Manjikian Blasts New Planning Board Chair in Resignation Letter: ‘Hostile Work Environment’

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Photo: Planning Board Chair Charles Clark (left) and former member Raffi Manjikian.

In a tempestuous letter sent to the Belmont Board of Selectmen on Friday, Oct. 13, Raffi Manjikian abruptly resigned as an associate member of the Belmont Planning Board, eight days after fellow board member Charles Clark was named the body’s new chair.

Manjikian said he could not support the selection of Clark to lead the board after he treated him and then Planning Board Chair Liz Allison in “a hostile and threatening manner” and “creating a ‘hostile’ work environment” for future Planning Board meetings. 

“I have lost all confidence that I can make any meaningful contribution to our community as your appointee to the Planning Board,” he told the Selectmen.

Clark’s response to Manjikian’s attack was short and concise. 

“I wish him the best,” Clark told the Belmontonian.

Clark was elected chair in a 3-2 vote on Thursday, Oct. 5 with newly-appointed Stephen Pinkerton selected as vice chair.

Manjikian’s resignation came less than three weeks after the Selectmen reappointed him to the board for a term ending in 2019.

The bad blood between Manjikian and Clark goes back to a Sept. 5 Planning Board meeting where Clark accused Manjikian and Allison of an abuse of power in presenting a controversial proposal dubbed the “Big Idea” moving the Belmont Public Library from its current home on Concord Avenue to Waverley Square as part of a public/private revitalization of the business center.

“It’s not a ‘Big Idea.’ It’s a big lie,” Clark said at the Sept. 5 meeting. “I also think as a result [of] the actions that you’ve taken, you should resign as chair of the Planning Board and remove yourself from this process because I think you violated your responsibilities,” Clarks said to Allison. 

“[T]he manner in which Charles Clark, took upon himself to use our public meeting to attack a colleague [Allison]; to air his ill-tempered rant, for the public to watch, was deliberate and calibrated,” said Manjikian.

He noted the Sept. 5 incident was the second – the first at the Beech Street Center in August – “attacking this same colleague in an affect-laden outburst” then quoting Clark as saying “‘… you have not heard the last from me …’ [(W]hile pointing his finger towards [Allison’s] face.[)]

“In a work setting, this behavior would likely result in a terminiation of employment,” Manjikian wrote.

Manjikian is calling on the Selectmen to “take clear decisive action to address this misconduct.” 

“My volunteer service has long been guided by a principle ‘with each other, for each other,'” Manjikian stated. “I fail to see that I can uphold that principle in the face of such disregard for some people with whom you do not agree.”

Citizens’ Petition To Create Elected Planning Board Filed With Town Clerk [VIDEO]

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Photo: The residents behind the citizens’ petition to create an elected board (from left): Anne Mahon, Paul Roberts, and Wayne Mesard. Town Clerk Ellen Cushman is collecting the petitions.

Three residents filed a citizens’ petition with Belmont Town Clerk Ellen Cushman to transform the appointed Planning Board into an elected body on Tuesday morning, Oct. 10. 

Town Meeting Members Paul Roberts (Pct. 8), Anne Mahon (Pct. 4) and Wayne Mesard (Pct. 3) are seeking to have the measure approved as an article by the Special Town Meeting when it meets on Monday, Nov. 13.

“The Planning Board is an incredibly important body of the town of Belmont,” said Roberts, who handed in the petition to Cushman with 162 signatures, much more than the 100 required by the town’s bylaws. 

“It has jurisdiction over the physical shape of our community,” Roberts said about the board which is charged under the town’s bylaws to “protect and preserve the character and the quality of life that defines Belmont.” 

But as it stands today, the appointed board is not accountable to the voters, but only to the selectmen, said Roberts. As an elected body, the petitioners believe the professionalism of the board will increase with a larger pool of interested people who will run. 

Mahon said too many times in the past outstanding candidates were passed over with little explanation. Under an elected form, those seeking a seat at the table will be able to demonstrate their skills and ideas to the town electorate rather than the three selectmen.

“This isn’t an advisory board. This is an administrative board, an operational part of the government,” said Mesard, which Roberts noted is similar to the selectmen, school committee and the library board of trustees. 

