This Week: Farmers Market Reopens, Chenery Concerts, Retiring Teachers

Photo: Belmont Farmers Market.

On the government side of “This Week”:

  • The Board of Zoning Appeals will meet on Tuesday, June 9, at 7 p.m. on the third floor of the Homer Building (in the Town Hall Complex) to take up a special permit request from Rebecca Pizzi to allow a child care business to be run out of 92 Payson Road. 
  • The School Committee will be holding a reception and ceremony for retiring staff and teacher beginning at 6 p.m., on Tuesday, June 9, at the Chenery Middle School. At the regular meeting, the committee will vote on school fees for next fiscal year and will get an update on the space situation at the six district schools. 
  • The Community Path Implementation Advisory Committee will get together on Wednesday, June 10 at 7 p.m. in Town Hall to discuss a future walking tour of potential pathways.

• The Benton Library, Belmont’s independent and volunteer run library at the corner of Old Middlesex and Oakley, will be holding Summer Pre-School Story Time at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 9, with stories and crafts for children 3 to 5. Younger siblings may attend with adults. Parents or caregivers must be present. Registration is not required. Pre-School Story Time meets at 10:30 a.m. every Tuesday and Friday throughout the summer.

• Yoga for Everyone at the Beech Street Center from 5:30 p.m. to 6:45 p.m., on Tuesday, June 9. Join Susan Harris, a registered yoga teacher and associate professor of Nutrition at Tufts University, for this Iyengar-inspired class which practices yoga postures slowly and with attention to alignment and safety, adapted to the abilities and needs of individual students. Practice is done with bare feet; mats and props are provided. Cost: $15/class. Non-seniors, beginners and experienced are welcome. This is a non-Council on Aging class held at the Beech Street Center. For more information, call Susan at 617-407-0816.

• The town’s new Veterans Officer, Robert Upton, will be at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St., on Thursday, June 10 from noon to 2 p.m.. Please register at the front desk.

• The Belmont Country Club hosts the PGA 2015 Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship beginning on Thursday, June 11, to Sunday, June 14. 

• Come to opening of the Belmont Farmers Market, now in its 10th season, at 2 p.m. on Thursday, June 11. 

• The 7th and 8th Grade Band Concert will take place on Thursday, June 11, at 7 p.m. at the Chenery Middle School. 

• Well-loved local musician Liz Buchanan will be performs original songs and traditional favorites for kids and their parents in the Belmont Public Library’s Assembly Room, Friday, June 12, from 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.

• The Chenery Middle School 5th Grade Band, Chorus and Orchestra will perform in concert on Friday, June 12, at 9 a.m. in the auditorium at the school. 

• The Senior Book Discussion Group will will discuss Summer by Edith Wharton on Friday, June 12, at 11 a.m. at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St.

• The Belmont Public Library’s OTAKUrabu program offers students (7th to 12th grades) the chance to watch anime, do a craft/activity, plan for future events and nibble on some Japanese snacks (while they last – they’ll go fast) on Friday, June 12, from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Assembly Room. Provided to you for free, thanks to the Friends of the Belmont Public Library. Just drop in, no registration required.

Belmont High Graduates 275 Newly-Minted Alumni from Class of ’15

Photo: Caps flying during the 2015 graduation at Belmont High School.

“Bittersweet,” is how Lisa Castagno would feel watching her daughter, Olivia, receive her diploma along with 274 of her classmates during graduation ceremony for the Class of 2015 at Belmont High School on Sunday afternoon, June 7.

“I’m really happy but sad,” said Castagno, who has seen three daughters graduate from the school, with a son remaining. “It’s great to see them growing up. It’s an exciting time for them and for us parents but in a different way.”

Amidst cheers, hugs, contemplation, photos and a cloud of cigar smoke, 275 seniors transformed from students to alumni during the ceremony held in the school’s Wenner Field House.

