Library Trustee Blasts Planning Board On New Library Placement

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Photo: (from left) Raffi Manjikian and Liz Allison on the Planning Board speaking to Kathleen Keohane of the Library Trustees (foreground)

Kathleen Keohane was more than a bit perturbed outside of the Planning Board meeting on Tuesday night, July 18.

It wasn’t because she had a busy day at work and that she was missing dinner to attend the scheduled meeting at Town Hall. Just a few days previous, Keohane, the chair of the Board of Trustees of the Belmont Public Library, was told by a resident that the Planning Board had presented an ambitious plan last week to construct a new town library as part of a public/private partnership to be located at  the Belmont Car Wash in Waverley Square.

Just one problem with the proposal in Keohane view: no one told her or any other trustee about the project. And she wanted everyone in town to know that was unacceptable.

 “I am astonished and dismayed that there has been no outreach to the Library Director (or the trustees of substance to discuss this,” Keohane told the Belmontonian Tuesday. She said the Planning Board’s release of the proposal came after the Trustees spent 14 months and $40,000 of Town Meeting approved funds to conduct a far-ranging feasibility study for the construction of a new library.

Keohane said the study revealed that patrons and residents want the library to stay put at its current location on Concord Avenue near the Underwood Pool. And with 1,000 unique visits, the library attracts vehicle traffic which could hamper its use in the highly traveled Waverley Square.

“We have heard pretty clearly what residents want,” said Keohane.

Keohane said the only time she spoke to the Planning Board on anything close to a new library was when she “ran into [Allison] in the hallway” at the Chenery Middle School during the Belmont League of Women Voters’ candidates’ debate in March. 

“She said she left me a message on my home phone to introduced this idea, but since then there has been absolutely no outreach. I don’t even know what the concept is,” she said.

What makes the entire scenario difficult for the trustees is because they are on the cusp of moving forward with a major fundraising effort to pay for the $23 million building. But that effort has been delayed until the fall after the trustees agreed to a request to hold back its plans by the Capital Budget Committee at this year’s Town Meeting as it studied the major capital projects around town. 

“We have been open and transparent in trying to move things forward, and the courtesy of outreach would have been much appreciated,” said Keohane.

Keohane said she has not attempted to reach out to the Planning Board “because honestly, I thought someone would have the courtesy to reach out.” She was at the meeting “to learn as much information as I can.”

And 75 minutes after arriving, Keohane strode to the cable television microphone to express how awestruck she was about the proposal.

“We are eager to learn more because we have been put in a tough spot because we have been receiving a lot of calls from folks for more information,” Keohane told the board.

Allison responded by reminding Keohane of the “brief and even more informal conversation” they had in March.

“We had a hallway conversation … where you raised this issue to me and I said I was not speaking for the trustees and I expressed my concern that it was not the right site for a library,” said Keohane, calling the meeting “out of the blue.”

Keohane noted that the trustees had met multiple times with all the town’s major stakeholders on its path towards the construction of a new library “so we want to be in on the conversation and not feel like we’re left out on the side(lines). We were just caught off guard.”

Allison responded that the board’s feeling is it’s happy to have any conversation in any form.

“It’s an idea,” said the Planning Board’s Raffi Manjikian of the Waverley Square proposal. “It’s one to throw out on the table for consideration, and there are a lot of stakeholders that will need to be engaged and get their support and express their support.”

“We will have a better idea by the end of the month whether this has any reality to it,” Allison said.

Sparks Fly At Belmont Light GM Performance Review

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 Photo: A tale of two cities at Town Hall: (left) Jim Williams, Adam Dash, James Palmer.

Tempers flared, and accusations flew between the governing board of the town’s electrical utility and its general manager James Palmer as the two sides tussled during a discussion of Palmer’s annual performance review on Monday, July 17.

Residents would have thought they had entered Charles Dicken’s novel, “A Tale of Two Cities” as the overriding theme at the meeting of the Light Board – made up of the Board of Selectmen – was “the best of times” and “the worst of times” of Palmer’s tenure running the 119-year-old independent electrical utility.

Light Board Chair Jim Williams laid out board’s conundrum with Palmer in a nutshell; the general manager is “outstanding” running the utility that services 11,250 customers, but as a member of town management, “not so much.” 

