Town Meeting Overwhelmingly OKs ‘Welcoming Town’ Article

May 11, 2017 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: Michael Chesson.

On Monday, May 8, Michael Chesson came to the microphone at the annual Belmont Town Meeting to speak his mind on the contentious proposal to create a “Welcoming Town” for residents with questionable immigration status.

He finished to a standing ovation after expressing the heartfelt sentiment of many of his neighbors seeking to embrace those wanting to make the “Town of Homes” a place all can live without fear of apprehension.

The Whitcomb Street homeowner who served 35 years in the Navy – advancing from recruit to captain – said during his military tenure, he served with Americans of all races, genders and sexual orientation.

“We always came together as a team. Worked hard and played just as hard. We venerated the same flag as we pledged allegiance to tonight,” said the UMass-Boston instructor who wore a NAVY varsity jacket with patches from a lifetime of assignments.

“That flag is not a banner of exclusion; it is a proud symbol of enduring virtues and a reminder of us all of the sacrifice,” said the 29-year town resident.

“If Belmont becomes a “Welcoming Community,” I’ll wear that on my sleeve,” he said.

By the end of the night, Chesson joined 197 Town Meeting members voting 198-59 to declare their hometown as a welcoming Town,” voting nearly four to one to approve a non-binding article restating current Police Department practices of not asking the immigration status of a person or resident they encounter.

Belmont joined Arlington’s Town Meeting – which approved its “Welcoming Town” article Monday night – as the latest communities to pass measures reaffirming residents’ wishes to support all residents regardless of their national origin.

Belmont’s vote counters recent actions by bodies which either rejected both sanctuary-like legislation and welcoming designations – Hull (Mass) Town Meeting – or requiring state and municipal police to inquire a person’s legal status during routine stops as was approved in Texas.

The article was one of the most controversial non-budgetary articles in recent Town Meeting memory. Opponents of the measure paid for robocalls denouncing the article as wrongheaded and potentially a financial drain and distributed stickers stating “No on 10.” Article 10 supporters and those in opposition rallied outside Belmont High School with signs in hand before Monday’s meeting.

Inside the auditorium, Belmont Moderator Michael Widmer asked despite the “strong feelings on both sides” that “we air our differences in a respectful and dignified fashion.”After presenting her article to the members, Mahon thanked the Belmont Police command staff for helping to craft the article which was complete with “complicated issues and [its] input and assistance was critical.”

After presenting her article to the members – the complete article is at the bottom of the page – Mahon thanked the Belmont Police command staff for helping to craft the article which she noted does not make Belmont a “sanctuary city.”

“We at Town Meeting are often asked to weigh on matters which we do not have specific jurisdiction,” said Mahon.

“The goal of this resolution is to voice Town Meeting’s support for the continuation of the Belmont Police Department practices …, so residents feel safe approaching Belmont Police without fear they will be detained or questioned about their status,” she said.

The fear that Belmont Police will seek the status of any residents will likely prevent those individuals or families from reporting crimes such as domestic violence, which Mahon’s co-presenter Paul Roberts, Precinct 8, said: “makes us all less safe.”

“Belmont is a safe community in part due to the heroic effort of our police officers. But it is also safe because we work alongside our police to keep the community safe” which include native residents, green card holders “and, yes, undocumented residents,” said Mahon.

Mahon said the article reaffirms the values of a cohesive community “that welcomes and accepts without prejudice those of all races, religions, and nationalities.”

During the subsequent debate, many residents gave personal insight why the declaration was necessary for Town Meeting to pass.

Mark Carthy, Pct. 1, “and an immigrant,” said regardless of anti-bias laws, there is “discrimination out there” and resolutions such as the welcoming article “is to make sure people’s behaviors goes beyond the laws we have.”

Mike Crowley, Pct. 8, whose ancestors who arrived in America 350 years ago “were certainly illegal” said the diversity of national origin of residents and businesses just in his precinct is broad and varied. “I am not in the position of adjudicating what their immigration status are. I’m in the business of treating them as a neighbor.”

Marty Cohen, Pct. 3, said when he arrived in Belmont half a century ago, “there was a certain amount of antisemitism” but it has changed for the better so that the town is a welcoming community “and we should say that with pride unless we are too modest to say so.”