The five-member board – which includes an associate member – drafts zoning proposals, studies land-use patterns, reviews traffic concerns and evaluates specific development projects such as the Cushing Village project and recently the Belmont Day School’s classroom/gym development and roadway.

For more than a decade, the Planning Board and its members have come under fire by critics. Complaints of being unfriendly to business surfaced with the Cushing Village site and design review which took 18 months to conclude or in overstepping its jurisdiction with the proposal to move the town’s public library to Waverley Square as part of a redevelopment of the business center without reaching out to the Board of Library Trustees beforehand.

Roberts pointed out that Belmont’s board, whose members are appointed by the Board of Selectmen, is an anomaly when compared to neighboring towns. Communities such as Newton, Weston, Watertown, Lexington, and Winchester are just a few municipalities that elect their planning boards.

The petition will first be certified by the Town Clerk – due to technology issues Cushman was unable to make that call as of 3:45 p.m. Tuesday – before proceeding to the Bylaw Review Committee which reviews proposals for General Bylaw changes to make sure that they do not conflict with existing bylaws.

Selectmen OK Automated Trash Collection, Pay As You Throw Set Aside For Now

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Photo: Kim Slack speaking before the Board of Selectmen, DPW Director Jay Marcotte looking on.

Belmont residents will soon have their curbside trash picked up by an automated trash collection truck requiring each household to use a 65-gallon wheeled barrel to place their garbage after the Belmont Board of Selectmen voted 2 to 1 to back the recommendation of the Department of Public Works Director Jay Marcotte to make a move towards mechanization.

The decision came after nearly four hours of presentations, discussion and debate before approximately 70 residents in the Town Hall auditorium on Monday, Sept. 25. Marcotte will now create a request for proposal (RFP) for a five-year contract by the end of October which will allow the winning bidder to purchase new equipment and acquire the nearly 10,000 bins that will go to each household in Belmont.

While “there is no panacea” when it comes to waste collection, Marcotte told the board the automated system – which is fast becoming the industry standard – strikes “a happy medium” regarding cost and the reduction of trash the town will collect.

He noted that using the barrels with the automated collection trucks – which has a mechanical arm that grabs the cans and flips them into a collection area – is the “right-sized for a majority of similar municipalities.” He pointed to the reduction in the trash in towns such as Burington (24 percent), Wilmington (26 percent), Dracut (19 percent) and  Dedham (35 percent) who have recently turned to automation.

According to Marcotte, Belmont’s new collection program – which will begin in 2018 – is similar to the one operated by the town of Wakefield which began its automated system in 2014.

Marcotte said data the department has gathered indicates the 65-gallon bins will meet the capacity needs of three of four Belmont households.

In a compromise to residents and board members, the DPW will accommodate residents who find using a 65-gallon barrel to be unwieldy, difficult to move, or more than they need by providing a 35-gallon barrel as an alternative.

Adam Dash voted against the motion because it did not have a provision to research the viability of using 35-gallon bins rather than the bulkier one.

While many of the current curbside services will remain in place in the next contract – the town will continue a separate recycling pickup and yard waste collection – large “bulky” items such as mattresses and furniture will now be limited to one free removal a week.                                                                                           

While selecting a traditional pickup and haul collection system, the selectmen said they had not abandoned the Pay-As-You-Throw method from future discussion. The PAYT approach was one of the most hotly debated of the items discussed. A presentation by Kim Slack of Sustainable Belmont focused on the dual benefits of reducing trash while cutting the town’s carbon footprint by undertaking this program. 

PAYT is just that, requiring households to purchase biodegradable bags for between $1 and $2 a bag for trash collection. Slack said that nearly 40 percent of Bay State communities have undertaken this system and have seen trash reduced from 25 percent to 50 percent. 

“Why not encourage more recycling,” quired Slack, noting that Belmont’s rate has not budged from the current 22 percent of total recycling, compared to Arlington’s 30 percent.

But several residents spoke against PAYT, calling it a hidden tax on residents, many who approved a 1990 override that paid for the current system of unlimited curbside collection. 

“I’m suggesting this is an underhanded way of an override,” said former Selectman Stephen Rosales who said recycling rates could be increased with more education, rather than a regressive “tax.” 

