‘No’ Committee Gives Reasons to Why It Opposes ‘Mega’ Override

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A committee formed to oppose the Proposition 2 1/2 override on the April 7 Town Election ballot stated it does not believe the $4.5 million increase in taxes is not in the best long-term interest “of the residents, the schools or the town,” according to a press release from the group.

The statement (which is in its entirety below) from the Vote NO on Ballot Question 1 Committee sets out in a series of highlighted paragraphs its argument against the override measure to be decide in less than two weeks. 

Dubbing the ballot question “the mega override,” the committee – headed by chair Elizabeth Allison and treasurer Raffi Manjikian – argues the override, which is a recommendation from the Financial Task Force in January and placed on the Town Election ballot by the Belmont Board of Selectmen in February – believes its passage would cripple the currently level of diversity in town by forcing middle-class families to abandon Belmont due to the spike in real estate taxes.

The committee also question many of the fiscal assumptions made by the Task Force underpinning  the override; instead supporting “good alternatives” which contend the town can raise the necessary funds to fill major funding gaps facing the schools – the School District state due to skyrocketing enrollment and other expenses the town’s schools face a $1.7 million deficit in fiscal 2016 – as it has in 10 of the past 13 annual budget cycles. 

The press release from the committee: 

A group of committed town volunteers and Town Meeting Members has formed a ballot question committee, “Vote NO on Ballot Question 1 Committee” and provided the following statement:

“We have come together because we cherish this town and do not believe that the mega override of $4.5 million is in the best interest of the residents, the schools or the town.  We have formed the “Vote NO on ballot Question 1 Committee” to:

Highlight the impact on the town’s character of the likely tax increases.  Of the many things to cherish about Belmont, one of the best is the true diversity of the town.  Inequality may have triumphed elsewhere, but Belmont still affordable with great public services that all enjoy equally.  Doubling tax bills over the next twelve years will change that forever.

Lay out the full financial costs of the tax increases that for the average homeowner both next year and thereafter.   Starting in fiscal year July 2016 (begins July 1, 2015) the average homeowner’s tax bill will increase by $206 without the override but by $854 with – a 4x difference.  With  no commitments to manage costs, another mega override will be required in 2017 -18, and again in 2020 -21. These increases do not include the costs of debt overrides that will be needed to renovate our high school, build a police station or a new DPW building that meets minimum standards. 

Provide voters with solid facts and research on the financial situation of the town and the current state of the schools. For example, very few residents, just listening to what’s being said about surging enrollment, would realize that over the last three years, the school budget has grown at a rate 50% higher than enrollment (annual 3.9% budget vs. 2.6% increase in enrollment.  Similarly, the Financial Task Force projection of looming deficits assumes state aid declining by -1.1% per year  while over the last 10 years it has grown at 2.4% We want to help voters judge whether this is a real crisis or “a crisis of assumptions.” 

Show that there are good alternatives to a mega override that protect the schools and preserve the town.  For 10 out of the last 13 years, the early draft of the town budget showed a major gap between the needs of the schools and available revenue. In 2011, for example, the gap was approximately $2 million in early spring. It was closed by identifying $1.3 million in additional revenue and $564,000 in cost savings. We will show how this approach can be applied again.

Remind voters that the ballot question is on the back of the ballot. Voters need to turn over the ballot and vote (ideally No) to have a voice. 

Say ‘Cheese!’: Belmont’s Newest Store Set to be Your Fromage Stop

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Photo: Art’s Specialities, Belmont’s new cheese and produce shop, on Trapelo Road. 

When Artur Nergaryan came to the US from Armenia, he began to long for food he loved from his childhood. While the surrounding communities are well stocked with Armenian fare, he still could not find one product he yearned for: cheese.

So Nergaryan decided the best way to find what he wanted was to do it himself.

“So I made my own [cheese] and then wine, that’s how it started,” he said, soon developing an appreciation for all cheeses.

Next week (or hopefully as soon as this weekend), Nergaryan takes his hobby to the next level with the opening of Art’s Specialities in the former home of Diver Jim’s at 369 Trapelo Rd., across the street from the Studio Cinema. 