The proposal’s opponents expressed their concerns, focusing on the “slippery slope” which the article will lead to increasing demands on police procedures to impede federal immigration efforts.

Tomi Olson, Pct. 5, said the town is already a welcoming town as noted by numerous proclamations and statements by town official and committees. The article presumes that “the town and Belmont Police are … in need of being told how to be welcoming to immigrants.”

Olson noted many negative statements directed towards the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency remain in the article despite an attempt to include language from Belmont Police to “nullify” Mahon.

“Town officials with businesses and residents have told me that they fear to oppose this article because they fear retribution, being demonized and being called ugly names,” said Olson, who called the article “a Trojan horse” that will eventually lead to sanctuary city status.

Both Selectman Mark Paolillo and Belmont Police Chief McLaughlin reiterated the article would unalter current law enforcement practices.

It was Chesson, whose direct narrative captivated the 300 members and residents in the auditorium.

While admitting the non-binding measure is a symbol, a “feel good” measure “like my new puppies or the children on Whitcomb,” Chesson said Article 10 makes explicit statements on “who we are and what we believe. It lays down a marker; It proclaims community values.”

Belmont can not wall itself off from so-called high crime cities like Boston, Somerville or even Watertown. Defeating Article 10 will not make us safer, he said. Passing it will not mean immigrants will be flocking to Belmont; “they can’t afford it.”

Volunteering at a food pantry in Chelsea, he comes across “many good people in that immigrant community, just like those immigrants who worked on the farms in Belmont;” the town’s prosperity until the first part of the past century “relied on immigrant labor,” said Chesson.

“Town meeting members ancestors fought the Alien and Sedition Acts or struggled to find jobs with INNA [Irish Need Not Apply] signs everywhere, who resisted the Fugitive Slave Law or endured anti-Italian slurs, survived the Armenian genocide or the Nazi Holocaust. And went through two Red scares after two World Wars.”

“Like them, we should stand for what’s best, the good in all of us.” said Chesson, who received a standing ovation from a good portion of Town Meeting.

After the vote – he was surrounded by admirers in the school’s hallway – Chesson told the Belmontonian said while he is “basically a curmudgeon, I have a tremendous response for underdogs” such as people who will travel thousands of miles so that they can work hard and make a living.

“When frightened, desperate people are being persecuted or chased; I have to respond. Yes, they may have broken the law to come here, but a lot of rich people break the law on Wall Street and Washington. Why single out the desperate ones? We can do better than that.”

ARTICLE 10: WELCOMING TOWN DESIGNATION

MOVED: That the Town adopts the following resolution:

1. Whereas, Historically Belmont has welcomed immigrants from many regions around the world, including the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America; and

2. Whereas, Immigrants have enriched the fabric of this community, adding new life and great potential to Belmont; and

3. Whereas, Assumptions made about a person’s legal status in the United States that are based on the person’s religion, ethnicity, or national origin, and discrimination, harassment, or bullying of people based on those assumptions, have no place in our community.

4. Whereas, National policies that discriminate against immigrants because of religion or country of origin run counter to our values; and

5. Whereas, In some communities, local law enforcement agencies are used to collect and deliver immigration status data to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”); and

6. Whereas, ICE may issue voluntary information or detainer requests that could subject individuals who are in local custody to prolonged detention; and

7. Whereas, It is believed in some communities that when local law enforcement officials indiscriminately comply with all ICE civil immigration information and detainer requests, including those that target non-criminal undocumented residents, public trust is eroded, immigrants are less likely to cooperate with local law enforcement and are less likely to report serious crimes, thus making the work of local law enforcement more difficult to address serious crimes; and

8. Whereas, The Belmont Police Department will continue its long-held practice of not asking any individual about immigration status when that individual is seeking help from the police or is stopped for a minor infraction, and will provide assistance and protection to any member of the public without regard to immigration status; and

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED: 1) The Belmont Town Meeting hereby expresses our solidarity with displaced persons and migrants from around the world.

around the world. Motions for 2017 Belmont Annual Town Meeting Page 2 of 2

2) The Belmont Town meeting affirms its support for these Belmont Police Department practices:

