AMHERST — Although only half the amount originally sought by the town manager, the Town Council is providing an extra $500,000 from free cash for resurfacing roads and doing sidewalk repairs this spring, summer and fall.

As a response to families appealing for more school funding back in November, the Town Council deadlocked 6-6 on the roads and sidewalks spending, effectively quashing the allocation. Since then, following discussions among councilors, the request was cut in half.

At its Feb. 10 meeting, the Town Council voted 11-1 in favor, with only At-Large Councilor Mandi Jo Hanneke voting against the spending and District 4 Councilor Jennifer Taub absent. Hanneke had said at the earlier vote she had discomfort in making such transfers, as has been practice, and also questioned whether roads and sidewalks were in need of more money.

District 1 Councilor Cathy Schoen, speaking for the Finance Committee, said that committee agreed roads and sidewalks are a priority and gave a positive recommendation in a 4-1 vote, with Hanneke also voting against it then.

The allocation supplements what could be up to $1.18 million in Chapter 90 money for Amherst in fiscal year 2026, in the budget plan proposed by Gov. Maura Healey, which would be a $350,578, or 42% increase, above this year’s funding.

But Schoen said she wants to find a way to avoid capital appropriations outside the regular capital planning process for the Joint Capital Planning Committee and town’s Capital Plan, such as identifying areas that are a high priority where not enough money is available. “So that we wouldn’t be considering things out of cycle without having reviewed them,” Schoen said.

The only comment at the meeting came from North Amherst resident Vincent O’Connor, who said he is concerned that school budgets have been shortchanged despite significant free cash for the town at the end of the fiscal year, somewhere in the neighborhood of $5 million.

At a Cuppa Joe meeting Friday where Town Manager Paul Bockelman periodically meets with residents at a local coffee shop, this time at West Street Coffee and Tea in Pomeroy Village, most of the focus was on the work of special guest Alan Snow, the tree warden and Department of Public Works division director for trees and grounds, and his oversight of those areas. Bockelman noted that the town receives many requests for new sidewalks, but is unable to meet those demands.

Snow said that even years later, he and his workers are still seeing trees full of decay as a result of the October 2011 snowstorm that snapped trees and caused continued damage to them, and received an advisory report that 440 trees in the town’s right of way are a priority to remove. His workers removed 101 shade trees in fiscal year 2024. “We identify where risks are and get them removed as soon as possible, under reasonable expectations,” Snow said.

He has just two workers on the tree crew, though, and also has to maintain parks, pools and playing fields, along with digging graves at cemeteries. The Public Shade Tree Committee, he said, has has planted well over 300 new public shade trees in recent years and work is ongoing to on having a robust tree canopy.

As the Cuppa Joe event wound down, parents from the Support our Schools Amherst group got Bockelman’s ear, with parent Angelica Bernal saying they “want equity and parity,” pointing to the middle school building, with leaks in the roof creating mold, and cockroaches in the swimming pool area.

Like O’Connor, she referenced the free cash at the end of the school year, but Bockelman said that the town’s free cash is about 5% of the $100 million overall budget, a sign of good management.

The advocacy group, which has an online and Instagram presence, is planning a peoples’ town hall, Bernal said. The group, with more than 85 members, also recently responded to a newsletter to his constituents from District 3 Councilor George Ryan about his concerns with demands from the school absorbing an ever bigger part of the budget:

“The financial pressures on our schools and those across Massachusetts are well documented. These challenges are frequently discussed by elected state officials, at public town and school committee meetings, and in the media. The reason spending for the regional schools is increasing faster than the town’s revenue is quite clear: charter schools, an increase in higher needs students, and of course inflation.”

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.