Amherst Names Daniel Garcia New Director of Senior Services
Town Manager Paul Bockelman has appointed Daniel Garcia as the town's new Director of Senior Services, effective July 20 — a key hire as the Bangs Community Center renovation continues to reshape how the town serves its older residents.
TOWN HALL
Daniel Garcia will take the helm of Amherst's Senior Services department on July 20, according to an announcement from Town Manager Paul Bockelman. The appointment comes while the Bangs Community Center, which houses the Senior Center, remains open during ongoing renovations expected to wrap in early 2027. Those improvements target health and safety, accessibility, and the Senior Center space itself.
With the Connecticut River Valley under drought conditions, the town has activated water use restrictions under its Water Management Act Registration. Officials emphasized that Amherst's water supply is currently stable and not directly threatened, but the restrictions are required by state registration rules.
The town is also looking for one resident volunteer to join the Department of Public Works Building Committee, a temporary advisory body guiding design and construction of a new DPW facility. Application review begins July 6.
Feedback on the Downtown Design Standards — which establish a shared vision for downtown development and public improvements — is due by July 1.
Town offices will be closed Friday, July 3, for the Independence Day holiday.
COMMUNITY & ARTS
Amherst Town Library will be closed Friday, July 3, through Sunday, July 5, reopening Monday, July 6. Before the long weekend, the library hosts its Fiction Book Club in person on Tuesday, June 30, at 1 p.m. On Thursday, July 2, families can bring bikes to the library for a Parade Bike Decorating event at 1 p.m., followed by a Let's Play Mahjong! session at 2 p.m. and a virtual Slow Doodling program also at 2 p.m. The library's summer reading program, "Plant a Seed, Read!," runs through August 7.
COMING UP
- **Monday, June 30** — Amherst School Committee hybrid meeting; Virtual Joint meeting of Amherst, Pelham, and Amherst-Pelham Regional School Committee; Public Art Commission meeting - **Monday, June 30** — ATL Reads Fiction Book Club, Amherst Town Library, 1 p.m.; Sprinkler Storytime (children), 10 a.m. - **Tuesday, July 1** — Downtown Design Standards public feedback deadline - **Thursday, July 2** — Parade Bike Decorating and Tots & Tunes, Amherst Town Library; Let's Play Mahjong! (in-person, 2 p.m.); Slow Doodling (virtual, 2 p.m.) - **Friday, July 3** — Town offices and library closed; Independence Day celebration and fireworks, UMass Amherst McGuirk Alumni Stadium South Lawn (free, open to the public) - **Sunday, July 5** — Library remains closed - **Monday, July 6** — Library reopens; DPW Building Committee application review begins - **Thursday, July 9** — ATL Reads Cookbook Club (in-person, noon); ATL Reads Book Discussion: *Revolutionary Summer* by Joseph Ellis (in-person, 6 p.m.)
ELSEWHERE IN THE NEWS
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