“Your child charmed us, and at times alarmed us, they have pushed the boundaries of learning and thinking to new horizons,” Belmont High Principal Dan Richards told the graduates and those who packed the Field House.

“We will miss their energy and their endless ideas, but know that each of them will put that creativity and intelligence to good use,” he said.

Class President Sophie Kunz-Cosgrove said this graduating class “cultivated a culture of hard work, determination, and caring, in and out of the classroom.”

“After today, we will start our lives apart. But we built something here that will always be with us; a community, our community where everyone is different but everyone belongs,” she said.

Thomas Zembowicz, the first of the speakers honored with the School Committee Award for Outstanding Achievement in Scholarship – whose long list of accomplishments in academics, volunteering and athletics read by School Superintendent John Phelan seemed to embarrass him slightly – said what he will miss the most from his experience at Belmont High is “a feeling of contentment and belonging … in even the most mundane situations” hearing snippets of conversations or watching classmates working together on projects.

“I reflected on the rituals that bind us as a class; unscripted and unnoticed … noticing these shared routines … gave me a more powerful sense of nostalgia,” said Zembowicz, who will matriculate at Yale in the fall.

“Take a minute to notice the forged ties with people that shared things with you, even if that means just sharing a table at the library,” he said. “Because even as the past weeks events slip out of our memories, we will always have each other.”

Organization, for Catherine Tang, the second School Committee Award speaker, was the touchstone of her experience at Belmont High School. How she studied and practice, Tang did each within a tidy planned “comfortable” system. That was until the day her art teacher, Mark Milowsky, squirted a tube of paint on her blank canvas.

“Mr. Milowsky said, ‘You need to learn to trust yourself’,” Tang said. Despite being out of her comfort zone, she created a work that she remains most proud.

“We all have our plans, our systems, our expectations for the future. But we may find that someone splatters paint on our canvas,” said Tang, who will not travel far to attend Harvard College this fall.

“It is up to us to decide what we make of the unexpected situations that life throws at us, whether we view them as obstacles or as opportunities for personal growth,” she said.

“Don’t worry about the unexpected; trust your abilities and put your mark on the new and unexpected.”

Finally, it was time for the 275 students to become former pupils, to shake hands with school committee members, superintendent, and principal; then tossing caps in the air, and meet outside for photos and cheap cigars.

Belmont Boys, Girls Track In the Top Ten in East Divisional Meet

Photo: Belmont’s girls relay team in action. 

In the best combined day in recent memory, the Belmont High School Boys’ and Girls’ Spring Track teams powered their way to top-ten finishes in the East Division 3 championships held Wednesday, June 3 in Durfee, Mass.

Led by a pair of second-place finishes by sophomore Julia Cella in the 100 (12.73 seconds) and 200 meter (26.36) sprints, Belmont piled up 46.5 points over the day, good for a solid sixth place.

The boys collected 33 points to place 9th, just three points from 7th place.

Belmont’s girls was the only team with two runners in both sprint finals as fellow sophomore Marley Williams joined Cella in the dashes.

After taking seventh in the 100, Williams finished second to the eventual winner, Tatum Pecci of Tewksbury, in the preliminary heats of the 200 meters, making her a favorite in the finals.

But Williams began feeling under the weather and scratched from the final, said Belmont Head Coach Melissa Glotzbecker, whose team won the Middlesex League regular season title and the League meet. 

Belmont’s other multi-event point scorer was freshman standout Anoush Krafian, who finished third in the 100-meter hurdles, tied for seventh in the high jump and 11th in the long jump. She was also on the 4×100-meter relay that came in fourth.

Junior Samantha Kelts was one of three athletes who broke the existing point record for the pentathlon to finish the multi-event competition in third. Also capturing a third place medal was junior Meggie MacAulay in the 400 meters.

Sophomore Claudia Tenner led three Marauders in the 400-meter hurdles, coming in 7th followed by senior Kayla Magno and sophomore Guilia Rufo.

