Town Election: Yes On Override; Wins For Taylor, Widmer, Moriarty And Kraft; Assessors Question Too Close To Call

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Photo: Warden Robert McKie reads out the preliminary results from precinct 2 on Tuesday night

Belmont voters approved a record $8.4 million Proposition 2 1/2 override by a comfortable 1,000-plus vote margin at the annual Town Election held on Tuesday, April 2.

The final tally was 5,120 in the yes column and 4,050 nos as voters accepted the positive argument from the “yes” campaigners to preserve public services and safety and protect Belmont schools from losing educators and maintain its outstanding reputation.

“I think it’s that people love their community,” said Erin Rowland, the campaign manager for Invest In Belmont, the “yes” campaign, when asked the compelling reason voters where willing to increase the property tax just three years after rejecting a smaller override request.

”We want the to see the town thrive and continue to be successful, and that’s the reason people came together. What was so heartwarming about working on the campaign was the outpouring of support from a wide range of residents,” she said in a crowded second floor lobby in Town Hall where candidates, observers and many candidates came after the polls closed at 8 p.m.

Invest in Belmont Chair David Lind said the town has “been through a hard few years and we were in a tough spot financially. I believe that [the override] gets us back onto a better track so we can all work together and keep Belmont as the town that we all know land love.”

Rowland, who was a winner in her race to be selected to Town Meeting from Precinct 6, said she fully understood that Tuesday’s results will be difficult for many residents, especially senior on fixed incomes.

”We are one community and we want to do everything we can to see Belmont implement senior [property] tax relief. We understand that need and it’s very real and we’ll do everything that we can to promote that,” she said.

In the night’s nail biter, voters approved making the Board of Assessors an appointed body by a mere eight votes, 4,218 to 4,210. With 50 ballots – from residents overseas and in the military as well as provisional ballots – yet to be counted, the race is too close to be called.

Final results will be released by the Town Clerk’s office by Friday or Saturday. Unofficial results as of Tuesday at 10 p.m. can be seen here.

In the race to replace Mark Paolillo on the Select Board, Matt Taylor defeated his Warrant Committee colleague Geoff Lubien by 600 votes, 3,851 to 3,248, with newcomer Alex Howard taking home 659 votes.

“I began [this campaign] genuinely wanting to connect with people and doing that in a deeply personal way,” said Taylor after feeling “so separated from our local government and our residents coming out of the pandemic. So I knocked on nearly 1,700 doors. I had a lot of one-on-one conversations. It was very grassroots.”

”I have a lot of hope and I’m ready to work because this is a level where you get to make a real positive difference about the people around you,” said Taylor. “We have to reach out to residents and invite them in to have a broader two-way discussion. It brings us together. This is an “us” thing.”

Voters acknowledged incumbent Meg Moriarty’s successful tenure as the two-term chair of the School Committee by returning her to the board. Moriarty topped the three-person field for the two available three-year seats garnering 5,354 votes.

“[Winning] means I get to keep talking about all of our great students and it’s all about doing best for every single student in our schools,” Moriarty said at Town Hall Tuesday night after the results were read by Belmont Town Clerk Ellen Cushman.

With her return to the School Committee, Moriarty will provide a continuity on the six member body “that helps tremendously” as it “helps keeps the momentum moving forward” on several of initiatives that Superintendent Jill Geiser has proposed.

Joining her on the committee will be first-time candidate Matt Kraft. The Brown University professor took home 5,176 votes, while recent Belmont High School graduate, current Emerson College student and Town Meeting member Angus Abercrombie collected 2,792 votes.

“I hope to take the opportunity to listen and learn both from my fellow school committee members and Belmont residents about our priorities and build on the three year strategic plan that the district is developing,” said Kraft who arrived to Town Hall with his wife and two kids after enjoying Taco Tuesday.

Speaking as the new body on the committee, “I think part of the hard work is to work collaboratively and collectively. And I look forward to those conversations that I know some will be difficult. But that’s the job. We all have a shared commitment towards strengthening our schools for all the students and in building towards, frankly, a brighter future.”

Challenged for the first time in 16 years, long-time Town Moderator Mike Widmer defeated former Warrant and School Committee member Mike Crowley, 4,656 to 3,248.

”People understood that experience is really important, and that running Town Meeting is very demanding. I’ve done it for all these years and voters felt that I had done well in the position,” said Widmer who announced earlier in the year that this term would be his final one as moderator.

Vote! Town Election 2024: Tuesday, April 2; All You Need To Know

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Photo: Go out and vote!

Belmont’s annual Town Election is today, Tuesday, April 2!