With the review to be the foundation of upcoming multiple-year contract negotiation with Palmer – delayed by six months due to a misunderstanding – the Light Board noted it would weigh Palmer’s expertise in running a successful service while alienating many town officials.

Unlike a standard top down employee appraisal which was conducted in the past, Palmer’s assessment was a 360 review which enables a group of coworkers and officials to provide feedback on his overall performance. (The complete report is available via public records to request through the Town Clerk’s office)

The review demonstrated Palmer’s highest quality is his self-confidence including a positive attitude and an “I can do it” way of thinking. The Light Board gave high marks for Palmer’s take charge approach overseeing the construction and commissioning of the new Blair Pond substation, completing it on time and nearly $3.4 million under budget. 

But the analysis also spotlighted Palmer’s peers view the general manager isn’t the best at people skills, receiving “very low” marks in showing respect for other’s opinions and ideas while not creating an open atmosphere within the department and around town. 

According to the board, Palmer’s brusk attitude has alienated the general manager from nearly everyone in town. Light Board member Mark Paolillo said over the past three years, “I can’t name one town department which you don’t have problems with” then listing half a dozen agencies off his head.

“We need someone in this role with strong people skills, and you don’t get along with anyone in town,” noted Paolillo. 

That “go-it-alone” approach resulted in was one of Palmer’s biggest missteps in the board’s view when this year he unilaterally rejected a memo on clean energy regulations from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection on the grounds the state did not have the authority to impose those rules on a municipal utility.

Dash noted he and other members only heard about Palmer’s solo action through a media report.

“Maybe if it were brought to us we would have agreed, but we never had that conversation,” said Dash, who said his decision goes against the town’s Climate Action Plan which was voted overwhelmingly by a past Town Meeting.

“You had no right to do that,” said Paolillo as Palmer countered that he followed other utility decision.

Also, the board noted Palmer’s reluctance earlier this year to inform the Board of Assessors of the value of the new substation, which when it was released, provided Belmont a sizable tax advantage as well as “significant deficiencies” and delays in providing information during the annual audit process.

Palmer said he was shocked by the degree of the negative comments from town departments coming from the 360 review process that he said was used for the first time by the town in evaluating town officials. 

From Palmer’s perspective, the “cause of this strained relationship” is due to the lack of scheduled time between him and the board to discuss business, which relates directly to the series of disputes he has had within the town. 

He said one  “solution” included moving forward with a past suggestion of creating an independent commission that isn’t part of town government to oversee the Light Department.

He recalled when becoming general manager in 2010, which he said was in turmoil at the time, he worked closely with the then Municipal Light Board Advisory Committee, a 10-member board which acted as an unofficial conduit between the Light Board and the department. 

Under guidelines established by the Advisory Board, Palmer said he built trusting relationships with the MLAB and town officials. He expected the town to approve the new independent board in 2014, but due to changes to MLAB membership and mission which caused its virtual collapse, the Light Board has taken a greater oversight role over the Light Department which Palmer believes has sowed the seeds of distrust.

But Light Board Chair Williams told Palmer that while he can advocate for a new governing structure, “when you meet with the board, that’s the government” he has to work with now. Pointing to a conversation he had with a Belmont Police official, Williams said that agency “figures a way to manage” with the structure they have at the time.

Palmer said he was willing to “go more than half way” to work with town departments in a new open

With so much tension in the Selectmen’s room, even board members were snipping at each other on points of discussion. By meetings end, the board and Palmer had not resolved how they would “move forward” or if they could. 

Planning Board Unveils ‘Big Idea’ To Transform Waverley, So Pleasant Street

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Photo: A rendering of a privately developed Belmont Public Library anchoring a mixed use development in Waverley Square. 

In a presentation that if implemented would alter the face of Belmont for generations, the Planning Board last Tuesday revealed a rough draft proposal to transform Waverley Square and South Pleasant Street into vibrant urban centers while breaking a logjam in the construction of critical – and costly – capital projects.

Dubbed “The Big Idea” by Planning Board Chair Liz Allison, the plan envisioned by the Board’s Raffi Manjikian would consist of a multi-use development built on the site of the Belmont Car Wash at 521 Trapelo Rd. combining senior housing with a new Belmont Public Library that would be privately-built and leased back to the town by the project developer. 