In the field events, junior Katrina Rokosz threw the javelin just under 111 feet for 7th place.

Leading the boys was senior captain Ari Silverfine, who broke two minutes to finish fourth in the 800 meters, while anchoring the 4×800 relay that raced stride for stride against Pembroke which eked out the victory over the Marauders by less than a second.

Silverfine’s fellow senior Owen Madden took third in the 400 hurdles while junior Luke Peterson used his long frame to finish fifth in the long jump, and sixth in the triple jump.

The final meet for both girls and boys is the All-State meet taking place on Saturday, June 6, at Fitchburg State College in Fitchburg.

From the girls team, Cella will be running in the 100 and 200 meters, Krafian in the 100 hurdles and high jump, MacAulay the 400, in addition to the 4×100 relay with Cella, Krafian, MacAulay and Williams with Naria Sealy as alternative.

Silverfine will run the 800 and Madden the 400 hurdles with the 4×800 and 4×400 relay teams taking part.

Belmont Yard Sales: June 6–7

Photo:

Yard sales in the “Town of Homes.” 

141 Fairview Ave., Saturday, June 6, from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

30 Moraine St., Saturday, June 6, and Sunday, June 7, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

5 Pearl St., Saturday, June 6, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

61 Spring Valley Rd., Saturday, June 6, from 9 a.m. to noon.

• 116 Sycamore St., Saturday, June 6, from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

 

This Weekend: Coffeehouse Friday, Power Recitals, Chamber Concert Sunday

Photo:

• The final Second Friday Coffeehouse concert featuring an Evening with Richard Curzi & Positive Energy will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, June 5 – which happens to be the first Friday of the month – at the First Church in Belmont, Unitarian Universalist, 404 Concord Ave. Joining the ensemble on stage will be Belmont High students Rowan Wolf on tenor and baritone sax, Yilei Bai on alto sax, Jasper Wolf and Riley Grant on trumpet and Jack Stone on trombone. In addition to Curzi, the night will feature the “Filthy Funk Gentlemen,” a kickin’ brass section of Belmont High School students who were featured at the annual Parents of Music Students “MY GENERATION” benefit dance party.

• Belmont has created the First-Time Homebuyer Assistance Program to help low- and moderate- income families purchase homes in the “Town of Homes.” Find out how to apply in an open session presented by the Homebuyer Assistance Program. Come get answers to questions and help with applications on Saturday June 6, at 10 a.m. at the Belmont Public Library.

• The Powers Music School will be hosting a weekend of recitals. On Saturday, June 6, and Sunday, June 7, students will perform All-School Recitals at 1:30 p.m., 3 p.m., 4:30 p.m. with an addition 6 p.m. concert on Sunday. Back on Saturday, June 6 at 6 p.m., the school will hold its Honors Recital, open to all graduating seniors and advanced students per nomination by a faculty member. 

Belmont High School graduation will take place at 3 p.m. on Sunday, June 7, in the Wenner Field House.

 

• The First Church in Belmont Unitarian Universalist will host the 37th annual benefit Chamber Music Concert on Sunday, June 7 at 8 p.m to benefit the SPARK (Supporting Parents and Resilient Kids) Center at the Boston Medical Center. 

The concert includes:

  • Three Russian folksongs as well as Early English songs and duets by Cherubini sung by Irina Kareva, mezzo soprano and Melanie Bacaling, soprano, accompanied by Alfa Radford and Ian Garvie, harpsichord.  
  • Trio Sonata by Baroque composer Jan Dismas Zelenka, performed by Susan Jackson and Terry D’Errico, flutes; Robin Hillyard, bassoon; with harpsichord continuo.  
  • Piccolo solo, Pennywhistle Jig, and a flute duet.

