions and Amherst College is 7.8%. She asked if anyone is coordinating with
these institutions and appreciates bringing this lens in to all decision making. Bahl-Milne also
asked if they have a vision of what collaboration would look like with other committees.
Ciccarello said that is part of the next steps and hopefully the Town Manager will be working on
it.
Draucker said the short answer is yes, they have members of their committee that are part of
those institutions and they have talked about how they can collaborate once they publish their
new plan. She said ECAC thinks the institutions will help move them toward their goal, but they
need to watch and hold them accountable. She said in terms of working with other committees,
she would put that question back to the Council.
De Angelis spoke about her respect for how well integrated equity is into this report which
serves as an example for the Town and the Council.
Town Manager Bockelman thanked ECAC and Ciccarello. He said the Finance Director tried to
start tagging things that do address sustainability and climate. Bockelman added that the PACE
program Finance Director has written a memo and they are ready to move on that.
Griesemer said Brewer suggested a motion, and after consulting with Ciccarello and Draucker
they decided to change the original motion wording for timing purposes.
MOTION: Griesemer moved, second by De Angelis, to direct the Town Manager to present a
plan to implement the Road Map described in the Climate Action Adaptation and Resilience Plan
dated 06-14-2021 to the Town Council by November 15, 2021.
The motion was withdrawn.
Brewer spoke about the comprehensive and deep efforts of the committee. She said her question
is based on her experience serving in town government. She said it has never been the case that
the committee submits a plan and the town government accepts all of it. Brewer said if they are
no longer in a position to pick and choose which aspects of a plan to implement, this plan does
not deserve any higher precedence than the CSWG’s plan.
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Minutes approved by Town Council on [date]DuMont said this motion is asking the Town Manager to look at the road map and she offered an
amendment which is to add the words “with input from the ECAC” based on the slide.
De Angelis acknowledged what DuMont and Brewer said and asked if the CSWG will be
working with the Town Manager directly in the same way.
Griesemer called a Point of Order, she said they can’t keep conflating the CSWG and the ECAC.
Hanneke said the change from “a list of prioritized implementation steps” to “a plan to
implement the roadmap described” is a huge change and she does not think she can support that.
Griesemer said this is an issue she struggled with because they have not said this is the plan they
want to move forward with. She said originally, she did not want a motion on this tonight and is
willing to withdraw the motion. Griesemer said as a Council they would need to decide what
they are doing with this report.
Schoen said this is premature because they still need a discussion, even elements like PACE she
would want to know more about since this is the first time hearing about it.
Brewer said she cobbled together a motion because she did not want to leave this open-ended.
She said she understands the withdrawing, but they need to be clear what will happen next.
Griesemer asked if it would be in the interest of the Council that they bring this back in July or
August for a further discussion. The Council said yes.
Draucker said the Council needs to come up with an implementation strategy. She said she does
not think developing an implementation plan means they need to agree with everything and also
does not think they need to be doing things the same way they’ve been doing them since 1999.
Ciccarello said there are certain elements in the plan that will not wait. She said opportunities
may arise and the town should act on them as they come such as the PACE program.
Pam said she has heard negative things about the PACE program, so they must be careful.
5. Consent Agenda
Consent Agenda: The following items were selected because they were considered to be routine
and it was reasonable to expect they would pass with no controversy. To remove an item from
the consent agenda for discussion later in the meeting, ask that it be removed when the President
lists the consent agenda items. The request to remove an item from the consent agenda does not
require a second.
