AMHERST — Town councilors want the next strategic partnership with the University of Massachusetts to include more money for public K-12 schools, town roads and public safety, continued advocacy for better payment in lieu of taxes on state-owned land and assurances that Amherst can collect some property tax revenue from campus public-private partnership developments.
With the current deal between the town and UMass expiring at the end of June 2027, members of the Town Council Monday gave advice to Town Manager Paul Bockelman on what they would like to see him prioritize during negotiations with university leaders, which are expected to start in November.
District 5 Councilor Sam MacLeod said UMass is fantastic for the town, which has grown alongside the university, and UMass students drive the local economy. But he said the university should understand the challenges the town faces.
“I think it’s crucial that the university and other institutions in town recognize the plight that we face in trying to balance our budget and meet our needs,” MacLeod said.
One area of impact is the thousands of additional people using town roads, and the $45 million in deferred maintenance, and ways UMass could help address that.
District 1 Councilor Jill Brevik said the new deal should include support for the town’s Community Responders for Equity, Safety and Service, the unarmed police alternative, as well as for the rising costs of education and how strong schools can support recruitment of university faculty and staff.
“Taking into account the pressure on our public schools, the rising costs, the pretty unustainable financial outlook and the proven connection between strong schools and the overall economic health of the town,” Brevik said, urging Bockelman to go in with a strong ask. “A substantial investment would make a huge difference.”
In June 2023, the two sides inked an agreement, the sixth since 1995, that provided $5.5 million in investments over the five-year period retroactive to July 1, 2022, with $750,000 annually for fire and ambulance, $200,000 a year for education to account for families living in tax-exempt housing, $100,000 a year for the town’s safe and healthy neighborhoods initiative, including a more rigorous rental inspection program, and $25,000 a year for other services.
The strategic partnership also has one-time payments, $400,000 for a new ambulance, $50,000 for economic development and $65,000 for a pedestrian safety study along the town-owned North Pleasant Street corridor. In addition, the agreement spells out how the town can collect lodging taxes from the UMass Hotel.
A theme running through the comments from councilors is better funding.
District 2 Councilor Amber Cano-Martin said the town should be getting more than $200,000 a year from UMass for public education, while District 4 Councilor Pam Rooney said that better support for the rental inspection program would ease the town’s ability to hire and retain inspectors.
District 5 Councilor Ana Devlin Gauthier said concrete funding for “mutually beneficial” initiatives is important, with road repairs and traffic calming providing clear benefits to students and faculty.
While money is important, so is continued advocacy at the State House.
District 2 Councilor Lynn Griesemer said she would like to see the new deal spell out how UMass advocates in the state Legislature for improved payment in lieu of taxes on the large number of acres owned by UMass in town, which is off the tax rolls.
The future public-private partnerships UMass is envisioning for construction of new dormitories and overhaul of the existing on-campus housing also should provide a tax boost to the town.
Council President Mandi Jo Hanneke said that commercial activity on campus not directly tied to education, such as start ups and incubator space, means lost revenue, and the town should have an opportunity to capture some of that.
At Large Councilor Andy Churchill said he would like to see a focus on housing, especially for faculty members and staff as well as students, goals aligned with those of Gov. Maura Healey.
He suggested revisiting the Gateway concept, a rezoning proposal that was scrapped amid neighborhood opposition, in the early 2010s, with redevelopment of the former fraternity row and UMass-donated land that could have meant taxable student housing.
“The need has gotten greater and I think maybe the recognition that a mixed-use corridor between the university, along North Pleasant Street, might help channel some student traffic along that route rather than through neighborhoods” Churchill said.