Concert attendees will also be treated to an amusing and brilliant finale excerpted from Gilbert & Sullivan, and featuring the performing artists. The SPARK Center helps over 100 children and families in the Boston area who are coping with a host of issues including: complex neurological problems, HIV and AIDS, emotional and behavioral problems related to trauma, and developmental delays and related special educational needs. For more information please call 617-484-1054 ext.201 or email aradford@uubelmont.org

On the Rebuilt Street That You Live: Town’s Roads Repair List for 2016

Photo: Palfrey Street.

Palfrey Road is one of the worst conditioned streets in Belmont.

Due to the steady amount of traffic – many vehicles use the roadway as a convenient detour onto Trapelo Road bypassing the Cushing Square lights – and the unlevel pitch of the road, the thoroughfare’s road surface running between Common Street and Gilbert Road at times resembles a Peruvian mountain path with crevasses and pot holes that involuntarily realign cars wheels and steering.

But long-suffering commuters and residents need only wait just about a year for relief as the byway  was placed on the town’s fiscal year 2016 road reconstruction list that totals $2.55 million.

Announced at this week’s Town Meeting by Glenn Clancy, director of Community Development, Palfrey joins 12 other roads deemed so in disrepair that it made the cut for reconstruction. More than half of the streets have a pavement condition index (PCI) in the 30s, considered a “poor” grade where travel is “uncomfortable with frequent bumps or depressions.”

The list with the corresponding CPI rating includes:

  • Clifton Street (32) from Beatrice Circle to Prospect Street
  • Bartlett Avenue (33) from White Street to Harriet Avenue
  • Winslow Road (34) from Hammond Road to Palfrey Road
  • Palfrey Road (35) from Gilbert Road to Common Street
  • Payson Terrace (35) from Payson Road east to Payson Road west
  • Glendale Road (36) from Common Street to Orchard Street.
  • Cushing Avenue (36) from Pine Street to Payson Road
  • Sharpe Road (37) from School Street to Washington Street
  • Marion Road (39) from Belmont Street to Grove Street
  • Albert Avenue (40) from Tobey Road to Brighton Street
  • Albert Avenue (53) from Lake Street to Tobey Road
  • Simmons Avenue (41) from Scott Road to Brighton Street
  • Middlecot Street (40) from north of Cowdin Street to Claflin Street 
  • Middlecot Street (72) from Cross Street to north of Cowdin Street
  • Sherman Street (41) from Brighton Street to Dean Street.

Clancy said the list is subject to change based on the availability of utility work to be completed on the roads in 2016. But he added that National Grid, the gas utility, has stepped up the rate of conversions this year insomuch that he believes that most, if not all, of the roads on the list will be completed by the end of the construction season next year.

Baseball: Belmont, Bartels Show Their Best Beating Wilmington in Playoff Opener

Photo: Junior Cole Bartels pitching Belmont to first-round victory over Wilmington.

Belmont High School Baseball played its best game of the season at the most opportune time as the Marauders handed hosts Wilmington High School Wildcats an 8-1 loss in a first-round of the Division 3 North Sectional playoffs played under sunny skies on Thursday afternoon, June 4. 

Belmont’s battery, junior right-hander Cole Bartels and sophomore catcher Cal Christofori, led the way as Bartels kept the Wildcats silent for all but the third inning, striking out 10 during his six inning stretch on the mound.

“It was great. I could find my spot and threw hard,” said Bartels after the game.

Christofori went three for four at the plate with an RBI triple in the third to bring in Belmont first run before scoring the Marauders second run on an error. Christofori finished the game in relief of Bartels.

“We did the little things; get your bat on the ball and good things will happen,” said Belmont’s long-time Head Coach Joe Brown, winning a first-round post season game for the third consecutive year. 

“We really were focused since the end of the season and we’ve had some great practices,” said Brown of the error- free effort by his defense behind Bartels.

Next up for Belmont (12-9) is a match up with number one seed Danvers High which sports a 18-3 record, after disposing of Tewksbury, 7-0, on Thursday.

