Shalini Bahl-Milne: District 5
What would you say are the biggest challenges Amherst faces?
- Poor Infrastructure: Our schools, library, DPW building, and fire station are in poor condition making it unsafe for the residents, children, and staff inhabiting those spaces. Besides being unsafe, existing buildings don’t have the capacity to fully serve their constituents. For example, the library can’t adequately serve people with English as a second language, teenagers who need their own space, or people who rely on the library for computers, books, and technology. Inadequate public infrastructure is an obstacle to growth for our community, especially among people who have historically been marginalized. Further, we don’t have easy access to a fire station in South Amherst.
- Systemic racism: While our police, political, social, and economic institutions may not be as overtly racist as other cities and towns in the USA, structural racism still prevails in Amherst. I have heard from many BIPOC residents including students of color about their experiences with racism (and I have personally experienced it, albeit being Asian my experience is different from that of people from other races). We can see systemic gaps in schools, police data, home ownership, and hiring of BIPOC in local institutions. In the absence of systematically collected data, we can’t correct the causes and conditions that are perpetuating structural racism. This is not to point fingers at individuals working in town or white residents. However, unless we make concerted efforts—like gathering data, anti-racism trainings, intentionally hiring and empowering BIPOC residents to be successful in leadership roles, having a shared language to discern racist behaviors, and learning to be comfortable with discomfort—we can’t change the implicit biases and systems that allow racism to permeate our institutions.
- Affordable and workforce housing: Being a college town is a double-edged sword. On the one hand it makes us more resilient during recessions. The university helps insulate the town as students fill up rental units and spend money in local businesses like restaurants, and bars. Plus college events — like parents’ weekends and graduations — bring an influx of visitors to town, reliably pumping money into the local economy. At the same time, the University also puts pressure on the town to provide housing to its growing population of students. Increasing demand not met by adequate supply of new housing is making existing housing scarce and causing rents to rise.
- High property taxes: 70% of town’s revenue is generated through property taxes. A very large portion of Amherst property is owned by our university and colleges, which means we do not collect taxes on these properties. This fact, plus the lack of economic development in town, has caused over 90% of our taxes to rest on residential property owners (haven’t recently checked this number). This share is much less in most towns. Divisiveness in town gets in the way of working together towards our shared goals for making Amherst an inclusive community where all residents have opportunities to live and thrive.
What relevant experiences and qualities would you bring to the Town Council that would help it work through these challenges constructively and effectively?
-Mindfulness: This is a training of the mind to be curious and compassionate, especially under stressful situations, and there are many stressful situations in town politics. I have found my mindfulness practice helps me to stay more balanced, open, and non-reactive than I would have been without it. It also helps me be ok with uncertainty and the discomfort of difficult conversations, which are sometimes essential if we want to make sound decisions that impact people who may not be in the room.
-Ph.D. in Business: My training in research supports me in gathering information from multiple sources and thinking objectively about issues. When we’re making important decisions like zoning, I reach out to multiple stakeholders and do my research to inform my decisions.
- Human centered approach to problem solving and systems thinking: I approach issues in town from the perspective of all stakeholders and their lived experiences in town. I see the interconnectedness of issues and stakeholders. I am already working with a human centered design team of researchers in the computer science department in UMass (with Councilor Hanneke) to create a prototype for community engagement that we can use for all future issues. My hope is that this will create ways for us to communicate, listen, and discuss with the public in a systematic and transparent way from the beginning till the end of a Town Council decision.
- Experience as a Town Councilor: It took me a couple of years to understand the rules and procedures for how the Town Charter works and to find my voice. With this experience and the trust I have earned, I will make a bigger difference if elected. Like I stated earlier, I am already working on a community engagement plan with the UMass team.
- Person of Color: Twenty four years ago, I left my arranged marriage in India and subsequently moved to the USA with my 6-year old son to start a new life here. I had to learn to make a place for myself in a foreign culture and find my voice. I know what it feels like to not be listened to and discriminated against at work. I bring empathy and perspective that only a person of color with internalized racism can offer. I also understand that as a South Asian I don’t experience racism in the same way as other BIPOC residents in Amherst. We don’t have enough diversity in the Town Council to understand how our policies impact the different members of BIPOC communities in Amherst. I will strive for all voices to be represented in our decisions.
Have you ever served on an elected board or committee in Amherst and if so, what were 3 of your most challenging votes?