While the senior living/library project is in the preliminary talking stage, “the [property] owner said they are open to the concept,” said Manjikian.

“It’s time we come out to the community and begin to have this conversation with people at home, and perhaps even the developers engage with the town … to think through this idea and … contemplate something that is workable,” he said.

Nor would the library/senior living venture be a stand alone project such as The Bradford is to Cushing Square but likely the initial step in the redevelopment of South Pleasant Street running from the car wash on Trapelo Road to approximately Snake Hill Road. The three property owners have been quietly scouting their development proposal in the past year.

If the Planning Board’s blueprint goes from pie-in-the-sky to reality, it could jump start a much-needed transformation of a section of Belmont nearby residents believe has been neglected. In return, several property owners will be able to profit from what is currently an inefficient use of the land, while the town would have a new avenue to resolve at least one of its long-standing capital project demands.

The genesis of the big idea came from the Planning Board’s earlier meetings on the future of Waverley Square. Despite being a transportation hub for three towns with a history of commerce, the square has not attracted the business or housing other locales have seen.

During previous meetings, residents and the board felt the square needed “additions” for it to become a vibrant neighborhood especially those that attract people whether it be businesses – much talk has been associated with a “pub” in the area – or retaining the Waverley MBTA station. The meeting participants noted the area could absorb a substantial increase in density especially housing (including affordable units) but respect the residential nature of the nearby streets by limiting the additions’ massing. 

She also said any development should not move forward if it “generates very substantial costs to the town” such as large scale residential projects which would be “selling seats in the Belmont school system.” 

After putting forward the preliminary guideline of a new Waverley, Allison produced a chart that she noted isn’t seen at Planning Board: a financial worksheet showing a bottomless pit of red ink associated with the four capital projects staring Belmont taxpayers in the face.

With a new Belmont high school ($187.5 million), police station ($22.5 million), Library ($24 million) and Department of Public Works ($28 million) on the horizon, ratepayers are likely facing a $262 million price tag to meet the town’s capital needs. “And the cost will not go down,’ said Allison.

If financed by a 20-year bond at five percent, just the cost of the four projects would require the current property tax rate to rocket from $12.69/$1,000 assessed value to $15.88/$1,000, resulting in an annual tax increase for the average single family homeowner of $3,190. And that is before town folks face a Prop. 2 1/2  operating override expected in 2021.

“These are big numbers for a lot of people; I dare say a majority of people in Belmont,” said Allison. After ruminating through the guidelines and speaking to landowners, at a recent meeting, Manjikian asked himself “what if we were to think about a leaseback situation” in Waverley Square?

A fairly standard transaction in academic and commercial circles, a “sale/leaseback” is when an owner of a property sells an asset, typically real estate, and then leases it back from the buyer. Feedback to Manjikian’s off-the-top-of-his head proposal was overwhelmingly positive from town officials and the property owners.

The affordable senior housing would be in a convent location with a library, Star Market, a major bus line and the MBTA commuter rail station all within walking distance, said Allison. It would also free the current library location to be redeveloped for a new police headquarters.

Allison said the library was selected for the public portion of the project as it met many of the Planning Board’s objectives; it would be a gathering spot and a mooring for future development.

Allison said she is “very sympathetic” to library officials who told the board they were “less than enthusiastic” for the plan after finishing in February a five-year long feasibility study which proposes a new library at its current Concord Avenue location. Allison believes providing the library trustees with “some reality in a timely fashion” they could be convinced of the merits of a Waverley Square site.

Anne Marie Mahoney, chair of the Major Capital Projects Working Group – established this year to create a “sound plan for building, sequencing, and possible financing which will lead to a successful and timely completion of these projects” – who traveled from New Hampshire to hear the presentation, sounded a supportive note for the scheme.

“Personally and collective from the group we are very excited about this,” said Mahoney, saying it “frees up finances and resources, time and energy.”

“By doing something like this, it just opens the whole process up and allow the town to have a library a whole lot faster than they would if they had to wait for the town to fund it one at a time,” said Mahoney. The project would “anchor” Waverley Square with a major town building and says to the square “you are an important part of [Belmont].” 

While many who attended the meeting were supportive of the concept, concerns on traffic and congestion along with financing the project were raised as potential sticking points. 