The game will take place at Twi Field in Danvers at 4 p.m., Monday, June 8.

“I’ve coached against [Danvers’] Roger Day six or seven times and he’s gotten the better of me most times,” said Brown. “I expect a lot of small ball and quality baseball on Monday.” 

Belmont broke open the game in the fourth after surrounding a run in the bottom of the third, getting to the Wildcat’s ace, southpaw Jackson Gillis, with Christofori sending home Bartels, then coming home on the error. Third base Nick Call scored the third run on shortstop Nick Riley’s double.

The Marauders’ scraped together a run in the fourth as center fielder Ben Goodwin scampered home on Christofori’s second RBI. 

But the rally ended after Call ripped a Gillis fastball into the left center gap. Since Wilmington High could not use its new baseball field due to the construction of the new school building limited parking, the game was played at a middle school field which does not have an outfield fence. Had a barrier stopped the ball, it would have been unlikely Call would have tried to stretch a double into a triple. An outstanding throw from the outfield caught Call before Christofori crossed home. 

The Marauders provided the knockout punch with three in the fifth inning, highlighted by Goodwin’s two-out, two-run double, scoring juniors Trevor Kelly and Matt Kerans. 

It was then up to Bartels to secure the win, as he made quick work of the heart of the Wildcat lineup in the sixth.

“[Bartels] was phenomenal today. He had his control on,he was mowing guys down. He pitched out of a jam early and then was untouchable,” said Brown.  

Sold in Belmont: Condos on the Move As Spring Market Heats Up

Photo: 14 Locust St.

A weekly recap of residential properties sold in the past seven-plus days in the “Town of Homes.”

68 Unity Ave., #2. Condominum (1924). Sold: $504,000. Listed at $490,000. Living area: 1,152 sq.-ft. 6 rooms, 2 bedrooms, 1 baths. On the market: 46 days.

14 Locust St., Center-entrance Colonial (1933). Sold: $1,050,000. Listed at $979,000. Living area: 2,198 sq.-ft. 9 rooms, 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bath. On the market: 43 days.

112 Slade St., Condominum (1928). Sold: $631,000. Listed at $599,900. Living area: 2,118 sq.-ft. 9 rooms, 4 bedrooms, 2 baths. On the market: 73 days.

78 Chester Rd., Condominium (1920). Sold: $520,000. Listed at $569,900. Living area: 2,198 sq.-ft. 8 rooms, 4 bedrooms, 2 bath. On the market: 113 days.

54 Marlboro St., Condominum (1905). Sold: $415,000. Listed at $399,900. Living area: 1,000 sq.-ft. 5 rooms, 2 bedrooms, 1 baths. On the market: 44 days.

125 Trapelo Rd. #8. Apartment building condo (1963). Sold: $275,000. Listed at $259,888. Living area: 517 sq.-ft. 3 rooms, 1 bedrooms, 1 bath. On the market: 60 days.

• 22 Brettwood Rd. Brick Georgian Colonial (1941). Sold: $1,262,000. Listed at $1,200,000. Living area: 3,442 sq.-ft. 11 rooms, 5 bedrooms, 3.5 bath. On the market: 69 days.

• 226 Trapelo Rd., #1. Condominum (1922). Sold: $461,000. Listed at $439,000. Living area: 1,334 sq.-ft. 6 rooms, 2 bedrooms, 1 baths. On the market: 91 days.

• 56 Marlboro St. Two-family (1913). Sold: $880,000. Listed at $799,000. Living area: 2,720 sq.-ft. 14 rooms, 5 bedrooms, 3 bath. On the market: 48 days.

Finally. The spring selling season has arrived this past week in Belmont with nine houses being bought with three interesting facts:

  • the properties sold quickly, most within just about two months after going on the market,
  • the final sale price for all but one property beat the initial listing price, and
  • condominiums led the rush of sales. 