The 1,700 sq.-ft. retail space will sell an entire array of products from cheese, olive oil, herbs, charcuteries (prepare meats including bacon, ham, sausage, pâtés and confit) as well as loose seeds, tea and nuts. 

But the highlight will be more than 100 cheeses, most produced in the US and especially from New England. 

“I’ve looked for cheese from local farms as they will have the freshness that people will desire,” said Nergaryan. And, no, he will not be selling his own cheese in his shop. 

The store – open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on the weekends – will have two employees and hold cooking and health classes, said Nergaryan. 

Finalist for Belmont Top Librarian Spot Had Short Stay in Arlington

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Photo: Peter Struzziero, the finalist to become director of the Belmont Public Library director. (LinkedIn)

He was an on-line movie reviewer, a performer at Disney World, portrayed Obi-Wan Kenobi for a workshop he created to inspire other librarians to promoting reading and was Mr. August 2013 in the Tattooed Youth Librarians of Massachusetts calendar.

And now Peter Struzziero can add (pending) director of the Belmont’s Public Library as the Board of Library Trustees named the 31-year-old its finalist to lead the town’s library services, in a press release dated Monday, March 23. He will replace Maureen Connors, who retired after two decades on the job in October 2014.

Struzziero’s resume also indicates an extremely short tenure as Arlington’s library director, serving less than two months on the job before agreeing with town officials that he should leave his position on Feb. 18.

Media reports from last month suggested Arlington Town Manager Adam Chapdelaine told Struzziero he should pursue other opportunities. There is no other public information or comment suggesting what prompted Arlington town officials to take their action.

“Yes, Mr. Struzziero has left the employment of the Town of Arlington,” Chapdelaine told the Belmontonian on Tuesday.

When asked about Struzziero’s quick departure from the Arlington top spot, Belmont Trustee Elaine Alligood told the Belmontonian, “Great question – come and ask it,” referring to the public “meet and greet” with Struzziero on Thursday, March 26, at 6:30pm in the library’s Assembly Room, led by Alligood.

Struzziero’s sudden move out of Arlington apparently did not hurt his chances taking over in Belmont, according to Alligood.

“The trustees have interviewed him twice in both recruitments and are fully vetting his credentials, references and experience,” Alligood told the Belmontonian.

Alligood’s response indicates that Struzziero was considered with a slew of applicants in the first attempt by the trustees to find a director. That initial effort was ended in November 2014 without anyone being named at the time. 

Not that Struzziero’s quick move to Belmont would be without precedence; current Belmont High School Principal Dr. Dan Richards returned to Belmont after a year as Melrose High’s principal when the top job opened up at the high school where he was a long-time assistant principal.

Struzziero previously worked as the director of the Arlington Public Library, and the Winthrop Public Library. Struzziero also served as the Teen Librarian for Scituate Public Library. Prior to Scituate, Struzziero was the Nevins Memorial Library Young Adult and Readers’ Services Librarian in Methuen.

Struzziero is a graduate of the New England Library Leadership Symposium NELLS, a six state sponsored training program, and Simmons College.

For further information, please call the Belmont Public Library 617-489-2000.

Three Fire Department ‘Newbies’ Brings Belmont’s Staffing to 2009 Levels

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Photo: Belmont Town Clerk Ellen Cushman (from left) swears in Ryan Keane, Andrew Butler and Charles Gerrard as Belmont’s newest firefighters.

Belmont’s Fire Department has three “newbies” among its ranks starting last week.

Charles Gerrard, Andrew Butler, and Ryan Keane were appointed as firefighters on Monday, March 16 by Belmont Fire Chief David Frizzell, and sworn in by Town Clerk Ellen Cushman at the Town Hall in a brief ceremony.

The three new firefighters are also Massachusetts-certified paramedics. After their initial training, they will be sent to the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy in Stow to participate in the nine week Career Recruit Training Program. While assigned at the academy, they will study firefighting strategy and tactics, fire ground evolutions, motor vehicle extrication, search and rescue, and hazardous materials mitigation among numerous other topics.