A list of the candidates for town-wide office and Town Meeting, as well as information on the two ballot questions – for an appointed board of assessors and a $8.4 million Proposition 2 1/2 override – can be found in the Belmont League of Women Voters guide.

Registered voters may cast their ballots in person only on Election Day; polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the following polling locations: 

  • Precinct One: Beth El Temple, Zonis Auditorium, 2 Concord Ave.
  • Precinct Two: Belmont Town Hall, Select Board Room, 455 Concord Ave.
  • Precinct Three: Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St.
  • Precinct Four: Daniel Butler School Gym, 90 White St.
  • Precinct Five: Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St.
  • Precinct Six: Belmont Fire Headquarters,  299 Trapelo Rd.
  • Precinct Seven: Burbank School Gym, 266 School St.
  • Precinct Eight: Winn Brook School Gym, 97 Waterhouse Rd., enter from Cross Street.

If you are wondering if you are a registered voter and your voting precinct, go to the Town Clerk’s web page or phone the Town Clerk’s office at 617-993-2600.

Election results will first be announced at Town Hall after the polls close with unofficial results for the two ballot questions, town wide and Town Meeting races located on the Town Clerk’s website early Wednesday morning.

Belmont’s Shea Places 15th In Under20 World XC Championships; Top American For Consecutive Years [Video]

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Photo: Belmont’s Ellie Shea finishing 15th at the Under20 World Cross Country Championships held in Belgrade on March 30, the first American to finish the race. (Photo credit: CITIUS MAG)

After a quiet seven months since winning races in the Under20s at the US National and Pan American Games, Belmont’s Ellie Shea put her stamp on the international cross country scene for the second time, finishing 15th at the World Athletics Cross Country Under 20 Championships held March 30 in Belgrade, Serbia.

The 18-year-old Belmont Middle and High School senior was the first American athlete across the finish line held under bright, sunny skies in Belgrade’s Friendship Park, repeating as the top American at the world championships. Last year in Australia, Shea finished 10th to lead the US to its first ever podium finish in the championships, earning a team bronze medal.

”I just wanted to make the most of it and just really be competitive,” said Shea after the race during an interview with LetsRun.com

Wearing her trademark white framed cobalt sunglasses – which has its own on Google search page – Shea settled into the back of the large pack of front runners in the first of three laps, running the 2.1 kilometers in 6 minutes, 49 seconds. Notably, Shea was one of the few participants who hurdled the hay bale barriers to shave a few seconds on each loop.

The lead group, comprised of Ethiopians, Kenyans, and Ugandans, showed their quality in distance races as they pulled away during the second lap with Shea and fellow American Allie Zealand – teammates on last year’s U20 team – running in 16th and 17th, behind the UK’s Innes Fitzgerald who pulled away by seven seconds over the Americans with one lap remaining.

In the final loop, Shea returned to the top class runner she was last year, as she sped away from Zealand, catching and dispatching Fitzgerald before nearly nipping a pair of Ugandans and a Kenyan who were fading fast down the home stretch.

Shea finished in 20:50, completing the final lap and the home stretch (2.2K) in 7:29, finishing outside the top 12 by seven seconds. The race was won by 15-year-old Marta Alemiayo crossing the line in 19:29, leading a dominate Ethiopian team performance to sweep the first three places.

Zealand would overtake Fitzgerald to finish 16th in 21.08. The US team of Shea, Zealand, Mary Dalton (28th), Zariel Macchiato (29th), Jolena Quarzo (41st), and Maddie Gardiner (49th) would take 4th place in the team event with 88 points, edging out the UK (90) and Japan (98).

Town Raises Senior Property Tax Work-Off Amount To $2,000

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Photo: Flag with the town seal of Belmont

After discussing the move for a better part of a year, the Belmont Select Board voted unanimously Monday, March 25, to raise by $500 to $2,000 the amount seniors can work for the town to pay off a portion of their local property tax bill.

The town’s Senior Citizen Tax Work-Off program is available to seniors 60 or older, Under this “work” initiative, cities and towns appropriate funds to employ seniors who perform needed work for the community at an hourly rate equal to the state’s minimum wage of $15 per hour, according to state documents.

Currently, eight homeowners participate in the program. The additional $4,000 expended in a full year with the same participants will come out of the overlay/free cash line item.

Details of the expanded program will be sent to seniors via inserts in town bills and through contacts at the Beech Street Center.

The state has recently given select boards and city councils the local option to raise the exemption to the $2,000 threshold amount without requiring Town Meeting approval, Patrice Garvin, town administrator, told the board.

