At The End Of A Raucous Meeting, Select Board Names New Rink ‘Belmont Sports Complex’ With A Mention To Skip

Photo: The Belmont Select Board

At the end of a raucous meeting infused with catcalls and taunts directed at the members of the Belmont Select Board from a bellicose crowd of mostly senior residents, the board voted unanimously to name the new $32 million recreation facility on Concord Avenue the ‘Belmont Sports Complex.’

The name will be placed on a sign outside the structure along the Concord Avenue with the words “Home of the James ‘Skip’ Viglirolo Rink” below. In addition, the board approved two permanent acknowledgments inside the facility honoring Viglirolo.

The inclusion of Viglirolo’s name throughout the structure is a victory for the Viglirolo family who have campaigned for the past two years to have their family member’s name transferred to the new complex.

The former rink was named after Viglirolo, a long-time town employee and youth hockey coach, in 1998 by a vote by the Recreation Commission and the Select Board without public debate or input. The former rink – which was in disrepair for the most part of three decades – was demolished in 2023 to make way for the new rink that town voters approved in a $29.9 million debt exclusion in April 2023.

The naming controversy took over most of the conversation in town this summer beginning when the Select Board approved a Town Naming Policy in July, a few weeks before an unusual mid-summer Town Meeting where a non-binding citizens petition to name the rink after Viglirolo. Members approved the article by a 56-44 percentage margin.

More to come.

Breaking: In Unexpected Move, Police Chief MacIsaac Announces Retirement

Photo: Belmont Police Chief James MacIsaac

In a surprise move, Belmont Police Chief James MacIsaac announced his retirement from his post effective Aug. 25.

“After much reflection, I have decided that the time has come to move on,” MacIsaac said in a one-page letter dated Aug. 6 to the town’s Select Board.

“Serving Belmont has been the honor of a lifetime, and I am deeply grateful for the trust, support, and friendships I have experienced along the way,” he said.

“Chief MacIsaac has served our community with honor, dedication, and integrity since 1999, and has been an invaluable part of our police department’s leadership. Chief MacIsaac is also a proud resident of our community, making his commitment even more personal and impactful,” said Patrice Garvin, Belmont Town Administrator reacting to the announcement.

Hired as a police officer in 1999, the lifelong Belmont resident was appointed by the Select Board in December 2019 after many years as Assistant Chief under Richard McLaughlin. Right off the bat, MacIsaac faced the COVID shutdown and the impact on police/public relations of the George Floyd murder a few months later.

“The most effective way we can build trust between the police and the community is for us to get to know one another. I, and the members of the Belmont Police Department, will always make ourselves available to anyone who has concerns or questions regarding operations, tactics and how we interact with the public,” said MacIsaac in a letter to the community in May 2020.

MacIsaac was outfront as the public face of law enforcement in the racially-based murder of Henry Tapia on Upland Street in January 2021, winning praise for his willingness to engage with the affect communities.

Also under MacIsaac’s watch saw the Police Department in 2023 depart from Civil Service, something he had advocated for many years. In recent months, a series of violent gun incidents – including one which a man was wounded by gunfire – and other incidents have increased concerns from residents on being safe in Belmont.

MacIsaac was in the first year of a new three-year contract approved last year which began Jan. 1, 2025 and ran through Dec. 31. 2027. His base salary was $225,000 under the contract with annual cost of living adjustments and merit pay reviews.

MacIsaac is Belmont’s 12th full-time chief since David Chenery, Jr. was named Superintendent of Highways and Police Chief in 1877.

“I have been truly fortunate to call Belmont both my home and my place of work,” said MacIsaac.

Following past precedent, the Select Board will appoint a Police Chief Screening Committee which will whittle down candidates to a pair of finalists. After a public interview, the Board will vote on a new police chief.

Mid-Summer Special Town Meeting: Mixed Messages From Non-Binding Rink Vote

Photo: The Belmont rink under construction

It was a long night at Belmont’s remote mid-summer Special Town Meeting – three-and-a-half hours long – Wednesday, July 23, ending with a mixed message from members. Supporters of the “Save the Skip” article, who sought to transfer the name of the former rink to the new recreation facility, claimed victory as the measure passed on a 128-56-44 roll-call vote, solidifying their assertion of a mandate to place the James “Skip” Viglirolo moniker on the new rink.