Also interesting to see a fairly modest, Depression-era Colonial (OK, it does have a two-car garage) on Locust Street (near the Burbank on a rare cul-de-sac  in Belmont) selling for a million dollars plus. Is Belmont, Massachusetts beginning to emulate Belmont, California where the median price of homes is currently north of a million dollars? This is what a median-valued house in Belmont Left Coast will get you. (Note the square footage; pretty cramped for shelling out seven figures.)

Possible Policy Change Could See Money Heading for Sidewalk Repair

Photo: Sidewalk in need of repair.

Town Meeting member Catherine Bowen came to the microphone to ask a question on the Capital Budget at the annual gathering on Wednesday, June 3.

If the town was spending in fiscal 2016 the largest amount ever on road resurfacing at $2.55 million – so much so, said Capital Budget Chair Anne Marie Mahoney, that it couldn’t spend “one more penny” because it had met its construction limit – why not dedicate a few dollars over to repair and reconstruct several miles of dilapidated sidewalks rather than roads that service a few homes with little traffic?

“I have been in Belmont for a few years so if you told me that roads were being repaired, I would naturally assume that sidewalks were part of that [reconstruction],” Bowen told the Belmontonian.

“But when the roads were being repaired in precinct four, I discovered that was not the case,” said the Bartlett Avenue resident.

After a few seconds, Belmont Board of Selectmen chair Sami Baghdady answered Bowen’s query and made news at the same time.

It’s time the board looks at the town’s policy on funding sidewalks as part of the road resurfacing account; he told the body.

And with that suggestion, Baghdady said the selectmen will soon debate possibly reintroducing an annual expenditure for sidewalks, reversing a decade-long practice of haphazard funding during the best of times.
“It was a good suggestion that came from the Town Meeting floor, and it is a policy that the board should discuss and reconsider,” said Baghdady.

With the rare exception of this and the coming fiscal years in which $200,000 in each year will be targeted for sidewalk repair using one-time funds, the town’s decade-old policy has been to forego sidewalk expenditures. As Mahoney stated earlier in the night, the need for road repair has been so pressing since the mid-2000s while money from state and local sources for resurfacing and reconstruction has dwindled over the years.

As a result, a walk on most Belmont sidewalks is interrupted by concrete slabs displaced by tree roots or broken by cars parking on them or by the weather. In all neighborhoods, the lack a well-defined sidewalk with curbing results in vehicles parking on the walkway.

The impact is that many residents – especially the aging or those pushing carriages – find the path daunting and will move in the roadway to walk.

As a member of Safe Routes to Schools at Butler Elementary and Sustainable Belmont, Bowen said as a “green” community the town should be interested in increasing transportation with a lower carbon footprint such as walking as well as encouraging healthy activities.

“There is an increasing awareness that people want to use their sidewalks, that we are using our sidewalks, but we don’t necessarily feel safe doing so,” said Bowen.

The call to review the current policy is due to the simple fact “that our sidewalks need repair,” Baghdady told the Belmontonian.

“Sidewalk replacement should be looked at at the same time. We are always looking for better practices and it seems personally that there might be some economies of scale if we do the work at the same time,” said Baghdady, saying that the board will be asking direction from the Department of Public Works and Community Development on writing a new policy.

“A practice should not survive just because it’s been there for years and years,” said Baghdady.

Belmont Town Meeting, Segment B, Night 2

Photo: Moderator Mike Widmer.

7 p.m.: Welcome to hopefully the final night of Belmont’s annual Town Meeting. Tonight, capital budget appropriations will be highlighted as will a reconsideration of the solar power article which was indefinitely delayed in May.

7:11 p.m.: And the meeting starts with a shout out by Moderator Mike Widmer on all those who make Town Meeting “works.”