MOTION: Griesemer moved, Steinberg seconded, to move the following items, and the printed
motions thereunder and approve those items as a single unit:
• Suspension of Town Council Rules of Procedure rule 8.4 for the following
agenda items:
o 8.a. Request for Permanent Changes to the Public Way: Bike Share
Locations
o 8.e. Creation of Reparations Fund
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Minutes approved by Town Council on [date]o 8.f. Special Municipal Employee (SME) Status for African
Reparations Assembly (AHRA)
o 8.g.(1) American Rescue Act Funds: Receipt of Funds
o 8.h. In Person and Remote Meeting Format Update
o 8.i. Special Municipal Employee (SME) Status for Districting
Advisory Board (DAB)
• Waiver of Town Council Rules of Procedure rule 8.6 for the following agenda
items:
o 6.a. Resolution in Support of the CRESS Program
• 8.f. Designation of African Heritage Reparations Assembly (AHRA) members
as Special Municipal Employees (SME)
• 8.g.(2) Referral of American Rescue Plan Act Development of Process to
Allocate Funds to Finance Committee
• 8.i. Designation of Districting Advisory Board members (DAB) as Special
Municipal Employees (SME)
• 9.a. Approval of the following Town Manager Appointments to multiple-
member bodies:
o Reappointments to Cultural Council, Board of Assessors, Community
Development Block Grant Advisory Committee, Energy and Climate
Action Committee, and Munson Memorial Building Trustee
o Human Rights Commission
o Recreation Commission
• 9.b.(2) Town Council Appointments to the Planning Board
• 11.a-d. Approval of the following Town Council Meeting minutes:
o May 27, 2021 Special Town Council Meeting minutes – Joint meeting
with Finance Committee
o June 7, 2021 Special Town Council Meeting minutes
o June 7, 2021 Special Town Council Meeting minutes – Capital
Improvement Program Public Forum
o June 7, 2021 Regular Town Council Meeting minutes
Hanneke asked to remove Suspension of Town Council Rules of Procedure Rule 8.4 for 8.e
Creation of Reparations Fund from the Consent Agenda.
Griesemer started the roll call vote and Bahl-Milne, Brewer, and De Angelis all voted no.
Griesemer asked why they are voting no on this since it has to be unanimous. Bahl-Milne said
her understanding was they were voting to remove 8.e. Griesemer clarified that the item has
already been removed, they need to vote on the consent agenda.
Hanneke explained that there was a waiver for 8.e, because it has not been to GOL yet.
Brewer said she is annoyed that the item was removed but knows that they will address it later
and she will vote yes for the consent agenda. Griesemer started the vote process over again.
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Minutes approved by Town Council on [date]VOTED unanimously, 13-0 by roll call, to move the following items, and the printed
motions thereunder and approve those items as a single unit:
•Suspension of Town Council Rules of Procedure rule 8.4 for the following
agenda items:
o 8.a. Request for Permanent Changes to the Public Way: Bike Share
Locations
o 8.f. Special Municipal Employee (SME) Status for African
Reparations Assembly (AHRA)
o 8.g.(1) American Rescue Act Funds: Receipt of Funds
o 8.h. In Person and Remote Meeting Format Update
o 8.i. Special Municipal Employee (SME) Status for Districting
Advisory Board (DAB)
• Waiver of Town Council Rules of Procedure rule 8.6 for the following agenda
items:
o 6.a. Resolution in Support of the CRESS Program
• 8.f. Designation of African Heritage Reparations Assembly (AHRA) members
as Special Municipal Employees (SME)
• 8.g.(2) Referral of American Rescue Plan Act Development of Process to
Allocate Funds to Finance Committee
• 8.i. Designation of Districting Advisory Board members (DAB) as Special
Municipal Employees (SME)
• 9.a. Approval of the following Town Manager Appointments to multiple-
member bodies:
o Reappointments to Cultural Council, Board of Assessors, Community
Development Block Grant Advisory Committee, Energy and Climate
Action Committee, and Munson Memorial Building Trustee
o Human Rights Commission
o Recreation Commission
• 9.b.(2) Town Council Appointments to the Planning Board
• 11.a-d. Approval of the following Town Council Meeting minutes:
o May 27, 2021 Special Town Council Meeting minutes – Joint meeting
with Finance Committee
o June 7, 2021 Special Town Council Meeting minutes
o June 7, 2021 Special Town Council Meeting minutes – Capital
Improvement Program Public Forum
o June 7, 2021 Regular Town Council Meeting minutes
8. Action Items
a. Requests for Permanent Changes to the Public Way: Bike Share Locations
Ciccarello said there are two locations they would like to add to the system now which were
proposed as the next steps for the system. She said the locations have to be in the public way due
to the grant they are being funded by. She said the Town would like them to be near a bus stop
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Minutes approved by Town Council on [date]and in a populated area. Ciccarello said this would increase the number of sites from 5 to 7, there
are 5 sites on the UMass campus and they will be adding one site with this same grant.