“With the rank nearing completion, it is more important than ever to affirm the name … and keep honoring his legacy, not only for him, but for a town that honors its history and the people that made Belmont the wonderful place it is to live, learn and experience,” said Gail Harrington, Viglirolo’s daughter and lead campaigner of the “Save the Skip” citizens’ petition.

While the “yes” vote was celebrated online, it has little real impact on the near-future naming of the $32 million facility, which is set to open in November. In answering the all-important question facing the citizens’ petition, Crowley said the results of the “Save the Skip” article would be deemed non-binding after a review by Town Counsel Mina Makarious of Anderson & Kreiger, and “advisory” rather than a directive to make the change. A new name will be dictated by the newly-installed Belmont Asset Naming Policy approved by the Select Board on July 7.

Despite the positive outcome, any request to consider naming the new rink after Viglirolo can not be taken up until June 2026, at the anniversary of Skip’s death, which is prescribed under the naming guidelines.

The advisory nature of the vote may have contributed to the high number of members-nearly one in five-who selected “abstain” as their preference, declining to vote either for or against the article. Adding those to the members voting against the measure, the ‘yes’ margin shrank to 56 percent.

“I didn’t want to be voting against Skip [Viglirolo],” said one abstained voter at a local coffee shop the morning after the vote. “But the town has a naming policy and that’s how it should done.”

Town Moderator Mike Crowley said holding a Town Meeting in the middle of beach and vacation season was indeed “an odd time.” Still, Massachusetts State Law requires municipalities to hold a “special” Town Meeting 45 days after the petitioners crossed a 200-signature threshold. 

“To be fair to the petitioners, they didn’t want to have it in midsummer but the fall special town meeting [in October],”said Crowley.

Before the debate, Crowley made a special appeal to members that while members “may have differences from time to time in opinions … we can be polite in our dealings with each other.”

In the days before the meeting, town and elected officials received communications and statements online attacking their perceived positions on the naming of the new rink. On Monday, July 21, Belmont resident Wendy Murphy wrote a provocative opinion piece in the Boston Herald alleging the “Selectboard” [sic] – dubbed “Belmont Royals” – as havinganimus towards Italians by supporting the new naming policy. That was followed by an email from the 8,000-member Italian American Alliance, which condemned the “Selectboard” for its “most questionable and insulting action” that, it contends, “is, quite frankly, viewed as Italian HATE.”

Crowley said he did not want that kind of divisive discussion during the debate, noting it was “disrespectful to both the petitioners and the town officials.”

Leading off the meeting, Harrington explains the history of the “Save the Skip” petition. After the former rink was taken down in 2023, the Select Board received many letters in support of placing the Viglirolo name on the new rink, said Harrington, but their requests to have the Select Board address their applications in 2024 and 2025 “were ignored.” 

Seeking a public discussion on transferring the name, Harrington and supporters submitted a citizens’ petition in early July with 258 signatures to show the broad support in retaining the name. Harrington emphasizes that the petition is not seeking exclusive naming rights to the rink, but rather to honor Skip’s legacy as an important, long-time Belmont Recreation Department employee, athlete, and coach, who created safe and accessible winter recreation options for all residents. Two such programs included creating a girls’ recreation hockey program in the early 1980s, as well as an inclusionary program for special needs children that evolved into the Belmont/Watertown SPORTS program.

“Legacies matter for individuals, for families, communities, and for the town of Belmont,” said John Feeley, a long-time resident who addressed Town Meeting. “No one could deny that ‘Skip’ Viglirolo’s legacy is immense and worthy of praise and admiration. It should be Belmont’s honor to continue paying homage to the legacy of ‘Skip’ Viglirolo. Please, let’s get this right, and please put his name on the new rink where it deserves to be seen again.”

