With Reservations, Council Approves $650,000 for Wastewater Plant Study

Report on the Meeting of the Amherst Town Council, September 15, 2025

This hybrid meeting was held in Town Hall and on Zoom. It was recorded.

Present
Lynn Griesemer (President, District 2), Andy Steinberg, Mandi Jo Hanneke, and Ellisha Walker (at large), Cathy Schoen and Freke Ette (District 1), Pat DeAngelis (District 2), George Ryan and Hala Lord (District 3), Pam Rooney and Jennifer Taub (District 4), Bob Hegner and Ana Devlin Gauthier (District 5). Staff: Paul Bockelman (Town Manager) and Athena O’Keeffe (Council Clerk)

Reduced Spending for Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade Study
After not receiving satisfactory answers at the September 8 meeting as to why a study of the Wastewater Treatment plant was so costly and why the proposal was not put out to bid, Superintendent of Public Works Guilford Mooring provided councilors with more information. Although several councilors were not entirely satisfied with his presentation, the council voted unanimously to approve $650,000 for CDM Smith to do the study. 

In justifying not asking for bids, Mooring stated that public works projects are exempt from state procurement laws, and that the town often uses consultants that they are familiar with, instead of putting out a Request for Qualifications. He said that using a company familiar with a particular town system and with which the town has had a previous positive experience saves time. CDM Smith has done a lot of work on the town’s wastewater treatment plant and is currently doing a chlorination study, so it makes sense to have them do a full study on how best to upgrade the plant. The original estimate for the study 10 years ago was $500,000, and Mooring said the cost now was projected to be $750,000 because of inflation. However, the actual estimate that he received was slightly less than $650,000.

Councilors were still leery of the high price tag. Cathy Schoen asked what Northampton spent for their recent wastewater treatment plant study. Mooring responded that Northampton did not do a full study. Mandi Jo Hanneke asked how the town knows that it is getting a competitive cost estimate if there is only one source, especially if the town has been doing sole sourcing for decades. “We have a responsibility to the taxpayers,” she said. 

Town Manager Paul Bockelman said that a new company would need to come in and acquaint themselves with the facility before entering a bid. Mooring stated that the town usually does not request bids for “design services.” The DPW chooses who they feel is the best designer and accepts the price given. He said this is not the same process used to hire a contractor for construction. “No one in Amherst wants to spend money,” he continued. “I sit in my building that leaks on us all the time, and we try to make a project that’s going to work, and I get asked these questions. We work really hard to make this work, even though no one wants to spend money on the projects we need to do.”

Town Councilor George Ryan replied, “We’re not casting aspersions on you or any of your staff. We’re just trying to be able to explain to our constituents an expenditure that’s a fairly large expenditure. We just had a $750,000 request, and we didn’t really have any clarity as to why it was that amount, what the scope of work was, and why it was only a single source. We’re getting a better sense tonight, and I appreciate that.”

Utility Wires at New University Drive/Amity Street Roundabout Cannot Be Underground
When Eversource presented the plan to relocate a utility pole at the intersection of University Drive and Amity Street because the existing pole would be at the center of the soon-to-be constructed roundabout, Town Councilors expressed a preference for the new wires to be placed underground and delayed a decision on the project. The plan submitted by Eversource has the main pole relocated to the northwest side of the intersection, which means that a smaller “stub” pole with an anchor will be placed at the southwest corner with a guy wire passing diagonally between the two to prevent the main wires from sagging over the road. 

Mooring explained that the $1.9 million MassWorks grant that the town received did not include underground utilities, and that putting the wires underground was not considered when the roundabout was conceived. He said that, unlike single water and sewer lines, the main pole contains service for eight lines from Verizon, Comcast, Five College, and GoNet Mobile, so that each of those entities would have to design how the service would be put underground, and providing the necessary separations between them would require a tunnel to be built under the intersection. In addition to increasing the cost of the extra work to the town, coordinating the various designs would delay the project, so that the town would likely lose the grant that has a deadline of June 2026. He added that Eversource’s policy is not to put lines underground if the distance is less than one-half mile. He thought that Eversource would be willing to sit down with the town in the future to develop a plan to put more service underground. He noted that, as the town moves away from fossil fuels, more electrical service will be needed. 