Hanneke asked about the West Street site, specifically about the DRB recommendations to
provide 2 options and she asked what the difference is with this option. Ciccarello said based on
further conversation with the DPW Superintendent and the Town Manager, that particular site is
okay based on the proximity to the curb.
Schreiber said there is no bus stop at College Street now. Ciccarello said one is proposed based
on the new development being built.
Ross asked what happens to recommendations related to crosswalks. Bockelman said they were
reviewed early on by DRB, and the design was adjusted especially with Pomeroy Village. He
said that plan is being developed now and so those recommendations are being taken into
account.
Ciccarello said the recommendation of a sidewalk as part of Pomeroy Village would not be an
extensive addition so perhaps they can be considered as funding allows.
DuMont asked if the bike share is integrated into the Pomeroy Village roundabout plan, how
would it work in terms of picking up and dropping off the bikes. She said people will have to use
a cross walk to get back and forth because they’ll be picking up one way and then when they
come back on the bus they’ll have to cross to get to the bike share. She asked if that is all being
considered that there will be a lot of crossing there.
Ciccarello said that was the issue of the proposed crosswalk in that location and it is not part of
this plan because the CMAS grant does not cover that.
Bockelman said the DPW continues to work on the roundabout and he doesn’t know if they’ve
placed the crosswalks yet
Ryan asked if they have any data on how popular the bike share is. Ciccarello said they get
monthly data, adding that the downtown and UMass stops are very popular.
Steinberg asked about the Town Council policy on Control of Public Ways, citing that the Town
Council prior to taking action, consults with a series of people in compliance with Mass General
Law. He asked if someone who drafted that policy thinks that section applies here or not.
Brewer said if they can specifically use part 3 of the DAAC recommendations about the
messaging and she asked if they need to clarify that the 25% that will be brought back to the
Council will include the crosswalks and bike share so they can all see it. Bockelman said yes.
Pam spoke about the scooters in DC and visualized that for Amherst but said their sidewalks are
not up. She asked if Ciccarello is considering scooters. Ciccarello said a company reached out to
them about the scooters but the community involved in the bike share are not interested at this
time because there are lots of safety issues.
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Minutes approved by Town Council on [date]Ryan said reviewing this he would assume the DPW Superintendent has been a consultant. He
said the appropriate individuals being consulted should be read as a whole list of consultants.
Steinberg said that is an acceptable explanation.
VOTED via consent agenda to suspend Town Council Rules of Procedure rule 8.4 for the
current agenda item.
MOTION: Griesemer moved, second by Hanneke, to approve the locations for two new
ValleyBike electric-assist bikeshare stations: one on South East Street and one on West Street as
substantially as presented in the PowerPoint meeting packet item entitled, “VB Station
Presentation to TC 6-21-21”.
VOTED unanimously, 13-0 by roll call, to approve the locations for two new ValleyBike
electric-assist bikeshare stations: one on South East Street and one on West Street as
substantially as presented in the PowerPoint meeting packet item entitled, “VB Station
Presentation to TC 6-21-21”.
Agenda item 7. Resolutions and Proclamations
a. Resolution in Support of the CRESS Program
VOTED via consent agenda to waive Town Council Rules of Procedure rule 8.6 for the current
item.