However, before the meeting could discuss the article, it faced a late amendment. Submitted by Angus Abercrombie (Precinct 8), the amendment would eliminate the article’s language and replace it with a statement “expressing Town Meeting support for the town asset naming policy as amended by the Select Board at their July 7th meeting, and ask that it be applied to the Belmont Rink and Sports Facility.”

“What I want to avoid is the injection of Town Meeting into this process where it will just serve to take time and resources from other priorities while creating more divisiveness,” Abercrombie said. In a curious approach to debate, Crowley allowed members to speak on both the amendment and the main article simultaneously. 

Select Board member Elizabeth Dionne, the primary author of the new naming policy, presented a detailed timeline for 2025 during which no naming decisions was made during the winter, “as our focus is on complying with the MBTA Communities Act, taking state-mandated action on Accessory Dwelling Units, and preparing a balanced, revenue-based budget for Annual Town Meeting.”

Dionne said the reason the Select Board did not answer calls from either the Viglirolo family or numerous others who pushed to have the rink or parts of the new facility named to honor important Belmont residents was that they “drafted a naming policy that is fair and balanced, that incorporates best practices from multiple sources.” To do otherwise, she said, would be “throwing due process out the window.”

She noted that supporters of the new naming process are not attempting to cancel either Viglirolo or James White, whose name was on the former High School Field House before it was taken down to build the new rink. “These names will have a prominent position in the new rink … preserves important aspects of Belmont’s history.”

Dionne “strongly encouraged” [Town Meeting] to support Belmont’s Naming Policy as it prioritizes the name of the Town of Belmont on assets. It also provides an opportunity for all voices to be heard through a formal hearing, honors the past through plaques, signs, and monuments, and “reserves and prioritizes sponsorship rights in a way that can ease the burden on the Town’s operating budget.”

On a personal note, Dionne said she “once again asks [residents] to give us an opportunity to at least consider naming the rink after a woman. Over half of the Town’s population is female, but in 2025, the vast majority of the town and school assets are still named after men. It will be decades before we have a similarly important naming opportunity. …Unfortunately, I doubt that our $32 million rink ultimately will be named for a woman, but please, please give us an opportunity to make our case.”

It was clear early in the hours-long debate that it was one based either on emotional and historic ties to a revered Belmont resident or on the perception of the naming of the facility to the Town’s chief executive body that oversees town policies. 

“This rink was named after Skip, and it was rightfully named after him, and 25 years later, there’s no reason to unnamedit. But that’s not what this is about. [The Select Board] took up the renaming policy and … have total control, and we’reactually looking for income versus our history. I feel like you guys are just throwing away our history to get a little money for a sponsorship, or to put a woman or someone else that property.” – Brian Keefe (Precinct 4)

“Naming rights for the rink have an important economic value. The 2022 Collins Center report said that [the Town] should examine and develop all sources of revenue to reduce the structural deficit. Yet here we are having a vote that would forsake a possible revenue source. I’ll state clearly that I think it’s completely unrealistic to think that we could name the rink [after] ‘Skip’ and then get a corporate sponsor. It will not happen. … I’m confident that the rink naming value is at least in the seven figures.” – Roger Fussa (Precinct 8)

“Some of us who support continuing Skip Viglirolo’s name on the rink have been described as old, nostalgic townies. What we are is residents who respect the contributions that Skip and others like him who selfishly made Belmont what it is, a better community. We do not want our history erased. We do not want the desire for vague amounts of cash and the limits of a 20 year window to determine what our buildings are named. Let’s do what’s right for Belmont, young or old, contemporary or nostalgic newcomer or townie … and keep Skips name on the skating rink. – Anne Marie Mahoney (Precinct 1)

“The important issue is good governance. Good governance prioritizes inclusive deliberation and thoughtful decision making, and in a town where we have little time, because it’s run by volunteers. Standard Operating Procedures is the right way to ensure that this is done. And the Select Board has created such a procedure. … What the petitioners reallywant here is to railroad through their wishes, and they don’t want to wait and participate in the democratic process. Disrespectful and divisive are names being called those people who won’t just let that happen. And it’s working, and I think that’s really worrisome.” – Claus Becker (Precinct 5)

