It’s ‘RAMA’ Saturday With Stringarama, Bandarama At High School

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Photo: Lots of musicians this Saturday.

This is no joke: April 1 will be your chance to hear from the youngest to the most experience musicians on a “Rama” day in Belmont.

Moved from its traditional pre-Christmas date to allow the younger musicians to be a bit more proficient, the Belmont Public Schools Fine and Performing Arts Department presents the long-time tradition Stringarama and Bandarama on April Fools’ Day.

First will be the Stringorama Concert, featuring more than 400 string students in Grades 3-12, at the Belmont High School’s Wenner Field House. The performances start at 1 p.m. 

Each grade will perform a selected piece that showcases their best work, and then the entire ensemble will perform the first ever Grand Finale.

Then at 4 p.m., the Wenner will house another group of several hundred student musicans as the Wenner becomes the largest band room around as the 45th annual Bandarama takes place. You’ll hear from elementary, middle and high school bands in works the performers have been preparing do perform.

Candidate’s Statement: Guy Carbone – ‘Make a Real Decision About Belmont’s Future’

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Photo: Guy Carbone, candidate for Belmont Board of Selectmen.

My name is Guy Carbone. I ask you to vote for me for Selectman on April 4 and by doing so, make a real decision about Belmont’s future.

Belmont must balance its spending needs against the ability of its residents to pay for them. However, the actions of a small group of residents, whose desires and promises far exceed our ability to pay for them, may make it impossible for Belmont to meet spending needs in a fiscally and socially responsible manner. The result will be that even more of our neighbors and friends of all ages and lifestyles will leave Belmont because they can no longer afford to live here. That is something that must be stopped.

Belmont must deal with four large building projects that require solutions in the near-term.  These projects should be prioritized and sequenced, so they do not unduly burden our residents whose property taxes and rents fund our schools as the public services the town provides. To do this, the Board of Selectmen needs a member with engineering and legal experience; I have three degrees in Civil Engineering from MIT, retired as a Colonel in the US Army Corps of Engineers and have a law degree from Suffolk Law School.  

I bring broad experience to Belmont’s issues.  As Commissioner of the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC), I led the cleanup of the Boston Harbor, Charles River, and downstream basins; as Belmont’s appointed representative to the MWRA, I represented our town for ten years.  I was Chief Engineer of the Government Center Commission responsible for design and construction of the state buildings there.     

I am not new to elected office: I was elected to four terms on Watertown’s School Committee and two terms as its Selectman before we moved to Belmont.

Why should you vote for me?

  • I am a town government outsider whose executive and professional experience will bring fresh, educated solutions to Belmont’s issues.
  • I will restore Belmont’s inclusivity and mutual respect.
  • My experience directly relates to the capital projects ahead of us, including, but not limited to, a new high school, library, police station, and public works campus.   
  • You will benefit from my ideas on how to decrease Belmont’s reliance on fossil fuels and improve the impact we make on our environment.
  • I will save our open spaces, increase the use of solar installations on appropriate municipal buildings, and encourage more use of electric vehicles, which will greatly reduce our carbon footprint.
  • I support providing high-quality municipal services, as is maintaining and supporting best-in-class education that includes arts, athletics, and STEM.
  • I have experience fostering commercial development, know how to preserve Belmont’s very special character and its diverse array of neighborhoods, and can thoughtfully diversify our tax base.

Belmont is a community where many are active in civic matters. It is this involvement that keeps all of you informed and represented at the town level. My wife and I both know this is having raised our son, Anthony, a very active athlete, in Belmont where we have lived for 30 years. 

Most important, I listen to all of you, I hear all of you, and I promise to represent each and every one of you. Progress is best achieved as part of a balancing act between our fiscal responsibilities for our current town services and buildings with the desires of many for responsible Green initiatives. Working with my colleagues on the Board of Selectmen, I will balance Belmont’s expensive needs with your ability to pay for them.

Please cast your vote for me, Guy A Carbone, on Tuesday, April 4. To learn more, visit www.carboneforbelmont.org or my Facebook page.

Candidate’s Statement: Adam Dash – “I Ask For Your Vote”

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Photo: Adam Dash, Candidate for Board of Selectmen

To my Belmont Friends and Neighbors,

I am writing to ask for your vote.

It has been very humbling to run for Selectman. I have walked throughout Belmont, knocking on doors and speaking with residents. You have told me about your children and grandchildren. You have shared your frustrations. And you have sent me on my way with a richer understanding of our community.

If elected, I will work every day to live up to your expectations.

