President Gigi Barnhill called the meeting of the Amherst Club to order at noon on Tuesday, August 22nd, 2017, and welcomed us all.

There is no brown bag lunch this month.

Announcements:

Amherst Club Gigantic and Delightful Tag Sale – Note the date: Sat. Sep. 9^th, raindate Sunday 10^th. The town has confirmed our reservation of the common. All proceeds will go to a Club charity. We hope to make some $$ for our charities!

 

Several people asked if the tag sale would have designated categories of merchandise: no used clothing, except genuine vintage pieces or artistic pieces. Accessories such as scarves, hats, and purses are acceptable.  No appliances. No food may be sold. The location is the Amherst Common; the hours are 9 am – 12 noon.

 

There is no charge to participate. Bring your own chair and blanket/table etc. Each participant must clean up after themselves, and remove all unsold merchandise by 1 pm.  

 

Come one, come all - we'll have fun! Please let Linda know if you can participate (honan@cpe.umass.edu).

Kayaking on the Connecticut, Sunderland to Northampton. Sunday September 24^th.  Annual fundraiser for All Out Adventures, one of our charities. Have fun in the outdoors and help out this great organization – details at AllOutAdventures.org.

 

Poem:

Jacqui Price read a charming and funny poem, Jubilee, by Gabrielle Calvocoressi.

 

Speaker:

Larry Siddall introduced our speaker, Andy Churchill, Charter commission chairman, who discussed the charter commission’s Preliminary Report, which is available online at the town website.  The commission’s facebook page is at https://www.facebook.com/amherstcharter/ .

A synopsis of the proposal follows:

PROPOSED FORM OF GOVERNMENT Town Council · 13 members: 3 at-large, 2 per each of five wards (1 ward = 2 precincts) · Elected to 2-year terms; all elected at once · Meets at least monthly, year round · Exercises policy leadership and legislative powers; able to set its own agenda for ongoing discussions · Calls Public Forums three times a year · Writes and passes bylaws (including zoning changes, which require 2/3 vote) · Votes on budget prepared by Town Manager and makes recommendations on budget · Votes on citizen initiatives and acts on topics requested by group petition · Hires and evaluates Town Manager · Sets priorities for Town Manager · Appoints Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals · Approves Town Manager's appointments · Has Finance Subcommittee and creates other subcommittees as necessary

 

The final report is due Sept. 29. The commission would then make a recommendation that voters would consider in March.

Raffle:  Andy Churchill won the wine, Angelo Mazzocco won the $10, and Ellen Kosmer won two homegrown tomatoes from Phyllis Lehrer’s garden!

Your scribe,

Linda Honan