When Board member Mark Paolillo, in his penultimate meeting before leaving the board after serving 12 years, asked what other municipal programs are available for senior tax relief, fellow board member Elizabeth Dionne said creating such a plan would require “the full and active participation of the Board of Assessors.”

“We would need to know what the cost shift [from seniors to the greater taxpayer base] and how many [seniors] are likely to take advantage of it,” she said. Since such a proposal would change every property owners’ tax rate, the town would need to send a home-rule petition to Beacon Hill for state legislature approval and finally for it to be placed on the town ballot for an up or down vote.

Even though the shift would likely be small, unless there is a specific dollar amount attached via the Assessors, “it’s probably dead in the water.”

Board Chair Roy Epstein said senior tax relief was actually a doable proposal in the past two years, only to falter due to inaction by the assessors in drafting the language to present to the legislature which was promised to Epstein.

“I think this is a question for, maybe, after April 2,” said Epstein, referring to after the town’s annual Election where a ballot question will determine whether the Board of Assessors will remain an elected committee or revert to an appointed one.

Opinion: To Save Belmont High School Sports, Vote Yes on April 2

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Photo: Belmont High School wins its third consecutive MIAA Div. 1 Girls’ Rugby state championship in June, 2023

By Kara Banosian, Matt Garver, David Lind, Katherine Oates, Sara Townsend, and Lucinda Zuniga

Can you imagine Belmont High School without sports teams?

Seriously, try to picture that. There would be no Thanksgiving Day football game against Watertown. No more boys and girls rugby dynasties. There would not be baseball, basketball, ice hockey, soccer, lacrosse, or field hockey teams — or a marching band playing at Harris Field on Friday nights. For that matter, “Soccer Night in Belmont” would vanish, along with its 2,500 spectators.

That’s the prospect Belmont faces if the override on the April 2 ballot does not pass. Without a Yes vote, all sports teams are slated to disappear from the high school within two years, a victim of the drastic budget cuts the town will face. While all other towns play on, Belmont would be sidelined. When it comes to sports, this would be Belmont’s biggest loss ever.

This possibility has become increasingly clear in recent months, and has been made explicit at numerous public meetings of the town government. At the town’s February 8 budget summit, Dr. Jill Geiser, Belmont’s Superintendent of Schools, presented a plan to deal with the massive looming cuts to the schools. If the override fails, then among many other things, all 9th grade sports, plus the ski team, would be cut for the 2024-25 school year. Then all sports teams would be cut for the 2025-26 school year.

Sports is not being singled out in this scenario. Many AP classes and electives would get slashed from the Belmont High School curriculum, along with a huge portion of other extracurricular activities. Burbank Elementary, currently ranked sixth in the state by U.S. News & World Report, would close after the 2024-25 school year. Teachers would be let go across the district. It is a grim picture, and there are still $1.2 million in school cuts left unassigned.

There are many reasons dropping sports from BHS would be painful. Sports have been shown to be great for the physical and mental well-being of participants. Even one year on a 9th grade team can spark friendships that last through high school and beyond. Indeed, we contend that dropping 9th-grade teams alone would significantly hurt BHS students. As Belmont residents in the ice hockey community, we hope kids will always have the opportunity to play for their high school, at any level.

Then there’s the sheer excitement that BHS sports builds in our community. Remember the 2020 run to the (shared) state title for the boys hockey team? How about the 2019 basketball team playing a state semifinal at the TD Garden? The BHS games and teams are part of what makes Belmont a close-knit place, and losing the BHS sports teams would tear at the fabric of the community.

Belmont High School has a proud sports history. Just look at all the banners in the fieldhouse. Some of this history involves famous athletes: Wilbur Wood, a 20-game winner as a big-league pitcher in the 1970s, was a Belmont High star in the early 1960s. But every Belmont team that competes well is a source of pride to its players and coaches. We need to keep that tradition intact.

A few times in recent weeks, we’ve heard people ask if Belmont High School could continue to play sports as long as the teams were privately funded. That’s very unlikely.

For starters, school districts must register for sports with the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) in the spring prior to the next academic year, guaranteeing it has funding for the full range of sports teams it submits to the MIAA.

Therefore, any private funds would have to be raised many months in advance of the following season — but even that raises more questions. Who would get to be on a team? The children of those who can donate? How would a school hire and retain good coaches with such year-to-year uncertainty? Even if a few dedicated parents raised large sums in advance for a few sports over a few years, what happens when that cohort of parents loses interest? One of the best things a high school sports program offers is stability and continuity. Any alternative would lead to chaos.