Griesemer said there are 3 parts to this, one being 6.a. on the agenda for today, the second was
the request regarding CRESS from the Finance Committee, and third is the actual budget motion.
Hanneke said the first motion is co-sponsored by Hanneke and De Angelis
MOTION: Hanneke moved, seconded by De Angelis, to adopt the Resolution in Support of the
CRESS Program, as presented.
Hanneke said the goal of the resolution is to set a benchmark that does not micromanage the
number of responders when they don’t know the appropriate number of CRESS responders yet.
She read the goals of the motion as stated in the Resolution. She said this is a Council focused
resolution that they uphold themselves to. She said this is based on waiting until they know the
data to give a number of CRESS workers needed.
Pam said she agreed with the statements at the end. She said it starts off by saying the Town
Manager put forward a number of people, which is less than CRESS has asked for. Pam asked if
they want to go to the full number or is this saying that they are sticking with what the Town
Manager proposed. Hanneke said the resolution takes no position on how many responders are
needed. She said the Council expects the Town Manager to staff the CRESS program adequately
and this gives a benchmark to the Town Manager.
Schoen said she likes the intent of the resolution and that it states clearly, they are worried about
FY23, so saying if they are going to run a program it needs to be robust and adequately staffed.
She suggested going further with this, meaning that they could act now in FY22 when they know
there are vacancies. She said when LEAP reports back, they can get an idea on staff.
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Minutes approved by Town Council on [date]Hanneke said they don’t’ know how much money they need so can’t say how much. She said
this sets a benchmark of the outcome and then through this resolution the Town Manager will
staff this program.
Schoen said even at the 4 responders they are $330k short the next year and she agreed that they
don’t know the number.
Steinberg said the Finance Committee concluded that they believed in the CRESS program and
recognized limitations, so they wanted to assure that appropriate calls get responded to by
appropriate response. He said one problem he has with the resolution as proposed is it talks about
the LEAP program data that can be responded to as the percentage of calls, but no one has
answered the question of how much time does a community responder to respond versus a police
response take. He said the assumption that they are equal response times is not fair so tying it to
that metric seems to prevent them from understanding all the data and reassessing.
Ryan said he will support this resolution and thinks it is important they speak with one voice in
support of the CSWG and show that they want CRESS to succeed. He agreed that 4 months of
data is not enough, but they don’t know how they are going to proceed or what they need. Ryan
said this resolution says they are committed to this and doing what it needs to succeed. He said at
the same time if this program doesn’t work cooperatively with existing safety personal then he
will never support it.
Ross said it is important to reevaluate after 12 months. He said in the first Be It Further Resolved
Section he struggles with the “likely 70%.” He said it can feel a bit performative that they say in
this resolution that the budget is insufficient but still say “we expect” in the resolution.
Hanneke said her gut reaction is that 4 is probably insufficient but she does not know if that is
the case. She said they are lacking real analysis to say what would be necessary.
Bahl-Milne said this is the Council’s way saying they are committed to making the CRESS
program successful which is to say they are starting with this plan now based on the CSWG,
Town Manager and town staff. She said a fear of the CSWG is if they don’t’ have it staffed fully
then it will fail. She spoke in favor of the CSWG’s proposal and added that this is a way to create
their own department and pay people fair wages in the community. She spoke about the
similarities with Burlington and compared CRESS to Cahoots. She said Cahoots is 2% of the
police budget and CRESS is 11%. She thanked the CSWG group and apologized that the Council
has not done a good job making the group welcome in their decision-making progress. She said
in the spirit of inviting them to the table and making this more inclusive, she would want their
feedback on the wording of this.
MOTION: Steinberg moved, second by Hanneke, to amend the resolution by striking from the
first be it further resolved paragraph “(likely above 70%)” and remove extraneous “the” from the
next paragraph.
Steinberg said he likes the idea of stating they are moving in a certain direction in appreciation of
the work that has been done in creating the CRESS program.