“When a passionate group of citizens attempts to follow the available process [as perscribed in the 2018 naming policy] and that group of citizens is repeatedly, for whatever reason, not given a proper response other than be patient. And when the [naming policy is] changed, right after the group submits their application in good faith, I believe that turning to their Town Meeting representatives as constituents in order to get their voice heard is appropriate. I think community is never built with abstract, correct, well structured principles and processes. Community is built with heart and history andconnection. And so I believe that perfection should not be the enemy of the good, and that we should support the non binding resolution to affirm the 1998 vote to name the rink.” – Anne-Marie Lambert (Precinct 2}

“In 2018, seeing the many new public buildings coming, including the rink, I wanted to get a naming policy in place to avoid contentious and emotional debates like this by having a process with clear objective criteria, including waiting for a year after someone passes to consider their name. We have rules. This matter needs to stay with the Select Board. All of you and others out there can contact the Select Board and advocate for whose name you wish on your own. Of course, Town Meeting can vote to give a non binding opinion to the Select Board, but I doubt it’s going to be unanimous either way tonight, and it doesn’t change the fact that the Select Board has to make the decision under the policy. A split vote from Town Meeting, which is what we’re going to get, is honestly not really all that helpful.” – Adam Dash (Precinct 1)

After the Abercrombie amendment was defeated 76-138-10, Geoff Lubien (Precinct 7) called for the article to be “postponed “indefinitely while allowing the petitioners to resubmit the citizens’ petition with a new set of signatures so it could be debated in the October Special Meeting. The call to table the article narrowly failed 98-114-1. 

With the clock at a quarter to 11 p.m., most members had heard enough, and the meeting sped to the final vote. 

“So Article 3 passes, the non-binding resolution to preserve the name of the former skating rink for the new facility. It is quite late,” said Crowley.

Belmont High Girls Rugby Sweeps Past Lincoln-Sudbury For Seventh Straight State Title

Photo: Here are your 2025 MIAA Division 1 Girls State Champions: Belmont High School

It’s seven heaven for the Belmont High Girls Rugby team, which secured its seventh consecutive MIAA Division 1 state championship title, sweeping past Lincoln-Sudbury Regional, 69-21, at Curry College in Milton on Saturday, June 14.

With the victory, Belmont completed the 2025 season undefeated with eight wins, as the Marauders outscored their opponents by a combined 463 to 28.

Senior Captain Robyn Tonomura-MacDonald holds the 2025 State Championship trophy for her teammates to see after Belmont High’s victory.

With 13 senior starters on a squad playing top-level rugby since each joined the team, Belmont had the skills and experience to come into the match as overwhelming favorites. With a significant advantage in running, speed, and tackling by the backs and front line, Belmont’s game plan was simple: Continue what they did all season and repeat.

“This team felt pretty clear cut [they would win the state title] from the beginning of the season,” said Belmont Head Coach Kate McCabe, who has led the Marauders since the inception of the girls’ program in the mid-2010s.

This year’s seniors had to compete so much with the seniors of two years before for any game time. “They were fully convinced, ready to go, saying, ‘this is our year, and we’re gonna do it’.”

After an exchange of possession, Belmont struck first as senior Lock Laila Lusis dove into try eight minutes into the game, with senior center Rebecca Michaud handling the two-point conversion.

The Marauders would double its lead with speedy senior Wing Anoush McCarthy turning the right edge into clear for the try, coming after Belmont built its running foundation from its front line. Low numbers, including senior Props Anika Gupta and Tabitha Kambazza, sophomore Lock Rebecca Christensen, and senior Number 8 Sadie Taylor, punished L-S with 10 to 20-meter runs while senior Flanker Lucy Hinds was a handful for the Warriors with a series of outstanding broken-tackle sprints.

“I’m so proud of them,” said McCabe of her front eight. “The off-loads, how they kept adapting to what they saw in front of them. We’ve been doing it in the second half of the season, and it came into play today.”

While L-S planned to hem in Belmont’s back line, the speed and elusiveness of McCarthy, Michaud, captain senior flyback Robyn Tonomura-MacDonald, senior Fullback Mira Gardner, and the decision-making senior scrumhalf Clarissa Field proved too talented to hold back.

