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.

Mozart’s ‘Solemn Vespers’ Final Belmont Open Sings This Sunday

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Photo: Belmont Open Sings (Powers Music School)

The final Belmont Open Sings of the 2016-17 season will be Mozart’s Solemn Vespers, K339; it will be held on Sunday, March 26 at 7:30 p.m. in Payson Park Church, 365 Belmont St. The night’s soloists are Janet Ross, soprano; Roselin Osser, mezzo-soprano; Cory Gross, tenor; and Ian Pomerantz, baritone.

Participate in a performance of a great masterwork for chorus and orchestra. Experience the thrill of singing your favorite works accompanied by a professional-level orchestra, and revel in arias sung by some of Boston’s finest soloists, led by Mary Beekman. 

First timers are welcome. Vocal scores and a choral warm-up are provided.

Tickets: $10 per person; No reservations needed. All ages welcome, and we encourage you to bring your family and friends to enjoy these masterpieces together.

Letter to the Editor: Former Selectman Backs Dash

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Photo: Adam Dash

To the Editor: 

I support Adam Dash for Selectman. Please join me in voting for him on April 4. 

Adam has the right vision for Belmont. He supports excellence in our schools; he will continue policies to protect our neighborhoods; he will invest in the maintenance of our infrastructure. He will pursue these policies while managing the funds created by our recent override. He proposes to streamline our permitting and licensing policies, but he opposed the unwise sale of a liquor license by the current Board of Selectmen. 

Having worked with Adam on the Warrant Committee, I know that he has the skills and relevant experience to serve as a Selectman. In addition to his Warrant Committee experience, Adam also served on the Zoning Board of Appeals, and he is a member of Town Meeting. He also served on the building committee for the Underwood Pool. 

Finally, Adam is committed to action on issues of most concern to Belmont residents. In my experience, Adam quickly grasps the essence of an issue and then moves forward to a constructive solution. His decision-making is inclusive and collaborative. He will bring these skills to a Board of Selectmen that faces many important challenges in the coming years. 

Having served Belmont as a Selectman, I know how challenging–and important—a role it is for our community and its future. I am honored to serve as chairman of his campaign, and I urge you to vote for Adam on Tuesday, April 4. 

Ralph T. Jones 

Summit Road 

Pats are Back! NE Patriots Return for Belmont Boosters Fundraiser

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Photo: They’re back!

Since the New England Patriots Basketball team began playing at Belmont High School four years ago, they’ve won two Super Bowls.

Why break up a good thing?

The Belmont Boosters will be holding its Fourth annual New England Patriots Basketball fundraiser during which members of the Super Bowl LI champion will compete against the Belmont Booster All-Stars, consisting of various members of the Belmont community.

Attendees will have autograph- and photo-opportunities, as well as a chance to win an autographed football.

Proceeds from the event support the Belmont Boosters, a 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is support Belmont High School athletics.

Event: New England Patriots Basketball Fundraiser

When: Wednesday, May 17, at 6:30 p.m.

Where: Belmont High School Wenner Field House

Ticket and sponsorship sales involve a direct solicitation of the entire Belmont community, which begins in early-to-mid March.

For information, please call 617-904-7542. You can also email the Boosters at belmontmaboosters@gmail.com.

Belmont High’s PAC Brings Broadway’s ‘Chicago’ To Town [VIDEO]

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Photo: “Chicago” performed by the Belmont High School Performing Arts Company.

Broadway comes to Belmont as the Belmont High School Performing Arts Company presents the hit musical “Chicago” this weekend at the Belmont High School auditorium.

PERFORMANCES

  • Thursday, March 23 at 7 p.m.
  • Friday, March 24 at 7 p.m.
  • Saturday, March 25 at 2 p.m. (matinee) and 7 p.m.

TICKET INFO

ADULTS: $15 in advance, $18 at the door
STUDENTS: 10 (BHS Students get half-price tickets on Thursday)

WHERE TO GET TICKETS:
Tickets are on sale at Champions in Belmont Center, and available online.

Chicago is one of the most iconic American musicals. It currently holds the record for longest-running Broadway Revival, thanks to the dazzling score, captivating story, and sensational dance. Set in the 1920s the show centers on a world of murder, fame, corruption, but most importantly: show business, and song/dance.

The show features a large cast of more than 80 students along with a backstage crew of equal size, working to bring the show to life. The production of “Chicago” highlights the Vaudeville backdrop for the show, which serves as a storytelling device and a platform for the show’s themes: the divide between appearance/reality, the nature of fame, the power of celebrity, and the workings of the justice system.

This production’s cast includes:

  • Roxie Hart: Olivia Pierce
  • Velma Kelly: Anelise Allen
  • Billy Flynn: Evan Wagner
  • Amos: Sammy Haines
  • Mama Morton: Lea Grace Swinson
  • Mary Sunshine: Oliver Leeb
  • Liz (“Pop”): Molly Thomas 
  • Annie (“Six”): Nicole Thoma
  • June (“Squish”): Cheyenne Isaac
  • Hunyak (Uh-Uh): Miriam Cubstead
  • Mona (“Lipschitz”): Amelia Ickes.

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Selectmen Candidates in Testy Exchanges at League’s Night

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Photo: Adam Dash (left) and Guy Carbone at the League of Woman Voter’s Candidates Night.

Over the past decade, political debates nationwide have become more course and acrimonious with sophomoric name-calling – remember last year’s “Lying Ted”? – and accusations are thrown around with little merit to any facts.

On Monday, March 20, at this year’s League of Women Voters’ Candidate’s Night, the national debating trend arrived in Belmont, when a candidate for the open Board of Selectmen seat accused his opponent of being … a “dilettante!”