“As always, the devil will be in the details,” Roy Epstein, chairman of the Warrant Committee, told the Belmontonian after the meeting. Head of the financial watchdog organization for Town Meeting, Epstein took a measured approach to the project, noted straight off that a leaseback would likely require a significant annual allocation from the town’s budget – likely between $1 to $2 million – possibly requiring an override.

Allison said there needs to be a “real enthusiastic response” from the public and Town Meeting by a two-to-one so the board can move forward on the preliminary plan. The significance of the two-thirds margin represents the number required at Town Meeting to alter the town’s zoning bylaws to allow for the greater use of height and density to make the entire project viable. 

“We will have to be open and creative if this is going to succeed, but there also has to be some ground rules that will be proposed by the board,” she said.

Belmont Yard Sales: July 15-16

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Photo: Don’t let the threat of rain keep you away from a yard sale!

Here are this weekend’s yard/moving/garage sales happening in the 02478 zip code:

• 9 Bradley Rd., Saturday, July 15, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

• 53 Creeley Rd., Sunday, July 16, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

• 111 Cushing Ave., Saturday, July 15, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. (Rain date: July 22)

West Nile Virus Found In Belmont and Cambridge

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Photo: West Nile virus back in Belmont.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health announced today, Thursday, July 13 that West Nile virus has been detected in mosquitos recently collected from Belmont and Cambridge. 

WNV is most commonly transmitted to humans by the bite of a mosquito infected with the virus. While WNV can infect people of all ages; people over the age of 50 are at higher risk for severe infection. 

Information about WNV and reports of WNV activity in Massachusetts during 2017 can be found on the MDPH website.

As always, there are a few precautions people can do to help to protect themselves and their families.

Avoid Mosquito Bites 

  • Be Aware of Peak Mosquito Hours: The hours from dusk to dawn are peak biting times for many mosquitoes. Consider rescheduling outdoor activities that occur during evening or early morning. Otherwise, take extra care to use repellent and protective clothing. 
  • Clothing Can Help reduce mosquito bites: Although it may be difficult to do when it’s hot, wearing long-sleeves, long pants and socks when outdoors will help keep mosquitoes away from your skin. 
  • Apply Insect Repellent when you go outdoors: Use a repellent with DEET (N, N-diethyl-m- toluamide), permethrin, picaridin (KBR 3023), IR3535 or oil of lemon eucalyptus [p-methane 3, 8-diol (PMD)] according to the instructions on the product label.

Mosquito-Proof Your Home 

  • Drain Standing Water: Mosquitoes lay their eggs in standing water. Limit the number of places around your home for mosquitoes to breed by either draining or getting rid of items that hold water. Check rain gutters and drains. Make sure rain barrels are covered or screened. Empty any unused flowerpots and wading pools, and change water in birdbaths frequently. 
  • Install or Repair Screens: Some mosquitoes like to come indoors.

Belmont High Bomb Threat Deemed A Hoax

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Photo: Belmont High School.

Units from the Massachusetts State Police and Belmont Police Department conducted a search of Belmont High School Wednesday morning, July 13, after the school district received an email bomb threat.

Belmont and three schools in Waltham including the high school were targeted by threats Wednesday. On Monday, several schools in Wareham were shut down due to bomb threats.

The message claiming that a bomb was inside the school arrived at the district office on Pleasant Street at approximately 9:45 a.m. School Administration immediately contacted the Belmont Police who informed the State Police. Law enforcement along with district staff conducted a visual inspection of the building.

After the inspection, and using State Police protocol, the threat was declared a “low risk, ” and the building was not evacuated.

“The School Department thanks Belmont and State Police for their quick response to this matter,” said Belmont Superintendent John Phelan.

Planning Board Parks il Casale’s Next Belmont Eatery

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Photo: Dante de Magistris before the Planning Board.

Everything appeared to be going swimmingly for the local team seeking to open a new restaurant in the former Macy’s building in Belmont Center.

The site review application before the Planning Board which met on Monday, June 10 at the Beech Street Center couldn’t have come with a better pedigree. The de Magistris brothers (“We all grow up in Belmont,” said one brother at the introductions) who run the prestigious award-winning il Casale restaurant at 50 Leonard St. are seeking to open a second Belmont location, a new dining experience for residents to experience.