I will always be honest with you. I will tell you what I know and what I don’t know, even if it is not popular. I will ask for input and advice, and I will take it to heart. I will respect the opinions, decisions, and work of Town Meeting, and our boards, committees, and departments. Everything I do will be transparent, and you will always have my ear.

I am running for Selectman because I want to make a difference for our community. 

For the last ten years, I have learned about the issues currently facing the town and schools, and I have worked hard to make a significant contribution.

  • I have analyzed the budget, line by line, for eight years on the Warrant Committee, currently as vice-chair.
  • I have studied and applied our zoning by-laws on the Zoning Board of Appeals.
  • I helped build the highly successful Underwood Pool as the vice-chair of the Building Committee.
  • I helped bring additional state funds to Belmont as chair of the Community Preservation Act Study Committee.
  • I helped provide additional, necessary funding for schools, roads, and sidewalks as the spokesperson for the YES for Belmont override committee.
  • I provided free legal work to various non-profits in town.
  • I am raising two children in Belmont, and I have experienced our excellent schools at all levels.

My experience is important.

I have built a deep understanding of the town, our challenges and opportunities, and the way things work. We have many issues that must be addressed now, and I can hit the ground running without a learning curve.

The role of the Warrant Committee is advisory – members dig into every financial issue and make recommendations to Town Meeting.  I, like others, have had many ideas over the years that would save money, improve town services, or otherwise benefit Belmont, but we have no authority to implement them.  The Board of Selectmen sets the agenda and oversees the town departments.  Without the Selectmen, nothing happens.

I want to do more.

The challenges we face – in our schools, neighborhoods, businesses, buildings, and the environment – affect the quality of life of every Belmont resident.  

  • We must solve our school enrollment and space crisis. 
  • We must creatively address our critical building projects, with Belmont High School at the top of the list thanks to a one-time opportunity for 30 percent funding from the state.
  • We must methodically rebuild our roads and sidewalks. 
  • We must create vibrant business districts and expand our commercial tax base. 
  • We must protect the character of our neighborhoods.
  • We must move to leverage federal funds to build the Community Path. 
  • We must follow through on the town’s commitment to climate action, as instructed by Belmont voters. 

Clearly, there is a lot to do.

As a Selectman, I will use what I’ve learned in my ten years of service to Belmont to lay the groundwork for the next decade and beyond. 

  • I will be guided by the shared values that make Belmont great – family, education, community and inclusivity.
  • I will make sure that every Belmont resident has a voice in our town government.
  • I will keep the focus on action. We have many challenges — and opportunities — but we need to get things done.

To move forward, we must communicate better, listen more, and streamline decision making. We can work collaboratively with all stakeholders to find common ground and create win-win solutions. Belmont residents want a voice – on big issues and small – and as Selectman, I would make it a priority.

But I need your partnership.

Thank you to everyone I’ve met during the campaign over the last few months. Your ideas and your concerns have both inspired me and shaped my thinking.

 I ask for your vote on Tuesday, April 4, and I look forward to earning your trust.

Adam Dash

Letter to the Editor: Elect O’Toole In Precinct 2, A Bold Student Voice

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Photo: Devan O’Toole (left)

To the editor:

Belmont faces many challenges and immense opportunities in the coming years. It’s up to Town Meeting to seize those opportunities and to work toward innovative solutions. That requires Town Meeting Members unafraid to ask tough questions and put in the necessary work. It also requires a range of perspective in Town Meeting. The voice of Belmont students and young people continues to be lacking.

The Belmont High School Building Commission has zero student representation. Decisions on school funding and education issues that affect students’ lives each day are often made with little student input. When the administration asked students to give feedback on Mr. Sullivan as part of the significant decision of whether to fire him, the virtually unanimous student opinion was blatantly ignored. Belmont schools are experimenting with new technologies that are promoted by administrators and education corporations as “innovation,” but in reality can be counterproductive to learning. Talk of diversity and civil rights in our schools is often thrown around without input from our students of color. In discussions about recreational marijuana regulation, the danger to teenagers and young people is consistently brought up as one of the primary reasons against loosened marijuana laws. It’s critical that young people have a seat at the table in these decisions. In fact, ensuring that students are part of the conversation strengthens our judgments and benefits everyone in Belmont.

In an era of regression and uncertainty due to Trump at the national level, it’s more important than ever for Town Meeting and local government to push forward with new ideas and bold leadership. It’s vital that Town Meeting Members don’t just talk but walk the walk and put in the work necessary to drive real change. We must not accept the longtime status quo just because it is “how things are done.” It’s important to ask questions and hold our leaders accountable. I’m confident that Devan will bring a fresh, valuable, and much-needed voice to Town Meeting.