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Minutes approved by Town Council on [date]VOTED 11-1-1 by roll call (Bahl-Milne, Brewer, De Angelis, Griesemer, Hanneke, Pam, Ross,
Ryan, Schoen, Schreiber, and Steinberg voted Yes; DuMont voted No; Swartz Abstained) to
amend the resolution by striking from the first be it further resolved paragraph “(likely above
70%)” and remove extraneous “the” from the next paragraph.
Pam said she does not see this as a workable motion, more of a statement of good intention.
Brewer asked if the co-sponsors can speak about the commitment of a future Town Council to
this action. She said this feels like a precursor to the Budget Policy Guidelines.
Bahl-Milne said regarding implementation which was Pam’s concern, she asked if they can get
feedback from Bockelman on. She asked if there is also a way to get feedback from the CSWG.
Bockelman said he reads this as 1) they want to establish CRESS and 2) intention is to staff it
appropriately 3) looking at a multi-year funding plan 4) and to reserve the evaluation for at least
a year later which is the town staff’s goal as well. He said the concern is it refers to the next body
or Council and they can ignore it if they choose to.
Ryan said he supports this because it does give the Town Manager guidance. He rejected getting
feedback from the CSWG because this is a statement from the Council and they do not send their
resolutions out to others.
DuMont agreed with Bahl-Milne that it would have been good to run this by the CSWG and this
shows good intention and it is just a resolution. She acknowledged that resolutions are not
enforceable.
Griesemer said when she first read this she was quite confused about how it fits in with all the
motions, but it is kind of like the Congressional Record so as they get on to the budget it has
some sense intent and supports it for that reason.
Bahl-Milne said she appreciates Ryan’s point, but this situation is different because they are
working with a BIPOC group and she wants to invite the Council to have a dialogue about this
because clearly there is a lack of clarity and expectations. She said for the first time they have a
lot of BIPOC participation, but they are not feeling including. She added that if they don’t have
that diversity, they’re still making these policies without getting their feedback.
MOTION: Hanneke moved, second by De Angelis, to call the question.
Griesemer said this requires a 2/3 vote whether they are stopping debate on this.
VOTED 7-6 by roll call (Councilors De Angelis, Griesemer, Hanneke, Ross, Ryan, Schreiber,
and Steinberg voted Yes; Bahl-Milne, Brewer, DuMont, Pam, Schoen, and Swartz voted No) to
call the question. The motion failed.
De Angelis said she values the BIPOC community input on policy, and this resolution is in
response to that input. She agreed with Ryan that this is a non-binding expression of opinion or
value and this resolution acknowledges that the Council hears BIPOC residents.
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Minutes approved by Town Council on [date]Pam said they have been elected and evaluate the Town Manager. She suggested that people run
for Town Council. She said her general call is to get more of a representative Council.
De Angelis said running for office is not a simple thing and there are disparities in terms of
economics so pretending that the solution to just have others run is naïve.
Brewer asked about the consequences if the Town Manager does not follow the resolution.
Hanneke said this is a precursor to the Budget Guidelines this Council will pass later this year.
She said if this passes, the Council could say if the funding is not in the FY23 budget it may be
rejected. She said it sends a message to the Town Manager.
Bahl-Milne appreciated De Angelis’s response about the CSWG input and she is still inviting the
CSWG to give feedback. She also agreed with De Angelis that running for elections is not the
only way they are asking BIPOC residents to be involved.
VOTED 11-1-1 by roll call (Bahl-Milne, Brewer, De Angelis, DuMont, Griesemer, Hanneke,
Ross, Ryan, Schoen, Schreiber, and Steinberg voted Yes; Swartz voted No; Pam Abstained) to
adopt the Resolution in Support of the CRESS Program, as amended.
Agenda Item 8, continued – b. FY22 Budget
Griesemer moved on to the next part of the agenda item which is the motion from Finance
Committee.