(a) Belmont Police officers will not detain persons solely to investigate their immigration status;

(b) Belmont Police officers will not inquire into the immigration status of persons seeking help from the police unless the information is relevant to prosecuting the reported crime or for the person’s protection;

(c) The Belmont Police Department will not keep an index or list of persons suspected of being aliens or deportable aliens;

(d) The Belmont Police Department will not seek to have any officer receive a delegation of the powers of an immigration officer ;

(e) The Belmont Police Department will cooperate with federal, state, and local criminal and civil investigative agencies in the accomplishment of their lawful objectives by providing such information as the Police Department maintains;

(f) Upon the presentation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement of a detainer and an administrative warrant for the detention of a person arrested by Belmont Police Department in the course of enforcing state and local laws and currently in custody, the Belmont Police Department will maintain custody of the person for sufficient time to bring to the attention of the court officials responsible for decisions upon bail. (The Belmont Police Department will continue this practice until such time as a court with authority over the Belmont Police Department finds the practice to be contrary to law.); and

(g) The Belmont Police Department will continue to investigate reports of hate crimes, criminal discrimination, and criminal harassment of persons based upon their religion, ethnicity, or national origin without regard to the person’s known or suspected unlawful status within the United States.

(Majority vote)

REPORTING: Anne Mahon, Precinct 4, Petitioner

BREAKING: Dash Wins Big In Selectmen’s Race, Incumbents Retain Trustee Seats

April 4, 2017 By Franklin B. Tucker 1 Comment

Photo: Adam Dash in front of Precinct 8

Warrant Committee Vice Chair Adam Dash defeated Woodfall Road’s Guy Carbone by nearly a two to one margin as the Goden Street resident wins the contested race for a seat on the Belmont Board of Selectmen in results from the Belmont annual Town Election held in rainy conditions, Tuesday, April 4.

Known for his expertise in zoning and financial matters along with his fashionable fedoras, Dash received 3,125 votes to Carbone’s 1,808 from Belmont’s eight precincts.

In the other contested town-wide race, incumbents Kathleen Keohane and Gail Mann will return to the Board of Library Trustees, defeating the challenge of first-time candidate David Stievater, as both women nearly doubled the number of votes received by Stievater.

Despite the wet conditions, approximately 28 percent of registered voters cast ballots.

More to come.

Belmont Dispatcher’s Heroic Act on Tragic Day In Watertown

March 19, 2017 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: The scene of the fire. (Courtesy Watertown News)

Dave Jones should have been the good news story on a tragic St. Patrick’s Day.

The long-serving Belmont Police dispatcher was off-duty as he and his wife were heading to Donohue’s in Watertown to listen to Irish music on Friday morning, March 14. As the couple of two young boys were on Bigelow Avenue, Jones spotted a house on Merrifield Avenue with heavy smoke and fire coming from the building’s second floor.

“We were just traveling through. Just being in the right place at the right time,” Jones told the Belmontonian on Friday night as he began his shift at Belmont Police Headquarters.

Pulling over to the side of the road, Jones – whose father was a firefighter – jumped out and followed a Watertown Police officer who had just arrived into the burning structure.

Inside the house, Jones found an elderly resident who he brought out of the structure.

In his two-plus decades in public safety, “that’s the closest I have ever been to being a firefighter,” said Jones, who is a familiar figure at Belmont High football games as one of the members of the chain crew.

But should have been a story of selfless heroism by Jones and the Watertown police officer instead became on of the tragic death of Watertown firefighter Joseph Toscano who died of a heart attack battling the two-alarm blaze.

“Rather than me, what everyone has to remember, an old [man] lost a house and the loss of a firefighter,” said Jones, who last week celebrated his 21st year as a dispatcher, the same length of service as Toscano, a father of five from Randolph.

“It didn’t turn out to be the sort of story we all would want it to be,” said Jones.

Snow Shut Down: Town, School Closed Tuesday; Parking Ban Begins 5PM Tuesday

March 13, 2017 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: It’ll be snowy in Belmont Tuesday.

Like you didn’t see this coming.