At the end of the meeting, the selectmen suggested discussing in the next two years whether to implement the PAYT method with the automated system.

Selectmen Place Two On Planning Board Seen Supporting Status Quo

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Photo: The Board of Selectmen Monday.

A divided Belmont Board of Selectmen Monday added two members to the Planning Board seen as favorable to the board’s current leadership which was attacked by one selectman for exceeding its authority and fostering a ponderous permitting process. 

“You’ll be sorry,” charged Selectman Adam Dash as the board voted 2-1 to re-appoint sitting member Raffi Manjikian and while selecting Dalton Road’s Stephen Pinkerton to replace Joseph DeStefano on the five-member board at the Selectmen’s meeting held Monday night, Sept. 11.

Dash, who backed Edward “Sandy” Sanderson for the board, said the town had missed the opportunity to change the direction the Planning Board which has come under withering criticism from residents and the elected Board of Library Trustees for advocating in July a proposal to move the Belmont Public Library to Waverley Square as part of a public/private partnership to revitalize the once vibrant business hub.

Pinkerton is one of the leaders of Belmont Citizens for Responsible Zoning which led the successful campaign to restrict the building of oversized single-family dwellings in the Shaw Estate in 2015. 

Sanderson was a city planner for the City of Los Angeles and is currently an urban and transportation planner in the Boston office of a New York-based civil engineering firm.

“If you were posting this job and you got these applications … how do you not hire [Sanderson] for this job when he’s exactly perfectly qualified for this,” said Dash, adding that he would consider placing Pinkerton as an associate member “to get his feet wet” on the board.

Monday’s well-attended meeting, which set aside 15 minutes for several appointments on multiple boards, quickly became a surrogate of the ongoing dispute between the Planning Board and the Library Trustees, whose chair Kathleen Keohane and member Gail Mann attended the meeting. 

Liz Allison, Planning Board chair, was in the audience as was Manjikian with a few supporters backing her. Nearby sat Planning Board member Chuck Clark, who last week sharply denounced both Allison and Manjikian for formulating the proposal to move the library – dubbed the “Big Idea” – without informing the entire board.

Before the vote, Dash spoke at length criticising the Planning Board calling for it to take a new direction which would have begun with Sanderson elected to the board.

“I get a lot of emails from people complaining about roads and sidewalks, parking and all of those emails complaints added up don’t equal the number I get complaining about the Planning Board,” said Dash.

Dash said while keeping an open mind to the proposed library transfer when it was initially presented; Dash said his major concerned was Allison’s unwillingness to cede to overwhelming public sentiment and abandon the scheme. Rather, Dash said he could see the Planning Board presenting the “Big Idea” at a future Town Meeting even if the Library Trustees – who are elected by residents to represent the interests of the library – were opposed to it.

“I get concerned that in the face of the facts … that moving the library to Waverley Square is DOA, there’s a continued push, push, push for that,” he said.

With some major projects coming before the Planning Board shortly – a new High School, revamping general residence zoning and commercial development proposals – Dash said too much emphasis had been placed on projects that are beyond the jurisdiction of the Planning Board.

“It’s taking up a lot of time when there are a lot of things on the plate that gets kicked down the road,” he said.

Overly Bureaucratic 

Also, Dash related that many applicants who have appeared before the Planning Board had expressed their frustration at the deliberative and overly bureaucratic nature of the board’s process. Critics point to the 18 months approval process for the formerly named Cushing Village development and the recent Boston Day School site and design review in which the applicant was required to resubmit documents and undergo delays on seemingly trivial matters.

While he said some of the problems facing applicants arise from the zoning code, Dash said the level of micromanagement from the Planning Board is akin to “death by a thousand cuts.” 

“I feel bad about it because I served with [Planning Board members] and I like them. It’s not a personal thing. Just observing it and the way things are moving forward, [the Planning Board] is not working for the town,” said Dash.

“It just seems to me that it’s not going to change unless we make some changes and this is a place to start,” said Dash.

Asked by Selectmen Chair Jim Williams to speak on both Dash’s comments and who should be  Allison came to the defense of her committee noting that in the past four years all the substantial articles it presented to Town Meeting have been approved. “You can’t pass major bylaw changes … if you are that unpopular.”