Likely dubbed Roast 75 (as in 75 Leonard St. the street address), the new site would be a “new warm, inviting neighborhood restaurant,” according to Dante de Magistris, the chef, and co-owner of il Casale, speaking for the family. The eatery would incorporate an inexpensive, farm-to-table concept “that you can go to every day,” he said.

The “front” door would be the back entrance facing the two parking lots along Claflin Street. ‘It’s a nice beautiful spot there,” said de Magistris.

Architect Neli Ialamov of South End-based McMahon Architects said little would be done to the brick exterior. The interior would consist of a lower basement storage area and a main floor dining area with an open “show” kitchen so diners can see the cooks in action. 

Architect Neli Ialamov of South End-based McMahon Architects.

But for the Planning Board, it wasn’t what the customers would be ordering that interested them; rather where those patrons would park their cars that held their interest.

Len Simons, an attorney for landlord Locatelli Properties assisting the de Magistris family with its application, told the board it would be seeking relief from the town’s zoning bylaw requirement of supplying one parking space for every two seats in the restaurant. With the new site set to hold 133 seats, the de Magistris family will need to provide 67 spaces.

That would be an issue as the landlord’s parking lot located adjacent to the operation only has 61 spaces total which needs to supply existing retail and restaurants.

In the family and Simons’ view, the restaurant could get by with 54 dedicated spaces in which several spots would be daytime permitted commuter parking in the nearby lot behind the Leonard Street fire station and the municipal location.

With a total of 382 parking spaces in lots and on the street in Belmont Center,”[t]he thought is that there should be enough parking to satisfy the requirements of the zoning bylaw albeit not on the same lot as the restaurant,” said Simons.

Simons also said 70 percent of the expected 25 employees would take mass transit to work and since a growing number of diners are arriving via ride-hailing companies such as Lyft and Uber, the actual number of spots the restaurant would need will be reduced even further.

But as Board Chair Elizabeth Allison noted, “the numbers [of space] are not the problem.” While not disputing the data presented to the board, Allison wanted to see “firmer” facts on the number of restaurant seats and parking spaces in lots and on the street in the Center in chart form rather than just off the top-of-the-head figures. She also said the board would be reviewing past actions on relaxing the parking bylaw for restaurants to be “consistent” if it would grant relief.

And while the board wishes to be “business friendly,” Allison said it also wanted to “be friendly to all business” in the center, not crowding out one set of retailers for another.

But it was when they realized that the board was not going to vote on the application Monday – scheduling a return visit of the application on Aug. 1 – that the faces of the de Magistris brothers took a distinctly anxious turn. And little wonder as it was revealed the board’s three-week delay on a possible vote was putting the il Casale team “between a rock and a hard place,” according to Simons.

Apparently, the de Magistris’ are “on the cusp of obtaining a liquor license” from the Board of Selectmen, said Simons, which, in turn, will allow them to finalize a financing package needed to begin construction on a space they are paying rent.

“At the risk of seeming aggressive,” Simons asked if approval of the site review application could be granted at present with conditions attached. But Allison nixed the suggestion, and Aug 1 would be the next time the team can plead its case to the board.

After spending 10 minutes discussing strategy with Simons in the Beech Street Center’s parking lot, Dante de Magistris summed up the board’s decision with a shrug of the shoulders.

“It’s an ongoing process. It’s a beautiful process,” he said without a bit of cynicism in his voice.

 

Belmont High Alumnus Wins National Junior Shooting Crown

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Photo: Kevin Bennett in action.

Kevin Bennett, a 2016 Belmont High School graduate, won the Junior National Championship in Standard Pistol at the 2017 USA Shooting National Pistol Championships, held last week at Ft. Benning, Georgia.

In winning the junior title, Bennett finished second overall in the Open Standard Pistol contest earning the silver medal. 

The US Coast Guard Academy sophomore also won a bronze medalist in the Junior Rapid Fire event.

The U.S. Championships determine the top shooters in each event as well as the selection of members of the U.S. National Team. Bennett was the first Coast Guard cadet to compete in the U.S. National Championships in several years.

While at Belmont High, Bennett made his first national team in 2015 when he captured the bronze medal in the Junior Men’s Rapid Fire Pistol.