“We welcome the new firefighters and are looking forward to working with them. We wish them a long healthy and safe career with us,” said Frizzell.

These new firefighters are being hired as part of a Federal Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant to restore lost firefighter positions, bringing the department back to its 2009 staffing level of 57-and-a-half full-time equivalent (FTE) positions.  This level is still 23-and-a-half FTE positions lower than the department’s historic staffing level of 82 full-time employees and two part-time employees.

Market Returns to Center as South End’s Foodie’s Market Set for Macy’s Spot

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Photo: The Foodie’s Market on Washington Street in Boston’s South End. 

The owner of the former Macy’s department store announced today, Monday, March 23, it has signed a lease with a small but growing Boston-based grocery chain to occupy nearly a third of the space in Belmont Center. 

Belmont’s Locatelli Properties said Foodie’s Urban Markets, which has operated a store in Boston’s South End since 1999 before expanding in the past two years into Duxbury and South Boston, will lease 15,000 square foot in the building located on Leonard Street. 

“Our goal is to bring an exciting mix of retailers and restaurants to Belmont Center,” said Kevin Foley, manager of Locatelli Properties.

The deal marks the return of a grocery store in Belmont Center two decades after the previous retailer, J. Bildner & Sons, closed its doors at 69 Leonard St.

Foley told the Belmontonian in December he would seek to fill the nearly 50,000 sq.-ft. commercial space with a range of national, regional or independent retailers and restaurants as tenants.

“Right now, I’m hoping spring or summer 2016 to open,” he told the Belmontonian.

Foodie’s, as it is know to legions of South Enders, was the first up-scale grocery and market on Washington Street 16 years ago as that Boston neighborhood began its gentrification. The now three-store company is known for prepared dinners and lunches, specialty departments, beer and wine selections as well as home delivery service.

Letter to the Editor: Vote Yes on April 7

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To the editor:

Vote “YES” on April 7th

The need is clear: rising enrollment and costly mandates necessitate additional funding if we are to continue to offer our children a quality K-12 education. The statistics are compelling: 

  • the total number of students has risen by 317 in the last five years.
  • Belmont High’s Class of 2014 had 270 students; there were 350 Kindergarten students last fall.
  • two sub-groups of students with higher needs and costly mandated services have increased rapidly: 
    • the number of English Language Learners has climbed from 95 to 222 in the last six years
    • the number of students needed specialized schooling outside the district has increased from 81 in June 2013 to 97 in January 2015 (the average annual cost for an out-of-district placement is $65,000). 

Patching the school budget with one-time funds as we’ve done in recent years is no longer a solution.  If we don’t pass an override to meet these new realities, the steps needed to balance next year’s budget and beyond will without question degrade the quality of Belmont’s Public Schools, including fewer teachers, increased class size, and cuts in programs and electives.

Passing the override will enable us to maintain our existing programs and address the enrollment increases. The override is designed to stabilize the budgets for at least the next three years; and the School Department and School Committee have every incentive to continue to work hard to control costs so that stable and predictable budgets extend well beyond that horizon.

Operating overrides are in Belmont a rare occurrence; and continued tight cost control will be necessary to preserve a stable and predictable budget outlook so that we can retain top teachers, key electives, and reasonable class sizes in the years ahead.

Please join me in voting “YES” for the override on April 7.

Laurie Slap

Long Ave. 

(Note: Slap is the chair of the Belmont School Committee.)

Major Change Comes in Twos for Belmont Residents who Recycle

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Photo: The town’s recycling policy is changing in a major way next week.

The days of throwing everything – empty cans of tuna, the Sunday New York Times newspaper, the plastic container your earphones came in, and empty craft beer bottles – into the blue or green recycling containers and having it taken away every two weeks are over.

Starting next week, there will be a right way and a wrong way to recycle in Belmont as F W Russell Sons Disposal – the town’s trash contractor – will only collect curbside recycling if it’s correctly sorted into a “dual stream.”

A dual-stream system requires paper and cardboard separated from containers such as plastic bottles and containers, glass and metal cans. Paper, cardboard and containers are banned from landfills and waste-to-facilities in Massachusetts and need to be recycled.