The chair also said the issue that has produced “by far” the most correspondence to the Planning Board over the past three months had concerned the Day School proposal, leaving the impression the library is not registering with the greater community.

“Do we get complaints? Yes, because … it is one of the committees where you have to balance the equities,” said Allison. 

Allison told the board she was strongly in favor of reappointing Manjankian who has knowledge of environmental issues and is committed to civil and respectful processes while being able to tell people ‘no’ in respect of things people want to do.”

While not coming out in favor for the second selection, Allison did say Pinkerton had attended many planning board meeting as a zoning campaigner and would be as ready as anyone could be to step onto the board.

Clark reiterated his call for significant changes to the Planning Board. Rather than recall what he said a week earlier, Clark said it was time to “restore confidence in the Planning Board” which required a change in leadership. One avenue towards transforming the group would be not to reappoint Manjikian “because that would change the dynamics on the board and you’d have new leadership elected.”

“There is a lot of work that has to be done by the Planning Board, but we need to get past the problems of being distracted from the important issues,” said Clark, noting that the board has lost six months on moving forward on the future of Waverley Square and South Pleasant Street. 

Selectman Mark Paolillo said he would seek to change the current bylaw to expand the number of board members from five to seven to allow a greater diversity of views

“Every year we have some qualified individuals,” said Paolillo, hoping opening up the board to a higher number of residents will allow for greater diversity of thought.

But as Williams noted, an expanded planning board that would be constituted next year “doesn’t help us now.” 

In the end, Williams and Paolillo selected Manjikian and Pinkerton with the promise to have Sanderson on a short list of candidates to fill the next opening on the board. 

Planning Board Member Blasts ‘Big Idea’, Calls For Chair’s Resignation

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Photo: Pointed exchange; Charles Clark (left) calls for Chair Liz Allison’s resignation as Raffi Manjikian looks on.

In a fiery and personal rebuke, Planning Board member Chuck Clark called for the immediate removal of board’s chair, Liz Allison, for what he alleged has been the abuse of power in presenting a controversial proposal dubbed the “Big Idea” that would move the Belmont Public Library from Concord Avenue to Waverley Square as part of a public/private revitalization of the business center.

What was supposed to be a short recap by Allison of her observation of an Aug. 23 meeting of the Library Board of Library Trustees she attended quickly ignited where Clark made a series of Zola-esque accusations at the chair.

Raising his voice and pointing his finger at both Allison and fellow member Raffi Manjikian, Clark said the controversial proposal was being presented as a board plan when, in fact, it was the invention of the pair he charges of offering to the public a false narrative. 

“It’s not a ‘Big Idea.’ It’s a big lie,” said Clark, adding “I also think as a result [of] the actions that you’ve taken, you should resign as chair of the Planning Board and remove yourself from this process because I think you violated your responsibilities.” 

Clark’s declaration, which came as a surprise to everyone in the room – a quick poll of those in the room and via instant message by the Belmontonian found that no one could remember a similar outburst and call for a chair to vacate their position in Belmont in more than two decades – came shortly after he questioned Allison’s alleged overreach of the board’s mandate and jurisdiction in determining the library’s future.

“I didn’t think the Planning Board had any authority over the library. It has elected trustees. It’s their fiduciary responsibility to take care of the library. It’s not ours. It’s also not our place to post things and push something forward without thinking about it,” said Clark. 

After being accused of abuse of power and asked to resign, Allison matter-in-factly responded by noting that “[i]t does make it a little bit harder to move along to item 2b” on the agenda.

“Well, you can stay or go. It’s up to you,” Clark shot back. 

Just as it appeared that Clark and Allison would be continuing their tête-à-tête, Manjikian interjected by scolding his male colleague for infering that the bringing forward ideas such as public/private partnerships would lead to “your vigorous finger pointing is not the way to go.”

Clark then alleged Allison was “hijacking of the agenda” as an attempt not to discuss the issues at hand. 

“We’ll talk about this on the [Sept. 19],” said Clark. 

Clark would not speak after the meeting, only to say that he will continue to call for Allison to recuse herself as chair.

