Finance
Library Representatives Are No Shows at Finance Committee Meeting – Amherst Indy
Future of Cherry Hill Golf Course Discussed
Report on the Meeting of the Amherst Finance Committee, September 3, 2024
by Art and Maura Keene
This meeting was held over Zoom and was recorded. It can be viewed here.
Present
Bob Hegner (Chair, District 5), Cathy Schoen (District 1), Andy Steinberg (at-large), Mandi Jo Hanneke (at-large). Nonvoting members: Bernie Kubiak and Thomas Porter.
Staff: Athena O’Keeffe (Clerk of the Council), Melissa Zawadski (Finance Director), David Ziomek (Assistant Town Manager), Reynaud Harp (Recreation Director), Holly Drake (Comptroller)
Public Comment
Three members of the public offered comment, all in opposition to the Jones Library project. Janet Keller asked the committee to “consider the long-term costs of expanding the Jones Library and competing critical needs to repair and replace other Town buildings, roads, and infrastructure.” Maria Kopicki wondered how the committee would “square the circle” of a project costing $7 million mo43 than authorized borrowing with value engineering far less than that amount. Arlie Gould expressed concern over the loss of the Historic Tax credits and high risk of losing NEH and HUD grants totaling another ~$2 million.
Finance Committee Receives Limited Update on Jones Library Building Project
The committee had last discussed the Jones Library Building Project prior to the Town Council’s vote in December 2023 to authorize an additional $10 million for a total of $46.1 in debt authorization for the project. Since then, a single bid was received in April 2024 that was rejected because it was nearly $7 million higher than the authorization. The Library Trustees and Town Manager gave the go ahead to ask for a six month extension from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commission (MBLC) to pursue a rebidding process this fall after value engineering to decrease the cost. The Town Manager signed a contract with the design team from Finegold Alexander Architecture (FAA) for approximately $500,000 to do the redesign with the understanding that the town would be reimbursed from the Jones endowment. An original value engineering list approved by the Jones Library Building Committee totaled ~$2.9 million but approximately half of that has since been reinstated due to concerns of donors, the Design Review Board, the Planning Board, and the Amherst Historical Commission. It has also come to light that $1.8 million in Historic Tax credits that have been counted toward fundraising have been denied (twice) by the Massachusetts Historical Commission. The library remains $900,000 in arrears of its promised $2 million reimbursement to the Town due at the end of January 2024. None of these developments were discussed at the meeting.
Finance Director Melissa Zawadski provided a single document which she stated was based on information provided by the library team. The figures provided indicated that nearly $7 million was still needed in fundraising to reach the $46.1 million cost estimate (they did not account for the bid that came in ~$7 million over that). The Community Campaign and Foundation and Corporate Funding lines included both pledged and received monies.
Chair Bob Hegner asked about the federal grants listed that total $2.1 million from NEH and HUD saying that “my understanding is that the library is basically in the process of redoing their paperwork to get these grants”. Resident member Bernie Kubiak argued that “These shouldn’t be considered at risk because they’re not. They can still get them and in fact the state historic commission could even change their minds [about rejecting the historic tax credits] if they choose.”
Cathy Schoen disagreed, noting that the grants require a Section 106 review and inquired about its timing. She said, “One of the advisements on the federal site is make sure you go through that review before you sign a contract for the building, you can read it as before you go out to bid, because if there’s something you could change you might put it at risk.” Zawadski did not have the answer and Hegner suggested that the information could be provided at the Town Council meeting on September 9.
Hegner indicated that he had expected that someone from the library would attend.
Kubiak argued that the current state of project finances should not be a concern of either the Finance Committee or the Town Council at this time. He suggested that the library trustees are elected officials, know what they are doing, and should be trusted to manage the project. Kubiak bemoaned the growing criticism and questioning of the project, suggesting that the trustees should be trusted to do the work they were elected to do. He concluded, “They [the Library Trustees] understand what the limits are and I think they would admit that if the prices are out of control, the project is moot.”
