Council Allots $250,000 for Public Art at New Elementary School

Report on the Meeting of the Amherst Town Council, May 19, 2025

This was a hybrid meeting and was recorded.

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

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

Public Art Commission Advocates for $250,000 for Public Art at New Elementary School 

Amherst’s “Percent for Art” bylaw, adopted in 2020, specifies that 0.5% of the town’s cost of public building construction be devoted to public art displays. For the new elementary school being built at Fort River, that amount would be $250,000, which is 0.5% of the $50 million bond for the school. The remainder of the $100 million cost is being funded by the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA). In an attempt to lessen the burden of the building project on the taxpayers, Councilor Cathy Schoen (District 1) recommended that the budget for public art be reduced to $100,000. That motion, as well as another by Bob Hegner (District 5) to reduce the amount to $200,000, was defeated. As a result, the Amherst Public Art Commission (APAC) will have $250,000 to devote to public art at the new school.

APAC members prepared a presentation to advocate for the full amount to be allocated to public art for the new school. They noted that Amherst and Cambridge are the only municipalities in the state that have a percent for art bylaw, and that the Fort River site is the first opportunity for Amherst to apply the bylaw. According to APAC member Lori Friedman, Cambridge spent $650,000 on a public art project for a school in 2020. APAC chair Tom Warger argued that the decision made by the council “can define Amherst’s commitment to art as a meaningful piece of civic life.” Commissioners stressed that with federal funding for art being slashed, it was important for Amherst to support the bylaw. Commissioner Dara Barrios/Dixon stated, “Art is not a luxury. It engages our spirits. Hardly anyone walks away from a piece of art without thinking something and having an opinion, and sometimes new or renewed ways of thinking.” 

Commission members outlined the history of the Percent for Art bylaw. It was first championed by the late APAC chair Eric Broudy and approved by Town Meeting in 2017. However, that bylaw was challenged by the state Department of Revenue and a new committee was formed to modify it to be appropriate for the new town council form of town government which came into being in 2019. With the advice of the town’s attorneys, a revised bylaw was adopted that stated that the amount of funding of a project devoted to public art be a separate line in a project’s budget, giving the Town Council the ability to lower the amount if it sees fit. The council passed the revised bylaw unanimously in 2020. 

Friedman outlined a budget for the artwork. The commission felt the installation should be outdoors, reserving the indoor corridors of the school for student work. The $250,000 budget had $25,000 for a project manager, $37,500 for artist fees, $125,000 for fabrication and installation, $12,500 for artist travel and accommodation, $10,000 for documentation, $12,500 for signage and promotion, and a contingency fee of $20,000 or 8%. The presentation included several examples of public art from around the country and their costs. 

The Cambridge school project had 316 applicants. APAC plans to appoint a committee equivalent to an art jury to evaluate proposals and select four or five finalists and hold a public hearing for input in the selection of the final art. Warger noted that the bylaw gives guidance on how the art should be selected. He suggested that space on the school building be devoted to murals that can change over time, as is now the case with the murals on the existing school, but that the art funded by the bylaw be a permanent installation. Town councilor Pam Rooney (District 4) said she hoped that a local artist would be chosen. Hegner hoped that the art departments at UMass and Amherst College would be involved in the process.

Moves to Decrease Funds for Public Art Fail
In defending her motion to decrease the budget for public art at the school to $100,000, Schoen noted that the Elementary School Building committee cut costs for other aspects of the project in order to save the taxpayers money. For instance, the granite curbs were replaced with asphalt, and she felt that the public art was another place for possible savings. Although Warger admitted that the project could function with any level of funding, increasing the available funds would allow for a piece of greater quality. He said APAC had done a lot of research since the March meeting when the reduction was proposed, and they feel that the $250,000 budget is warranted.

Schoen’s motion failed by a vote of 2-7-1 (Schoen and Rooney voted yes and Ellisha Walker (at large) abstained). Hegner’s motion to reduce the amount for the public art to $200,000 failed in a tie vote of 5-5 (Schoen, Rooney, Hegner, Walker, and Hala Lord voted yes). Therefore, the public art for the school will receive the $250,000 budget specified in the bylaw. 

Three Amity Street Parking Spaces and Sidewalk Lost for Jones Expansion Project
The construction for the expansion of the Jones Library will require the fencing off from June 15, 2025 through December 15, 2025 of the sidewalk and bicycle lane in front of the building and three parking spaces on Amity Street, one of which is a 15-minute space. The crosswalk from the municipal parking lot across Amity Street will be blocked off, and the bus stop at North Prospect Street will be eliminated. There is another bus stop 700 feet away at Lincoln Avenue. The vehicle travel lanes on Amity Street will remain open during construction.