Belmont would break open the match during five minutes as Kambazza powered her way into a try at the 19-minute mark. Three minutes later, Lusis had her second with relentless running, while Christensen finished off a series of quick passes, diving across the try line at 14 minutes to up the score to 31-0.

Gardner would finish the half scoring after eluding the Warrior backs around the edge to go up, 38-0. L-S would pound into try after time expired to come off the field 38-7.

The game’s highlight came early in the second half what a sideline official dubbed “a try of beauty,” as McCarthy, Gardner, and finally Michaud combined with a series of quick passes to open up L-S’s backs for a walk-in try. The Warriors would strike back with 27 minutes remaining to cut the score to 45-14 – the most points the Marauders gave up this season – but by this time, McCabe had taken off many of the seniors to allow the team’s role players an opportunity to participate in a state championship.

McCarthy was awarded her second score with a penalty try after an NFL-style tackle, while Michaud and junior wing Jil Costa finished the scoring for the Marauders. When L-S kicked the conversion after scoring their third try with no time left on the clock, teammates ran onto the field to hug and celebrate.

“There are a lot of people who love this program for good reason, because it’s such a great program,” said Tonomura-MacDonald after the match. “The coaches and athletes are so hardworking. We had a practice with our alumni a couple of days ago. It showed they appreciate the work you’ve done, because they know they’ve had such a good experience here.”

And like the past six times, the players lined up to have the MIAA winner medals hung around their necks while watching McCabe and their captain, Tonomura-MacDonald, receive the program’s seventh state champion trophy.

Breaking: Select Board Agree On Aspects Of COA Memo On Senior Center’s Future;

Photo: Karen Donelan, Chair of the Council on Aging

The Belmont Select Board moved to support the leading aspects of a memorandum authored by Karen Donelan, Chair of the Council on Aging, on the future of the Beech Street Center, the town’s senior center. The memo will transition three recreation department staff members into the Beech Street Center on a “trial” basis beginning this summer. 

“So, let’s give it a try,” said Donelan, who reported that the COA had approved the memo unanimously earlier in the afternoon. 

This spring, the proposed staff move has been a highly controversial issue, resulting in heated meetings and a citizens’ petition. It is unknown how this partial agreement will affect the citizen’s petition, which will be the first article at the Special Town Meeting on Wednesday, May 21

At the Select Board meeting held before the fourth night of the 2025 Town Meeting, Donelan said the “rules of moving forward” regarding the town’s effort to move the recreation employees are that the town will maintain “senior” hours—currently 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (with one day a 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. shift)—at the Beech Street Center and maintain a senior-based parking scheme. 

In return, the town and COA agree to evaluate the move to determine its impact on the senior services and elder patrons. The Select Board also agrees to abandon the plan to build a separate entry for recreational operations.

“This gives everyone a breather,” said Matt Taylor, the board’s vice chair and COA representative.

[This is an ongoing article and will be undated.]

Fundraiser For Arlington-Belmont Crew After Club Lost Nearly A Dozen Shells After Wild Police Chase

Photo: The aftermath of the truck/trailer chase on Blanchard Street(Credit: Jay Connor)

After having 11 racing shells “destroyed” in the aftermath of a wild police chase through three towns on Saturday night, May 17, that left boats, vehicles, and property damaged, a police officer injured, and a Belmont roadway closed for an hour, the Arlington-Belmont Crew is seeking funds to get the club that attract local high school athletes to the sport back in the water.

Donations can be made directly to the team’s fundraising page.

The incident, that ended on Blanchard Street Saturday night, began at the crew’s Pond Lane clubhouse located at Arlington’s Spy Pond after the team returned from a last-minute replacement meet after its scheduled USRowing Regional Championship regatta in Lowell was cancelled Friday.

