RESIDENTS RAISE OBJECTIONS TO PROSPECT OF NEW DPW FACILITY ON SOUTH EAST STREET: TOWN OFFICIALS URGED TO CONSIDER OTHER SITES

An energized crowd of about 30 neighbors attended a District 2 meeting at Fort River Elementary School on the night of Tuesday, July 23, eager to express their opposition to siting a Department of Public Works (DPW) facility on South East Street near Tamarack Drive and Stanley Street.

In attendance were five Amherst Town Councilors – Lynn Griesemer, Pat De Angelis, George Ryan, Evan Ross and Cathy Schoen – as well as Town Manager Paul Bockelman, Assistant Town Manager David Ziomek, Public Works Superintendent Guilford Mooring and Fire Chief Tim Nelson.

Town Council President Griesemer began with a short presentation outlining the urgent need for a new Fire Station and DPW facility, and the selection of sites for each project. With the current DPW location on South Pleasant Street being the preferred site for a future Fire Station headquarters, the Town has been looking for a suitable location for a new DPW facility. A number of possible sites have been ruled out because they include wetlands, conservation lands, endangered species, lack sufficient space or are no longer available.

Recently, Amherst College agreed to allow the town explore a college-owned property on South East Street by Stanley Street. The 27-acre parcel, currently zoned for “Residential Low Density”, is flat and open and would have ample space for a DPW.  A feasibility study from 2016 estimated a new DPW would be a 79,000 square-foot facility on about eight acres.

All but two of the residents present on Tuesday who asked questions or made comments spoke in strong opposition to locating a DPW next to their residential neighborhood. Concerns raised included excessive noise, light pollution, hazardous materials, potential flooding from paving over what is now grassland, and decline of home values. Adrian Fabos of 302 South East Street raised the issue of the site’s zoning, and said that it would either need a Special Permit – a stringent process that he has personally experienced – or the zoning would need to be changed. Ziomek acknowledged that this property, if it was to be pursued, would have to be fully studied. The project would go before the Zoning Board of Appeals, Conservation Commission and Historical Commission.

Only two residents present spoke in favor of locating a DPW at the South East Street property. Bernie Kubiak of 1183 South East Street, 2 miles south of Stanley Street, spoke of how long this has been in planning, while Ted Parker of 26 Woodlot Road mentioned there will be opposition regardless of where it is located and “we all have to check our privilege. If this was proposed for any part of town, another group of neighbors would be here,” he said.

Pat Ononibaku of 28 Tamarack Drive noted, “I’m looking around this room and there are not a lot of people here who look like me.” Ononibaku appeared to be the only person of color in the room. Originally from Nigeria, she said she is an American citizen and has been resident in Amherst for 35 years, a business owner in Amherst for 11 years, and had five children attend Amherst public schools. “There are a lot of people in that area who rent. People who won’t come to meetings like this. Let’s spread this project to different parts of town and not just a diverse neighborhood,” she said.

Joanna Morse of 435 Potwine Lane added, “It is troubling to me that two of the sites that have been ruled out are close to high income homes. This site is close to low and middle income homes. That doesn’t sit right with me.”

A number of other residents were in agreement, stating that the site was “targeted” because the surrounding neighborhoods are lower income.

Fire Chief Tim Nelson disagreed that this was any kind of effort to dump an industrial facility on a low income neighborhood. Mentioning that he has family in Flint, Mich., where the water has been contaminated with lead for a number of years, he said he would have nothing to do with this project if he thought the neighborhood was intentionally being targeted.

Jim Brissette of 180 Stanley Street commented that there is still ill will among his neighbors toward the more affluent Amherst Woods neighborhood over the failure to build a solar array on the landfill a number of years ago.

At times, Griesemer’s responses to neighbor challenges were perceived as testy by some of the residents. Rachel Harb of Willow Lane stood up, faced Griesemer and said, “This is hard for me to say, but you did not answer Pat Ononibaku in a respectful way when you said “We didn’t target your area.” Ononibaku added, “You were dismissive.” Griesemer accepted the feedback and criticism.

This writer asked about the possibility of ‘free’ electricity for abutters as a trade-off for locating the facility in their immediate area, as had been reported in the Amherst Indy last week.  Only Councilor Pat De Angelis responded. 

“Andra Rose of Mothers Out Front has talked about that as a possibility. It’s not something the Town is talking about right now”, she said. Later, Bockelman mentioned that, with the DPW only needing 8 acres, there would be ample space remaining for a solar array, suggesting that there could be opportunities for a microgrid of shared power.  

As the meeting wrapped up, Phyllis Keenan of 10 Stanley Street asked, “What will the Town do if you cannot use this site?”. Bockelman responded that they will keep searching for a location for a DPW facility. He said the decision whether to move forward with the South East Street site is ultimately the Town Council’s, which will continue to seek input from neighbors and abutters to guide their decision making.

Residents can submit comments via an online form here.

More information about the Fire Station and DPW projects can be found here.