7:12 p.m.: Glenn Clancy, director of the Community Development office, gives an update on the Trapelo/Belmont corridor project. Interesting points: some sidewalks are showing defects and changes have been made. The project from Mill Street to Cushing Square is just about done except for the final top coating. It is a positive message that Belmont is moving forward on the town’s roads. 

7:21 p.m.: Up now is Article 18, which reauthorizes the eight revolving funds, all self funding. There are two new accounts: Stormwater consulting and storm water improvements. The money comes from fees so the funding is not coming from general funds. It’s adopted unanimously.

7:25 p.m.: Now up is an overview of the capital budget appropriation process from the Capital Budget Chair Anne Marie Mahoney. Interesting facts:

  • The initial request from all town departments came to $5.4 million. 
  • The amount of money of potential unfunded requests was $1.2 million. 
  • But there was even more money coming to Capital Budget including from the override and one-time funding.
  • That leaves $1.8 million for capital projects. 

IMG_8012

In public safety, the priorities start with the high school fire alarm system. It must be replaced now – during the summer of 2016 – and it has to be replaced because the current one is nearly 45 years old. Cost, $1.2 million. Other priorities are fire alarms at the Butler and Town Hall and the replacement of portable radios. The replacement is part of a greater program in which a large amount will be bonded.

Mahoney then goes over the other expenditures, a total of 23. 

A pair of large borrowing is one the way. The fire alarm at the high school will result in borrowing $1.55 million with a five year bond in 2016 or $236,000 per year, coming out of the capital budget each year.

The radio system will require a ten-year bond for $1.09 million.

Roads and sidewalks: all the money in fiscal 16 will come to $2.55 million from several sources. “This is an all time high,” she said.

Mahoney notes that the major capital projects are 

  • The DPW building ($28 million)
  • New Belmont High ($70 million)
  • A new police station ($20 million)
  • a new library ($18 million with state and private funds)

All are expensive and also needed.   

Guess what, there will be needs for additional space at nearly all the schools by 2017. Capital budget will be part of the process. 

Mahoney is given a big hand by the gathering for a great report. 

7:54 p.m.: There will be four motions in the Capital Budget expenditure, the first, Section A, is the reading of the 23 items that are being purchased or leased at $1.8 million. Kevin Cunningham, Pct. 4, asks the process for estimating $1.4 million for the high school alarm replacement with a new high school being planned. Mahoney said even if funding for the new school is approved by the state in December, it will take years before construction on a new school begins. Cunningham asked if the new floor can be salvageable in a new school. Of course, said Mahoney.

Julilet Jenkins, Pct. 3, asked why the system is now being replaced if it was known that it was outdated for years. Mahoney said the hope had been that a new school would be coming but the alarm system simply needs to be done.

Christine Doyle, Pct. 1, asked if it wouldn’t be wise to bond now as rates are currently so low. Treasurer Floyd Carman said rates will be just as low in 2016 as now. “Great, I’ll sign up for your newsletter,” Doyle quipped.

Rachel Berger, Pct. 2, asked if the fire system will last until 2016, or “will be homeschooling 1,100 students.” Fire Chief David Frizzell said the system is on its last legs and his department will work with the limitations before him.

Answering a question on whether to build a new or renovated high school, Mahoney said the shell of the building is in perfect shape, “built to last forever” so there is no need for a new building like other communities were required to do. But the systems are so old and there is need for a new science space.

Donald Mercier, Pct 8, said he “didn’t want to disappoint” the gathering by not asking a question, asking town officials on the price tag on a new rec vehicle and the shed at the library for the snowblower. Cunningham said while he talks process, he thanks the committee for making an expenditure for traffic calming at Lexington and Sycamore. The $1.8 million budget is adopted unanimously.  

Section B appropriates $1.09 million for the purchase of radio transmission equipment for fire and police use and portable radios. Bonnie Friedman, Pct. 3, asks if this expenditure is needed if the town joins a regional 911 system. David Kale, Town Administrator, said the equipment is needed by the town. The section is approved with only six no votes.