There’s no better person to stand up for our schools than Devan, who has been in discussions with school officials as Belmont High School Senior Class President and Student Representative to the School Committee and has already worked to support the new high school. He was also co-leader of the school’s Make a Statement Day, helped with the student Yes for Belmont effort, and has been deeply involved in the Belmont High School and Belmont communities in more ways than can be explained in this one article. Perhaps most importantly, being in the classroom five days a week simply allows for a unique and critically important perspective. Devan understands our schools’ intricacies and has a thorough understanding of the needs facing a new Belmont High School.

In the coming years under Trump, local government is where progress can and must continue. There’s so much work to do. To rebuild Belmont High, ensure adequate education funding, and facilitate the highest quality education. To push forward on clean energy and take action to protect our environment. To support immigrants and refugees in an uncertain time. To ensure transparency and accountability in town government. Devan has the energy, commitment, and leadership skills to meaningfully contribute to Town Meeting discussions and to make concrete progress.

I’m energized and beyond excited to support Devan O’Toole’s candidacy for Town Meeting in Precinct 2. Join me in supporting a bold student voice for Belmont’s future. Email devantownmeeting@gmail.com to get involved, and be sure to vote on Tuesday, April 4.

Daniel Vernick

Town Meeting Member, Precinct 1

Cushing Village Update: Dig, Dig, Dig; Starbuck Around ’til July 4th?

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Photo: Diggin’ it in Cushing Square.

Dig this … which is exactly what construction crews are doing on the proposed site of Cushing Village, according to developer Toll Brothers.

In his monthly update, Otto Weiss, the project manager for Toll Brothers’ Apartment Living division which is building the 168,000 square foot development in the heart of Cushing Square, said the project was on the ground as the site was being prepared for the building of the foundations for the three-building complex.

Current site activities include:

  • Moving dewatering equipment onto the location along Trapelo Road where they will begin the dewatering the soil on the week of April 3
  • The pavement in the former municipal parking lot and the foundations of the old buildings along Common Street has been removed.
  • Public comments and responses to the company’s Release Abatement Measure (RAM) Plan have been uploaded to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.

Next up for the project include:

  • Excavation and soil removal in the former parking lot will begin in a week or two.
  • Detailing the architectural plans continues during the coming months.
  • Foundation construction for the Winslow Building – located on the municipal lot –  will begin in the Spring.

As for the last tenant on site, Starbucks will remain open until late Spring/early Summer this year, according to Weiss. 

Letter to the Editor: For Belmont’s Children, Vote Adam Dash

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Photo: Adam Dash
To the editor:

Two years ago, I was inspired by kids studying in Starbucks to share my opinion that passing the override was crucial to our children’s future, and that of subsequent generations.

While those specific kids may have graduated by now, Belmont’s children haven’t gone away. In fact, there are only more of them. Since writing that letter, enrollment in Belmont Public Schools has increased by almost 200 students. Nor is this an isolated bubble: over the past five years, enrollment has soared by more than 500 children, and school committee projections show the trend not only continuing but exacerbating.

We need a leader who is committed to maintaining excellent schools without overburdening taxpayers. Adam Dash is that leader. He has direct experience overseeing the budget on the Warrant Committee.  He has terrific ideas on how to expand small businesses in Belmont. Moreover, he will finish the Community Path with federal funding, which will bring pedestrian and bike traffic to our business districts. And he will ensure that we meet the state’s deadline to benefit from a 30 percent subsidy for renovating or rebuilding the high school. Put quite bluntly; we literally cannot afford to miss this opportunity. If we do not make the right decisions now, we will not only cheat our kids of the school they need but ourselves of savings we could have had.

Dash has a proven track record of leveraging both public and private investment in important town projects. He spearheaded acquiring Community Preservation Act funds. He was the public face of the campaign to prevent drastic cuts to our schools and to add the teachers we needed for keeping up with soaring enrollments. As Vice Chair of the Underwood Pool Building Committee, he worked with Belmont Savings Bank to establish a matching grant campaign that allowed us to build our beautiful new pool after the lowest bidder broke his contract. I helped fundraise for that campaign and saw first-hand the kind of dedication and know-how it takes to quickly and efficiently make such public-private partnerships happen.