After completing work on the two scheduled agenda items, Allison circled back to the library, allowing Manjikian to say he hoped that future meeting could move from “affec-laden attacks” to “some point we can talk about the idea,” referring to the private/public development at the heart of the debate.

Allison said she would seek to make the Sept. 19 meeting “the most constructive discussion” on the proposal. 

Clark suggested that rather than focus on the “Big Idea” “we talk seriously about how do we begin to look at planning Waverley Square” noting there are a number of developments moving forward including a major commercial/residential project by developer (and former Planning Board member) Joseph DeStefano adjacent to the commuter rail bridge along Trapelo Road.

The Planning Board’s Karl Haglund said the small working group discussions – which produced the “Big Idea” – which have been popular for many government boards “have gotten off the rails.”

“I want to get back to where any two members of the Planning Board are meeting with anyone else that the full board be notified, so we are not surprised when a major proposal comes out,” he said.

Tuesday’s meeting was by far the most emotional associated with the suggested move of the library to Waverley Square since the so called “Big Idea” was first presented in July. Almost from the start, residents have questioned the Planning Board’s authority to submit this proposal. The opposition has been led by the Board of Library Trustees, the elected council that runs the library for the benefit of the town. 

At Tuesday’s night, Trustee Chair Kathleen Keohane made public a letter, dated Aug. 31, which requests the Planning Board to “dismiss” the Waverley Square proposal saying it “would not be in the Town’s or its citizen’s best interests.”

Keohane – who has led the charge against the proposal – reiterated points she made to the Planning Board and the public, that a suggested transfer of the library to Waverley Square (which Allison admitted comments her board has received on the move were running 90 to 10 in opposition) “is a distraction.” 

The Board of Library Trustees approved a new building after a feasibility study was completed on the present site.

“We prefer not to wait (until Sept. 19),” said Keohane. Despite favorable votes by Town Meeting and the Board of Selectmen endorsing the current site for a new library, Keohane said having a competing proposal as well as agreeing to present an article for the creation of a new library building committee to the fall Special Town Meeting rather than in May has been damaging future private fundraising critical to the construction of the new structure.

BREAKING: Assistant Police Chief MacIsaac Reverses Course, Will Stay in Belmont

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Photo: Belmont Police Assistant Chief James MacIsaac.

After earlier this week making what he called “one of, if not the most, difficult decision I have ever made,” Belmont Police Assistant Chief James MacIsaac has had a change of heart and will not accept the appointment as Chief of Police in Wayland.

“I have made the determination that remaining in Belmont as the assistant Police Chief is in the best interests to me and my family,” said MacIsaac in an email to the Belmontonian earlier this afternoon, Friday, Aug. 25.

The sudden about face by MacIsaac comes just days after he was offered the position to be Wayland’s top cop on Monday, Aug. 21. While saying becoming a chief was a long time goal of his, MacIsaac decision will allow the lifelong resident – who has lived all but two years in Belmont – to remain in his hometown police department which he joined in 1999.

MacIsaac was appointed Belmont’s assistant chief in July 2012.

BREAKING: Belmont Asst. Police Chief MacIsaac Named Wayland’s Top Cop

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Photo: Belmont Police Assistant Chief James MacIsaac.

Belmont Police Assistant Chief James MacIsaac will be named Wayland’s top cop, replacing Police Chief Robert Irving who is retiring after 15 years leading the department.

The Wayland Board of Selectmen had scheduled an executive session to discuss negotiation strategy in hiring a new chief at its Monday, Aug. 21, meeting.

“I have been offered the position of Chief of Police in Wayland contingent upon me passing the pre-employment screening and background investigation,” MacIsaac told the Belmontonian in an exclusive interview.

“Becoming a police chief has always been a goal of mine. A few years back, I made a list of communities where I would be willing to work if the opportunity should arise. The Wayland job opened up, and I applied,” said MacIsaac.

MacIsaac praised Irving on leadership in Wayland, noting the department received in 2015 a state certification from the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission. 

“Achieving Certification is no easy task, and it’s a tribute the Wayland police personnel and their command staff. I also like that the public safety, police, and fire, operate out of a building that was constructed in 2003,” he said.