With the season’s biggest Nor’easter on the doorstep, Belmont – along with most of the state – is battening down in preparation for more than a foot and a half of snow on Tuesday, March 14.

Belmont’s public schools, town buildings and the Belmont Public Library will be closed as will the Belmont Public Library.
The Benton Library will be closed; Pre-School Story Time will not meet.
The storm is expected to be so severe that the Department of Public Works has canceled trash and recycling pick up.
The Belmont Police has already issued a snow emergency parking ban beginning at 5 p.m., Tuesday and lasting until further notice. The town will tow vehicles parked on roadways and in municipal and school parking lots after the ban is in effect.
In addition to the town closing shop, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker is urging residents to avoid driving Tuesday and take public transportation if possible.
The MBTA is expecting to run a regular weekday schedule, but travelers should check with the authority’s severe weather web page throughout the day.

If you have any questions, call the Belmont snow emergency hotline at 617-993-2698.

Three-Alarm Fire Severely Damages Two-Family on Grove [VIDEO]

February 27, 2017 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: The house at 50-52 Grove St. that suffered severe damage in a fire, Sunday night, Feb. 26.

A late night house fire that spread quickly from the basement to the ceiling severely damaged a two-family at the corner of Grove Street and Unity Avenue on Sunday, Feb. 26.

“Everybody got out safe,” said Belmont Fire Chief David Frizzell at the scene of the fire located at 50-52 Grove St.

Frizzell said a resident called 911 to report a fire in the basement of the circa 1900 rental property just after 10 p.m. When fire equipment arrived minutes after the call, the flames had shot up to the attic via the pipe chase which is a vertical space enclosed by a false wall for the purpose of hiding pipes.

As firefighters were removing ceilings and walls to hunt out any hidden fires, one of the occupants of the building stood looking in the company of a friend.

The structure, which housed a pair of five room, two bed and a bath rental units, suffered from water and smoke damage as well as flame damage to the chase.

Firefighters battled the flames and thick smoke, using Cambridge Fire Department’s ladder truck to reach the second floor.

Crews from Arlington, Waltham and Cambridge were at the scene assisting Belmont with Winchester and Somerville equipment staffing Belmont’s fire stations, said Frizzell.

Traffic along the busy roadway that borders Cambridge was halted and detoured onto local streets for several hours.

Library Feasibility Group Backs New $23M Building, Sooner Than Later

February 18, 2017 By Franklin B. Tucker 2 Comments

Photo: The feasibility committee voting on Thursday, Feb. 16.

After months of meetings and public comments, the Belmont Library Feasibility Committee unanimously recommended a new building option to replace the existing half-century old structure on Concord Avenue at a meeting of the Belmont Board of Library Trustees on Thursday night, Feb. 16.

“I am very appreciative of all the hard work from the committee,” said Kathleen Keohane, the Chair of the Belmont Board of Library Trustees and a member of the committee.

“We had a diverse group that represented different constituents in the community, and I think it been a very effective team,” she said.

Designed by architect Stewart Roberts, the new building – which would be constructed on the present library site adjacent the Underwood Pool – is projected to cost $23.4 million if construction began in 2019. According to Library Director and Feasibility member Peter Struzziero, each year delay will cost an additional $900,000 in building costs due to inflation.

From above: a new library for Belmont.

“We are eager to move forward as quickly as we can and a prudently as possible with the support of the community,” said Keohane.

But according to one member, it might be years before the town can take up the library for funding.

“I’m gonna be a skunk at the dinner party to some extent because the handwriting is on the wall that this building is not going to move forward in the next few years,” said Committee member Jennifer Fallon.

What will put the brakes on moving quickly on the project is the looming presence of a new Belmont High School project which will require the town to ask taxpayers to pass a debt exclusion of between $100 million to $160 million in the next two years.

Fallon, who represents the financial watchdog Warrant Committee on the Feasibility Committee, added the town has to renovate or construct new structures for the Police and Department of Public Works, each estimated in the $20-$30 million range. The Capital Budget Committee, which manages large municipal purchases and construction projects, is in the midst of prioritizing the building projects.

What could help move the library forward, said Fallon, is an active attempt at private fundraising to make a significant dent in the $23 million price tags. She also suggested the Trustees apply for state money through the Massachusetts Public Library Construction Program which the town twice previously participated.

