Tennis, Someone? Community Preservation Ponders Need for Court Repairs

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Does Belmont have too many tennis courts?

And who plays on them, and when?

While pondering the supply and demand of the 24 courts in town (with 22 actually available to be played on), the town’s Community Preservation Committee appeared willing at its monthly meeting held Wednesday, Dec. 10 to conduct an extensive study not just to answer those questions.

Wednesday’s meeting was to update the committee and possibly cast votes on the seven grant application seeking funding from the town’s Community Preservation Act account.

They include:

  • Belmont Veterans Memorial Project: $150,000
  • Wellington Station exterior restoration and rehabilitation: $26,300
  • Electrical upgrade at units owned by the Belmont Housing Authority: $522,500
  • Winn Brook Tennis Courts: $295,000
  • Pequossette (PQ) Park Tennis Courts: $250,000
  • Digitization of historic Belmont newspapers from 1890 to 1983: $25,000
  • Rehabilitation and restoration of the 1853 Homer House: $100,000.

Approved by Belmont voters in November 2010, the Community Preservation Act fund is financed by a property tax surcharges and annual stipends from the state’s “Massachusetts Community Preservation Trust Fund.” The funds must be targeted towards recreation, historic preservation, affordable housing and open space. 

The tennis courts at the two locations – Winn Brook is adjacent to Winn Brook Elementary and Joey’s Park while PQ is behind the VFW building off Trapelo Road – were “patched up” about five years ago and, according to the recently retired Director of Public Works Peter Castanino, are ready to more extensive reconstruction.

“We are now in the sweet spot … where the courts have reached their useful life,” Belmont Town Administrator David Kale told the committee. The renovation projects were put forward by the Board of Selectmen.

With the money available and the timing optimum, Kale said “[w]e can be proactive to reconstruct the courts so they are available for the next 30 years.”

Yet CAC member Anthony Ferrante, the Recreation Commission appointee to the committee, didn’t believe the two locations are in such desperate condition for the committee (and town taxpayers) to spend $300,000 before more is known about the courts usage and popularity.

“The sense of urgency is not there,” said Ferrante. 

Kale noted that point of view is valid only if Ferrante assumes that future money will be available which in the current economic climate is a big “if.”

“Strike while the funds are available and … be ahead of the curve as we were with Harris Field and the Underwood Pool,” said Kale, referring to the $850,000 reconditioning of Belmont High Schools main field and the more than $2.2 million the committee spent on the new Underwood Pool complex.

Ferrante countered, saying the Underwood experience – in which a building committee was created to create a detailed building and financing program – would direct the CPC towards a comprehensive study before committing limited resources to a recreational facility that may or may not be used by sufficient number of residents.

“Let’s first take a look at all the tennis courts and come to a conclusion on how many are needed,” said Ferrante.

“My gut says PQ needs to be reconstructed but I need more than my gut saying this. Planning is not taking place,” he said.

While agreeing with the premise of a study, member Charles Clark said he would vote to approve funding to reconstruct the PQ courts since the nearby area has undergone renovation including the repair of Trapelo Road, the adjacent sidewalks and the construction of new housing. 

But for Farrante, the lack of any hard data – unlike the Town of Lexington which compiles numbers on activity with its online permit system – results in a vote  a vote based on conjecture.

“There is my opinion and your opinion but not a lot of facts for the decision,” said Farrante.

But even if the CPC decides to conduct a master plan of the tennis facilities in town, “I’ll bet you dollars to donuts that PQ will survive even if you reduced the number of courts from 24 to 16,” said Belmont Treasurer and CPC member Floyd Carman, noting the PQ court is the only town recreational site in the Waverley Square area.

While the consensus at the meeting was that PQ would be funded this year, Winn Brook’s court would be put under a study’s microscope along with the other courts in town including those at Grove Street Playground, the High School, and the Chenery Middle School.

Yet Farrante was still critical of the process of spending funds without a solid factual reason to do so.

“I’m opposed to spending money simply because of inertia,” said Farrante.

The CPC decided to wait until its next meeting in January before voting on recommending funding applications for Town Meeting approval in May 2015.

Belmont’s Rogers Named ‘River Friend’

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Photo: Massachusetts Rivers Alliance Executive Director Julia Blatt presents State Rep. Dave Rogers with River Friend Award. (photo by Mark P. Smith)

The Massachusetts Rivers Alliance recognized Belmont State Rep. Dave Rogers with a “River Friend” award for his outstanding contributions to the restoration and protection of the Commonwealth’s rivers during the alliance’s annual meeting in Belmont.

Although only in his first term, Rogers played a key role in allowing water reform rules to continue to move forward this year, despite opposition by some legislators. The new rules, developed by the Patrick administration over five years with the help of a large stakeholder group, will improve protection for dry rivers throughout the state.

“Rep. Rogers understood what was at stake and quickly jumped in to save this initiative,” said Julia Blatt, Massachusetts Rivers Alliance’s executive director.

“He knew just what to do, and didn’t hesitate to stand up for our rivers.  We are grateful to him for his quick action.”

Rogers was recognized along with his State House colleagues, state Rep. Carolyn Dykema and state Sen. Jamie Eldridge. Longtime Ipswich River advocate and Alliance founder Kerry Mackin, was also honored.

The Massachusetts Rivers Alliance is a nonprofit organization that protects and restores the Commonwealth’s rivers of and provides a unified voice for river protection in the state. Founded in 2007, the Alliance mobilizes and coordinates its members on issues including water pollution, stream flow, and wildlife habitat.

Belmont/Watertown Takeoff Noise Concerns Remain Up In The Air

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Photo: Adriana Poole (in foreground) speaking to State Rep. Dave Rogers, State Rep. Jonathan Hecht and Belmont CAC representative Myron Kassaraba at a community meeting on noise from departing jets from Logan Airport.

Adriana Poole knows first hand about oppressive government agencies.

Born and raised in Romania under the Stalinist regime of Nicolae Ceaușescu, the Louise Road resident recalls the total contempt the government had for its people.

Today, after living in the United States for decades, Poole thought her time with uncaring dictatorial authorities was at an end.

“I’m not saying this lightly, the [Federal Aviation Authority] to me is a pocket of totalitarianism … in the midst of the best democracy on earth,” said Poole as she spoke to elected officials, town representatives and citizens at a community meeting last week, Dec. 3, to discuss the increase in noise from aircraft departing Logan Airport.

Poole, who created the QuietBelmont Google forum group to provide a place to discuss and vent about the number and frequency of planes flying over Belmont and surrounding communities, said it was “troubling that no one seems to be addressing [the FAA which has] absolute power. That’s just not OK.”

According to Belmont’s rep on an overview group, it appears federal intervention, in addition to loud, community activism, is the only way to force the FAA’s hand on the issue.

Nearly one year to the day when it made its initial presentation to the town, the Belmont representative to the Logan Airport Community Advisory Committee was back before a joint meeting with their Watertown colleagues at Belmont Town Hall to update residents on the FAA’s new departure procedure and efforts to address the increased airplane noise from departing flights using Logan’s Runway 33 left.

At the meeting, Belmont CAC representative Myron Kassaraba used a detailed slide presentation that demonstrated that since June 2013, the FAA – which regulates and oversees all aspects of American civil aviation – implemented a new route for planes departing Logan. In the past, the routes out of Boston were much more random in their distribution with planes using a wide swath of air space.

With an eye towards safety and efficiency, the FAA deployed technology in June 2013 that now requires planes to move in much narrower paths as they head to the south and west. Unfortunately for residents, three of the four main air avenues fly directly over Belmont.

As a result, noise complaints to Massport, which runs Logan Airport in East Boston, have skyrocketed in the past year – from zero in Feb. 2013 to more than 250 in the same month in 2014, the most of any community in the region – as the sound of dozens of planes pass overhead “very concentrated population areas” throughout the day, said Kassaraba.

There have been some small victories for local communities to cheer, according to Kassaraba, including a trial that will last until January of varying the use of runways at Logan so that noise is not constant throughout the day but during the morning or evening. In addition, the airline industry is moving towards quieter, more fuel-efficient engines, which State Sen. Will Brownsberger said must be encouraged by the public and elected officials.

While Belmont residents are raising the concern of quality of life as well as related health concerns, the FAA is preparing a final study that could demonstrate that a greater number of communities in and around Boston are less effected by aircraft noise and they addressed other issues. Currently, the FAA is supporting its claim using what many see is an outdated noise model based on four decade old statistics.

Kassaraba said the CAC and elected officials have spoken to officials on Beacon Hill and with Massport CEO (and Belmont resident) Thomas Glynn on the noise concerns but “[t]his is really a federal issue so if there are any changes, it must be done in Washington [DC].”

“It will take an act of Congress” to change the flight patterns, said Kassaraba.

While admitting movement has been slow in approaching the FAA on issues impacting communities – it is hardly a single region concern as citizens in New York City, Chicago and Phoenix have recently complained of increased noise from aircraft – Jennifer McAndrew, a senior advisor to US Rep. Katherine Clark said she is an inaugural member of a new group of 25 representatives from communities impacted by airport and plane noise dubbed the Quiet Skies Caucus which was created in October to find solutions to noise barraging their constituents.

After sending a letter to Michael Huerta, the FAA’s administrator, Clark received a response in late November that indicated a willingness by the FAA to conduct a noise survey in the next year to determine if the current noise model is valid. 

In addition, the FAA’s reauthorization will be before Congress in 2015, an opportunity to push for greater responsiveness to citizens complaints, said McAndrew.

“These are small steps forward in a very long process,” she said.

In the meantime, residents should continue to file complaints via phone or online with the Massport noise complaint line, said Kassaraba.

Poole said that long lasting change to the current environment is to pressure federal and local officials to add language to the FAA’s mission statement that it must address any and all adverse impact they have on communities.

“To the FAA, I’m just collateral damage,” she said.

Lougee Will Not Seek Re-election to School Committee

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After three-and-a-half years, Anne Lougee has decided to end her service on the Belmont School Committee by not seeking a second term at Town Election in April 2015.

Lougee’s announcement will create a second open seat on the Committee in the coming election. Also on the ballot will be incumbent Lisa Fiore, who is seeking her first full three-year term after serving the unexpired time of Pascha Griffiths, who resigned in 2013.

Lougee decided not to pursue re-election after the evaluation and selection process in November to replace School Committee member Kevin Cunningham, who resigned in September.

“It’s hard to walk away from a group of wonderful colleagues but I was encouraged by the number of well-qualified candidates who came before the committee and selectmen last month for the position,” Lougee told the Belmontonian.

Thomas Caputo was selected from eight residents to replace Cunningham. His term ends at Town Election. Caputo can file to run for the remaining two years of Cunningham’s term, challenge Fiore for her seat or decide not to run.

At his appointment, Caputo said he would seek election to the board.

Fiore, a Lesley University faculty dean with children in district schools, was elected in 2014 to fill the one-year remaining on Griffiths’ term. She told the Belmontonian in September she would likely run for re-election in 2015.

Nomination papers are currently available at the Belmont Town Clerk’s office; the deadline for their return is 5 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2015.

Lougee, whose daughter is a 2011 Belmont High School graduate, was appointed to the committee in October 2011 to fill the remainder of the term held by Karen Parmett, who resigned. She won a full stint in the 2012 Town Election.

Lougee said the selection of Belmont Schools Superintendent John Phelan and promoted social/emotional learning throughout the district was two of her accomplishments serving on the committee.

In addition, Lougee emphasized from the time she was on PTOs that parents and officials must not take a myopic view of the town’s schools.

“You have to look at the whole system. It’s K through 12; you can’t separate it by school building or class,” said Lougee, a native midwesterner who came to Belmont in the 1980s and lives on Warwick Road with her husband, Roger Colton.

“You must know how it all works together for your child because they will be a graduate one day,” said Lougee.

In addition to the collegiality of the committee members, Lougee said she’ll also miss witnessing the growth of students in the classroom, in athletics and the arts.

“I love watching the kids test themselves and build their confidence,” she said.

State Names Belmont The Latest ‘Green’ Community

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(From left) Mark Sylvia, Undersecretary of Energy, Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs; David Kale, Belmont Town Administrator; Maeve Vallely-Bartlett, Secretary, Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs; State Rep. Dave Rogers; Andy Rojas, Chair, Board of Selectmen; Sami Baghdady, Vice-Chair, Board of Selectmen; Ian Todreas, Co-Chair, Belmont Energy Committee; Gerry Boyle, Belmont’s Director of Facilities, Meg Lusardi, Acting Commissioner, Department of Energy Resources. 

After being formally submitted to the Board of Selectmen this summer, Belmont was named by Gov. Deval Patrick as one the state’s latest Green Communities at a State House ceremony on Wednesday, Dec. 3.

Belmont was one of 13 municipalities named and is now eligible for grants up to $151,850 to encourage energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions and promote clean energy by the town.

As a designated Green Community, Belmont will be eligible to apply for future grants to fund local renewable power and energy saving projects.

“Collaboration has real power, particularly when we’re trying to do something new and innovative,” said Patrick.

Belmont became eligible to become a “green community” after meeting five criteria including

  • renewable energy-friendly zoning,
  • expedited permitting,
  • programs to reduce energy use by 20 percent within five years,
  • the purchase of fuel-efficient municipal vehicles, and
  • the an energy efficiency requirement – known as the “stretch” code – for new commercial/industrial construction, as well as residential construction of more than 3,000 sq.-ft. The Belmont Town Meeting adopted a “stretch code” in May 2011.

After expressing concerns of possible unintended financial consequences from being designated a green community, the Selectmen created a working group to review the proposal. As part of the application process, an energy audit by Marlborough-based Guardian Energy of all town buildings to review the lighting, water use, and windows was completed to create an energy reduction plan. The application was submitted to the state in October.

Next for the town is a more detailed analysis of municipal buildings and the costs associated with meeting the Green Communities goals. If the town does go to the next step and apply for grants, Guardian Energy will implement the required improvements.

Funded by a regional cap-and-trade program, more than $30 million have been paid out to city and towns since 2010. With the announcement, 136 of the state’s 351 communities have joined the program.

 

Feel Like Running? Nomination Papers Available Now for Town Office, Town Meeting

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Want a say in how Belmont is run? Here’s your chance: Belmont Town Clerk Ellen Cushman has announced that nomination papers for Town Meeting and Town-wide office are available to be picked up at the Clerk’s office on the first floor of Town Hall starting today, Friday, Dec. 5.

The deadlines to return nomination papers to the Town Clerk’s office is 5 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2015, said Cushman. 

The Town Election will take place on Tuesday, April 7. 

If you’re thinking of running for elected office in Belmont, Cushman is advising potential “runners” to take a look at the guide for Belmont’s elected government and how to run for elected office in the “Town of Homes.”

Candidates for town–wide office (such as selectman, school committee and several boards)

To be considered a candidate for town-wide office, you must be at least 18 years old and a registered voter in Belmont.

All candidates for town-wide office must secure the signatures of at least 50 registered Belmont voters and return the signed nomination papers by Feb. 17 at 5 pm. Cushman recommends that more signatures are collected and submitted in the event that some signatures are invalid.

Nomination papers are available for pick-up at the Town Clerk’s office. Before collecting signatures, the candidate must sign the nomination papers and fill in the office for which he/she will be a candidate.

Terms for Town Meeting Member

The elected term for Town Meeting Member is three years, though should a resignation occur, there may be openings for one or two year periods.

Candidate for re-election as Town Meeting Member

If you are an incumbent Town Meeting Member, in late December/early January of the year your term is due to expire, you will receive from the Town Clerk’s office a letter asking if you would like to be considered a candidate for re-election to Town Meeting for your precinct.

The candidate must sign and return the affirmation form to the Town Clerk’s office by Feb. 17 to be considered a candidate for re-election. If the date passes without return of the form, the candidate would be considered a new candidate for Town Meeting and would be required to secure the 25 signatures on the nomination paper and the words  “candidate for re-election” will not appear next to the name on the ballot.

New candidates for Town Meeting Member

To be considered a new candidate for Town Meeting Member, you must be at least 18 years old and a registered voter in Belmont in the precinct you wish to represent. If you are currently serving as a Town Meeting Member who was elected at caucus, not by town ballot, you will need to submit nomination papers as a new candidate.

Candidates for Town Meeting must secure the signatures of at least 25 registered voters from the precinct and return the signed nomination papers. Once again, Cushman recommends that more signatures are collected and submitted in the event that some signatures are invalid.

“We encourage all candidates for all elected offices, for both town-wide and for Town Meeting, to investigate the responsibilities of the post by reading the Town General Bylaws and Belmont Town Meeting Acts of 1926, and reading the minutes of the elected board,” said Cushman.

Ambulance Firm Hopes to Land Satellite Office on Pleasant Street

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A regional ambulance firm is seeking to set up a satellite office in Belmont on Pleasant Street in the new year.

Arlington-based Armstrong Ambulance Service hopes to build its 10th Boston-area outpost at 1010 Pleasant St. near the back entrance of Star Supermarket, according to a presentation representatives made before the Zoning Board of Appeals on Monday, Dec. 1.

The company is seeking a Special Permit to operate the business.

The company, which began in 1946 by Marine Corps veteran Bill Armstrong, want to store six ambulances inside the existing building on the site while keeping three wheelchair-capable vans outside. There will be no vehicle maintenance or hazardous material storage in Belmont. 

The operation will be managed from a 200 sq.-ft. office in the building. There will also be 15 parking spaces for employees. 

The Belmont office will allow the company to provide 24-hour emergency response in and around Belmont; its nearest operation is in Waltham. 

While it will be a 24/7 operation, the application stated that only one ambulance will be staffed between midnight and 5 a.m. unless there are pending weather conditions that would require more vehicles on the road.

The town can issue a special permit after the ZBA determines the business’ impact on the immediate neighborhood and the greater community. Board member Nicholas Iannuzzi said he would like to see a traffic study conducted on the effect of ambulance trips on the increasingly congested roadway while Chairman Eric Smith said he would like to see a clearer staffing schedule along with a protocol on when the vehicles would use their lights and sirens.

Three residents who attended the meeting – Judith Sarno, Austin Bennett Jr. and Mark D’Andrea, Jr. – spoke in favor of the business coming to Belmont.

The ZBA continued the hearing until January.

Health Director Russakow Retiring, Assistant Braun To Take Charge

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Stefan Russakow, who has headed Belmont’s Health Department for the past four-and-a-half years, is retiring as the department’s director at year’s end.

The town didn’t look far for a replacement as Russakow’s assistant, Angela Braun, will take charge of the department in January 2015. 

Recognizable by his prominent mustache, Russakow has been the town’s face for a variety of health services including inspections of the town’s 80-plus eateries and educating their food service staff on preventing food-borne illnesses, handling housing and nuisance complaints while adopting new animal control regulations.

He was on the forefront with the Health Board in increasing the age to purchase tobacco from 18 to 21 at the 20 retail outlet selling the products. Russakow also was a main player in the removal of the diving board at the Underwood Pool in 2012 which caught the attention of many residents.

Russakow came to Belmont in July 2005 as assistant to Belmont’s long-time health director Donna Moultrup. Braun was hired in Dec. 2010.

The Philadelphia native began is public health career while serving in the armed forces in the Philippines. Before coming to Belmont, he worked as the director of public health and community services in Nashua, N.H., was the director of the Connecticut Department of Public Health’s Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program and was the Chief of Environmental Health and Operations of a 12-town health district in Connecticut.

Selectmen Declare Package Stores Unwelcome in Belmont

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Photo: Manager Kiran Nagar of Trapelo Variety with attorney Jake Walters (right) and husband Ajay Nagar before the Belmont Board of Selectmen.

The attempt by a young business couple to bring beer and wine to Belmont’s Central Square (the intersection of Trapelo Road and Beech Street) did not pass the “character” test before the Belmont Board of Selectmen Monday night, Dec. 1.

With the selectmen voicing a growing number of concerns and a half-dozen neighbors expressing discontent with the business centered on selling alcohol, the Selectmen rejected the application of a wine and malt retail license to Kiran and Ajay Nagar of Trapelo Variety located at 386 Trapelo Rd.

“It’s really about the character of the store,” said Selectman Mark Paolillo after being told by the Nagar’s that the small storefront business – with about 500 square-feet of business space – they bought in August would focus nearly exclusively on the sale of alcohol along with two of its most popular items, cigarettes and lottery tickets, if it received the license.

Pointing to the Selectmen’s decision in May to reject a beer and wine license to LC Variety a few hundred feet down Trapelo Road from the Trapelo Variety, Paolillo noted the Selectmen then were troubled by the same mix of lottery tickets, alcohol and tobacco at the location.

“I don’t see how I can vote to approve this application when we denied one for LC Variety,” said Paolillo.

“It’s also how the town sees itself,” said Selectmen Chair Andy Rojas, noting the four establishments with either beer and wine or full-alcohol licenses – The Loading Dock, Belmont Center’s Craft Beer Cellar and Vintages Adventures in Wine and The Spirited Gourmet in Cushing Square – have a polished “upscale” feel while “[t]his feels like a package store.” 

In addition, Belmont School Superintendent John Phelan wrote to the board opposing the license as the store was within 500 feet of the playground of the Daniel Butler Elementary School on White Street.

“My concern is the proximity with the Butler School,” said Selectman Sami Baghdady, saying the neighborhood was a “very family friendly” which ran countered to a alcohol-centric retail operation.

Kiran Nagar, who manages and runs the current store, said the proposed store would allow local residents to purchase beer and wine in Belmont rather than heading to Waltham or Watertown.

“This will allow us to increase business and revenue for the town and allow us to grow,” said Nagar, who indicated that they would likely take over the space currently occupied by an insurance agency next door if the license was granted.

While residents said they have seen an improvement in overall cleanliness and that Nagar is an outgoing merchant, residents did not support the move to beer and wine sale.

“I can’t see how a package store is an addition to the area,” said Dave Skolnick of Hull Street. “It doesn’t do the town justice.”

In the end, the worries outweighed the advantages of the business plan and the board rejected the proposal.

 

 

Belmont Property Tax Rate Falls but the Average Bill Continues to Rise

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The good news: The Belmont Board of Selectmen has cut the property tax rate in fiscal 2015 by nearly five percent.

The bad news: Your residential tax bill will in all likelihood be higher in the coming fiscal year.

That’s the analysis from the Board of Assessors which presented its recommendations to the Selectmen on Monday, Dec. 1.

The board’s recommendation, which the Selectmen approved unanimously, was that the fiscal 2015 tax rate to be set at $12.90 per $1,000 of the assessed value of the property. That is a 60 cent cut from last fiscal year’s rate of $13.50.

While normally a cut in a rate would be good news, it comes as the assessed value of Belmont properties increased by just under $500 million to $5.9 billion. That increase can be seen in the value of an “average,” or median, Belmont house which exploded to $847,900 from $782,600 last year.

For the “average” Belmont home, taxes next fiscal year will be $10,938, up $373 from last year’s average of $10,565.

“The decrease in the rate is a result of the increase in real property values with an increase in the tax levy capacity,” said Assessors Chairman Robert Reardon, who was accompanied to the meeting by his colleagues, Martin Millane, Jr. and Charles Laverty III.

For more information on just what is and how the tax levy is calculated, the Massachusetts Department of Revenue has a handy primer explaining the concept.

With the vote, Belmont will see an increase in property taxes in the coming fiscal year of $2.3 million (compared to $1.9 million last year) from a total amount collected of $76.6 million. That amount is the sum of the annual 2.5 percent increase allowed under state law and $654,000 in “new growth” which includes properties that have increased in assessed valuation since the prior year because of development or other changes and any new subdivisions and condo conversions.

As with past years, the assessors recommended and the selectmen agreed to a single tax classification for all properties and no real estate exemptions.

Reardon said Belmont does not have anywhere near the amount of commercial and industrial space needed to support separating the classes with their own tax rate.

“We are not raising more money by having a commercial rate, we are only shifting it” onto businesses while the savings for residential rate payers would be “negotiable,” said Reardon.

Under a senario where the commercial rate would be maximized by a factor of 1.5, residential tax payers would see their rate drop by 39 cents to $12.51/$1,000 of assessed value for an “average” savings of $330 per year while commercial rates would increase to $19.35/$1,000 to see an average increase of nearly $5,500 from last year.

“Every board strives to increase our commercial base … we really want to incentive them and you don’t do that by increasing the tax rate,” said Selectmen Chair Andy Rojas.