In an note to supporters on its website, Salpi Der Stepanian, president of the club’s board of directors, said the trailer was to be unloaded by team members at their practice on Monday. But shortly after the pickup truck and trailer was parked at 8:45 p.m., the suspect jumped into the truck, “and drove it up a wooded embankment and onto the [nearby] Minuteman Bike Path,” wrote Der Stepanian. Arlington Police reported three vehicles were involved in accidents with the truck.

According to a media report in Cambridge Day, Cambridge Police spokesperson Bob Reardon said the suspect entered Cambridge along Route 2 around 9 p.m. Soon afterwards, Cambridge Police “received reports of hit-and-run crashes at multiple locations in West Cambridge, all involving a pickup truck towing a trailer of … boats.”

“The truck, which it was learned had been reported stolen to the Arlington Police, was said to have been involved in several hit & run crashes at multiple locations – including the rotaries where Concord Avenue meet Fresh Pond Parkway and Alewife Brook Parkway – resulting in non-life-threatening injuries and significant property damage” as well as leaving one of the shells in the middle of the road, according to a Cambridge Police social media post. Reardon said.

During the chase, Cambridge Police reported the stolen truck also hit a Cambridge police cruiser. “The police officer driving the cruiser was taken to a nearby hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries,” according to police.

After leaving a trail of destruction in Cambridge, the pickup and trailer were located entering Belmont turning onto Blanchard Road towards Route 2. The chase ended near the MBTA commuter rail tracks when the trailer “ultimately flipped, and the truck was stopped … by Belmont Police,” said Der Stepanian. The suspect was arrested and will be arraigned in Cambridge on Monday, May 19.

“The suspect’s actions caused damage to several other vehicles and destroyed most, if not all, of the 11 boats on the trailer,” said Der Stepanian.

“We extend our thanks to the Arlington, Belmont, and Cambridge Police Departments and all agencies involved for their swift response in stopping the vehicle and for their continuing assistance. We are working with the police in their investigation to determine exactly how this terrible incident occurred. We extend our sympathies to anyone affected by this event, including property owners, drivers, pedestrians, and other members of the Arlington, Belmont, and Cambridge communities,” Der Stepanian said.

In an account reported by the media site Your Arlington, a parent of one of the athletes wrote of the team’s shock of the incident on Reddit:

“I’m a mom of one of the rowers whose boat was snapped in half during this reckless incident. The team is devastated. It’s been a tough season for them due to all the rain. Yesterday’s race was originally scheduled for this entire weekend in Lowell but the river wasn’t safe (again) and it was canceled late Friday. Coaches worked hard to find another race they could participate in and the kids got up at 4am to get there and didn’t get home till 7pm—only for this to happen two hours later.”

Special thanks to the independent media sites Your Arlington and Cambridge Day for its reporting on the incident.

Glenn Clancy, Belmont’s Long-Serving Town Engineer, Has Died [Update]

Photo: Glenn Clancy

Glenn Clancy, who spent nearly five decades serving the residents of Belmont, died on Wednesday, May 14, 2025.

Clancy, 61, died after a long-battle with cancer, according to his family.

On leave since late last year, the Quincy-native would have celebrated his 40th anniversary working in Belmont this June.

“Glenn was a dedicated public servant, whose career in Belmont spanned four decades and many roles, including long-time Director of the Office of Community Development and Town Engineer,” wrote Select Board Chair Elizabeth Dionne in an email to Town Meeting members.

“Glenn was a consummate professional. His work was meticulous and always reliable. He was a true gentleman, treating everyone—from town leaders to his professional colleagues to the most obstreperous members of the public—with unfailing courtesy and respect, not to mention a ready smile and flashes of wry humor. His passing leaves a tremendous hole in all our hearts,” Dionne noted.

Clancy’s presence was missed at this year’s Town Meeting, as he was a familiar presenter of town-sponsored articles. With a wry smile and “Ah shucks” demeanor, Clancy would expertly maneuver some of the most contentious issues before the meeting with a thorough understanding of the subject and facts.

For decades as Town Engineer, Clancy was the town official who managed the town’s notorious roads and sidewalks. But he took the job understanding resident’s complaints, but also seeing it as an opportunity to “gently” educate citizens on why their streets were on a waiting list for repair. One year at a community get-together, Clancy sat a table with a handwritten sign proclaiming: “Ask me about the roads,” and answered a night’s worth of queries.