“if the current estimated cost exceeds the $46 million authorization or if the $46 million has a bigger fundraising gap because the funds haven’t come in, the town is the one who’s going to be at risk.”
– District 1 Town Councilor Cathy Schoen
Schoen countered that “the council does need to be financially accountable to the taxpayers” noting that if the current estimated cost exceeds the $46 million authorization or “if the $46 million has a bigger fundraising gap because the funds haven’t come in, the town is the one who’s going to be at risk.”
Finance Committee Discusses Cherry Hill Golf Course Update
Recreation Director Rey Harp was asked to provide an update on the finances of the Cherry Hill Golf Course. He reported that the course “is making money right now and revenue is coming in in advance of those of of expenses”. He noted that the high usage during the pandemic has come down since “but we were able to not not lose that much over the course of the last few years in terms of in terms of active play. We’ve been trying to be creative about using the space offseason.”
Data was shared showing that revenues have exceeded expenses since 2021. Hegner, however, noted that if capital and fringe benefit expenditures were included, “it doesn’t look like you’re making money you’re actually losing a little bit”. He calculated losses of $177,000 in 2022, $58,000 in 2023, and $37,000 in 2024 and encouraged trying to find ways to increase revenues. Mandi Jo Hanneke agreed that there seems to have been some improvements in revenues but asked larger questions: “Should we as a municipality be running a golf course?” and “What other uses would this land have?”.
Harp responded by pointing out that the purchase of the course predated his tenure and saying that “My interest as the director now is to is to allow that asset to grow as much as I can and to make money off of it” adding that “If the town told me that it wasn’t in our best interest financially in terms of business’ sake, then I could make a pivot away from it, but as long as we have that asset, as long as that’s underneath Recreation, we are going to continue.”
Harp also made the case that the facility attracts and serves a diverse demographic. “Cherry Hill is not a course that operates for the town elites. It’s not a place that big money comes in to sort of do big money stuff.” and “If you go out there and run through the parking lot, you will see a really interesting cross-section of a bunch of people who don’t do other things with the town.”
He also noted that reductions in staff to protect revenue “put a lot of strain on the people who work there – on our ground staff and on our clubhouse staff” but that “as much stress as it gives us, we think that we’re bringing in money and we’re doing the best of our service that we possibly can. So I defend it because it’s ours, but I also defend it because I think it fits a mission that we can all get behind.”
Schoen supported Harp’s work saying “I think it’s a pretty amazing resource and the management of it, the expense line has not just stayed down, but it’s lower than it used to be” and noted that the facilities were well used and used as a selling point to live in North Amherst.”
Andy Steinberg expressed some concern that “the projected 2025 budget looked a little worse than prior years as far as the balance between revenue and expenses.”
Dave Ziomek added “My worry is what happens when staff turns over, what happens when we get retirements? Can we hire people and expect the same kind of commitment that we have there now?”
Zawadski and Holly Drake pointed out that because the operations of this type of facility are so weather dependent, they are very conservative with projections so the figures for the upcoming year may make them appear worse than they will be.
Hegner asked Ziomek to look further into the demographics of users to see “If we’re not just serving one narrow slice of the the community or we’re serving a broader spectrum of people.”
Graham is a senior consultant in the global special situations & private credit practice, based in the Hong Kong office. Dually qualified in England & Wales and Hong Kong, Graham focuses on both finance and restructuring matters across the Asia-Pacific region. He represents private credit funds, private equity sponsors, major institutional lenders and asset managers on a wide range of finance transactions, including cross-border leveraged financings, restructurings, special situations, direct lending, margin loans, real estate finance and corporate facilities.
Prior to joining Akin, Graham worked at leading international law firms in Hong Kong and London where he also undertook a secondment to Barclays Capital.
Because the EFL’s profit and sustainability rules are about trying to make sure clubs are not losing unsustainable amounts of money.
Despite going on a summer spending spree, paying about £30m for players and having one of the highest net spends around, Wrexham are well within the financial parameters because of the commercial revenue already being brought in thanks to deals with giants such as United Airlines and HP.