A lifelong resident – who has lived all but two years in Belmont – MacIsaac joined the Belmont Police in 1999 and was appointed Belmont’s assistant chief in July 2012.

“I have been fortunate to have Chief [Richard] McLaughlin as a mentor as I do not think I have met a person with as much dedication, integrity, and empathy as Chief McLaughlin,” said MacIsaac.

While achieving a chief’s appointment is a milestone for those in law enforcement, MacIsaac said it is bittersweet leaving a position in his hometown’s police department.

“I can easily say that this has been one of, if not the most, difficult decision I have ever made. I truly enjoy working and living in Belmont. My experiences in Belmont have helped to make me a better person and better police officer. I have benefited immensely from growing up, living and working in Belmont and I will always be grateful to the residents, fellow police officers and town employees who have helped me along the way,” he said.  

MacIsaac – known by his friends as ‘Jamie’ – grew up on Grant Avenue with his parents and five brothers and sisters, graduating from Belmont High School in 1985. He and his wife, Joanne, have raised their three children in Belmont. 

He also founded in 2015 the Belmont Junior Marauders, successfully reviving the football program for 7th and 8th graders at the Chenery Middle School. MacIsaac was also an assistant football coach at Belmont High School for several years.

MacIsaac earned his bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Massachusetts Boston in 1990, and his master’s from Western New England College in 2000. MacIsaac also graduated from the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy, in Quantico, Va. in 2009.

MacIsaac is heading to a town of half the population of Belmont, about 13,400, that according to the website Neighborhood Scout (using FBI statistics) was the safest community in the state in 2015 with a mere seven total crimes including one violent assault. In comparison, Belmont had 162 total crimes in 2015. Recently, the most newsworthy event involving the police was a bear wandering through the town back in June. 

Planning Board Accused of Violating Open Meeting Law In Day School Case

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Photo: Members of the Belmont Planning Board in June.

The town of Belmont has received a formal complaint from a resident who alleges the town’s Planning Board violated the state’s Open Meeting Law during the design and site plan review of a new building and roadway proposed by the Belmont Day School.

Tim Duncan, who lives across Concord Avenue from a proposed road leading into the private school, filed the complaint with the Town’s Clerk alleging the Board employed small “working groups” to supersede critical discussion that he believed should have been held during the public hearing process.

“[W]e need to make sure the rights of citizens to open, fair and transparent government are protected and respected,” said Duncan, an attorney who filed the complaint on Friday, Aug. 11, three days before what was expected to be the Aug. 14 meeting which the Planning Board was prepared to make its final ruling on the Day School’s proposal.

“The Planning Board’s actions were intentional,” he stated in his complaint to the state, saying residents and groups “with separate and equal interests” were “completely excluded” from participating in the three working groups between the Planning Board and the Day School. 

While he has taken his complaint to the town, Duncan is threatening to file with the Massachusetts Attorney General if the Planning Board does not “do the right thing and go back as necessary to address the problems and issues created by the working group meetings.”

If the Planning Board decides without having “properly” addressed the issues, Duncan will ask the state to annul the board’s decision as provided by the Open Meeting Laws.” 

The result: “That would likely mean that the entire site plan review process begin anew if the school still wanted to pursue its plan. It would also likely leave the parties in limbo until the Attorney General’s office makes its decision –  which could take some time,” he said.

The board has 14 business days to respond to the substance of the complaint.

In April, the private K-8 school brought to the town plans to build a 25,000 sq.-ft. Gymnasium and classroom space dubbed “The Barn” and a driveway/road running from Concord Avenue to the school, traveling adjacent to the town’s Highland Meadow Cemetery.

“It’s every bit as essential on the local level as it is in Washington and no person or organization should be able [to] maneuver or dance around the rules,” said Duncan, who has lived at 699 Concord Ave. for the past seven years.

Decision on Aug. 31

The Aug. 14  Planning Board continued the meeting to Thursday, Aug. 31 at 7 p.m. at the Beech Street Center.

“I felt it was prudent under consultation with [Town Counsel] George Hall and [Senior Town Planner] Jeffrey [Wheeler] to continue the substantive Belmont Day School meeting until we address the open meeting complaint,” said acting Planning Board Chair Barbara Fiacco at an abbreviated meeting Monday at the Beech Street Center.