(Each time the town sent back millions of dollars of state aid when the Trustees could not obtain public or governmental support for much larger projects.)

And the Board of Trustees has been listening to Fallon’s helpful critique.

“How to fund the project is a fair question, and it has been a concern of the group given the demands of the town,” said Keohane.

“We will be exploring every funding avenue,” said Keohane, noting the trustees will be moving forwards with a capital fundraising program that will target businesses, individual and others.

One place the Trustees will not be heading is back to the state. Despite the offer of paying for about a third of the construction costs, Struzziero said state aid requires the community to accept the Public Library Construction Program’s size requirements and final cost estimates, both which would likely be much more than the committee’s approved option.

“Our plan was created after discussions with the public with what they said was important to them and the town,” said Struzziero.

It is now up to the Library Trustees to decide whether to ask the Belmont Board of Selectmen to create a building committee to move the project forward.

The 12-member committee – co-chaired by Nancy Dignan and Elaine Alligood – endorsed a new 39,000 sq.-ft. building over renovating the current location for $16 million or adding an addition to the existing structure priced at $24.6 million

The approved proposal will provide the square footage to meet all the library programs – a children’s section, space for technology, sitting space, administration offices to name just a few – required by a busy suburban library; Belmont is the fifth most active of the state’s 370 public libraries.

It was also the most efficient in energy usage, meets current parking needs and will be the most cost effective to operate.

The committee held three community meetings before nearly 180 residents and collected the responses of more than 200 patrons who took an on-line survey. The committee found the public sought more space for working and for a children’s library and a bigger, working elevator.

An online “tour” of the three options and how the committee came to its conclusion can be found here.

Town Election ’17: Contested Races for Selectmen, Library Trustees

February 14, 2017 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: Town Clerk’s Office.

Belmont voters will have two contested races to decide at the annual Town Election on April 4, according to the Town Clerk’s office today, Tuesday, Feb. 14.

Hillcrest Road’s Guy Carbone and Adam Dash of Goden Street will vie for the one available seat on the Board of Selectmen while a pair of incumbents – Kathleen Keohane and Gail Mann – are challenged by newcomer David Stievater for the two open slots on the Trustees of the Public Library.

The deadline for submitting completed nomination papers was Tuesday at 5 p.m.

What appeared ready to be a competitive contest in April fizzled as the School Committee will in all likelihood welcome Kate Bowen as its newest member as the Barlett Avenue homeowner joined incumbent Tom Caputo as the two residents certified by the Town Clerk’s Office for the pair of open seats.

In the end, current School Committee member Elyse Shuster and the Zoning Board of Appeals Nicholas Iannuzzi did not return the nomination papers they had taken out.

In addition to the above races, the remainder of residents running unopposed for town-wide office include:

Michael Widmer for Town Meeting Moderator (one year)
Floyd Carman for Town Treasurer (three years)
Robert Reardon for Board of Assessors (three years)
Alexander Corbett III for Board of Cemetery Comm. (three years)
Donna David for Board of Health (three years)
Corinne McCue Olmsted for a one-year seat on the Library Trustees.

Proposed ’18 Town Budget Tops $110 Million, Up 3.6%

February 14, 2017 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: David Kale, Belmont Town Administrator

Belmont’s next budget will see healthy increases in both the town and schools with some hopeful news on “stretching out” the monies that came from the 2015 Proposition 2 1/2 override.

The proposed fiscal 2018 town-wide budget – which begins on July 1, 2017 – is pegged at $110,210,440, an increase of $3.9 million or 3.6 percent, according to outgoing Town Administrator David Kale who presented the budget before a joint meeting of the Board of Selectmen, School and Warrant committees at Town Hall on Monday, Feb. 13.

The presentation consisted of the first preliminary outline – albeit a relatively detailed blueprint – of the town’s financial balance sheet which will be voted on at the annual Town Meeting in June.

When asked by Selectman Jim Williams how complete an outline was before them, Kale affirmed it was more than “90 percent” complete, noting that changes will be coming to the town’s revenue line items. He pointed to state aid to cities and towns coming from Beacon Hill will not be finalized until later in the spring. Kale said it is likely that Belmont will see a small increase in the $600,000 forecast heading to Belmont from the State House.