In League Two, they were already bringing in more than 20 of the 24 Championship clubs.
“Under the PSR rules, you’re allowed to lose £39m over three years,” said Maguire. “Looking at their two most recent sets of accounts, Wrexham lost around about £23m – but they’ve had substantial increases in broadcast revenue, from about £1.2m in TV money in League Two to about £12m this season.”
That is before taking into account a significant jump in sponsorship and commercial income, with chief executive Michael Williamson estimating they are already on a par with some top-flight clubs.
“We have a global brand, a Premier League brand in the Championship,” Williamson told Ben Foster’s Fozcast podcast in August 2025.
“What we don’t have is the broadcast revenue of Premier League clubs or the parachute payments.
“From a commercial standpoint, if you compared us to Championship clubs, I’m sure we’d be among the top and – on commercial revenues only – we would probably surpass a handful of Premier League clubs, around four or five I would guess.”
As you work on diversifying your stock portfolio, it can be a good idea to take a step back and consider your options. What sectors are advantageous now? Should a new approach be taken?
We spoke with 12 financial and investing experts who shared the stocks that have currently piqued their interest. And, they shared their best advice on how to approach your picks. If you’re looking for sound advice this year, and beyond, you can find advisers using CFP Board, NAPFA or this free tool from our ad partner SmartAsset that matches you to fiduciary advisers.
CrowdStrike or the ETF Global X Cybersecurity — Myles J. McHale Jr., president and founder of Wealthcare Advisors
“Many of us have faced credit card fraud or financial/romance scams, and these issues are not going away. I recommend investing in network security, endpoint protection and identity management. Specifically, the individual stock CrowdStrike (CRWD) or the ETF Global X Cybersecurity ETF (BUG) are excellent choices in this space. With the continued expansion of AI, cybersecurity investments will remain crucial,” McHale says, while adding that “there is no need to panic or drastically change your current asset allocation.”
BBB Foods — Rick Munarriz, stock analyst at Motley Fool
“Valuations and tensions are high, so if there were ever a time to be a Peter Lynch disciple and ‘buy what you know,’ this would be it. Don’t chase hot stock tips in companies and industries you don’t fully understand or aren’t passionate about. One of my favorite stocks heading into 2026 is BBB Foods (NYSE: TBBB). It’s the parent company of Tiendas 3B, a fast-growing retail chain in Mexico specializing in ‘hard discount’ groceries.
It’s a stacker, and by that I mean a company that is stacking growth on top of growth. BBB Foods is expanding its chain at a low double-digit percentage rate. It’s also growing average store-level sales — or what they call comparable-store sales — in the low double digits. Stack those two things together consistently, and BBB Foods has rattled off four consecutive years of better-than-30% revenue growth.”
BlackRock, GE Aerospace and Walmart — Jason Bernat, investment adviser, president and CEO of American Financial Services
“We are anticipating several rate cuts in 2026 which will support higher valuations but also increased volatility. I personally believe that AI will continue to remain central. Stocks tied to AI computing and data center buildouts are obvious choices. However, moving beyond pure hype tech, into sectors like financials, industrials, and even value, will give a major growth opportunity.
NVIDIA (NVDA), Broadcom (AVGO), Marvel (MRVL), Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM), Alphabet (GOOGL) [and] Amazon (AMZN) are your champion AI stocks with high earning potentials, momentum, and cloud and hardware growth expectancy. Outside those, I like BlackRock (BLK), which has strong earnings growth. GE Aerospace (GE) industrial and defense exposure with projected revenue growth. Finally with a more defensive position if markets wobble is Walmart (WMT).”
“Focus on owning high-quality, cash-flow-generative assets” — Josh Katz, CPA and founder of Universal Tax Professionals
“The easy-money era, where simply being in the market guaranteed strong returns, has shifted. This year, focus on owning high-quality, cash-flow-generative assets and let that income, reinvested over time, do the heavy lifting for your portfolio. Patience and discipline will be key differentiators.