In his decade of service to the town on important committees, Dash has demonstrated that he can build consensus and get things done. His opponent touts service from almost forty years ago in a different town. Which do you think is more relevant to our future?

There are still kids studying in Starbucks. They still can’t vote. We owe it to them, once again, to bet on their future and that of all Belmont’s children. Please join me in voting for Adam Dash on April 4.

Mary Lewis
Randolph Street  

Largest Landlord Wants Farmers Market Out of Belmont Center

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Photo: Kevin Foley before the Board of Selectmen.

It was supposed to be one of the dozens upon dozen perfunctory acts the Board of Selectmen performs ever year.

Before the board was representatives of the Belmont Food Collaborative, the folks who run the Belmont Farmers Market which is celebrating its 12th season in 2017. A popular public amenity, the farmers market has become a weekly attraction for families and foodies as well as countless Center’s workers who shop regularly for fresh produce, baked goods, and kitchen essentials.

The collaborative was seeking its annual town permit to run the market on Thursday afternoons from June to October in the rear of the town-owned parking lot behind Leonard Street in Belmont Center.

As the board’s agenda was running two hours behind its scheduled time, the selectmen appeared ready to give its blessing to the group after a few words of heartfelt success for the coming season.

Then in the nearly empty chamber, Kevin Foley, the manager of Locatelli Properties LLC – the largest landlord in Belmont Center which owns the commercial space along Leonard Street from Alexander Street to the crosswalk at Channing Road – came to the microphone and figuratively rolled a grenade into the meet and greet.

Delivering several copies of a petition with 22 signatures of business owners and store managers – nearly all tenants of his – Foley put it bluntly to the Selectmen: The Belmont Farmers Market has to go away from its long-time home in the Claflin Street Municipal Parking Lot. Now.

“It does not make sense to put a farmers market in a business community where it’s not supported,” said Foley, to the board which greeted his proclamation with bemused surprise.

And that lack of support was squarely placed on a reduction of limited parking opportunities in the municipal lot just as several large-scale businesses will be entering the Center in the next few months.

Saying the property owner has paid millions of dollars in property taxes while spending millions more on structural improvements to the former Macy’s location to attract its newest tenant, Foodies’ Urban Market “with the assurances that we would be improving parking.”

“What you’re doing [with this vote] is taking the busiest days and making it less convenient and hurt business,” said Foley.

Saying his tenant Foodies’ is “a direct competitor” with the farmers market, Foley said the supermarket’s first year in Belmont “is critical for them” to attract customers to the location. 

Insisting he wanted “immediate action” on his request, Foley told the board what the businesses want is for the Farmers Market is to “find a different location” in town, suggesting alternative spaces such as church and school parking lots.

“If the town really wants it, put it in the [Town Hall] parking lot,” he said.

“Belmont Center is not the right spot for it,” Foley told the board as the two collaborative representatives were left to hear its venture was suddenly seen as the red-headed stepchild to the business community.

Foley said for more than a year he received “assurances from different town officials that when Foodies’ opens this won’t be an issue,” naming the recently departed Town Administrator David Kale as that person. 

Parking has long been an issue in Belmont Center going back to when Filene’s’ department store anchored the retail community. Unlike commercial or strip malls, the parking lot is owned by the town with, what former selectmen believe, a two-fold purpose of supporting the businesses and residents.

Dr. Suzanne Johannet, the Food Collaborative president, told the board that an extensive search to find a suitable location was done by the group when the farmers market was initially proposed. Church properties were problematic due to services such as weddings, funerals, and meetings while schools could not be used from September onward. She noted that the market only requires 19 spaces for 21 afternoons in 2017. 

“This is a central location in town,” Johannet said. “We have great relations with the Belmont Center Business Association,” she said, adding that the collaborative has reached out to Foodies to work together to promote each other’s ventures.

While sympathetic to Foley’s complaint on parking, Selectman Chair Mark Paolillo said in the town’s view; the Farmers Market was a “quality of life issue for people” noting it could not be a success for 12 years if people did not support it.

“There’s no other place to put (the farmers market),” said Paolillo, who told Foley that the town would continue to push for a solution to the parking problem.

Here is where the conclave became fractious as Foley challenged Paolillo’s attempt to vote on the permit.

“You’re going to vote on that now?” pondered Foley which Paolillo quickly said yes, he would.

Foley countered that it only took him three hours to gather up the signatures of his tenants opposing the permit which Paolillo waved off saying that the farmers market attracted business to the center.

“There are several comments I’d like to make,” said Foley.

“You’ve already made them,” said Paolillo, as the large clock in the room struck 10 p.m.