Pass the smelling salt, Lovey. I feel the vapors coming!

While the dustup which occurred during the question and answers section between first-time Board of Selectmen candidates Guy Carbone and Adam Dash was nowhere near the rowdy nature of recent Congressional constituency meetings seen nationwide, the interaction between the two residents revealed different approaches each would take if elected to the three-member board in April.

For Woodfall Road’s Carbone, his experience in local (terms as selectman and on the school committee in Watertown) and state (Commissioner of the former Massachusetts District Commission) government and his long career as an engineer and attorney is the perfect mix to meet the challenges facing Belmont in the near future, specifically in capital building projects such as construction of a new high school, police station and public works buildings.

“I think I’m a natural for this,” he said. “For me, this is a busman’s holiday.”

Carbone said he would review the town’s critical spending needs with the ability of property owners to pay for them. “We have to be careful not to ask our residents for more than they are capable of providing.”

“Belmont needs balance,” said Carbone.

Goden Street’s Dash pressed his work expertise – many years working in and with Somerville and Belmont including on the Warrant Committee and Zoning Board of Appeals – to “bring action” to repair “a broken town process” and end “the sad cynicism” so many feel about local government

Dash told the audience many important municipal department buildings such as the Public Works and Police Headquarters “are not acceptable” and only by wisely phasing in projects and seeking private funding and applying for federal and state grants, “can address these capital needs without overburdening our taxpayers.”

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Adam Dash

He pointed to his work on the Underwood Pool Building Committee where he led the process where Community Preservation Committee funds, private donations and a town debt exclusion to bring about a project that is “staggeringly popular.”

“I have the current Belmont specific experience to transition onto the Board of Selectmen seamlessly,” said Dash.

During the Q&A, Carbone saw himself as having the practical hands-on experience that would benefit the town. When asked his view of the proposed Community Path running through Belmont,  the renovation of Belmont High School and increasing sidewalk repairs, Carbone said will review projects “with an engineer’s eye” then listen to all sides of the issue.

“I will ask the right questions at the right time,” said the former Army Corp of Engineers officer. 

But for Dash, Carbone’s construction expertise would best be used seeking another town position.

“I am not running for town engineer. We have a good one,” quipped Dash, who said his leadership style of bringing people together in a bottom-up approach was the most efficient avenue to avert the missteps of projects such as solar power net metering or the controversy of the Loading Dock liquor license transfer from happening again.

“Had they been done process-wise differently would not have blown up and had been as divisive. We’re a small town. We should not be at each other’s throats. We should be working together,” he said.

Testy exchanges

While both men will seek to use their slot on the board to support climate initiatives, one policy area the two diverged was how Belmont should meet the challenge of nearly $150 million in unfunded financial obligations facing the town. 

Following a question from current Selectman Jim Williams on how they would deal with the town’s pension and post-retirement health payments, Carbone said all the town has to do is “just listen to Jim Williams” as the selectman “is right on target” in paying off the obligations upfront rather than over several decades under the existing policy.

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Guy Carbone

Dash agreed with Williams’ advocacy to revisit the town’s current payment plan but would stick with the current blueprint – paying off the pension in 2029 then use the same revenue stream to begin paying down the OPEB debt – “is the way to go.”

It was a question on Carbone’s town administrative experience in Belmont that resulted in the most controversial moment of the Q&A. When Carbone said it was his careful examination of legal documents that ended a potentially costly litigation on the renovation of the historic fire station in Belmont Center, Dash noted that Carbone represented the contractor who “screwed up the fire station” which eventually cost the town in settlement fees. 

“It’s not necessarily a positive for the town,” said Dash, who said being a Town Meeting member and working on building committees and town boards showed his dedication to the community “and a lot of people I worked with these committees are supporting me.”

Carbone was not going to let Dash’s broadside go unanswered, saying he was “getting tired of what I’m hearing in this campaign,” insinuating that Dash was misrepresenting the facts.

“I’m not going to let anyone attack my client when my client was the only who had no problems. And I have to hear this?” said an increasingly upset Carbone. “I’m getting sick of this from this candidate” before Debbie Winnick, the night’s moderator, put a halt to the line of inquiry. 

Later, after Dash said after being immersed in the critical financial issues and trends he would be better able to handle town affairs “if things go wrong,” Carbone responded that his expertise of working with project consultants in the past will be vital to the town rather than having a “dilettante who has been involved with zoning.”

In closing, Dash said speaking to residents; he discovered that they not only want potholes fixed, “but to have a voice in town government. And I will provide that voice. If we work together, we can get things done.” 

Carbone asked, “if you are not happy with the ways things are going in Belmont than you should vote for Guy Carbone for selectman.”

“I don’t have to talk about all the problems. I know what they are. I am a problem solver,” he said.

Meet Belmont Presents Talk of the Town on Tuesday, March 21

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Photo: Poster of the event.

The Vision 21 Implementation Committee has added to the extremely popular late summer “Meet Belmont” community get together with a new event called “Talk of the Town.”

Co-sponsored by Belmont Public Schools, “Talk of the Town” will be held on Tuesday, March 21 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Chenery Middle School Auditorium, 95 Washington St.

Journalist/author/radio host Jane Clayson Johnson will welcome four notable Belmont residents, each sharing ideas and insights from their work and/or personal interests:

  • Clayton Christensen, Harvard Business School
  • Alfie Kohn, author and lecturer on education and parenting
  • Rupal Patel, Northeastern University Communication Sciences and Disorders and entrepreneur
  • Elissa Ely, physician, author, founder of the WBUR Remembrance Project

Admission is free and all Belmont resident, young and old, are invited to attend.