Because this is a town project, fees for the long-term use of the parking spaces will be waived. These changes are spelled out in the logistics plan for the project from July of 2024. The plan was approved by the Planning Board in October of 2024. The emergency entrance/exit at the rear of the Drake will remain open to pedestrians.

Councilors wanted reassurance that there would be signage to notify bicyclists that there is no bicycle lane along the north side of Amity Street near the library and that the crosswalk from the parking lot is closed. The vote was 10-0 to approve the long-term use of the public way requested.

Council Unanimously Passes Regional School Budget
The Town Council unanimously passed the $19.74 million appropriation for the town’s share of the $37 million FY26 Regional school budget. Amherst is the third town in the region to approve the budget proposed by the school committee. Pelham and Leverett have already given their approval, and Shutesbury votes on May 31. Three of the four towns must adopt the budget. Even with and overall  budget increase of 5% over the previous year (Amherst’s share requires a 4.81% increase for the town), the regional schools are projected to lose 11 positions, and the financial implications for the future are uncertain. The approved budget does preserve the middle school academic team schedules and two counselors at the high school.

Finance Committee Chair Schoen stated that future increases of more than 3 or 3.5% are not sustainable. “We totally support the schools, but recognize that the region faces a challenge of how to adjust to declining enrollment and continue to provide a strong educational program,” she said. “We will need to work together with the other towns to plan for the future.”

Council president Lynn Griesemer (District 2) noted that in the past there has been discussion of cuts in staffing that have not actually occurred. She asked for a report in the fall of “exactly where we are in relationship to cuts in staffing and student enrollment as compared to previous years.”

Eversource Granted Permission to Upgrade Electrical Service for the New Elementary School
A public hearing was held for the plan for Eversource to install four new underground duct banks to supply electricity to the new elementary school at Fort River. The service to the existing school is at the north end of the property, but the new service will enter at the south end where the new school is located. Two of the ducts will supply the primary service to the school and two will be for secondary service for the solar panels. Excavation for this installation is now occurring on the East Common.

No new poles will be erected, and DPW Superintendent Guilford Mooring stated that the new service lines will not interfere with any planned redesign of South East Street. The proposal passed without objection on the consent agenda.

Town Manager Reports that Bond Rating Remains Good
Bockelman reported that the recent evaluation of the town’s finances resulted in a continued bond rating of AA+ with a stable outlook. He said that the town has adequate reserves, a pro-active management team, and strong budgetary practices. Where the rating suffers, he continued, is in the demographics—that residents’ income appears low due to the large student population with little income. He has tried to make the case that the income of the students’ parents should be taken into account when figuring the per capita income, but without success.

Council Rejects Decreasing Density for Additional Dwelling Units in the General Residence Zone
The Planning Board suggested that the minimum lot size for additional dwelling units in the general residence zone (RG) be increased from 4,000 to 6,000 square feet by amending footnote m in the dimensional and use table 3.3 (page 28ff of the Zoning Bylaw). Planning Board chair Doug Marshall stated that the impetus for recommending the change was the passage of the state’s new regulations encouraging the construction of accessory dwelling units (ADUs), which was expected to primarily impact the RG district because it is closest to downtown and UMass. He added that the Planning Board is looking to encourage increased density on University Drive, in North Amherst, and possibly in other areas of town. 

This proposal was soundly criticized. Mandi Jo Hanneke (at large) maintained that the state is in a housing crisis and that two recent housing laws at the state level were passed to encourage more housing and denser development. George Ryan (District 3) said that the proposal seemed like a step backwards. He said he did not think the council and the town staff should spend time on it. 

The proposal failed 2-8 with Rooney and Schoen voting for it. By state law, zoning changes are to be referred to the Planning Board. It is unclear how the town should proceed when the referral was voted down.

Proclamations Passed for Memorial Day, Pride Month, and Race Amity Day
Memorial Day will be celebrated by a parade from Spring Street on the Town Common to the War Memorial pool at 9 a.m. followed by a ceremony at 10 a.m. to remember and honor the memory of all those who fought and died in all American wars and conflicts.

The town is designating the month of June to recognize lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer (LGBTQ+) people. The proclamation states, “We must remain vigilant and active against any political efforts to enact anti-LGBTQ+ legislation or to overturn prior hard-fought, recognized rights; and we recognize that queer and trans people of color have been and remain at the forefront of that struggle for those rights.” Amherst’s first gay pride parade will take place on Sunday, June 22.

There will be a celebration of Race Amity Day at Mill River Recreation area on Sunday, June 8. The program will include basketball, family-centered activities, and presentation of the Youth Hero awards. The proclamation states, “The Town of Amherst, acting on its commitment to becoming a town free of prejudice and racism, invites individuals, communities, and neighborhoods, in celebration of the beauty and richness of our diverse cultural, ethnic, and racial backgrounds, to strengthen bonds of respect, caring, appreciation, admiration, and amity between one another.”