Section C, is the fire alarm replacement project costing $1.06 million in bonding. No questions from members and the vote is 221 to 9.

Section D, is the $1.55 million in road paving. Janet Kruse, Pct. 3, asked if the money coming in this year can be used this year. Yes, said Clancy, and if not used this year, it would go into next year. Monte Allen, Pct. 8, asks what is the level of scrutiny that the Warrant and Capital Budget committees use to make the decisions. When these budgets come to Town Meeting, they are a fait accompli. Mahoney, Selectman Chair Sami Baghdady and Michael Libenson defend the process as open and complete.

Here’s some news, from a question for Catherine Bowen, Pct. 4, Baghdady said the town could be revisiting the percentage spent on sidewalk repairs. The current policy, which limits sidewalk expenditures since there was such a need to use the limited funding capacity on roads, will be reviewed according to Baghdady.

The motion is adopted unanimously.

8:47 p.m.: Article 15 is to accept $800,000 in state money for to resurface and repair our roads. Sounds good to the gathering. Passes. 

Before the break, Widmer praises the “huge, huge contribution” of the volunteers on the capital budget and warrant committees who perform the usually unseen but greatly important work to bring the the budget to Town Meeting.

9:06 p.m.: After the break, Article 11, approve the enterprise funds for water and swear and storm water services. Pretty straight forward. Approved.

9:09 p.m.: Article 19, which establishes a new capital/debt stabilization fund for the capital costs on four building projects: the high school, the police station, the public works building and the library. It will be funded by the sale of the Woodfall Road parcel, the municipal parking lot in Cushing Square and other accounts. This will allow one-time funds to be placed in reserve to take one step closer to finishing these projects while not increasing the tax burden. “We need to tackle the big four,” said Mahoney, who said this will spark a debate among residents on the four projects. There is an amendment waiting.

Kevin Cunningham, Pct 4, wants to read an apology, which is rather personal discussing “his shame” for attempting to use Town Meeting to discuss something other than the amendment he presented, saying he wants to find a way to have a venue to express his opinion on process. He is given a hand.

Don Mercier, Pct 8, asked if the article is defeated, where will the money raised by Woodfall Road sale, etc. It will go into the general fund. 

Johanna Swift Hart, Pct 4, wonders if the money from the two sales wouldn’t be better spent going into free cash which was depleted by $1.3 million for the Belmont Center reconstruction. Selectman Mark Paolillo said there is an expectation that there will be money at the end of the year will be going into free cash and these are capital projects “that are not running away” so let’s address them, said Baghdady. But Swift Hart said free cash isn’t free so “where is my money.”

Paul Roberts said the capital projects will take years to take hold, asking if there is any policy on funding years in the future. 

Julie Crockett, Pct 5, asked Baghdady isn’t it true that any funds could to be placed into the fund will have to wait until next year’s Town Meeting. True, said Baghdady. Can’t we wait until next year to set up  the fund? she asked. Yes, was the response. Crockett asked if the town shouldn’t wait until next year because there could be needs – such as housing all the new students coming into the schools – that could be more pressing. 

This requires a 2/3s vote: This should be interesting. And the vote is 192 to 30. That was not even close. 

9:35 p.m.: Article 20: The Minuteman Regional Voc High Regional Agreement is being postponed. Jack Weis, Pct. 1, who is Belmont’s rep on the Minuteman School Committee, said this is the same article presented to Town Meeting last year. Attempting to explain the background of this article is a terribly tangled web in an attempt to build a new school (which many people feel is too large) in Lexington with 15 partner communities. It’s suffice it to say that since one town of the 16 voted it down, why take it up. The measure is approved. 

10 p.m.: Now is the reconsideration of Article 9, the solar power article. Selectman Jim Williams said he would not be moving forward on the reconsideration so that ends the action. 

William continues to say that he is dismissing three of four citizen petitions as the selectmen and