“So you’re shutting me off?” asked Foley.

“I am, please,” said Paolillo.

It was then when Selectman Jim Williams, supported by Selectman Sami Baghdady, threw Foley and his immediate request a lifeline, asking to postpone a vote a week until Monday, April 3, as everyone talked over each other for a bit. Williams said he would review the comments from the businesses which signed the petition.

Foley told the Belmontonian after the meeting that the issue is not supported for the Farmers Market which Foley said he favors “but just not in a location that we have a difficult time right now.”

“What do you think will happen when four new businesses open. We’ll need every space to help them to be successful,” said Foley.

The Food Collaborative, in a press statement, stated that they “are aware of concerns about parking in the Center. We acknowledge that things have been difficult for all of us over the past two summers during the construction project.”

“As for employee parking, which we understand is a big issue, we don’t believe that eliminating our use of the lot would have any significant impact. Our volunteers and vendors park on surrounding streets and not in the lot,” said the Collaborative.

“If this season shows that there are significant parking problems, we are open to discussion about alternative locations for the future,” said the non-profit.
 
“We are hopeful that with the construction finished, the new spaces on Concord Avenue and the opening of Foodies, all businesses, including the Farmers Market will thrive this summer.

Still No Decision on Chiofaro’s Marsh Road Subdivision

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Photo: Monday’s meeting on the Chiofaro subdivision.

It’s somewhat appropriate that the name of the road servicing a proposed subdivision off Marsh Road will be called Sleepy Hollow Lane as it’s taking the town about as long as Rip Van Winkle slept to render a decision on the development.

In a packed, overheated Board of Selectmen’s Room at Town Hall on Monday night, March 27, a majority of the Board of Survey – made up of the three Board of Selectmen members – declared that enough new information on the proposed five house development by Marsh Road resident and Boston developer Don Chiofaro had been presented that they would take an additional week to ruminate before making a final decision on homeowner on Monday, April 3

“There is a lot for us to review,” said Mark Paolillo, chair of the board, who agreed to the delay coming from his colleagues Jim Williams and Sami Baghdady, although he had announced his vote to deny a waiver to Chiofaro to increase by a third the length of an elevated public cul-de-sac running from Marsh Road to the back of Chiofaro’s property at 178 Marsh Rd. which abuts Habitat Education Center and Wildlife Sanctuary, the 88-acre Massachusetts Audubon Nature site.

While his fellow members needed more time, Paolillo told the audience and Chiofaro that his “no” vote against the 210-foot roadway extension is that it will set the wrong precedent on future requests.

“We have heard from hundreds of folks against this development,” said Paolillo, who noted that a scaled down project of three large houses “is in the best interest of Belmont.”

The meeting, with nearly 70 people in the room and the hallway, was a continuation of a public meeting earlier in the month in which Chiofaro sought to add a bit more than 200 feet to the 600-foot public cul-de-sac he is allowed to build on his property to construct five large “McMansions” homes. Under “by-right” regulations, Chiofaro could build three homes in his backyard which borders the Habitat on its north side.

For Chiofaro and his supporters, the public benefits of a larger development with the 810-foot road include tax revenue, an emergency-access road from Woodfall Road and several inground infrastructure improvements he is willing to make that would help alleviate spot flooding on Marsh Road during heavy rain storms. Chiofaro noted that he could not build due to expense the underground culverts or the “safety” road with a shorter roadway.

The Chiofaro team pointed to some “dead end” roads in Belmont which have been expanded by past Board of Surveys beyond the 600-foot restriction with Pinehurst and Snakehill at more than 1,200 feet.

To Habitat supporters, which made up two-thirds of the audience, an expanded housing development close to the protected lands and near to wetlands would be detrimental to not just the Audubon sanctuary but surrounding woodlands.

The night did have its testy moments such as when Habitat supporters laughed in derision when Chiofaro – a lifelong Belmont resident who is known for building some of Boston’s iconic office towers such as One International Place – said the upscale development was “a good idea” for the town as it would allow “other people to live there.”

Someone who does not have a reputation of shrinking to criticism, Chiofaro said for the three years he had been actively pursuing this development “there has been a whirlpool of naysayers” who said of his proposal: “not in my backyard.”

“Well, this is my backyard,” Chiofaro noted, saying this is not being created “out of spite” but with the realization that “you just need to do the math with tax revenue.”

“One last thing, prohibiting development is not a good thing” for any town to consider, he said.

