Nomination Papers For Town-Wide, Town Meeting Election Now Available

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Photo: Nomination papers.

Belmont Town Clerk Ellen Cushman announced Friday, Jan. 3 that nomination papers for elected town-wide 0ffices are available for those who wish to run. All candidates must be registered voters of Belmont.

In addition to those races, 12 representative Town Meeting Members are elected for three-year terms from each of the town’s eight voting precincts. This year, there are also some partial-term openings for Town Meeting; vacancies are created by Members moving or resigning.

Stop by the Town Clerk’s office to pick up nomination papers; have your neighbors and friends, who are voters, sign your nomination papers and submit the signed forms to the Town Clerk by the deadline, Feb. 12, at 5 p.m.

The Town Clerk’s web pages contain quite a bit of information to help make a decision to seek office at www.belmont-ma.gov  select Town Clerk, then select Running for Elected Office and Campaigning or feel free to call us at 617-993-2600, or email at townclerk@belmont-ma.gov

Running for election is simple:

  • To be nominated for Town-wide office – signatures of at least 50 registered voters of the Town are required on the nomination papers. The Town Clerk must certify these signatures so we always suggest obtaining about 20% more just to be safe.
  • To be nominated for Town Meeting – signatures of at least 25 registered voters of your precinct are required on the nomination papers. The Town Clerk must certify these signatures so we always suggest obtaining about 20% more just to be safe.  Some current Town Meeting Members will be asking the voters for re-election but all twelve seats are available in each precinct.

Running for re-election to Town Meeting: current Town Meeting Members whose term of office expires in 2019 have already been sent a letter asking if the person wants to seek re-election. Deadline for return of those letters to the Town Clerk is January 22nd at 4 PM.

Here’s the list of offices that will be filled by the April 2 annual Town Election as of January 3, 2019:

Town -wide Offices Number of Seats Term of Office
Moderator Vote for One 1 year
Board of Selectmen Vote for One 3 years
Board of Assessors Vote for One 3 years
Board of Cemetery Commissioners Vote for One 3 years
Board of Health Vote for One 3 years
Members of the Housing Authority Vote for One 5 years
Trustees of the Public Library Vote for Two 3 years
Members of the School Committee Vote for Two 3 years
Member of the School Committee Vote for One 1 year
Town Meeting Members for

Each of the Eight Precincts

 Vote for Twelve 3 years
Partial-Term Town Meeting  Members:

For Precinct 1

 Vote for One 2 years
For Precinct 1 Vote for One 1 year
For Precinct 5 Vote for One 2 years
For Precinct 7 Vote for One 1 year

Two New Belmont Police Officers Sworn In

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Photo: (from left) Town Clerk Ellen Cushman, Belmont Police Officers Brian Conneely, Evan Nichols, Belmont Chief Richard McLaughlin.

New Belmont Police Officers Brian Conneely and Evan Nichols were sworn in by Belmont Town Clerk Ellen O’Brien Cushman at a ceremony held in the Board of Selectmen’s room at Town Hall on Friday Dec. 21.

On Thursday Dec. 20, Belmont Police Chief Richard McLaughlin along with command staff attended the graduation ceremony for the Conneely and Nichols graduated from the Randolph Regional Police Academy 8th R.O.C. on Dec. 20 after a 21-week intensive academy program hosted by the Randolph Police Academy.

The new officers are pictured with McLaughlin and Cushman.

 

School Committee Says ‘Yes’ On Interest To Host New Rink Along Concord Avenue

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Photo: A new rink would likely be built in this location near the present rink (in photo).

The pieces are beginning to fall into place pointing to a new skating rink coming to Belmont in the next two years.

And while there are a pair of locations where the replacement for the ancient “Skip” Viglirolo rink is expected to be sited, there is growing support over the past month pointing to Belmont School District property along Concord Avenue across from the Underwood Pool as the likely spot, beating out a facility at the former incinerator site on upper Concord Avenue on the Lexington town line.

In an important step that would keep the rink adjacent to Harris Field, the Belmont School Committee vote unanimously at its Tuesday, Dec. 19, meeting to proceed with a Request for Proposal (RFP), which will solicit proposals through a bidding process.

“This is a town project, not just a schools project,” said Belmont Superintendent John Phelan at the meeting.

The School Committee Chair Susan Burgess-Cox said while moving forward with a RFP, the committee would be open to all suggestions and comments from the public on developing the site which will have its chance to express its opinion at a January community meeting on the future of the incinerator site that will impact the rink development.