Tweaked: Failed Dunkin’ Donut Developer’s Back On Pleasant Street With New Proposal

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Photo: The new design for the strip mall at Pleasant and Brighton.

The development team whose attempt to build a Dunkin’ Donut restaurant at the corner of Pleasant and Brighton streets was shot down by the Belmont Zoning Board of Appeals in January 2016 is back before the town with a new proposal for the site.

Although “new” will be seen as a stretch for some as Nick Leo’s proposed strip mall does mention a Dunkin’ Donuts restaurant as one “alternative” in occupying the larger storefront at the former Pleasant Street Getty service station located at 350 Pleasant St. which Leo bought for $1,060,000 in July 2014.

But this time, rather than building a strip mall with one of his franchise as the anchor tenant that would involve what some contend is a zoning board not favorably disposed to business interests, the development’s retail spaces will be open to anyone.

‘Once site plan approval is granted and the construction schedule is set up, Mr. Leo will then seek out possible tenants,” said Joseph Noone, the Belmont-based attorney for the Leo Organization.

Leo’s plan this time is to build the structure under the review of the Planning Board and “if a future tenant use requires a special permit under the Belmont By-Law, the tenant will apply to the ZBA for a special permit if the proposed use is not permitted as of right,” said Noone.

The new concept comes before the Planning Board on Tuesday, July 11 at 7 p.m. for a Site and Design Review a year-and-a-half after the Zoning Board of Appeals voted down the application in January 2016 due to traffic and parking issues.

Leo, the owner of 20 Dunkin’ Donut franchises in Massachusetts and Florida, is seeking to build a 3,516 sq.-ft. strip mall with three retail spaces of 1,500, 1,000  and 746 square feet with 269 square feet of common space. The site will have 21 parking spaces, seven more than is required in an LB3 zone.

In many ways, the new design is similar to the failed plan which included a 3,500 sq.-ft. building with a pair of 1,000 sq.-ft. retail operations.

While an application is prohibited for two years to return to the ZBA after being rejected, the new project is considered just enough of a change to allow it back before the town.

“In essence, the footprint of the building is not changed from the plans previously submitted,” said Noone, noting that a small second-floor storage space was eliminated.

The big difference is what’s going inside the space, said Noone. The initial design came before the ZBA as it needed a special permit to use one of the retail spaces as a Dunkin Donuts. Since the new proposal only mentions two possible uses – or alternatives – the Planning Board will only review the proposed structure.

“The denial of the special permit for the use of a Dunkin Donuts [in 2016] does not preclude seeking site plan approval for the proposed structure,’ said Noone.

Noone said the new design incorporates suggestions and requests by abutters, neighbors and the town made during the ZBA hearings, including moving the new building closer to Pleasant Street. and the placement of the dumpster, transformer, and environmental remediation equipment.

Leo also hosted an informational meeting for the neighbors on May 9 at Noone’s office, which was attended by several neighbors. 

Applications For 2018 Community Preservation Funding Now Available

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Photo: The Underwood Pool

Could your group or committee use a few dollars to complete a community project that involves acquiring or improving open space and recreation land, rehabbing or preserving historic sites, or goes to support affordable housing?

If “yes” is the answer, the town’s Community Preservation Committee has about a million dollars waiting to spend on your worthy venture in the coming 2018 fiscal year. And applications to start the process are available today.

The CPC, which distributes the total of a 1.5 percent surcharge on property taxes and an annual contribution of state funds for a wide range of proposals, has released preliminary applications for the 2017 funding cycle. You can download the preliminary application online here.

Applicants are invited to attend the CPC’s Public Meeting on Sept. 14 to ask any questions they may have regarding the application process.

The deadline for returning your application is Friday, Sept. 29 for those projects to be eligible for the next round in the process.

In the past, CPC funding has been distributed to the Belmont Housing Authority for much-needed infrastructure upgrades of housing under its control, to help fund the second phase of the PQ Playground Revitalization Project, updating the Town Clerk’s records, and for the repair of tennis courts at the Grove Street Playground. It was also instrumental in major projects such as the Underwood Pools and the building of Joey’s Park.

For more information, contact the Community Preservation Hotline at 617-993-2774 or send an e-mail to Michael Trainor at mtrainor@belmont-ma.gov