MOTION: Griesemer moved, second by Steinberg, to direct the Town Manager to seek multi-
year funds to fill up to eight community responder positions and report back to the Town
Council, and Residents of Amherst, no later than January 31, 2022 about how he plans to
implement and evaluate the program, and assure that funding can continue in FY23.
MOTION: De Angelis moved, second by Ross, to amend the motion by replacing it with the
following: “To direct the Town Manager to fund, at a minimum, eight community responder
positions to begin no later than February 1, 2022 and report back to the Town Council no later
than January 31, 2022 about how he plans to implement and evaluate the program, and assure
that funding can continue in FY23.”
Pam asked what was changed. De Angelis said there is a change in “to seek” and they need to
change the “up to” eight to a minimum of eight.
De Angelis said she feel this needs to pass as a way to support CSWG’s point that they could be
set up to failure with 4 people. She said the ECAC report struck her, specifically the enhancing
equity and increasing participation which speaks strongly to the CSWG. She said the Co-Chairs
of the CSWG are in support of this motion as well.
Brewer said this addresses her concerns. She said she is uncomfortable with the “at a minimum.”
Brewer said they are wanting things to be implemented and not seeking funds which she
discussed with the Finance Committee. Brewer added that this motion makes it clearer what their
expectations are for FY22 and FY23. She said she will support this and the resolution, but she is
curious to hear more about the minimum.
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Minutes approved by Town Council on [date]Ross asked De Angelis about why there is the date of “no later than February 1st”and why the
January 31st date. De Angelis said it seemed to her that February 1 would give time to design and
implement this because they are starting from zero.
Griesemer explained the other reason is because in the Town Manager proposal for the budget he
chose February 1st as the start time.
Hanneke said she is unsure if she can support this because there is a number here and they don’t’
know what the right number is. She said this feels like it is trying to get around the state law that
says they can’t add money and pass a budget. Hanneke stated that this is a way to allow the
Council to make their lives easier rather than to reject the budget.
Steinberg said at the time of the Finance Committee discussion they didn’t know that Senator
Comerford was going to get her amendment into the Senate budget which is why they put in the
language to mention funding continuing in. He said personally his understanding is that the
charter recognizes the Town Manager as the Chief Executive of the time and it is his
responsibility for implementing programs so Hanneke’s question about whether it is appropriate
to put a number in at all gets at that issue. He said the other thing is in last Saturdays Gazette
there was a lead story about how difficult it is for human services programs to find the kind of
people to work for their programs that are the kind of people they will be looking for.
Griesemer said not only did they learn the money that Senator Comerford and herself had
discussed was now advancing, it still has to survive the conference committee and vetos. She
said Comerford has also made the Council aware of two state programs that are for exactly these
types of programs and that is before the federal monies as well. She said the Town Manager
manages the budget based on what the Council says, and she fully believes there is some
flexibility here, but the goal is to say they need to get this program started with a minimum of 8
because 4 is not enough for 24/7 coverage.
Schoen said it appears that a couple people from the Finance Committee are changing where she
thought they were. She agreed that the Town Manager will have some flexibility. She suggested
making it clearer that they don’t want positions filled because that would allow for some
resources once they got more data. Schoen stated that she was not under the impression that there
was support for that so that’s why she was willing to go with alternative funding.
Bahl-Milne said she is under the impression that they would get more data from LEAP so putting
a number there doesn’t seem appropriate. She spoke about Olympia, Washington had 6
behavioral specialists and Denver started with 4 and increased to 12. She said in terms of the PD,
they have already removed two positions and they don’t’ know what the risk is to the community
until CRESS is up and running.
De Angelis reminded members of the Finance Committee that she voted “NO” against the
recommendation and continues to say it is faulty. She said they have not quite been listening to
everything from the CSWG about what kinds of education or experience a community responder
might have. She added that this is saying the CSWG will work with the Town Manager
regarding what the job descriptions will be. De Angelis said since the Charter says they cannot
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Minutes approved by Town Council on [date]increase budget items, she wants to put pressure on the Town Manager to increase his budget
line.
