Accountability Posts

X / ⁠Twitter

Individual posts for different angles. Pick the one that fits your audience.

Town forfeited a federal grant without consulting the volunteer advisory committee whose work secured it

Amherst lost $120,000+ in federal trail infrastructure money on 5/27. The Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee — who arranged the grant — wasn't notified of the decisive meeting. Committee chair: the board has been 'against this project from the get go.'

257/280 chars

Community voices on record that board lacks commitment to non-motorized infrastructure

At the 5/27 Amherst BOS meeting, advocate Chris Shank called the RTP grant rejection 'a real crushing blow' and said the project needed 'consistent backing of the Board of Selectmen — and in this particular project, I don't see it happening.'

242/280 chars

Split on interim fire chief appointment signals possible internal disagreement worth tracking

Amherst BOS (5/27): Kevin Healy appointed Interim Fire Chief 4-0 with 1 abstention. All other votes were 5-0. One abstention on a routine interim appointment is worth watching when the permanent search begins.

209/280 chars

Fiscal responsibility in contract procurement — a decision that went right

Amherst BOS (5/27) approved fuel supply contracts for FY2026: propane at $1.599/gal (Bottle Gas), heating oil at $2.40/gal (Dead River). Irving was rejected — its quota requirements and penalty clauses posed too much budget risk. Good call.

240/280 chars

X ⁠thread

Post these in sequence for maximum impact.

1

THREAD: At the 5/27 Amherst Board of Selectmen meeting, the board declined a $120,000+ federal grant for the Beaverbrook bridge trail project — and the committee that spent months arranging it found out without ever being invited to the table. 🧵

245/280

2

The Recreational Trails Program (RTP) grant required upfront wetlands permitting costs the board estimated at up to $40,000 — money not in the budget. The state confirmed no extension was possible. So the grant was forfeited. Alternative funding: not yet identified.

266/280

3

Here's what made it worse: the Board held the meeting where this was effectively decided WITHOUT notifying the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee. Their chair, Wendy Rennenberg, showed up at Citizens Forum to say so publicly.

232/280

4

Rennenberg's words: 'This is just another example of kind of leaving the Bicycle Pedestrian Committee hanging after all of the volunteer work that's gone into arranging for over $120,000 worth of infrastructure projects at no cost to the town.'

244/280

5

Advocate Chris Shank added: 'What it takes more than anything else is the consistent backing of the Board of Selectmen. And in this particular project, I don't see it happening... this was a real crushing blow.'

211/280

6

The Chair defended the decision on fiscal grounds and said the board's 'hands were tied.' The board did commit to a July work session on the related 7 Thornton Ferry property — but that doesn't bring back the grant money.

221/280

7

Separately: Interim Fire Chief Kevin Healy was appointed 4-0 with 1 abstention. All other votes were 5-0. The town's FY2024 audit came back clean with a $6.3M unassigned fund balance. Full minutes not yet posted. /end

217/280

Facebook

Longer-form draft.

AMHERST BOARD OF SELECTMEN — May 27, 2025

Amherst just walked away from more than $120,000 in federal trail infrastructure funding — and the volunteer committee that spent months securing that money wasn't even told the decisive meeting was happening.

The Recreational Trails Program (RTP) grant was intended to fund the Beaverbrook bridge project, part of Amherst's rail trail network. The board declined it after learning that upfront wetlands permitting costs could run as high as $40,000 — money not in the current budget. The state confirmed the grant could not be extended. That fiscal reality is real. But the process around the decision is what drew sharp public criticism at this meeting.

Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee Chair Wendy Rennenberg came to Citizens Forum to say the board held its decisive meeting without notifying her committee — volunteers who had invested significant time arranging the grant on the town's behalf. Her assessment: the board has been 'against this project from the get go.' Trail advocate Chris Shank called the outcome 'a real crushing blow' and said the project needed 'the consistent backing of the Board of Selectmen — and in this particular project, I don't see it happening.' The board did not directly rebut those characterizations. The Chair acknowledged the fiscal constraints but did not address the failure to loop in the committee before the grant was effectively killed. The board has committed to a July work session on the related 7 Thornton Ferry property disposition — but no alternative funding for the bridge project has been identified, and the timeline is now projected to span multiple years.

Other business from the meeting: Kevin Healy was appointed Interim Fire Chief (4-0, one abstention) following Chief Connolly's retirement, with a $1,000/month stipend while a permanent search proceeds. The town's FY2024 audit came back clean, with a net position of nearly $45 million and an unassigned fund balance of $6.3 million. Fuel supply contracts for FY2026 were approved — propane at $1.599/gallon (Bottle Gas) and heating oil at $2.40/gallon (Dead River Company); Irving was rejected due to quota requirements and penalty clauses. The July 2025 tax warrant of $27,595,563 was approved. Official minutes have not yet been published.