While hardly the size of a new public/private venture in New York City that will house nine skating rinks, Belmont Youth Hockey in a presentation before the School Committee in April proposed a space with an ice sheet-and-a-half (with the half ice sheet covered for nine months and used by spring, summer and fall youth and high school sports teams) with recreational open space, an indoor track and locker rooms that can be used by indoor and outdoor sports teams.

(A public/private rink to replace the aged “Skip” is not a recent concept as it has been talk about around town since 2015.)

While no decision has been made by either the School Committee – which owns the property – and the Board of Selectmen which has final say what will go on the incinerator land, recently presented analysis of the two locations appearing to give the clear edge to the school’s site.

At the school committee meeting Tuesday, Phelan presented a pro and con comparison of the two sites. Noting that the 1970s-era “Skip” is well-passed its useful working life and is only kept running with “McGyver”-style hacks to the ice-making machinery, Phelan said a new rink built through a public/private partnership – in past schemes, Belmont Youth Hockey would manage the rink that is constructed on land provided free of charge by the town or schools – would provide local access to ice time for the community and the Belmont High School ice hockey teams. Under this scenario, the direct cost to town ratepayers would be zero.

As for the pro’s of the high school site, it would be convenient for the school’s teams, it would increase locker space for boys and girls teams who play at Harris Field, it would not need state regulatory approval and just town zoning permits and there would finally be on-site parking as opposed to using  Concord Avenue and several side streets.

“There’s a nice energy of uses if it was on the high school site that would complement the new fields,” said Phelan.

One big con would be the potential loss of playing field space during and after the building is completed, additional traffic and the possible congestion created as the rink will be constructed while the 7-12 school is being built less than a quarter mile away “would be challenging,” said Phelan. 

The incinerator site does have its pro’s as in less traffic impact on the local neighborhood, doesn’t interfere with new school’s construction site and there is enough land to build a rink with two full-size ice sheets.

But the cons at the incinerator are steep: school teams would need to take one bus to and from practice at a cost of approximately $400 daily or $2,000 each week for up to 14-16 weeks. Because there are state-issued conditions on what can be placed at the incinerator location and environmental issues, it is expected to take up to four years before the first shovel is put into the ground, which will also require the town to pick up maintenance costs and likely repairs at the old rink until construction is completed. There is the issue of capping the toxic landfill site which will cost the town approximately $3.5 to $4 million, an amount a non-profit rink organization would find daunting to help pay and would force up rental fees. Finally, there are concerns that a foundation for the building and ice sheet on ground that is infill and close to wetlands could be prohibitively expensive.

While a number of committee members voiced some concern about the loss of fields for high school sports teams (depends what the winning RFP bid specifies) and would a new rink replace the locker room space lost when the White Field House is demolished (“yes,” said Phelan), they also felt the added transportation costs and far-off location of an incinerator-located rink were less than attractive.

By the end of the presentation, the committee was ready to put the school district’s stake in the ground for new rink. But while interested in building on the property, the district and committee “[are] not yet committed to doing so,” until the public process is completed, said member Andrea Prestwich.

 

Community Preservation Gives Thumbs Up To Four Hopefuls

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Photo: The Belmont Police Station which will receive $787,000 of CAC funding.

The Community Preservation Committee has given its nod of approval to half of the applications requesting funds from the committee in the fiscal year 2019 cycle.

While the ultimate say on which of the eight applicants will be funded will be determined by Town Meeting at the annual gathering in May 2019, a thumbs up from the committee is an influential endorsement with many Town Meeting Members.

With the applicants requesting a total of $2.7 million and the committee with $2 million to distribute, the committee’s OK could be the difference from seeing projects get underway and those pushed off until next year.

The four which won committee approval on Wednesday, Dec. 12 were:

  • Preservation and restoration of vegetation at Clay Pit Pond; $20,0000
  • Habitat preservation through the control of non-native and invasive plant infestations; $25,400
  • Belmont Police Station conditions study and design; $787,575.10
  • Community Path phase 1b design from the Clark Street Bridge and Brighton Street; $1 million

The sum of the approved projects tops $1,832,975, leaving a minuscule $168,025 for the remaining four, including:

  • Town Field playground restoration: $700,000
  • Payson Park bandstand: $50,000
  • Restoration of the Belmont Clock Tower at First Church Belmont: $66,250
  • Town Hall slate roof: $75,000

For three of the applications – Town Field, Clock Tower and the slate roof – the committee requested more information on aspects of the project. i.e. is there any church/state legal issues involving using CPC funds to rebuild a portion of a religious building. 

