AMHERST — A process to create a new Local Historic District that would give more protections to the appearance of homes and other buildings in the East Amherst village center is being supported by the Local Historic District Commission.

Following two site visits, the commission recently voted unanimously to establish a study committee to evaluate the section of town that includes lower Main Street and portions of North East Street, South East Street and East Street.

The new district could include 46 properties and 12 so-called intrusions, or non-contributing structures. Among the buildings encompassed by the district would be the Jewish Community of Amherst, the East Street School and the Baggs Tavern, which is now law offices.

Two Local Historic Districts already exist, one centered on the Emily Dickinson Museum on Main Street and the other on the North Prospect-Lincoln-Sunset neighborhoods. East Amherst village is already a National Historic Register District.

Commission member Steve Bloom said most of the important buildings in the proposed district were built before the Civil War, with some dating to the late 1700s. Fort River School is set behind some of the properties and would not be included in the district.

Part of the work a study committee would do is establish the boundaries for the district and get feedback from property owners.

Community Safety Day

A Community Safety Day sponsored by the Amherst Senior Center, a way to promote public safety and connect peoplewith their local first responders, is scheduled for Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Mill River Recreation Area, 95 Montague Road.

Members of the town’s Police and Fire departments, Community Responders for Equity, Safety and Service, the Hampshire County Sheriff’s Department and the Northwestern district attorney’s office will be present.

Featured activities include a touch-a-truck, a presentation on extrication tools, a K9 demonstration, car seat inspections, information booths, face painting, a live DJ and the La Mesa food truck.

Pools open for season

Both the Mill River and War Memorial swimming pools opened for the season June 17 and will be available for adults and youths throughout the summer. The spray park at Groff Park previously opened on May 27.

Mill River opens for lap swims most days at 7 a.m., while War Memorial opens for lap swims at 10 a.m., with open swims later in the day, as well as swimming lessons.

For information about the pools, go to www.amherstma.gov/pools. Pool schedules, membership, daily rates and other information is at amherstma.gov/3722/Summer-Outdoor-Pools.

Town Manager Paul Bockelman said the pools were able to open on time, coinciding with the end of the school year, with no issues in hiring lifeguards.

Conservation Commission appointments

Two new members are being recommended for appointment to the Conservation Commission by Bockelman.

Jason Dorney of Hickory Lane is a project manager in construction stormwater for an engineering company, focusing his career in stormwater management, according to a profile supplied by Bockelman.

The other new member would be Bruce Stedman of Mount Holyoke Drive, the retiring director of Conway School of Landscape Design.

UMass chefs

A team of chefs from the University of Massachusetts earned a silver medal at the American Culinary Federation’s collegiate competition on June 16, the 29th annual Chef Culinary Conference held on the Amherst campus.

The UMass Dining team, featuring chefs Anthony Jung, Jeff MacDonald, Max Melendez and Kyle Bigelow, tested their skills against 12 other four-person college and university culinary teams.

Each team was required to prepare a four-course meal including a buffet-style item to be served to the judges and competing teams. Teams had two hours to prepare and serve the first three courses and one hour for the buffet item.

The UMass team led with an English pea and lemon mousseline-crusted ocean perch prepared in a citrus butter sauce, ginger dragon puree, with tempura-fried oysters in a parsley-cilantro crème, followed by a cashew-stuffed quail breast and braised leg with jus lie, sweet potato jam, stir-fried bok choy and red rice.

The entrée was accompanied by a lion’s mane mushroom ragout, sauteed garlicky mizuna and baby mustard greens. The meal was completed with a caramelized white chocolate raspberry cheesecake over a toasted peanut coconut oil graham, pepita nougatine, vanilla whipped cream, orange anglaise and raspberry-lemon compote. The buffet item was an herb pan-roasted pork tenderloin with sage jus and peach chutney, served with a bacon risotto, wax beans and tomato concasse.

“This competition shows how much talent we have in the college and university dining segment,” Ken Toong, executive director of Auxiliary Enterprises, said in a statement. “I’m thrilled that we continue to raise the bar in this arena.”

Meeting

MONDAY: Town Council, 6:30 p.m., Town Hall.

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