The Flag of the United States of America at Town Hall was lowered to half-staff on Wednesday to honor Clancy. On what is expected to be the fourth night of the annual Town Meeting, Monday, May 19, Town Moderator Michael Crowley will lead the Meeting in a moment of silence to remember Clancy and mark his passing.

Clancy is survived by his wife Kathryn Condos Clancy of Quincy, his son, Aaron Clancy of Quincy, and his daughter, Sarah Clancy of Dallas, TX. He also leaves his brother Steven Clancy, and his wife Paula of Oak Ridge, TN, and sister, Lynn Liscio of Nashua, NH.

Visiting hours is on Sunday May 18, 2025 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Keohane Funeral Home, 785 Hancock St., QUINCY. A Celebration of Life Service will be held in the funeral home at 9 a.m. on Monday May 19 prior to the Funeral Mass in St. John’s Church, Quincy at 10 a.m. Burial will be at Pine Hill Cemetery, Quincy. 

According to Dionne, working in conjunction with his family, Town leadership hopes to recognize Clancy at the Special Town Meeting in October.

Incident At Belmont Middle And High Schools Leaves Two Belmont Light Workers Hospitalized

Photo: Belmont Middle and High School

A pair of Belmont Light workers are hosptialized in stable condition after a electical accident in a manhole at Belmont Middle and High School on Tuesday, April 8.

The blast cut power to the building housing the high and middle school, forcing the school to use generators for the remainder of the school day.

In a press release from the Belmont Fire Department, personnel were called to the school’s front parking lot shortly after 9:45 a.m. “Upon arrival, firefighters found two injured electrical workers that had been working in a manhole when an accident occurred.”

“This morning two Belmont Light line workers were involved in an electrical flash incident while working inside a manhole near Belmont High School,” according to a press release from the town’s electric utility.

“The line workers were wearing appropriate protective equipment and were able to exit the manhole under their own power. Both line workers were transported to Massachusetts General Hospital where they are in stable condition and are being treated for their injuries.”

In an email addressed to high school students and their families sent at 10:15 a.m., Belmont High School Principal Isaac Taylor said “[a]ll staff and students are safe and not impacted by the accident.”

Taylor said the accident “resulted in a power outage” throughout the building that houses grades 7-12. While lighting inside the schools were “limited,” the school day continued using in-house generators, which allowed hot lunches to be served.

Belmont Town Election: Yates Takes Select Board Race, Crowley Squeaks In As Moderator, Donner Elected To Library Trustees

Photo: Tyler Yates arrives at Town Hall to hear he was elected to the Belmont Select Board

With more than three of four Belmont voters deciding to take a pass, there was a good chance a few surprises were in store from the 2025 annual Town Election held April 1, April Fool’s Day.

Despite contested races in four town-wide offices, voter participation was just 23.6 percent—the lowest numbers since 2018, when a minuscule 16.5 percent came out to cast ballots, which made the landscape ripe for challengers. In the town-wide races, a long-serving elected official was edged out by just 10 votes by a rival who lost his bid last year by a wide margin. At the same time, a venerable incumbent was outed by a candidate who was unceremoniously dumped from her seat on another committee just five years ago.

Results of the 2025 Belmont Town Elections can be found here

In the race for Select Board, Planning Board Chair Taylor Yates topped each of Belmont’s eight precincts to capture the seat vacated by Roy Epstein, defeating another first-time candidate, Economic Development Committee Chair Paul Joy, 2,533 to 1,738. Several observers noted the similarities of the pair – both relatively recent residents with young children (Yates welcoming a newborn last year) who ran on their accomplishments and new vision – and how this race represents a generational “changing of the guard” in town leadership.

“I feel extraordinary gratitude to all the voters, to my campaign team, the volunteers, the donors, and my family. A lot of people came together to make tonight happen,” said Yates, who witnessed his victory in the packed second-floor lobby of Town Hall. Candidates, observers, four or five children, and a crew from Belmont Media Center came to hear the traditional reading of results just after 9 p.m.