Fiacco said the board would respond to the claim at the beginning of the Aug. 31 meeting before moving to the public meeting.

The complaint comes as the Planning Board was wrapping up its four-month long review of the project which many abutters and neighbors are highly critical, focusing their objection on the roadway which will create a second entry to the school. Complaints include safety concerns and gridlock worries caused by the one-way driveway, while supporters and those who own burial plots in the cemetery 

A staple of many governmental boards and committees in Belmont, a working group is a small appointed ad hoc group made up of a representative of the town body and the applicant to study a particular question. In most cases, the issue is quite specific; working groups in the Day School application focused on the landscape between the roadway and the cemetery and the construction and upkeep of the road. Once completed, the issue is brought back before the entire board for discussion.

Work Group: Efficient or In The Dark

In past conversations, representatives from town governing boards told the Belmontonian working groups allows subject-matter experts to “get into the weeds” on issues. In the landscaping working group, the board’s Karl Haglund who has a masters degree in landscape architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design met with the Day School’s landscape designer to discuss in detail what is needed to create a natural barrier that would satisfy the demands of the board.

While the working group allows for an efficient resolution to sometimes small issues between the two parties, the question of openness has been brought up in the past. In most cases, the working group is made up of only one or two governmental officials, which is less than a quorum which is the minimum number of members that must be present at any of meeting to make the proceedings of that meeting valid.

Also, while working groups are open to the public, many are not included in the public meeting calendar.

In Duncan’s view, the working groups created to discuss Day School issues violated the state’s Open Meeting Law (MGL 30A) because there were no public notice or any official minutes and, Duncan alleges, “the group meetings were not open to the public except for specific individuals who were invited … by the Applicant.”

“What I found most disturbing and problematic about the use of the working groups was that the time and locations of the meetings were not disclosed, and the public and other town officials were forbidden to attend these meetings, while Belmont Day School was apparently welcome to secretly  invite whomever they pleased,” he wrote to the Belmontonian.

In his complaint, Duncan said the closed nature of the proceedings allowed the board member in the working groups to “strongly influence the [Planning Board] in its thinking and direction” which defeats the idea of the group making the decision.

Also, Duncan also notes that quorum requirements were not met in any of the working group deliberations. He pointed to the AG’s Open Meeting Law Guide which he alleges views all working groups as “a separate Public Body” that must adhere to state law which requires open meetings and quorums. 

‘There are a very small number of very limited exceptions to the requirement that all meetings be open to the public and procedures that must be followed before a public body can close the door on citizens and I don’t see any indication that these were met or even considered,” said Duncan.

In Duncan’s view, the Day School proposal which impacts not only neighbors and abutters but also a town asset, the new cemetery, “[t]he Planning Board can’t and doesn’t have the resources to perform their designated role while also advocating and negotiating on behalf of the town on these matters.”

“It’s essential that the town designate other officials to work with town counsel and negotiate the matters separately with Belmont Day School, provide information to the Planning Board to inform the board’s decisions and take action as necessary to protect the town’s and residents’ interests,” he said.

After Violent Weekend, Belmont Stands with Charlottesville

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Photo: Belmont Stands in Solidarity with Charlottesville event Monday, Aug.14

In the growing dusk of Monday evening, Belmont residents came together to light the way back from fear towards hope.

After a weekend of violence and death in Charlottesville, Virginia that shook the nation and on the night a 17-year-old suspect vandalized a glass panel of the Boston Holocaust Memorial, more than 200 residents came to the front lawn of the First Church Belmont at Concord and Common on Monday, Aug. 14 to raise their voices in prayer and song to start a collective healing and understanding.

“Belmont is a safe and welcoming community, and its citizens stand in solidarity against injustice and hate,” said Donna Ruvolo, founder of The Stand-up Campaign which organized the town meeting “Belmont Stands in Solidarity with Charlottesville” in less than a day with the assistance from Belmont Against Racism, the Belmont Religious Council, the town’s Human Rights Commission and the Belmont Police.

“That’s our town. That is who we are,” she told the gathering.