The biggest component of the budget is, as it is every year, the public schools which will come in at $53.1 million, an increase of $3.1 million from 2017, a 6.0 percent jump. According to Belmont Superintendent John Phelan, the jump in costs are directly related to the continued unprecedented increase in students enrolling in Belmont schools.

Phelan said annually 100 students are entering the Belmont system straining the district with the number of pupils in classrooms, the need for more teachers and staff as well as requiring the district to purchase a second set of modular classrooms in the coming year just to keep pace.

Expenses from the “town” side of the budget – town services and public safety – will see a 4.2 percent increase (approximately $1.6 million) from 2017 to $38.4 million.

Fixed costs – debt payments, retirement assessments, road repair – which makes up 16 percent of the total budget will see an increase of $600,000 to $17.2 million.

On the revenue side, Kale said 90 cents of every dollar coming into the town’s coffers were from real estate and property taxes ($88.5 million, 80 percent) and state aid from the State House ($10 million, 9 percent). Total property taxes will see an increase of $3.2 million or 3.7 percent from 2017 figures.

Belmont is expecting to see in fiscal 2018 a boost in other revenue sources including $200,000 in meals, motor vehicle, and payments instead of taxes and another $200,000 in local receipts.

Kale, who is leaving for a position at the City of Cambridge in March, noted that due to favorable increases in “new growth” and state aid, the town will only require $1.3 million from the General Stabilization Fund, the $4.5 million in additional funds approved in a Prop 2 1/2 override in April 2015, to balance the budget.

Kale said through belt-tightening and a jump in revenue; budget planners were able to cut nearly in half the original $2.2 million they scheduled to take from the line item. He said that figure could be reduced further if added revenues come to Belmont.

By reducing its reliance on the stabilization fund this year, Kale said the town could rely on it for more than the three years it was originally slated to last.

Group Seeking ‘Sanctuary Town’ Status For Belmont

February 6, 2017 By Franklin B. Tucker 14 Comments

Photo: Anne Mahon speaking before the Belmont Democratic Town Committee

A group of politically progressive Belmont residents is pushing forward with a citizen’s petition designating Belmont a “sanctuary” community to be voted on at the annual Town Meeting in May.

“We’re not doing this to wave a flag and make ourselves feel warm inside. There are people that are really afraid,” said Anne Mahon, chair of the Belmont Democratic Town Committee who presented the plan before two dozen members at its monthly meeting on Thursday, Feb. 2 at Town Hall.

Mahon said the committee’s move is in response to a ban of travelers from seven majority Muslim nations and halting of the resettlement of Syrian refugees by President Trump.

“Belmont has residents with green cards and Visas because top scientists, doctors, and engineers are always being recruited from around the world to work at our universities and firms. They come here because we have one of the finest school systems as well as proximity to their job locations. We want our families to all feel safe here,” she said.

Mahon said supporters of the proposal expect an increase in deportations of not only undocumented immigrants but people in the country with a “green” card and student and work visas.

“We have local families that are afraid to visit a sick family member abroad for fear they will be denied access to their return,” she said.

“Imagine how horrible that would be … to have a job and a residence here, a dying parent abroad that they wish to comfort, but worry America won’t let you back in.”

A sanctuary community enacts laws placing limits on how much local police or town officials can cooperate with requests from federal authorities to hold immigrants in custody.

“There are people in Belmont we know who can’t leave the country because they don’t know if they can come back,” she said.

While most in attendance were approving of the measure, the Democrats want to see the petition sponsored by the town’s Human Rights Commission – as it was done in Arlington – to ensure a non-partisan debate at Town Meeting.

“This is a bipartisan issue. This is just neighbors looking out for neighbors,” she said.

Belmont would join neighboring communities Newton and Arlington which have started their efforts to secure sanctuary status. Boston, Cambridge, Somerville and Amherst have established policies limiting cooperation with federal immigration authority.

Mahon said Belmont would use language similar to Arlington’s proposal [see below] which would prevent town police from enforcing federal immigration laws or for them to ask the immigration status of people they meet.