Yates said his positive vision of Belmont’s future brought out voters. “Our best days are ahead of us if we have leaders willing to push forward on our biggest priorities,” he said.

In a bit of an upsetting of the political apple cart, former School Committee member Micheal Crowley in his second go around for the post, squeaked by four-term Select Board member Mark Paolillo by the razor thin of margins, a mere 10 votes, 2,133 to 2,123. While both candidates ran on making changes to the office held for nearly two decades by Mike Widmer, Crowley said he believed voters saw him as the greater reformer.

“I have a great deal of work ahead of me [because] I promised a lot of change,” said Crowley, specifically on the focus of the job, “that the moderator will be much more engaged with the community.” One concrete example will be establishing a citizens’ advisory board and a commitment to virtual Town Meetings.

It was a good night for former School Committee members as Tara Donner placed second in a tight three-way race for two seats on the Board of Library Trustees, defeating long-time member Mike McCarthy, who placed third. Donner lost her school committee seat in the 2021 post-pandemic lockdown election, in which voters locally and nationally placed their frustrations onto incumbents. However, the public school educator and Town Meeting member since 2007 wanted to be involved in town government. With her background teaching English, “libraries have always been a place I love, where I’ve taken my kids and where I have been a heavy user.”

As with the Select Board race, Donner believed “people are just interested in what the next generation of Belmont leaders might bring to the library.” She said that once the new library building opens in early 2026, “we also need to have the programming and have the resources to fill it with the services that people are looking for in Belmont.” Joining Donnor on the committee will be Edward Barker, the candidate who topped the field, in which 142 votes separated the three candidates.

Talking about the school committee, that group now has two new members with newcomers Zehra Abid-Wood, who scored an impressive 45 percent of the total ballots cast with 3,213 votes, and Brian Palmer, each winning a three-year term.

The final competitive race saw Julie LeMay easily securing a fourth term on the Board of Health, defeating first-time candidate Michael Todd Thompson. Thompson also ran for a seat on the School Committee.

The big surprise on the Town Meeting ledger was the number of seats that write-ins will fill: In Precinct 3, Wendy Etkind, Ashley Addington, and Constantin Lichi won three-year terms via write-in votes, while Andrea Carrillo-Rhodes and Franceny Johnson will be attending Town Meeting as write-ins. And in Precinct 7, Mary Rock got 26 of her friends and neighbors to write in her name to secure the 12th spot on the ballot.

Among Town Meeting incumbents, Marie Warner placed 13th in Precinct 6 despite garnering 388 votes, which would have comfortably secured a seat in the seven other precincts.

Write-in Sally Martin took the one-year seat in Precinct 1, while over at Precinct 7, James Reynolds will need to choose whether to select a three-year or a two-year term, as he secured that final spot for a three-year seat and topped the field for a two-year term.

Breaking: Massive Blackout In Belmont As Manhole Fire Plunges Town Into The Dark [UPDATES]

Photo: The service map from Belmont Light’s webpage shows the town impacted by the outage

A manhole explosion at approximately 10 p.m. on Hittinger Street is responsible for plunging most of Belmont into the dark, according to Belmont Light, the municipal electrical utility.

The explosion and subsequent fire “caused the entire west side of town to lose power,” read a message on the utility’s Facebook account. While power remained on in the southeast section of Belmont and along Belmont Street and Trapelo Road into Cushing Square, all other neighborhoods and streets were dark. The resulting loss of electricity left most homes without power, street lights to go out, and resulted in drivers negotiating intersections without traffic signals.

Belmont Light said it has crews at the location, which is nearby to one of its transformer stations.

“We are ensuring that line workers can safely enter the manhole before determining the extent of the damage. We will provide an update ASAP,” the posting read.

UPDATE: At approximately 11:31 p.m., Belmont Light reported it had identified a failed cable and are testing others in an attempt to isolate the issue.

“We hope to start to pick customers back up within 30 minutes [at midnight, March 19] and will be making progress to restore power for all customers following testing.”

UPDATE: Belmont Light has completed the work bringing power back to the town.