I always favor diversified exposure through ETFs that capture the themes above rather than risky individual stock picks. The U.S. equity market is projected for resilient growth, with firms poised to benefit from AI-driven efficiency gains, a friendly policy mix and strong earnings potential. This remains the core, growth-oriented foundation of a portfolio. In a market favoring quality and durable cash flow, funds focused on companies with a history of growing their dividends are essential.”
Renewable energy and energy storage — Jamie Hobkirk, CFP at Reynders McVeigh Capital Management
“As we move into 2026, I think it is important for investors to stay diversified across different sectors and not get hung up on the winners of 2025. More recently, we are starting to see increased breadth in the market, which presents more investment opportunities for investors.
Themes that Reynders McVeigh continues to like are renewable energy, energy storage and the buildout of the electric grid. The expansion of artificial intelligence is creating a growing demand for energy. With current demand outpacing production, multiple energy sources will be needed to support continued growth. Companies that support these themes are Schneider Electric, Nexans, and Nextpower Inc. to name a few.”
AI and tech — Carson K. Odom, CPA, CFP and wealth adviser at Adams Wealth Partners
“AI and technology leadership remain central to the conversation, but concentration is the biggest risk factor here. My biggest warning would be to make sure investors are aware of how concentrated an index fund they own may be. Some may not realize that 40% of their index fund is concentrated in under 10 names.
Themes I like for 2026 are tech and AI infrastructure, quality earnings and underperforming small-cap stocks. AI got the headlines in 2025, and I think the infrastructure behind it can take the lead in 2026. Also, high quality small-cap stocks have really lagged in performance since 2021. We’re nearing one of the largest deficits in small cap performance relative to large caps in recent history. If history tends to give us a lesson, it’s that there’s usually a reversion to the mean with these trends, which makes small caps appear attractive.”
Walmart and American Express — Ekenna Anya-Gafu, CFP, accredited asset management specialist, AIF and founder of Pacific Canyon Investments
“My number one piece of advice is have a long-term thesis and try to ignore the noise (a lot easier said than done). My biggest thought when it comes to the stock market and retail clients is that understanding the source of products, where they are made, and who the company is selling to is extremely important.” Anya-Gafu recommends:
“Walmart (WMT): They have close to a monopoly on low-income shoppers, and if the K curve (different groups in the economy experience very different outcomes at the same time) shows more in 2026, I believe the middle class will start to fade, which puts more individuals and households into lower income thresholds.
American Express (AXP): We saw that 93% of all purchases on Black Friday [were] done on a credit card or Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL). I like American Express because their high credit profile requirements will be more protected from people not being able to pay their credit card bills, but because it is a charge card, it should make more profit than a typical credit card company.”
Digital infrastructure and essential services — Martin Robinson, CFP and director at Amzonite
“Areas such as digital infrastructure, the energy transition and essential services continue to attract attention because they tend to be more resilient across different market conditions. Companies with steady cash flows, pricing power and strong ownership are often better positioned when uncertainty is high. Ultimately, stock choices should reflect personal goals, time horizon and comfort with risk, rather than a single prediction about where the market is headed.”
MYR Group, First Solar and Recursion Pharmaceuticals — Peter Krull, director of sustainable investing at Earth Equity Advisors recommends:
“MYR Group (MYRG) — Specialists in electrical infrastructure. Between the clean energy transition and the AI buildout, we’re going to need to move electrons efficiently across the country. MYR designs and builds transmission lines to meet the ever-growing demand for more electricity. I see continued growth for at least the next decade in their services.
Recursion Pharmaceuticals (RXRX) — One of the most promising uses of AI technology is in biotechnology and pharmaceutical development. Recursion teamed up with NVIDIA to build a supercomputer to analyze potential drug opportunities. The analysis performed by the Recursion system has the potential to speed up the drug development process and reduce the cost of development by half. This is a riskier opportunity, but there should be long-term potential.
First Solar (FSLR) — First Solar is a leading designer and manufacturer of solar panels and systems for utility-scale developments, and the largest headquartered in the U.S. They are focused on innovation in the solar manufacturing space, investing in clean manufacturing and higher cell efficiency.”