If not separated, the recycling will not be picked up, and scofflaws will need to drag the boxes back to the house.

(Information on how to successfully negotiate the new policy can be found on the Town’s website under the Department of Public Works Highway Division.)

So why the big change from those who already recycle?

According to Belmont’s Recycling Coordinator, Mary Beth Calnan, Somerville-based Russell was told recently by the regional collection facility its contract calls for Belmont’s recycling to be a dual stream.

Calnan said the town’s curbside recycling program began in July 1991 as a dual stream system. For some reason, the first recycling hauler, Laidlaw, didn’t enforce the system and the tradition of throwing all recycling material into the same container became the norm.

When asked how Belmont residents will react to the new rules, Calnan said residents want to do the right thing and the office has received many calls and emails about the flyers that went out in the light bills and on the Town’s web page.

“Most residents want to purchase another bin or have recycling stickers mailed to them so they can put out their recycling correctly,” she said.

“If a resident is confused or needs guidance they should contact me and I will gladly help them,” she said. Reach Calnan at 617-993-2789 or mcalnan@belmont-ma.gov

 

 

The Governor Giveth to Belmont, than Taketh Away in State Funding

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Photo: Gov. Charlie Baker. 

It appeared, at first glance, newly-installed Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker would be providing Belmont a little bit extra in the town’s coffers when he announced his $38.1 billion preliminary budget proposal for fiscal 2016 two weeks ago.

But while Baker gave in state aid with one hand, the other hand grabbed back an important funding source used by Belmont’s schools. 

According to Town Administrator David Kale, Belmont would be set to receive $8,941,904  in total state aid, a $386,000 increase compared to fiscal 2015.

The jump in funding is part of Baker’s earlier pledge to increase unrestricted local aid by 3.6 percent to $980 million, and state payments to local education (known as Chapter 70) by $105.3 million or a minimum of nearly $20 per pupil.

Belmont’s share of Chapter 70 funds increases by approximately $280,000 from last year, for a total of $6,757,056 in fiscal 2016 with general government funding increasing to $2.1 million. 

Yet the slight improvement in Belmont’s local aid as tampered by Baker’s suggested elimination of the Quality Full-Day Kindergarten Grant program, a program promoted by former Gov. Deval Patrick.

Belmont receives approximately $165,000 annually to expand its full-day kindergarten program. The ending of the grant could result in higher fees for kindergarten parents, Belmont School District Superintendent John Phelan told residents at a precinct meeting at the Beech Street Center on Friday, March 20.

With kindergarten funding taken out, the state aid in fiscal 2016 will have only increased by just under $222,000, said Kale.

The amounts used are from Baker’s proposed budget. It will be used as a benchmark by the state House and Senate which will proposed their own budget blueprints. Those plans will then be sent to a joint committee to resolve any differences before being sent to Baker’s desk for his signature.  

This Week: ‘Anything Goes’ Gets Going, Candidates’ Night Thursday, Shhhhhh Wednesday

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Photo: BHS/PAC’s “Anything Goes.” 

Two highlights “This Week”

• The Belmont High School Performing Arts Company presents its spring musical, Cole Porter’s “Anything Goes” on Thursday, March 26 and Friday, March 27 at 7 p.m. and two shows on Saturday, March 28, a 1:30 p.m. matinee and at 7 p.m. Tickets: Adults: $15 in advance/$18 at the door; Students: $10; Chenery 8th Grade Students: $5. Buy tickets online: Buy Tickets and at Champions Sports in Belmont Center.

• The Belmont League of Women Voters is holding its annual “Candidates’ Night” on Thursday, March 26 at 7 p.m. in the Chenery Middle School auditorium.

The schedule is:

  • 7 p.m.: Meet your Town Meeting Members at their precinct
  • 7:30 p.m.: Town Meeting Members introduced themselves in order of precinct number 
  • 7:45 p.m.: Unopposed town-wide candidates will speak to the audience.
  • 8 p.m.: The candidates for Belmont Board of Selectmen will answer questions.

The Proposition 2 1/2 ballot question will be address, if necessary.