Ruvolo said the disturbing images from Virginia where an organized force of alt-right and white supremacist clashed with counter protesters after a decision by the city to remove the statue of Confederate Gen Robert E. Lee from a park in the center of the city. 

“The events from this past weekend were so disturbing to me and everybody in Belmont,” said Ruvolo. 

“We needed to connect and felt that in a very short time we could get the word out and bring people together in solidarity with Charlottesville,” she said, noting that while Stand up seeks out proactive events – its first action was Hands Around The Pond this past December  – “it was imperative that we took a stand on this one.”

After a poem was read by Wellington 4th grader Hazel Donner and a musical solo from clarinetist Marguerite Levin, Rabbi Jonathan Kraus of Beth El Temple Center spoke on how to respond when confronted by the “darker side of our humanity” present over the past few days.

Krause said people should remember the wise words of those who had faced “tests of faith, humanity and hope,’ such as Martin Luther King who said ‘Hate can not drive out hate, only love can do that.’ When confronted by those who are “yelling, ugly hateful words,” one must “keep your humanity while others have abandoned theirs.” 

“Believing the world can be better, that we can be better, to look with compassion, to open our eyes to the ugly, often disturbing face of fear and anger and somehow not turn away, but instead with compassion, give a piece of ourselves,” said Krause.

While scary to do so, “it’s also a measure of courage, patience and, yes, faith. The faith of keep showing up to light a candle in the darkness.” 

The night’s event ended with Carolyn Howard of First Belmont’s choir leading everyone in stanzas of the civil rights anthem, “We Shall Overcome.”

Ruvolo said the outpouring of support from those at the event and from those who could not attend was “overwhelming.”

“To see this number of people was outstanding,” pointing out the diversity of the crowd, “from those with differing religious backgrounds, cultural and ethnic background, different ages from people who brought babies to our seniors,” she said. 

“It’s a testament to who we are in Belmont that there was this outpouring of support to stand against hate and violence.”

Light Board Cuts Ties With Belmont Light GM, Will Not Renew Contract

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Photo: Jim Palmer before the Light Board.

The Belmont Light Board announced Monday, July 31, that it would not extend an offer for a new contract to Belmont Light General Manager Jim Palmer. 

The decision by the three member board – the Light Board is made up of the Board of Selectmen – was made after an hour-long executive session. 

“The parties have reached a mutual understanding that the general manager’s contract will not be renewed,’ said Board Chair Jim Williams reading from a statement. A severance agreement and a possible part in the transition to find a new general manager was provided to Palmer.

The decision came two weeks after a contentious meeting between the board and Palmer during the general manager’s performance review which revealed a growing chasm between Palmer and other department heads in town. 

“It was time for a change,” Board member Mark Paolillo told the Belmontonian. “It was the right breaking point with the contract up and the substation complete.” 

“We need a general manager that is willing to work with the town and collaborate with department heads and because of that change was necessary,” he said.

An emotional Palmer told the board that he took over the general manager’s position seven years ago, Belmont Light “was in turmoil” and he accepted the job to protect his fellow workers. “I wasn’t taking the job for me but for the employees,” he said.

Palmer was the Light Department’s director of operation when in October 2010 he took over for Tim Richardson who was pressured to resign after irregularities in the department.

“Everything I’ve done has been being to the betterment of the town of Belmont” and that Belmont Light is now “like a jewel and you don’t want to lose it.” He recalled the construction of the new Blair Pond substation which will meet the town’s electrical needs for nearly 40 years as “the pinnacle” of his time as manager but the “stress of that project probably led to my demise, and that’s fine. I’m OK with that.” 

After the brief meeting, Palmer told the Belmontonian that the department had a lot of positive accomplishments in the nearly seven years since he was named interim manager, including the difficulties of building and then selling the new substation. Palmer reiterated that the stress of the work did create problems with others official in town, “at the end of the day, there is only so much you can do.” 

“You can’t dance with everybody,” said Palmer.

“I did the best I could do but … people want a fresh start,” he said. “And if you want a fresh start, you replace the top executive. It happens all the time in business. That’s what it is.” 

Palmer said all his memories in Belmont had been good ones, and it has been a “learning experience. And I’m going to take what I’ve learned with me and applying it where ever I may end up.”