I. Zoning Priorities: One of the most challenging votes for me was regarding the zoning priorities to be set by the Town Council on January 4, 2021. As a Town Councilor, I realize the need for more affordable housing in Amherst and the high property taxes that make it hard for people to live in Amherst. Our current bylaws limit opportunities for development in downtown, Limited Business zoning district , and village centers, which is adding to the problem of housing shortage and high property taxes. At the same time many residents spoke at the public forums and Town Council meetings about preserving the character and Historic downtown along with a desire for a town that is walkable/bikeable, has enough parking for visitors, and has the design elements that ensure sufficient setbacks and spaces for people to enjoy. I worked with Councilor Schoen to amend the original motion so as to support the zoning changes we need to allow for development and add design guidelines so as to look at all the zoning changes in a holistic way that would ensure that the changes we make allow for thoughtful development to meet all our goals. That motion didn’t pass. It was decided to start with some basic zoning changes that are a priority like inclusionary zoning, making accessory dwelling units easier to get approved, and fix some of the existing ambiguities in mixed-use building and apartments. For example, the current mixed-use building bylaw doesn’t specify minimum requirement for non-residential use, which means we can have buildings in downtown with minimal retail space. We just fixed that by adding a minimum of 40% of ground floor space to be retail. The design elements will be handled by hiring a consultant to propose form-based zoning for downtown.
II. Remove the Main Street Parking lot in favor of a larger green and community space in North Common: Many residents and local businesses were against the loss of parking, but thinking long term that we are committed to creating a new parking garage and creating green spaces for community gatherings, I voted to give up the parking spots in the immediate future. In 2019, the Business Improvement District made a presentation to the Town Council for Destination Downtown that included a parking garage that would not require capital investment from the town. I am committed to implementing that plan so we more than make up for the lost parking next to North Common and have a better North Common for residents to enjoy.
III. CSWG Recommendations: The Community Safety Working Group worked long and hard to create a community responders’ program that would respond to all non-violent and noncriminal situations instead of police officers. The Community Response for Equity, Safety and Service (CRESS) is one of the most important initiatives that we voted on as a council, but it was also one of the most challenging. Given the long history of racism and police violence in our country, many municipalities are finding alternative ways to provide safety and social services to the residents without involving the police. I am proud of the work done by the CSWG in creating the innovative CRESS program to provide safety to BIPOC residents, houseless people, and people with mental health issues and addictions.
There were multiple challenges related to the CSWG recommendations as a Town Councilor. For example, while I fully support the mission of this program to dismantle systemic racism through racially aware safety and social services, we must also consider the safety of other residents like seniors and downtown businesses who rely on the police to feel safe. I supported the increase in the number of CRESS members from what the Town Manager had initially recommended, but I couldn’t support reducing the number of police, as recommended by CSWG, without hearing from the Police Chief about the implications of that cut on all the residents. Once we have the CRESS running, my hope is that there will naturally be a reduction in the number of police required, but at this point we don’t know that, and I didn’t vote for a reduction in police staff.
What steps would you take to engage low-income residents, renters, residents of color, and other underrepresented voices?
One of the challenges that I have encountered in town is the lack of representation of certain populations in important decisions the town council makes that impact everyone. My goal is to use a human centered approach to create processes to engage all stakeholders in town, especially the under-represented populations like BIPOC residents, renters, youth, and houseless people.
I have already reached out to human centered design thinkers in the computer science department at UMass to work with us in designing technology and processes that use artificial intelligence to engage all stakeholders. We’ve started this work and I am participating in regular meetings with them along with Town Staff and Councilor Hanneke from CRC. The hope is that we will create a prototype for processes and technology that can be used for all important decisions in town. The initial project that we are using to test is the streetscape around the common in downtown.
“One Town, One Plan” has been in development and in public discussion for over a decade. The plan is designed to meet the town’s most pressing infrastructure needs in a financially responsible way, and prioritizes the following four projects equally: the Jones Public Library Renovation & Expansion, the Elementary School Building Project, the Department of Public Works Building, and the South Amherst Fire Station. Do you support this plan? Why or why not?
I support this plan. Each of these capital projects is the result of many years of thorough research by our town staff and capable community members and experts. We elected and hired these people to do exactly this. From a financial perspective, we’ve received some of the highest grants awarded by the state to do these projects and as importantly, our town managers and financial managers have been building our reserves and credit rating so we can invest in these capital expenditures with minimal impact of residents’ taxes. The third reason I support this plan is because lack of infrastructure impacts those people who need it the most and don’t have alternatives like others with more wealth and opportunities.
As a member of the Town Council, how would you engage and communicate with your constituents, including those who have not previously been active in town politics?
- Deep listening and clear communication is important if we want to build trust and work together in service of our shared goals for Amherst.
- Regular district meetings
- Organize and attend community events in South Amherst
- Share more info in my newsletter like how I voted and why
- Employ the human centered approach that we are currently working with UMass to engage people, especially those who are under-represented
- Creating an advisory committee with diverse populations to provide me different perspectives on issues and help me engage with their communities
- Help create and use the community engagement plan that I have referred to above