To be clear, school cuts are hardly the only thing on the ballot on April 2. A failed override would lead to deep cuts in the fire department, senior services, library access, and could lead the town to charge for trash pickup starting in 2025.

Still, even if BHS sports are just one part of this picture, they are an important part to many Belmontians. Please vote Yes on Question 1 on April 2, to avoid a profound loss for our community.

As Building Takes A Final Tumble, New Library Moving Along As Trustees Near Fund Raising Goal

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Photo: The demolition of the former Belmont Library building is underway

Nearly 50 years after opening its doors to generations of patrons, the red-brick and wood framed Belmont Public Library is coming down on the first days of Spring as part of the demolition process that will soon be followed by the construction of a new library on same site.

Lead by demolition contractor American Environmental which bid $873,711 for the job, a great deal of the work is being done by a heavy-duty excavator, pushing down walls and ripping out floors placing the debris in piles that will soon take what remains of the two-and-a-half story structure away to landfill. A large industrial misting fan sprays a cloud of water over the site to keep the dust from enveloping Concord Avenue.

As the former library comes down, the Library Building Committee is preparing to accept bids by the end of March from firms to lead the construction phase and award the contract in early April.

Kathy Keohane, the chair of the Belmont Board of Library Trustees is optimistic the construction bids will follow the pattern of the demolition and moving contracts coming in “a bit under” the estimated cost.

“There’s been strong interest out there from firms, so much so we pushed the timeline out a week at the request of one of the bidders because they wanted more time,” said Keohane.

As the 42,500 sq.-ft. project – which will take an estimated 18 months to complete – will soon get underway, Keohane came before the Select Board on March 18 to present the town with $30,000 in contributions from Belmont residents, library patrons, and businesses towards building the library. So far, more than 1,000 individuals and groups, as well as funds from a state American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant, have raised a total of $3.2 million towards the trustees’ stated goal of raising $5 million to defray the cost of the new library.

“The money flows through a fund that was set up by the library trustees … to ensure that all funds that come in designated for the project are given to the project,” Keohane told the board. After the presentation, Keohane said she is hopeful the remaining $2 million will be secured soon.

“People can still donate,” said Keohane. “There’s still an opportunity for them to have their name on the wall or to sponsor a certain area of the library.”

Brownsberger Seeking Applicants For Summer Internships

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Photo: State Sen. Will Brownsberger is accepting summer internship applications (The Massachusetts State House on Beacon Hill, Boston (Credit: Upstateherd – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62661950)

The Office of State Sen. Will Brownsberger is accepting applications for part-time, unpaid general office and legislative internships for the summer of 2024. Applications are due Monday, April 8.

Read our website post for details about the internships and how to apply. 

Questions? Contact Eric Helmuth – eric.helmuth@masenate.gov – Brownsberger’s chief of staff.

Some Good News As Rink Project Avoids Environmental Surprises; Next Up, A Budget

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Photo: All that remains of the former “Skip” rink is a large puddle.

There was a collective sigh of relief from the Municipal Skating Rink Building Committee last week as the $29.9 million project dodged two potentially worrisome environmental issues that turned out to be duds.

“We have two pieces of good news,” Rink Building Committee Chair Mark Haley told the committee.

In the first case, an underground fuel tank that was punctured during the building’s demolition had leaked “a small amount” of oil, which was mitigated as the soil was shipped off to an EPA-registered landfill. A second potential setback involving untreated asbestos discovered during the building’s tear-down was also limited to a part of the old rink’s slab where the ice was made.

“We hauled it away last week,” said Haley.

The meeting came as the committee is preparing to receive a first set of firm cost estimates from the builder Skanska—the general contractor for the Middle and High School project—on the cost of the rink’s construction, which has been a point of contention for several committee members.

“I have to ask a basic question: What’s the bottom line? I haven’t seen any numbers. What is the bottom line here?” asked Ann Marie Mahoney, a veteran of several building committees who has been requesting an overview.

Skanska – an international project development and construction company with a major office in Boston – has a typical construction contract with the town, as does Galante, the project’s architect. The building committee has employed CHA as the OPM (Owners Project Manager) to handle the project.

Over the past months, Skanska has been seeking cost estimates on some of the project’s major components, such as building the concrete foundation, ice surface, and mechanicals. Currently, the committee is working with broad estimates on each of the building’s components. Only with the cost estimates in hand can the building committee “understand the value of each of these elements, and then can we assess whether or not it’s worth the value to keep it or take it out,” said Haley.

