Amherst’s new form of government a work in progress – GazetteNET

AMHERST One year into the Town Council becoming Amhersts legislative body,goals to confrontclimate change have been adopted, projects to provide more affordable housing are in progress and the foundation for a series of municipal building projects is set.

Even with these successes highlighted in her state of the town address earlier this month, Council President Lynn Griesemer didnt shy away from observing that a significant challengeconfronts the councilas 2020 nears: making the councilors jobs more manageable.

For both those who supported and opposed adopting the charter crafted by the Charter Commission, there is agreement that the amount of timethe 13 councilors are spending on town affairs needs to be addressed. The first-ever Town Council was sworn in on Dec. 2, 2019.

Mandi Jo Hanneke, the only commissioner whoran for and won a seat on the Town Council,said she expected significant work, understanding that the jobwould be to keep the town running, adopting budgets and making decisions on spending while also setting up the processes for operating the council fairly, effectively and efficiently.

My personal experience as a councilor has generally been what I imagined it might be when I was on the Charter Commission, Hanneke said.

As Lynn mentioned, many councilors, including myself, want to work towardmaking the time commitment more manageable, Hanneke added. This is an especially important goal for me, due to my work on the Charter Commission.

Thecommissioners, Hanneke said, hoped that any resident would be willing and able to serve, including those with full-time jobs or young children at home.

I still believe that as the council moves beyond setting up its operating structures, we will be able to achieve that goal, Hanneke said.

Former commission member Meg Gage, who opposed the charter and replacingrepresentative Town Meeting, said she feels the council hasnt done much over the past 12 months, in part because of how time-consuming its work has been.

As should have been expected, setting things up has dominated all the council does, Gage said. We need people to run for reelection for continuity, and its a real concern that people may not want to run.

A Town Meeting member who opposed the charter,Maurianne Adams said the results have not met what she described as overly optimistic predictions, though she said its not forlack of working hard.

It has turned out to be far more daunting than the proposers had suggested to create a new council while also trying to divvy up executive-legislative roles, and all of this while running the government, meeting needs and deadlines, and making difficult decisions, Adams said.

Former commissioner Nick Grabbe said he worries about regular meetingsdragging on for four to five hours, though he still supports the charter and new form of government because of the accountability it brings.

We want councilors to seek reelection so voters can decide if theywant to keep them or not, Grabbe said.

Michael Greenebaum, another former Town Meeting member opposed to the charter, said the length of meetings is denying residents the chance to fully participate. Thats an inadvertent way of separating the council from the public, which is disturbing to me, Greenebaum said.

Andy Churchill, who chaired the Charter Commission, said the analogy of building the airplane while flying it is appropriate.

They are trying to establish procedures at the same time as they are trying to run the town, thats going to be more work, Churchill said.

Town Manager Paul Bockelmanpraises the councilors for their commitment.

Its more workbecause its a new entity finding its pathway. Its a lot of time for the council to determine the process for making decisions, Bockelman said.

He also praised town staff and the more rigorous analysis and improved presentations demanded.

Its forced all of us toup our gameto meet expectationsof the council, Bockelman said.

Aside from the workload, supporters are pleased with just how will the council has functioned.

Katherine Appy, a leader of the Amherst Forward political action committee that endorsedcandidates, said the past year has seen an incredible effort to get structures in place and to govern.

Across the board, they have shown themselves to be responsive to community needs while keeping the big picture in sight for what's best for the town, Appy said.

Thenext challenges are clear for the council,Appy said, which is to develop and enact a strategic capital plan.

Hanneke, too, said she believes that residents have been well served by thecharter, with easy access to councilors and a government that is flexible enough to act, pointing to the recent decision on spending for a playground at Kendrick Park. Under Town Meeting, providing such a match for a state grant would have been almost impossible due to timing issues.

Churchill said the government model is akin toa CEO and board of directors, and from that view, the council has done exactly what was anticipated

I feel like theyve done a pretty good job representing the perspectivesof the town and working together, Churchill said.

Gage agreed with that. Im very impressed with the cohesion that seems to exist and the general respect everyone has for everyone else, Gage said.

Greenebaum said thediversity of the council has been demonstrated in the few unanimousvotes it has taken.

Grabbesaid the new government means residents know and elect their councilors.

It is wonderful that the decision-makers in Amherst, all of them now have accountability to voters, Grabbe said. For me, its all about democracy. Town Meetingwasnt democratic and didnt legitimately have accountability to voters.

People feel theyknow who to call to be responsive, Churchill said.

Griesemer said this is the compliment she hears the most, that residents can easily get in touch with their district representatives to make their views known.

Gage, though, said she has seen a council focused on neighborhoods rather than the full town, pointing to the decision to install a temporary bridge on Station Road after District 5 residents putpressure on the council.

Im worried that people are participating around neighborhood issues rather than whats best for the whole town, Gage said.

Many of the fears opponents expressed, such as that the council would cause rampantdevelopment to take place in town due to developers buying elections, has not come to pass, Grabbe said.

Still, Greenebaum said heworries about the northern end of downtown where long-established businesses like The Pub and Cousins Market may be closing to make way for a new project.

Im in great distress with whats happening in town and would like the council to indicate how it feels about that, Greenebaum, said.

One area that Hannekesaid has been less successful and will need work to match the ideals in the charter isthe annual public forums on the schools, master plan, and town budget.

While they haven't been as well attended as the commission had hoped, they have served their purpose for those individuals that came out, Hanneke said. The council has a lot more work ahead of it to make these events into the robust discussions the commission envisioned.