When the meeting was open for public comment, it was Anne Paulsen, the former selectman and state representative, who gave historical backing to those who oppose the expanded roadway. She was on the board that signed the 1989 bylaw that rewrote town survey regulations that are now on the books. She noted then the town was under pressure from developers and required a particular length of “public ways” for safety reasons including keeping them in repair which is hard to maintain.

Paulsen countered Chiofaro’s team’s assertion that the town had given several extensions over time, noting most were before the 1989 rewrite and of those after, many were for very short amounts; 50 feet on one street, seven on another.

She reminded the board of “how important your decision is in future” proposals.

Chiofaro’s defenders told of his lifelong support for educational and sporting endeavours, and his commitment to quality with new construction in a town where half the 10,000 homes have been built before World War II. (Although there was a humorous moment when a Chiofaro supporter told the audience that there was a “fear” of “building McMansions on open land …” at which point a loud cheer broke out from Habitat defenders, “Thank you!” said one hailing the realization. The supporter did say that the developer would build a quality project.)

Habitat advocates questioned many aspects of the project, including the emergency road cutting through their private road, the amount of fill required to build the roadway and homes which will need to be elevated from 4 to 12 feet due to the depression of the property and nearby wetlands and whether there was any “public” benefit to the town from the larger project.

Placing a coda on the public statements, Belmont Conservation Commission Chair James Roth said may on both sides of the issue were only seeing the trees at the expense of the forest “by not looking at the entire project.”

“Who is going to maintain this town road?” he pondered, noting that culvert such as Chiofaro has promised with the larger development will at times only last four years without constant repair.

After two hours of discussion, it was if the meeting was called due to collective exhaustion. For Baghdady, who will be leaving the board two days after Monday’s meeting, there was the hope “that a compromise could be found” between the developers and the other side” by next week.

For Chiofaro, he would only say that he will be back next week.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he said.

Letter to the Editor: OPEB — Complex Issue, Complex Discussion

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Photo: Guy Carbone

To the editor:

A one minute answer during an important debate is not the best way to discuss a complex issue.  OPEB (Other Post Employment Benefits) and how Belmont should pay for these retiree obligations is an exceedingly complex subject and deserves a complete discussion than it was possible to provide at the League of Women Voters debate.

First, Selectman Williams’ desire for a professional analysis of Belmont’s retiree obligations, per the information he sent to me, is something with which I completely agree. I do NOT support any program which would add huge increases to the property tax bill or which would make it impossible for Belmont to undertake needed building programs or meet ordinary budget requirements. For example, Selectman Williams’ proposal for a municipal bond made when he ran for Selectman is not something I support.

As required by the state, Belmont currently makes an annual payment to its pension plan; it will complete payments by 2029 well in advance of the state’s 2040 deadline.  Belmont will begin to pay OPEB requirements in 2030.  This approach was adopted many years ago when sitting selectmen were faced not only with an underfunded retirement fund but one into which no payments had been made for decades. Given the circumstances, the decision was prudent.

Today, Belmont needs to find out: (1) whether this approach is still an effective way to meet both our pension and OPEB obligations; and (2) if there is a more effective approach.  Most important, Belmont must figure out whether any change in approach would make it incredibly difficult, or even impossible, to fund all of our day-to-day requirements — schools, building projects, streets and sidewalks, police, and fire department, to name just a few — without unduly increasing property taxes.

I believe Belmont should hire a financial advisor/consultant with experience in this area to identify whether any changes would make sense. I will come to the table prepared to ask the hard questions needed to determine whether there is a better all round approach that can balance our obligations to the town and to Belmont’s retirees with the ability of Belmont’s residents to pay for them.

Guy Carbone

Woodfall Road

(Editor’s note: Carbone is running for the Board of Selectmen in the upcoming Town Election.)

Ramsey, Girls’ 4X100 Squad Named Boosters BHS Student-Athlete for February

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Photo: (from left) Danielle Kelly, Emily Duffy, Paul Ramsey, Julia Cella, Danielle Kelly and Soleil Tseng

Belmont High senior captain Paul Ramsey (boys basketball) and the Girls’ Indoor Track 4X100 relay team of Danielle Kelly, Soleil Tseng, Emily Duffy and Julia Cella are the Belmont Boosters BHS Student-Athletes-of-the-Month award for February.

Sponsored by the Boosters and in coordination, with the Belmont High School Athletic Department, each month a girl and boy varsity athlete will be selected by an independent panel as a BHS Student-Athlete-of-the-Month.

Nominations are made at the end of every month by Belmont High varsity coaches.