AMHERST — A sewer extension project that ensures all homes in Amherst Woods can be connected to the municipal sewer system, and an easement that will improve pedestrian safety at a roundabout proposed for the northern end of downtown, both gained Town Meeting approval Wednesday.
At the fourth session, members unanimously OK’d $3 million in borrowing for the second phase of extending sewer lines into Amherst Woods, which will be paid back through the sewer enterprise fund over the next 20 years.
Sigurd Nilsen, a Precinct 8 member and president of the Amherst Woods Neighborhood Association, said homeowners are anxious to get sewer connections, with many having failing septic systems that would be costly to replace.
The project had been planned as part of a $4.2 million project for both Amherst Woods and Harkness Road, approved by Town Meeting in 2011, but engineering and construction costs were significantly higher than what was budgeted, said Department of Public Works Superintendent Guilford Mooring.
“Our consultant designed it correctly, planned it correctly, (but) misestimated everything,” Mooring said.
Alan Root of Precinct 5 said he is appalled that the cost projection could have been “100 percent wrong.” “How do we prevent this from happening again?” Root asked.
Mooring said he has received assurances from the consultant, whom he did not name, that the composition of the consulting team has changed.
“We’re looking at how we can do things better,” Mooring said.
Mooring said the new project will have no effect on property taxes and a minimal impact on the sewer rate in future years.
Meanwhile, a much-discussed roundabout proposed for the intersection of Triangle and East Pleasant streets again became the subject of extensive debate before Town Meeting voted 119-32 in support of an easement, or eminent domain, to acquire a sliver of land near the Bank of America ATM.
This will allow the redesign of the intersection into a roundabout and make it work better by having the sidewalk on the roundabout’s perimeter moved back from the roadway, said Select Board member Constance Kruger.
She said the roundabout will be built. “It’s already been decided following all of our required procedures,” Kruger said.
Aaron Hayden, of Precinct 8, who also serves as chairman of the town’s Public Transportation, Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee, said the committee supports the project.
But other Town Meeting members took the opportunity to debate the wisdom of the roundabout.
Shavahn Best of Precinct 9 said she was disappointed that other ways of improving the intersection, including changing traffic signals or adding turn lanes, were no longer being considered.
“I kind of expected that we would get to hear more about the other two options,” Best said.
Pedestrians may feel unsafe using a roundabout, said Elissa Rubinstein of Precinct 10. “There is no guarantee that the traffic is going to stop for you,” Rubinstein said.
A motion to dismiss the article by Michael Birtwistle of Precinct 2, who argued that it was premature to take up the matter with no known funding for building the roundabout, was defeated 103-35.
Town Meeting more quickly acquired easements from a property owner on Pine Street for sidewalks already installed as part of a road project completed in 2015.
Town Meeting completed spending articles by repurposing money appropriated in previous years. This included taking $306,000 already borrowed for renovating the East Street School and using the money instead to buy breathing apparatus devices for the Fire Department, with another $106,000 from the school project going to buy a one-ton dump truck and a three-quarter-ton plow/pickup truck for the DPW.
With $4 million for upgrades to the Centennial water treatment plant in Pelham on hold, $2.1 million of this spending will instead go toward improvements to several water mains.
Alan Powell of Precinct 4 said he is concerned about delaying this. “Is this something we’ll have to re-fund at a later date?” Powell asked.
Mooring said a pilot study of improving water treatment was done, but town officials, for now, opted against pursuing a new filtration system.
Town Meeting agreed that $190,148 in Community Preservation Act money for renovating the North Common, approved last fall, could go toward immediate work, rather than being contingent on receiving a state grant.
Assistant Town Manager David Ziomek said this will pay for a design process beginning in the fall. About $35,000 will be used for an engineering and landscape architect team to work with the town to design the improvements and then begin the work.
In other action, Town Meeting unanimously agreed to transfer a portion of the Hawthorne Farm property on East Pleasant Street for use as affordable housing. Habitat for Humanity is already constructing a duplex at the location.
The Percent for Art Bylaw, which was to be taken up Wednesday, was pushed back to the May 18 session after confusion over the text of the bylaw being presented to Town Meeting members, which differed from the language the Public Art Commission intended to adopt.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