Bockelman said he is trying to look at this in relation to the motion that was just adopted. He
asked if they are now saying that the adequate staffing number is 8. De Angelis said no.
Bockelman said in the second “Be It Resolved” Section whatever they set it at in FY22 we’ll
keep it at in FY23. He said they are looking to find funds to get this up and running but getting a
department up and running takes time.
De Angelis said the resolution being non-binding is saying this is what the Council wants, and it
is clear that 4 people is not enough. She said 8 is a number suggested by some members of the
CSWG and suggested by Griesemer.
Bahl-Milne suggested adding the phrase, “fund based on findings from LEAP”.
Griesemer asked if the motion is to add that after the word “fund.” Bahl-Milne said they can’t
say at a minimum of 8, it would be based on LEAP’s findings.
Brewer said they are going to get that LEAP information way before January 31. She said the
LEAP data is not the end all be all of their decision and she can’t vote for the FY22 budget
without a motion like this.
Members discussed the dates in the motion further.
Ross said during his time on the Council he has been averse to the micromanaging of the Town
Manager. He said some of his discomfort with the resolution was that they left it open, but he
understood the reasoning for that. Ross said if they get information from LEAP saying 6 is
enough then they can have a bigger conversation. He pointed out that they have in their rules that
they can rescind prior motions. Ross spoke about the public comment and said if the Council
falls short of funding, they need to that they are serious about these issues and the resolution says
that. He said they can’t pass the resolution and the budget without this motion.
Steinberg expressed discomfort because they don’t have data to back up any number as strong as
a minimum of 8. He suggested getting back to some point of where they are in the process.
Griesemer said this was presented as a substitute motion, if it fails they go back to the original
motion.
Hanneke said they will have to vote this twice, one vote to substitute it and if that passes then
they can vote on the actual motion.
Griesemer clarified that De Angelis’s motion is the motion on the table.
Schoen expressed concern for the dates, adding between now and February 1st they will assess
the workload, write job descriptions, and have people starting. She said if they start something
without a firm sense of job descriptions it could set this up to fail.
De Angelis said that date is 7 months from now. Schoen said these are very short timelines could
mean they get it wrong by trying to go too fast. She said she is worried about undercutting the
process by a short timeline.
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Minutes approved by Town Council on [date]Schreiber agreed with Schoen and the reason is this is a brand-new department. He said he is
more comfortable with a performance-based criteria versus prescription-based criteria.
Hanneke said this motion micromanages the Town Manager’s job. She said the Council doesn’t
know if 8 is correct and that is not their job, that is the Town Manager’s job. She said she can’t
support the motion because it goes beyond what they were elected to do. Hanneke said
Bockelman has already presented the budget with some moving at the Council’s request and they
are overstepping their bounds with this motion.
Ross said in response to Schoen and Schreiber, he agrees that it is an aggressive timeline, but is
okay with it because it does align with the timeline proposed by the Town Manager.
Pam said one of the ways to get workers is to recruit people. She agreed that there is going to be
competition for this program because these are not jobs that exist right now.
Ryan expressed concern for micromanaging and said they must give the Town Manager the
space to do his job.
Griesemer read back both motions.
Bahl-Milne said she does not want to micromanage and would find it helpful to hear from the
Town Manager about this timeline.
Bockelman said the February 1 date was purposeful because they wanted external pressure of a
deadline to get it down. He said it is a challenge that he is comfortable with. He said if the
number increases from 4 to 8 they will strive to achieve it. Bockelman said they are working
with the CSWG to design, build, and implement.
DuMont asked about the process saying that she supports this motion and would like to include
more of the goals that have been put forward by the CSWG but wondered in passing a motion
like this that is asking the Town Manager to fund something that is not currently in the budget
doesn’t that require the Council to reject the budget. Griesemer said she does not think it does
but there might be different thinking on the Council about that.
