AMHERST - Town Meeting Wednesday made Amherst the fourth fair-trade
community in the nation, and the first in Massachusetts.
The fair-trade designation is intended to raise awareness of exploitation of
and unfair compensation to farmers producing the world’s coffee, chocolate,
tea, bananas and sugar.
In other action, Community Preservation Act money will now pay for a large
portion of the ongoing project to renovate the exterior of the historic Town
Hall.
At the second session of special fall Town Meeting, members overwhelmingly
supported the use of CPA money to defray some of the costs of the project,
despite objections from one member of the Community Preservation Act
Committee about how the CPA account is being used.
The recommendations for use of CPA money came forward after the Select Board
initially approached CPAC about covering the entire $475,000 contract with
Sherwood Roofing for repointing the masonry on the exterior of the 1889
building, as well as the additional costs of repairing the unsafe south
steps and restoring the clock tower.
After getting support from the Historical Commission, CPAC voted 5-3 for
using $100,000 in unexpended reserves for the south steps and clock tower.
In addition, by the same tally, the committee recommended borrowing $295,000
from the account over the next 10 years for repointing of the masonry, which
will average out to about $40,000 per year with interest.
The Finance Committee unanimously endorsed this as excellent long-term
capital planning, although CPAC member Vince O’Connor said he thought it was
taking too much from the unexpended reserves of the account.
With the decision completed, Town Meeting rescinded $395,000 that it had
appropriated for borrowing last spring.
Town Meeting also voted to highlight the issue of how little some foreign
producers of coffee, chocolate, tea, bananas and sugar are being paid and
the exploitation taking place, such as child labor and unsafe working
conditions.
Brought forward by petitioner Yuri Friman, the Fair Trade initiative, he
said, should improve the lives of these farmers by paying them living wages,
encourage consumers to make an impact by purchasing fair-trade products and
increase the visibility of Amherst, which already has 20 businesses that
support fair-trade products.
The only concern about this article was brought forward by Frank Wells of
Precinct 5, who said he was concerned residents on fixed incomes might find
they’ll have to pay more for some products. “I don’t think this will turn
out fair, either,” Wells said.
Town Meeting began taking up zoning articles at the end of Wednesday’s
session, with the first being the creation of an overlay district on the
west side of University Drive that would encourage research and development
projects, and change the permitting from the Zoning Board of Appeals to site
plan review by the Planning Board.
Shaffer told Town Meeting that the Planning Board sponsored zoning
initiatives were the product of more than year of work that, if passed,
would encourage economic development and help the town to improve the
quality of life by facing the challenges of “taxed-base growth.”
Prior to Town Meeting, Shaffer said that planning and health department
staff created the package of zoning amendments, all of which will need
two-third majorities to pass, as a way of removing what he sees as
unreasonable impediments, or “poison pills,” to economic development in
Amherst.