Anticipating the likelihood of cuts, the rink’s architect, Ted Galante, has begun an early round of value engineering, a process of reviewing the building’s designs to reduce costs while increasing functionality to increase the product’s value. Haley points to “accouterments and adornments” that were added to spruce up the pre-engineered metal building, pointing to an overhang/canopy that is adjacent to the building’s entrance or a concrete masonry wall that runs along the base of the structure.

One area that will see a reduction in seating capacity is currently 400. “In a perfect world, we would have more seats, but state building codes would then require additional plumbing fixtures,” which would hike the overall cost, said Galante.

One decision that could affect long-term savings – but with a higher upfront price tag – is the system used to refrigerate the ice. Most of the building committee is leaning toward a CO2 system popular in Canada and at professional hockey rinks. Currently, the direct competitor to CO2 is Freon, a chlorofluorocarbon that is a highly potent greenhouse gas that faces increasing restrictions on its use by the federal government. While CO2 is low, the mechanical system tends to be more expensive as it relies on high pressure to work efficiently.

If the cost estimates come in on the high side in April, Haley said the committee will need to “take more of a cleaver” to the project, impacting the programs the rink was heralded to undertake for the school athletics and the town’s recreation department. But as of the meeting, he was hesitant to make any major adjustments to the new rink until he has the numbers in hand.

“We’ve been looking at how to effectively build the rink in a way that can navigate the budget and make sure we get the project we want,” said Haley. That’s why we don’t want to cut things out of the project now and then find out later that when we buy it all, we have to put things … back,” he said.

The committee continues to believe the rink will be ready for the start of the fall recreation department programs in 2025 and the high school hockey season of 2025-6.

[Correction: In an earlier version of this article, the project is a “design-build” project. That description was in error.]

The League Of Women Voters Annual Candidates’ Night A Virtual Event March 21

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Photo:

Belmont residents will be able to don their pajamas while having dinner as they are introduced to the contestants for town-wide office and Town Meeting seats as the Belmont League of Women Voters is holding its third virtual Candidates’ Night on Thursday, March 21 at 7 p.m.

The evening will begin with a “parade” of Town Meeting Member candidates from each of the town’s eight precincts, followed by short speeches and a round of Questions and Answers with the town-wide candidates including those running for Town Moderator, Select Board, and two seats on the School Committee.

The night will conclude with information on the two ballot questions: the proposed $8.4 million Proposition 2 1/2 override and a change from an elected to an appointed board of assessors.

And the league wants residents to remember that the Town Election takes place this year on Tuesday, April 2.

Al Fresco Dining Returning To Belmont Center But Only Three Restaurants Want Spaces

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Photo: Il Casale is one of three restaurants seeking sidewalk dining this summer in Belmont Center

A hubbub is happening in Boston’s North End where restaurant owners and their employees are upset that certain historic neighborhoods like theirs face more restrictions and limits on outdoor summertime dining than other less frequented parts of the city.

There are no such complaints from eateries in Belmont as the Select Board approved earlier in March al fresco dining on sidewalks and in designated parking spaces walled off by jersey barriers along Leonard Street.

But unlike Boston where there’s a voluminous number of applications for sidewalk and curbside space, Belmont Center has seen a dramatic drop in spaces being set aside for dining from 15 last year to just six this coming summer, according to Glen Clancy, town engineer.

The biggest impact on space requests is the recent closure of the popular Trinktisch Beer Hall and from eateries that don’t feel the need to have an outdoor option, said Clancy.

Two of the eateries, sister establishments il Casale and the Wellington, have reduced their ask to just two parking slots each as “they want to have a more impactful look to their spaces,” said Deran Muckjian, owner of Toy Shop of Belmont, and president of the Belmont Center Business Association.

The other eatery seeking added space is Stone Hearth Pizza. There will be one dedicated area in Cushing Square for Savinos Grill on Common Street and the town will support a request from Watertown’s Conley’s Pub since the roadway up to the restaurant’s curb is located in Belmont.

Muckjian said early in the year he sought feedback from merchants and restaurants “and everyone is comfortable” with the smaller plan for outdoor dining.

Unlike past years, the establishments will be footing the bill installing, then removing the jersey barriers.

In addition, the season has been reduced from the Mothers’ Day weekend in May to Sept. 15.

Al fresco dining was established in 2020 as an attempt by the town to assist restaurants which found their indoor dining areas shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the first year, Leonard Street became a single lane, one-way road – from Alexander Ave. to Channing Road – with much of the curbside set aside for chairs and tables.

But from the start, many of the Center’s brick and mortar retail businesses were less than pleased losing about two dozen parking spaces in front of their establishments. In the subsequent years, Leonard would return to a two-way road and the number of dining spaces reduced at the urging of storefront retailers.