Hanneke was upset that putting the lines underground was not considered when the project was planned, especially when the council had been urging it for several years. Pam Rooney noted that this seems to be a perfect time to put lines underground, because the whole intersection will be redone. She added that the developer of the large mixed-use development planned for that corner is able to add a sixth floor because the council approved an overlay district there last month, so might be requested to pay for some of the added expense of burying the wires. 

Griesemer said, “It looks like we are at the mercy of the utilities.” With misgivings, the council voted unanimously to accept the Eversource plan.

Public Forum on the Master Plan Spurs Input from North Amherst
Senior Planner Nate Malloy gave a brief presentation on the Master Plan, which was passed by the Planning Board in 2010 and approved by the Town Council in 2020. A public forum on the plan is required by the Town Charter every year. The Master Plan is required by state law for every municipality that has a Planning Board. Amherst’s current plan was its first in 40 years, and its creation involved extensive participation from residents. The plan has received periodic updates since its inception, but is due for a more thorough revision in 2030. 

The Master Plan contains chapters on goals and a policy statement, land use, demographics and housing, economic development, natural and cultural resources, open space and recreation, services and facilities, transportation and circulation, and implementation. Malloy gave examples from each chapter and illustrated how recent changes, such as the creation of multi- use paths and affordable housing further the goals of the plan. 

Meg Gage told how a diverse group of North Amherst residents in the District One Neighborhood Association (DONA) studied how the plan could be best implemented in North Amherst and producing an 8-page report three years ago. The report noted the two village centers (near the North Amherst Library and at Cushman), 10 apartment complexes, fertile farmland, and terrible traffic problems and issues with bicycle and pedestrian safety. She thought much of their process and many of their conclusions are applicable to the rest of the town.

Former District One resident Andy Churchill, who was part of the DONA group, felt it would be useful to have an inventory of where development can and can’t happen—what areas are protected wetlands, floodplains, or conservation areas. He also advocated for a new, “integrated” traffic plan to link North Amherst to the rest of the town and to UMass, and for form-based design guidelines for development near the town centers to standardize designs for new developments.

Eve Vogel, also a District One resident and part of DONA, noted that the town still needs a multi-modal transportation plan, asthe map of safe routes was never completed. 

Marsh House Condo Residents Request Elimination of One Parking Space to Improve Visibility
Steve Judge, a resident of the Marsh House condominiums at 151 Amity Street, came before the council to call attention to the difficulty cars have in exiting the driveway on Amity Street because they cannot see around parked vehicles on Amity Street. He requested that one parking space on Amity Street be eliminated and the remaining spaces be moved away from the driveway to provide better visibility.

District 4 Councilor Jennifer Taub presented a draft motion to this effect, noting that there have been 100 traffic accidents in that area of Amity Street in the past 10 years, a higher incident rate than in other areas of town, according to police. The motion before the council was to refer the matter to the Town Services and Outreach committee (TSO). Although the motion passed unanimously, Hanneke complained that not all of the accidents cited by Taub occurred in front of the driveway, and asked that TSO discuss what rate of accidents should require corrective action. 

Council Endorses Expansion of PVTA Service and Use of Fair Share Fund Surplus for Schools
The council voted unanimously to support a plea from the UMass Student Government Association (SGA) to expand PVTA service to the towns between Amherst and Greenfield. The SGA letter states, “The proposed initiative represents a strategic effort to significantly enhance public transit throughout the Pioneer Valley region. Key elements of the initiative include increasing the frequency of current bus routes, extending operational service hours, and establishing new transit connections between neighboring municipalities. These enhancements aim to substantially improve transportation accessibility for students, residents, and local businesses, facilitating efficient and reliable regional movement.”

The council also voted unanimously to support Massachusetts Teachers Association’s (MTA) efforts to have the state use surplus Fair Share funds to alleviate the fiscal crisis in the state’s public schools. School Committee member Deb Leonard brought the initiative to the council’s attention. Individuals learn more about the MTA campaign at https://massteacher.org/current-initiatives/fiscal-crisis. 

The next council meeting will be held on October 6.