So far, reaction to Arlington and Newton has been mixed. While the language is still being crafted, Arlington’s Board of Selectmen has placed the article into its annual Town Meeting set for April but have yet to vote on a recommendation. In Newton, Mayor Setti Warren is backing one of two ordinances, but he and supporters have seen considerable pushback from those who feel the measure would threaten to shortchange the town of federal funding.

Trump has threatened to take away federal grants from sanctuary communities if they do not help deport immigrants.

Mahon said an analysis by the town’s treasurer found the financial hit to Belmont if the administration bans federal funds would be minimal with the town receiving just about $50,000, mostly in affordable housing grants.

Arlington’s Sanctuary Town resolution

To see if the Town will resolve to become a Sanctuary Town, joining hundreds of municipalities nationwide, providing a safe haven and sanctuary for undocumented residents of our Town, and protecting all residents from hate and prejudice, provided, however that this resolution shall not prevent law enforcement from investigating, arresting or charging someone for a crime or other legal infraction, or take any other action related thereto.

Inserted at the request of the Human Rights Commission

ARTICLE RESOLUTION/SANCTUARY/TRUST ACT COMMUNITY

AND/OR

To see if the Town will vote to adopt a resolution that Arlington serve as a “Trust Act” Community (also known as a “sanctuary community”) to ensure that all immigrants can fully and safely participate in the civic and economic life of the Town by resolving to refrain from among other things: using Town resources for the purpose of gathering information regarding the citizenship, immigration status, ethnicity, national origin, religious affiliation for discriminatory purposes; engaging in or assisting in Immigration and Customs Enforcement in reporting, arresting, detaining deporting, or taking any other law enforcement action unsupported by separate and distinct warrants or probable cause from criminal conduct unrelated to immigration status; or take any action related thereto.

Comment: A number of simultaneous efforts by Town residents and bodies, including the Arlington Human Rights Commission have expressed great desire to establishing Arlington as a “Sanctuary Town” or “Trust Act” community. I am aware that this matter is separately on your agenda as the Arlington Human Rights Commission plans to present their version of a warrant article (the former above) as part of a wider discussion for your endorsement. If the Board is so inclined, there may be some distinctions between the ultimate Town Meeting motion pursued by like- minded efforts, but overall it is my recommendation that if either or both are pursued, they are presented as resolutions.

I also look forward to the opportunity to discuss some of the distinctions between Trust Act ordinances adopted by neighbors such as Boston and the town’s legislative options.

One Dead in Three-Alarm Fire at Trapelo Road Two Family [VIDEO]

January 23, 2017 By Franklin B. Tucker 1 Comment

Photo: Firefighters inspecting the house at 606-608 Trapelo Rd. where a man died in a fire.

An early morning three-alarm fire that gutted a two-story house on Trapelo Road killed a person, according to the Belmont Fire Department.

The 4 a.m. blaze at 606-608 Trapelo Rd. located at the corner of Agassiz Street just outside of Waverley Square took the life of a man who possibly lives there, according to Belmont Fire Chief David Frizzell.

“Tragically, fire deaths do occur due to preventable causes. Fire alarms do help, but they need to in the correct location and operating,” said Frizzell at the scene.

Fire units from Cambridge, Arlington, Waltham, Lexington, and Watertown assisted Belmont in fighting the blaze.

Frizzell said when fire units arrived at the scene, the attic and second floors were fully involved with flames coming out of the windows.

Initially, the building’s occupants reported that everyone had escaped the fire, but it was soon determined a person who reportedly resided on the top floor did not make it out.

After the flames had been knocked down, firefighters found the man’s body in the third floor/attic space.

Belmont Fire and Police are in the process of determining the man’s relationship to the building, said Frizzell.

Frizzell said it appeared the building had fire alarms, but it will have to determined later if they were functioning at the time of the fire. His department will also be investigating the cause of the fire as well as the relationship of the third-floor living space was to the second floor.

The 2,500 sq.-ft. structure built in 1913 included a fully finished attic, according to the Belmont Assessing Department.

Frizzell said the third floor was heavily damaged and there was significant water damage to the second and first floors.

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