From: Irwin / Martha Spiegelman
Sent: Friday, May 11, 2007 3:31 PM
To: Peter Jessop; Tucker, Jonathan; Finance; Manager, Town
Subject: Re: Fence
Thank you for the information, but need to know how high the fence will be and what it might be made of.
Will there be 6 locked gates for the three paths running between Middle and SE Sts?
I was unaware of vandalism at South Cemetary in recent years or unlawful activity. Please update me. Thanks,again, Irwin Spiegelman
Peter Jessop wrote:
Irwin,
Here is the description of the work, and also a copy of a response from Jonathan Tucker to a citizen who had some concerns. As I am sure you are aware, CPAC only makes recommendations to TM, and then it is our job as TM members to vote for the various appropriations or not. If a recommendation is not approved by TM, then that money goes back into the CPAC fund and can only be spent on CPA eligible projects in the future.
South Cemetery – Restoration/Improvements
The requested funds would be used to design and install a perimeter fence (approx. $40,000) to improve the appearance and security of the 1818 South Amherst Cemetery. In addition to being a traditional burying ground for South Amherst residents since its establishment, South Amherst Cemetery also received numerous family burials transferred from cemeteries in the towns slated to be inundated by the Quabbin Reservoir in the 1930s. A number of families displaced by the reservoir moved to Amherst. A funding request for headstone restoration for the North Amherst Cemetery is scheduled for FY09.
Dear Ms. _______________:
Under Article 25, the Amherst Historical Commission is proposing CPA funding for a perimeter fence for the 1818 South Amherst Cemetery for two basic reasons:
1. To increase security for this historic burying ground. One of the first tasks in protecting any historic cemetery is to increase and ensure its security. The South Amherst cemetery is indeed a very beautiful site, as well as historic. Its open boundaries also make it very vulnerable. In addition to long-time South Amherst families, this cemetery contains numerous relocated graves of Quabbin area families. Restoring broken or damaged headstones and undertaking other physical improvements to the cemetery would be of little value if that investment in restoration could then be undone in a single night of vandalism. There is a growing illegal market in stolen funerary artifacts, including older headstones. Vandalism and inappropriate night-time ‘recreation’ and vehicle activity in cemeteries are increasing problems. The intent of creating a perimeter fence—obviously with gates—is not to restrict daytime access for families or visitors, but to allow the community to close the cemetery at night. West Cemetery in downtown Amherst is now appropriately fenced and closed at night for these reasons.
2. To improve the aesthetic appearance of the cemetery. One of the most important visual features of the 1818 North Amherst Cemetery (established at the same time as the South Amherst Cemetery) is its attractive roadside fence, which defines the edge of the burying ground, helps to declare the cemetery’s historic nature (through the design of the fence), and helps to visually separate the cemetery from the road for tired or inebriated drivers in the evening. A portion of the proposed funding would be used to help design the fence, and the South Amherst community would be involved in reviewing that change. No fence design would be selected or installed without public review.
All of the projects proposed under Article 25 were presented and reviewed at several different publicly-noticed meetings of the Historical Commission and the Community Preservation Act Committee. Article 25 is on the Town Meeting warrant signed by the Select Board and it cannot be ‘withdrawn’ by Town officials at this point. If you are not yourself a member of Town Meeting, you should speak to one or more of your Town Meeting representatives and consult with the Town Moderator concerning the best way to procedurally address your concern on the floor of Town Meeting when this article comes up for consideration.
I hope that answers your question.
Jonathan Tucker
Planning Director
I hope this is helpful.
Peter
Peter Jessop
Integrity Development and Construction, Inc
XXXX Pulpit Hill Road
.....................................
From: Tucker, Jonathan
Sent: Friday, May 11, 2007 5:01 PM
To: 'Irwin / Martha Spiegelman'; Peter Jessop; Finance; Manager, Town
Cc: Ziomek, David; Mooring, Guilford; Michael Hanke; Edith MacMullen; Elizabeth Sharpe; Gai Carpenter; Wald, James; Lyle Denit; Lynda Faye
Subject: RE: Fence
Dear Mr. Spiegelman:
As noted in my email summary below [NOTE from Alisa: now above] below, the fence has not yet been designed, so its materials, height, and gating will all be matters that the public can help to determine. There are three drives passing through South Cemetery, each of which connects to both South East Street and Middle Street. Since there are no crosspaths within the cemetery, it is logical to assume there will be six gates needed, and all will need locks if the cemetery is to be closed at night.