On the government side of “This Week”

  • The Capital Budget Committee will review its fiscal 2016 budget on Tuesday, March 24, at 5 p.m. in Belmont Town Hall.  
  • The Belmont School Committee will discuss the 2015-16 school year budget (including a request to add a religious holiday) and the latest application from the School District to the Massachusetts School Building Authority for a grant to help pay for a new Belmont High School. It all takes place on Tuesday, March 24, at 7 p.m. at the Chenery Middle School.
  • The Community Path Implementation Advisory Committee is meeting on Wednesday, March 25, at 6 p.m. in Town Hall where the committee will discuss the challenges to each possible path and the systematic approach to review those challenges.

Tuesday is story time at both of Belmont’s libraries. 

  • Pre-School Story Time at the Benton Library, Belmont’s independent and volunteer run library, at 10:30 a.m. Stories and crafts for children age 3 to 5. Parents or caregivers must attend. Siblings may attend with adults. Registration is not required. The Benton Library is located at the intersection of Oakley and Old Middlesex.
  • The Belmont Public Library on Concord Avenue will be holding two sessions of Story Time for 2′s and 3′s, at 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. 

• Mel Simons will be presenting Everything’s Coming up Irish at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St., on Tuesday, March 24, at 1:15 p.m. The popular homegrown radio personality, author, and entertainer is back with an all Irish show in honor of St. Patrick’s Day (a little bit late). Irish songs, Irish jokes, Irish trivia; all Irish all the way.

• The Belmont Book Discussion group will discuss The Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon in the Belmont Public Library’s Flett Room on Wednesday, March 25, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Everyone is welcome to attend.  Copies of the book can be requested through the library catalog or call the library Reference staff at 617-993-2870.

• Quiet Belmont will be holding a community meeting Belmont Public Library’s Flett Room on Wednesday, March 25, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Quiet Belmont is a citizen’s advocacy group fighting the airplane noise increase over Belmont. You can reach the group at quietbelmont@googlegroups.com

• The film, The Iron Lady, the biography of Margaret Thatcher which actress Meryl Streep received the Academy Award, will be screened for free on Friday, March 27, at 1 p.m. at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St.

With 17 Days To Go, ‘Yes’ Supporters Rally at the Corner to Begin Election Season

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Photo: The traditional site – the corner of Common Street and Concord Avenue – for campaign rallies sees the “Yes for Belmont” group gather to begin the election season in Belmont.

Blame it on the record snowfall, the lack of town-wide contested races or one of a number of other reasons, but so far, there hasn’t been much politicking around Belmont as the annual Town Election fast approaches. Besides some lawn/snow pile signs set outdoors, most of the electioneering in the “Town of Homes” has been taking place inside.

That changed on the first full day of Spring – Saturday, March 21 – as the committee supporting a Proposition 2 1/2 override marshaled its forces to revive the tradition of holding signs and garnering support at the corner of Common and Concord across from the commuter rail tunnel leading in and out of Belmont Center.

Holding large sherbet orange-colored signs proclaiming “Vote Yes April 7,” a wide array of supporters braved a final – hopefully – morning blast of snow to wave both hands and placards at passing motorists.

School Committee member Tom Caputo – who is running unopposed to fill the final two years of the term he holds in the coming election – brought his wife, Sarah, and two daughter, Allison and Jane, to man the site nearest the tunnel.

In the coming years, Belmont schools will face the challenges of dealing with higher enrollment and the costs associated with a top-tier district, “and it’s critical that we recognize that we need the funding of an override to make that possible,” said Caputo.

Preparing for his first-time voting, Belmont High senior Daniel Vernick is also helping garner support among his fellow student for the override’s passage which included holding voter registration at the school. .

“There’s an incredible amount of support at the high school at all [grades] but especially with the seniors because they see how these cuts will [impact] their classmates,” Vernick said.

For veteran campaigner Monty Allen, the primary reason for standing out in the snow is to support the schools that provided his son with “just an outstanding education.”

“It’s not about my son or my family. It’s about everybody else in town. There are some things that you can buy for yourself; there are other things like schools and town services that you can only buy them collectively. I’m for that,” said Allen.