Healthcare, energy and housing — Chris McMahon, president and CEO at Aquinas Wealth Advisors LLC
“We believe the market will broaden out dramatically over the next few years. The current overconcentration in tech stocks will begin to spread into the broader market. In particular, we think sectors such as construction, banking, and materials are well positioned for growth.” McMahon recommends:
“Healthcare: this sector has languished as the market reduced allocation based on the uncertainty of Secretary Kennedy. We have had time to see that in spite of some changes.
Energy: driven by the demand from AI and also a return to U.S. manufacturing we expect energy to outperform in the coming year.
Housing/material: lower interest rates will drive spending and fuel the growth of this sector. [The] $3-6 million shortage of housing is real and means good things for the sector.”
Commodities — Michael E. Chadwick, CFP and founder at Fiscal Wisdom Wealth Management
“The public needs to understand capital is slowing [and] rotating away from stocks to hard assets. While the world chases seven stocks and crypto, the next cycle will favor hard assets and the most richly valued things today will take the biggest bath. Index funds, popular mutual funds, ETFs that are passive, and lifestyle funds are the most dangerous things to own today and will likely see massive falls followed by upswings.
I like the commodity complex in general — precious metals No. 1, miners No. 2, critical metals No. 3, energy No. 4, [hard commodities like energy, gold and silver] and Latin America is also very attractive. I like them because they’re out of favor, undervalued and have been ignored. The whole world is chasing AI, tech and crypto, so some amazing opportunities exist in boring areas. This is where the real money will be made in the next cycle.”
Utilities and industrials — Doug Beath, global equity strategist at the Wells Fargo Investment Institute
“We continue to be very positive on the AI buildout and believe we’re closer to the early innings of the cycle than the end, but are also cognizant of valuations. We downgraded the technology sector to neutral several months ago and now favor the ancillary trends related to AI but with better valuations such as utilities with the data centers, and industrials to help build out those data centers.
Financials also have a favorable AI-related theme in terms of financing and M&A activity — and seem particularly oversold so far in 2026. At some point, we could overweight technology again if there’s a pullback or market conditions changed. This leads to another theme we’re recommending to clients this year, and that is prepare to ‘be nimble.’”
The FBI conducts a search at the Fulton County election office in Georgia
Knife-wielding nut allegedly asked Christian his religion – then stabbed him and dog before police shot him
House Republicans blast Noem impeachment resolution as ‘partisan stunt,’ as Dems fail to reach across aisle
Brother killed after teen becomes ‘enraged’ over video game, stabs sibling: police
Rep Maxwell Frost allegedly assaulted at Sundance Film Festival in racially charged incident
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Indiana Members Credit Union announced as new anchor tenant at Bottleworks District
The FBI conducts a search at the Fulton County election office in Georgia
Graham pushes back on Tillis’ criticism of Noem, Miller for labeling man killed by Border Patrol a ‘terrorist’
North Korea’s Kim to outline plans to boost nuclear arsenal
Rep. Ilhan Omar rushed by man on stage and sprayed with liquid at town hall event
Video: F.A.A. Ignored Safety Concerns Prior to Collision Over Potomac, N.T.S.B. Says
-
Illinois6 days agoIllinois school closings tomorrow: How to check if your school is closed due to extreme cold
-
Pittsburg, PA1 week agoSean McDermott Should Be Steelers Next Head Coach
-
Pennsylvania2 days agoRare ‘avalanche’ blocks Pennsylvania road during major snowstorm
-
Lifestyle1 week agoNick Fuentes & Andrew Tate Party to Kanye’s Banned ‘Heil Hitler’
-
Sports1 week agoMiami star throws punch at Indiana player after national championship loss
-
Cleveland, OH1 week agoNortheast Ohio cities dealing with rock salt shortage during peak of winter season
-
Technology6 days agoRing claims it’s not giving ICE access to its cameras
-
Science1 week agoContributor: New food pyramid is a recipe for health disasters