I cannot give you a specific history of vandalism in South Cemetery (we can certainly inquire with DPW and the Police Dept.), but one of the reasons that this item is a priority in the FY08 CPA historic preservation budget is because Historical Commission members themselves have noticed increasing damage to headstones in South Cemetery in recent years. Theft of funerary objects, illicit activity, and obvious vandalism are general trends all over New England. They have been observed in West Cemetery. South Cemetery is in a more isolated rural setting. That both protects it to an extent (there are fewer people nearby on a regular basis) and makes it more vulnerable (there are fewer people to observe and deter inappropriate behavior). Should the community wait until South Cemetery experiences a clearly established pattern of vandalism, unlawful activity, and significant damage to family graves and local historic resources before taking action? For the Historical Commission, prevention seemed a more responsible way to proceed.
I hope that answers your questions.
Jonathan Tucker
Planning Director
..........................
From: Irwin / Martha Spiegelman
Date: May 14, 2007 8:11:47 AM EDT
To: Hwei-Ling Greeney, Anne Awad, Rob Kusner, Gerry Weiss, Alisa Brewer
Subject: No Fence for South Cemetery
NO FENCE FOR SOUTH CEMETERY
Under Article 25 of the 2007 Annual Town Meeting, we learn that $40,000 of Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds has been requested to build a perimeter fence with six gates around the South Cemetery.
Why Town Meeting and the Select Board should reject funding
for the South Cemetery Perimeter Fence
1. The fence is an unnecessary expense. It may very well cost more than $40,000.
It will be almost 0.3 mile long, with six gates and high enough (4-6 feet ?)
to keep out intruders at night.
2. If the older grave stones, making up a small area of the cemetery, must be
protected, those portions of the cemetery could be appropriately fenced in.
3. It certainly will not improve the appearance of the cemetery. It will spoil the attractive, open grassy sward so many have long admired. Instead, the cemetery will be hemmed in and look "off limits."
4. If the $40,000 is not spent on the fence and is added to the over $200,000 in unspent Historical Commission funds, it might be used to cover part of the Town Hall and East Street School renovations (both historical buildings), which will cost over $750,000. This shift in CPA funds would help relieve the strain on Amherst's capital budget during this budget crisis.
~ Sign the Petition to Stop the Fence ~
~ Contact Select Board and Town Meeting Members ~
Advocates for the perimeter fence at South Cemetery have given two principal reasons.
1. To increase security for this historic burying ground. One of the first tasks in protecting any historic cemetery is to ensure its security. Open boundaries are said to make South Cemetery vulnerable to harm: restoring damaged headstones and undertaking other physical improvements would be of little value if that investment could then be undone in a single night of vandalism. It is said too that there is a growing illegal market in stolen funerary artifacts, including old headstones. The intent of creating a perimeter fence is to allow the town to close the cemetery at night. (West Cemetery in central Amherst is now fenced and closed at night for these reasons.)
A reason that this item is a priority in the FY '08 CPA historic preservation budget is because Historical Commission members claim that there is increasing damage to headstones in South Cemetery in recent years. It is
said that theft of funerary objects, illicit activity, and obvious vandalism are general trends all over New England. Such actions have been observed in West Cemetery. South Cemetery is in a more isolated rural setting, which
protects it to an extent (few people nearby on a regular basis) and makes it more vulnerable (few people to observe
and deter inappropriate behavior). For the Historical Commission, prevention seems a responsible way to proceed.
2. To improve the aesthetic appearance of the cemetery. It is said that one of the visual features of the 1818 North Amherst Cemetery (established at the same time as the South Amherst Cemetery) is its "attractive roadside fence," which defines the edge of the burying ground and helps to declare the cemetery’s historic nature by way of the design of the fence. [Not all would agree about an "attractive" nature of a fence.]
The South Cemetery fence has not yet been designed, so its materials, height, and gating will all be matters that the public can help determine. There are three drives passing through South Cemetery, and six gates will be needed, with locks, for the cemetery to be closed every night.
~ Sign the Petition to Stop the Fence ~
Contact Select Board, 259-3001 / selectboard AT amherstma.gov ,
and Town Meeting Members
Friends of South Cemetery, XXXX Middle Street XXXX May 2007
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment