Town Proposes Using Free Cash Twice to Pay for Belmont Center Project

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Town Meeting members will be asked next month to dip twice into the town’s “savings” account to pay for the long-awaited facelift of Belmont Center’s traffic and parking design.

Under a proposal derived by town officials and Belmont’s Treasurer Floyd Carman who presented the plan to the Belmont Board of Selectmen Wednesday, Oct. 29, the now $2.8 million construction project set to reshape the roadways and parking in and around Belmont Center will be paid for using the town’s “free cash” as both a downpayment and then dipping into the account over 15 years to pay for the remaining debt, said David Kale, Belmont’s town administrator.

Free cash is unspent money remaining at the end of the fiscal year including from budget line-items and any greater than expected tax or fee receipts.

If approved by a majority of members of the Special Town Meeting on Nov. 17, $1.3 million will be taken from free cash as a one-time lump sum payment. The remaining $1,475,000 will be raised by selling 15-year bonds,

But rather then ask voters to approve a debt exclusion as has happened in the past with large capital expenditures, Belmont will take the unprecedented step of using free cash make the bond repayment over the life of the bond.

While the state’s Department of Revenue has not certified the amount Belmont has for free cash, Carman said free cash came in at $6.2 million in fiscal 2015.

Carman said the town will take approximately $169,000 from the free cash account in fiscal 2017 to pay both the interest and principal of the note. The payments will then decrease in subsequent years until there is a final payment of just under $100,000 in fiscal 2032.

Andy Rojas, Selectmen chair, told members of the Warrant and Capital Budget committees that the town hopes to have the project out to bid in January and have work completed by October. He also said the Special Town Meeting will only take up the project’s expenditure plan, “we are not opening up the project’s design for discussion.”

“[Town Meeting] is about funding, not to discuss every crosswalk or bump out,” Rojas reiterated.

While Kale is known for reminding residents, town officials and Town Meeting members that “free cash is not free” – any reduction in the account must be restored in the next year’s budget – both he and Carman believe free cash is strong enough position to sustain payments over the next decade and a half.

“We’re looking at a healthy free cash and the opportunity is there to utilize the low-interest rates,” said Carman.

Saying that he has heard some residents being critical of the town not utilizing the millions in the account, Carman told the Belmontonian “here’s an opportunity to use the savings constructively.”

Using the town’s savings account will also lessen the burden on the town’s debt service now hovering just over $5.1 million in fiscal 2015.
“Rather than burden taxpayers of 2015 to pay for this debt, we are spreading out the obligation to residents over the 15 years of the bond,” said Carman.

Carman also noted the town in the next few years will likely be asked to fund a new Belmont High School for between $60 to $100 million.

“We don’t want to add anymore debt to the books with that looming,” he said.

Paying the interest and principal of the $1,450,000 (the actual amount could be less once the engineering blueprints are completed, said Rojas) would be the second specific expense that will be paid by free cash. Last year, Town Meeting approved spending approximately $240,000 annually in other post-employment benefits, or OPEB, payments to a nearly $180 million unfunded obligation.

In recent years, the town has transferred approximately $2 million from free cash at the beginning of the budget cycle to pay for town and school expenses, filling a shortfall in local aid from the state legislature.

The town will also create a Capital Project Debt Stabilization Fund to pay down existing obligations.

The new stabilization account – to be approved by Town Meeting – will be funded with one-time payments to the town. Kale said this would include the sale of town-owned property such as the long-awaited purchase for $850,000 of the municipal parking lot at Cushing Square as part of the delayed Cushing Village project and the increasingly doubtful Woodfall Road luxury housing development.

Which of the current debt obligations could be reduced by the stabilization fund “will be part of a group discussion,” said Rojas.

When asked why this project is being given priority over six large capital projects – including a new police station and refurbishing the Viglirolo Skating rink – Rojas said the others have not begun the detailed process of design and planning.

“Why we are doing this is because it’s ready,” said Rojas, adding the reconstruction will increase business and economic development to the business center of town.

Rinse, Repeat: Search Committee Rejects All Finalists for Library Director

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The search committee created to find Belmont Public Library’s next Library Director will be getting an “overdue” notice after the group rejected what is now the first round of finalist candidates.

“I will stay on until the end of December,” said Maureen Conners, the current Library Director, despite that her retirement party is set. (Nov. 13, 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.)

Conners statement came days after the committee put in place by the Belmont Board of Library Trustees voted on a second round of balloting that none of the finalist were qualified for the position. The vote occurred after the unknown number of candidates were interviewed by the committee in October.

The board had announced in August when Conners announced her retirement that a new director would likely be installed by mid-November. Now the earliest the town’s next “head librarian” will be selected is after the New Year.

The director’s salary range is $76,859 to $109,140 commensurate with experience and includes a full benefits package, according to the job notice released in the summer.

Belmont Selectmen Ponder Cellar’s Request for Earlier Sunday Opening

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When is it too early to sell beer on a Sunday in the “Town of Homes”?

That’s the question before the Belmont Board of Selectmen after hearing a request from the owners of the Craft Beer Cellar to allow the wildly-successful Belmont Center store to swing open its doors at 10 a.m. on Sundays at its meeting Monday, Oct. 20 at the Beech Street Center .

Suzanne Schalow, Cellar’s co-owner (with Kate Baker), said the business, located at 51 Leonard St., is seeking a “Change in Hours” to its business license, from its current noon opening. The CBC operates from noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Schalow said the change would be in keeping with modifications to the so-called state “Blue Laws” approved by the legislature and signed by Gov. Deval Patrick in July allowing retail businesses catering to alcohol and beer sales to seek an earlier opening. Nearby towns, such as Burlington, have approved such changes, according to news reports.

In addition, the new opening time will make the 10 a.m. opening consistent with the other six days.

“Customers are rattling the door” at 10 a.m., wondering why the business isn’t open, said Schalow. She said many customers this time of year are seeking to purchase beer for pro football viewing parties.

Since opening four years ago next month, CBC’s support of the rapidly growing US microbrewery industry with passionate and knowledgeable employees and managers has been a hit with customers, resulting in the Belmont-based business becoming a national retail trendsetter with 12 CBC stores in Massachusetts, Missouri, Florida, Maine and Vermont with another nine – including proposed locations in the Bay State, Colorado, Mississippi and California – in the planning stages.

For at least one Selectmen, the idea of an early opening is a bit off-putting. While praising the store as a great example of a small business doing good for the town, Selectman Mark Paolillo was hesitant to approve the application out-of-hand.

“I’m not so sure that is the right time for us,” said Paolillo.

While the full board delayed making a decision on the application, it wasn’t due to one town officials personal preference but rather if the board has any jurisdiction on the matter.

“I don’t know if we have the right to turn this application down,” said Selectmen Chair Andy Rojas as the new law could have legal sway over local authorities. Rather than a simple up-or-down vote, the board referred the matter to Belmont Town Counsel George Hall for review.

Football and other sports fans will have to wait until noon before stocking up for at least a few more weeks before a decision is known.

Judge Lifts Silver Maple Injunction as Work Resumes at Belmont Uplands

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Less than 24 hours after initially granting an injunction halting the developer of the proposed 299-unit “Residences at Acorn Park” apartment complex from clearing land in Belmont’s Uplands, Middlesex Superior Court Judge Rosalind Miller vacated the stay on O’Neill Properties’ work in removing vegatation and trees in preparation of possible construction.

Miller’s ruling, on Tuesday Oct. 21, allowed work crews utilizing heavy equipment and chainsaws to resume the process of clearing the eight-acre site that began last week at the Silver Maple Forest parcel off Frontage Road on the Cambridge town line.

In her ruling, provided by the Superior Court, Miller wrote the plaintiffs – 14 Belmont members of the Coalition to Preserve Belmont Uplands who filed a request for the injunction on Oct. 13 – failed to show “irreparable harm” to their cause “in absence of an injunction.” In addition, Miller said the plaintiffs had “failed to disclose the seven year history of unsuccessful litigation regarding this development of an affordable housing project.” 

The rulings came after a week of civil disobediance in which 13 protesters have been arrest by Belmont Police at the site.

Miller’s complete judgement is below:

After review and hearing on 10/16/14, the plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction is DENIED. To obtain the extraordinary relief of an injunction, the plaintiffs must prove: (1) without the relief sought, plaintiffs would suffer irreparable harm; (2) there is a likelihood of success on the merits of this case; and (3) any harm to the plaintiffs would outweigh the harm which the injunctive relief would inflict on the defendants. John T. Callahan & Sons, Inc. v. City of Malden, 430 Mass. 124 (1999). Plaintiffs have failed to show a likelihood of success on the merits of this case and a substantial risk of irreparable harm in the absence of an injunction. The court declines to impose sanctions on the plaintiffs for their failure to disclose the seven year history of unsuccessful litigation regarding this development of an affordable housing project. The previous temporary restraining order issued on 10/20/14, is hereby vacated. SO ORDERED. (Rosalind H. Miller, Justice, Dated: 10/21/14)

 

Judge’s Injunction Halts Uplands Tree Clearing After Morning of Arrests

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Someone was listening to the Lorax … for now.

Hours after four protesters were arrested Monday morning, Oct. 20, at the proposed site of a 299-unit residential complex on the Cambridge line, a Middlesex Superior Court judge filed an emergency restraining order to halt pre-construction clearing of a portion of the Silver Maple Forest in Belmont until she can rule on a complaint from 14 Belmont residents who are members of the Coalition to Preserve Belmont Uplands.

Justice Rosalind Miller’s single-page injunction temporarily halts trees being cut and removed from the 15 acre forest  located off Acorn Park Road, which is connected to Belmont via Frontage Road adjacent to Route 2. The judgement is directed at O’Neill Properties, the Philadelphia-based real estate firm behind the development dubbed the Residences at Acorn Park.

The complaint contends the site developer, Cambridge Partners II, is pushing aside regulations required by the Clean Water Act and the Belmont Stormwater Bylaw.

The ruling, while temporary, is a victory for environmental groups and Chilton Street resident Anne-Marie Lambert who has advocated that the residential development will increase the likelihood of serious flooding in surrounding communities such as northeastern Belmont, Cambridge’s Alewife and east Arlington due to the developer’s use of outdated climate reports in addition to destroying a nature sanctuary.

(Lambert will give a talk this Sunday on the history of the Uplands hosted by the Belmont Historical Society.)

Miller’s ruling came after a third round of arrests took place at the site as a quartet of protesters, including Lesley University Biology Professor Amy Mertl, who made a presentation to the Belmont Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, Oct. 14, on the economic impact on Belmont town finances if the development is constructed.

Belmont Police report that 13 people have been taken into custody since the first arrests on Monday, Oct. 13. They were charged with trespassing.

Monday’s protest occurred along Acorn Park Road adjacent to crews using chain saws and large earth-moving equipment to clear vegetation and remove trees.

“Oh!” several of the 60 protesters loudly moaned when a 50-foot Silver Maple fell to the ground as a young man read passages from Dr. Suess’ “The Lorax” – which several people repeated – and a graduate student argued loudly with the private security guards.

Quinton Zondervan, president of Green Cambridge, said the week-long direct action by various groups was occurring “since the developer doesn’t have a building permit, but they have already started cutting trees.”

Ellen Mass, founder of Friends of the Alewife Reservation who was arrested last week, said “this awful crime we are witnessing is quite beyond the pale because they did most of their cutting of these trees just as the Coalition [to Preserve Belmont Uplands] filed the injunction. They did this on purpose during the weekend before the judge had an opportunity to rule.”

For others, the protest was an opportunity to show solidarity to what they view is an important piece of the local environment.

“We want to save the forest,” said Leyli Lopez, who came with her mother, Nicole Weber, who works at Leslie University.

“I’ve gotten to know about this issue through my colleagues Amy [Mertl]. I use this area, and I didn’t even know this was happening,” said Weber.

While the possible environmental repercussions on surrounding communities has been well noted by development opponents, the impact of 300 units of housing on both Belmont’s general government and school budgets “is significant and worrying,” said Belmont Selectman Mark Paolillo at Tuesday’s meeting.

Included in the Coalition’s complaint is the Belmont Office of Community Development, which would issue the critical building permit to O’Neill which will be located on eight acres of the site.

Last week, Community Development Director Glenn Clancy said he could not comment on the complaint filed last Monday.

Town Clerk: Get a Heads Up on the Coming State General Election

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With the Massachusetts General Election just 15 days away, Belmont Town Clerk Ellen Cushman wants registered voters prepared what to expect on the ballot and where to go to cast one.

The polls will be open in Belmont for the Nov. 4 State Election from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. There are many candidate races on the ballot this year as well as five questions on the Belmont ballot. The Town Clerk’s office offers the following non-partisan sources for Belmont voters to be informed voters prior to getting your ballot on Election Day :

  • The Secretary of the Commonwealth mailed a red booklet to every household in Massachusetts, titled  “Massachusetts Information for Voters, 2014 Ballot Questions.” This booklet covers the four state ballot questions, however Belmont has a fifth question voters should examine.
  • Visit the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s website, enter your Belmont address and find out your voting location and precinct number and view a copy of the Sample Ballot for Belmont, which includes Question 5, a non-binding question from Belmont state Rep. David Rogers.
  • Visit the Belmont Town Clerk’s website to see the precinct maps, and answers to frequently asked questions  about voting.

Massachusetts Information for Voters, 2014 Ballot Questions, published by the the Secretary of the Commonwealth:

Question 1: Law Proposed by Initiative Petition – Eliminating Gas Tax Indexing

Question 2: Law Proposed by Initiative Petition – Expanding the Beverage Container Deposit Law

Question 3: Law Proposed by Initiative Petition – Expanding Prohibitions on Gaming

Question 4: Law Proposed by Initiative Petition –  Earned Sick Time for Employees

Question 5: Shall the state representative from this district be instructed to vote in favor of legislation that would allow the state to regulate and tax marijuana in the same manner as alcohol?

Precinct Locations:

  • Precinct 1: Belmont Memorial Library, Assembly Room, 336 Concord Ave.
  • Precinct 2: Belmont Town Hall, Selectmen’s Meeting Room, 455 Concord Ave.
  • Precinct 3: Beech Street Center, (Senior Center), 266 Beech St.
  • Precinct 4: Daniel Butler School, Gymnasium, 90 White St.
  • Precinct 5:  Beech Street Center, (Senior Center), 266 Beech St.
  • Precinct 6: Belmont Fire Headquarters, 299 Trapelo Rd.
  • Precinct 7: Burbank School, Gymnasium, 266 School St.
  • Precinct 8: Winn Brook School, Gymnasium, 97 Waterhouse Rd. (Enter from Cross Street)

Questions? Contact Belmont Town Clerk’s office at 617-993-2600 or townclerk@belmont-ma.gov

Special Town Meeting Limited to Belmont Center Reconstruction Pay Plan

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That was quick!

Belmont’s Special Town Meeting, scheduled for Monday, Nov. 17, will be a singular affair as town officials set an extremely tight window for residents to add anything else to the warrant.

The warrant, which is the agenda of items to be brought before and voted on by Town Meeting members, was officially open for a single hour, from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 15, for citizens to submit petitions to be taken up by the town’s legislative body. 

“No one filed a citizen petition, though a couple of people had inquired last week how it could be done,” said Belmont Town Clerk Ellen Cushman on Thursday, Oct. 16.

With nothing added to the agenda, members will have only one item to discuss, the $2.6 million Belmont Center Reconstruction Project.

Members will hear from town officials that while the blueprint for the long-awaited revamping of parking, pedestrian and traffic patterns in Belmont Center is complete, the financing is far from set after both state aid and the expected sales of the Cushing Square municipal lot and residential parcels off Woodfill Road – the sale of the town-owned parcels was anticipated to bring in approximately $2 million – never materialized. 

The Town Meeting will essentially determine if, and, or how money for the reconstruction will be secured.

“This is about a vision for your Town Center and that is what we really want to focus on,” said Belmont Selectmen Chair Andy Rojas at a September public meeting on the subject. 

That need for Town Meeting members to concentrate on an important infrastructure project resulted in the quick, open and shut, warrant.

“Town Meeting Members and citizens received several notifications from me that the Board of Selectmen were anticipated to call a Special Town Meeting for a specific purpose, the Belmont Center redevelopment.” The members also received an invitation to a public meeting on that topic, she said.

Picking Up the Check: Pool Committee Hands $411K to Town for Underwood

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Just three-and-a-half weeks ago, Anne Paulsen said she “went home crying” after a meeting with the Board of Selectmen when it appeared the new Underwood Pool may not be built. The board had challenged the pool’s Building Committee to find $400,000 in just over a month or possibly see the entire projected shelved due to a sudden shortfall in funds.

“It was fairly depressing,” said Paulsen, chair of the Underwood Pool Building Committee.

Boy, how four hundred grand can change Paulsen’s demeanor.

On Tuesday, Oct. 15, the Underwood Pool Building Committee – the volunteer group that oversees the design and construction of the new two pool complex to replace the historic 102-year-old facility – presented the Belmont Board of Selectmen $411,000 which was raised to bridge a funding gap which occurred when in late August a low bidder for the $4.1 million construction job suddenly dropped out leaving the committee needing to bridge a $388,000 breach to the next low bid.

Paulsen also announced that just before the meeting, the committee signed a letter of intent with New England Builders & Contractors Inc. of Methuen, the project’s new contractor.

If there is not a lot of snow this year, New England Builders believe it can save most of the 2015 summer swimming season, said Paulsen.

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Unlike the previous meeting with the Selectmen – where the board voiced its frustration at the lack of an “adequate” contingency amount in the pool’s budget – this will a day for happy as the town celebrated the achievement of raising the money in just over 25 days through the effort of residents with a boost from the town’s largest business.

Paulsen praised the efforts of fellow committee member Ellen Schreiber, who led the public fundraising effort, and former Belmont selectman Ralph Jones who, with his family, donated “a significant” amount to the cause in addition to flushing out donors.

Special acknowledgement was directed to the Belmont Savings Bank Foundation – the charitable wing of the Belmont Savings Bank – and the bank’s CEO and President Robert Mahoney who stepped in quickly to donate a $200,000 matching grant “that took what felt like an intimidating, possibly hopeless task and turned it into an exciting challenge,” said Schreiber.

“I had a sense that this was an important project … that it wasn’t just a physical asset but an emotional one,” Mahoney said.

“These were our three pieces of good luck,” said Paulsen.

Schreiber also acknowledged the town’s residents, from lifelong citizens to new families in Belmont for just a few years, who donated every amount from $10 to $25,000.

“People don’t give money for something they don’t care about,” noted Schreiber, who said in her years of fundraising, “I have never seen so much come in so quickly.”

Additional donations over the approximately $390,000 needed to fill the gap continue to come in, the money being placed in the project contingency fund.

“Congratulations to all of you. It was a daunting task at first,” said Selectman Chair Andy Rojas, thanking Mahoney for the bank’s challenge. “We’re happy to see the pool move forward and not miss a step.”

Last Chance to Register for General Election Today, Wednesday, Until 8 PM

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Today, Wednesday, Oct. 15, is the final day to register to vote or make any changes to your party, address or name, to qualify for the Nov 4 state general election.

The Town Clerk’s office will remain open until 8 p.m. to accept voter registrations and changes. The office is located in Town Hall, 455 Concord Ave.

To learn more about registering to vote, HAVA, and upcoming elections, or to print registration forms, please visit the Town Clerk’s website or telephone the Town Clerk’s office at 617-993-2600.

 

Mahon Eyes School Committee Run? It’s On Facebook

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After returning from a triumphal business tour of Portugal, Anne Mahon has told her nearly 1,350 internet friends she is ready to possibly run for Belmont School Committee.

The well-known Precinct 4 Town Meeting member, Democrat activist and successful real estate broker wrote on her Facebook account Sunday, Oct. 13 that she is interested in vying for one of the three seats – two will be full, three-year terms and the other two years due to the resignation of current member Kevin Cunningham – being contested in the April 2015 Town Election.

“I know I’m REALLY busy with real estate, but I’m thinking about running for School Committee in Belmont,” wrote Mahon who in the past fortnight was a featured speaker and presenter at a Century 21 convention for real estate sales people in Portugal. 

“Everybody knows I love and support the Belmont public schools and I think it could really use a cheerleader at those Warrant Committee meetings. Would you turkeys be willing to help me get elected? because I don’t have much time for the door to door campaigning,” said Mahon. 

This would be Mah0n’s second attempt at town-wide office; in 2010, she finished third for a seat on the Board of Selectmen, finishing behind winner Mark Paolillo and then incumbent Daniel LeClerc.

As of 5 a.m., Monday, Oct. 14, Mahon received 14 “likes” to her post.