Bockelman said they will continue to seek funds, the bigger challenges they see are FY23 and
24. He said he thinks this year they can accommodate this but the following years it will be
harder.
VOTED 7-5-1 by roll call (Bahl-Milne, Brewer, De Angelis, DuMont, Griesemer, Ross, and
Swartz voted Yes; Hanneke, Pam, Ryan, Schreiber, and Steinberg voted No; Schoen Abstained)
to amend the motion by replacing it with the following: “To direct the Town Manager to fund, at
a minimum, eight community responder positions to begin no later than February 1, 2022 and
report back to the Town Council no later than January 31, 2022 about how he plans to implement
and evaluate the program, and assure that funding can continue in FY23.”
VOTED 7-5-1 (Bahl-Milne, Brewer, De Angelis, DuMont, Griesemer, Ross, and Swartz voted
Yes; Hanneke, Pam, Ryan, Schreiber, and Steinberg voted No; Schoen Abstained) to direct the
Town Manager to fund, at a minimum, eight community responder positions to begin no later
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Minutes approved by Town Council on [date]than February 1, 2022 and report back to the Town Council no later than January 31, 2022 about
how he plans to implement and evaluate the program, and assure that funding can continue in
FY23.
MOTION: Griesemer moved, second by Hanneke, to adopt Appropriation and Transfer Order
FY22-04, “An Order Appropriating the Town of Amherst FY22 Operating Budget”, as
recommended by the Finance Committee report of June 2, 2021, and shown on page 11 of the
draft motion sheet.
Schoen said given what they just passed they are saying the budget will have funding somehow
with 8 instead of 4.
Hanneke said she can vote on this even considering what was just passed because they vote on a
bottom line budget and she does not agree with what just passed, but there is likely money in the
budget come February 1 to fund this budget.
Ross agreed but for opposite reasons. He said he cans support the budget because of what they
just passed. He said looking forward FY23 is a challenge, but 4 was never an acceptable number
and he is not comfortable not passing this budget out of concern for FY23. He acknowledged
that some people will be disappointment by this but is hoping that the Council is committed to
making this work.
Pam said she wanted to vote for the Finance Committee appropriation because she thought it was
flexible and more realistic.
Bahl-Milne said she is going to support the budget because after hearing the Town Manager it is
time to stretch outside the comfort zone and once they commit they will make it happen. She
added that it would be very powerful to the community to get behind this and make it happen.
VOTED 11-2 (Bahl-Milne, Brewer, De Angelis, Griesemer, Hanneke, Pam, Ross, Ryan,
Schoen, Schreiber, and Steinberg voted Yes; DuMont and Swartz voted No) to adopt
Appropriation and Transfer Order FY22-04, “An Order Appropriating the Town of Amherst
FY22 Operating Budget”, as recommended by the Finance Committee report of June 2, 2021,
and shown on page 11 of the draft motion sheet.
c. FY22 Capital Improvement Program
DuMont said she has trouble with some of the line items for equipment and infrastructure that is
still fossil fuel. She acknowledged the progress they have made but she said they can do better.
MOTION: Griesemer moved, Hanneke seconded, to adopt Appropriation and Transfer Order
FY22-06, “An Order Approving and Authorizing Borrowing to Fund Capital Projects – Bond
Authorizations” as recommended by the Finance Committee report of June 2, 2021, and shown
on page 12 of the draft motion sheet.
VOTED 11-2 by roll call (Bahl-Milne, Brewer, De Angelis, Griesemer, Hanneke, Pam, Ross,
Ryan, Schoen, Schreiber, and Steinberg voted Yes; DuMont and Swartz voted No) to adopt
Appropriation and Transfer Order FY22-06, “An Order Approving and Authorizing Borrowing
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Minutes approved by Town Council on [date]You can also read