The application which solicited the most quires from the committee was the Payson Park bandstand which will protect the bands and groups playing at the Payson Park Music Festival. Commissioners said they were wary of assertions by sponsor Tomi Olsen of town departments partnering with her to build and manage the bandstand, which officials disputed.

 

Next Year’s Property Tax Rate Falls But Bill Continue Skyward As ‘Average’ Belmont Home Nears $1.1 Million

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Photo: An “average” Belmont home that recently sold for $1.1 million (and it’s a ranch!)

Belmont Board of Selectmen Chair Adam Dash said that next fiscal year’s property tax rate approved by the board Thursday morning, Dec. 13 isn’t that onerous compared to charges imposed in other Massachusetts city and towns.

“It’s our housing values that are high,” said Dash, focusing on the annual dichotomy of where lower tax rates result in raising taxes for Belmont’s property owners after the Belmont Board of Assessors presented its analysis of Belmont real estate valuation during its annual tax classification hearing before the Selectmen.

Robert Reardon, long-time chair of the Board of Assessors, announced that Belmont’s fiscal ’19 property tax rate – which begins on July 1, 2019 – will be set at $11.67 per $1,000 assessed value, a reduction of nearly half-a-buck from the fiscal ’18 rate of $12.15.

But the average quarterly bill isn’t shrinking with the new tax rate as the total assessed value of property in Belmont shot up to $7.947 billion from $7.497 billion in fiscal ’18 as home buyers continue to clamor into the “Town of Homes.” 

The healthy increase in Belmont property values also pushed up the average residential home value to $1,090,000, a jump of a little more than 8 percent or $86,000 in 12 months. “Incredible,” said Selectman and lifelong Belmont resident Mark Paolillo upon hearing what the new “average” has become.

With home prices increasing at a steady clip, the annual tax bill in fiscal ’19 on an average assessed valued property ($1,090,000 x $11.67) will be $12,720.30, an increase of $525 from the $12,195.56  in fiscal ’18.

And the town is squeezing every last drop of taxes from the levy; by taking in $89.25 million, it is leaving only $4,003.08 of excess capacity “on the table,” said Reardon. 

When Selectman Tom Caputo asked how the new 7-12 school building on the site of Belmont High School will impact tax assessments, Town Treasurer Floyd Carman said the nearly $215 million debt exclusion will be phased in over three years beginning in fiscal 2020. The town is expected to borrow between $85 to $90 million in long-term borrowing in the first two years with taxes on an average home increasing by $680 each year. The final year will be short-term bonds in the $25 million to $30 million range.

“Think $1,800 plus” total increase on the average property in taxes by the start of fiscal 2022, “assuming we keep our [triple A] bond rating,” said Carman.

As in past years, the assessors’ recommended, and the selectmen agreed to a single tax classification and no real estate exemptions. Reardon – who is director of Cambridge’s Assessing Department – said Belmont does not have anywhere near the amount of commercial and industrial space (at must be least a minimum of 20 percent, said Reardon) to creating separate tax rates for residential and commercial properties. Belmont’s commercial base is 3.9 percent of the total real estate.

“Every year, the layperson ask us why we don’t increase the commercial rate, and the reason is that is such a small, small impact,” said Reardon. If Belmont increased commercial rates to the maximum limit under the law, those tax bills would jump on average by $6,350 while residential taxes would fall to $381, placing an unfair burden on commercial owners and their renters “and make Belmont a less desirable town.” 

“People always assume there’s more money if you go with the split rate when it really is just shifting the cost to the commercial side,” Reardon said.

Nomination Papers Available For ’19 Belmont Town Election

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Photo: Nomination papers are available now.

Nomination papers for the annual town election on Tuesday, April 2 are now available at the Town Clerk’s office, according to Belmont Town Clerk Ellen Cushman.

  • Nomination for town-wide office will require the certified signatures of at least 50 registered voters of the Town of Belmont.
  • Nomination for Town Meeting Member will require the certified signatures of at least 25 registered voters of the precinct in which the candidate resides.

If you want to check your term of office, please see your Board’s webpage: https://www.belmont-ma.gov/town-clerk/pages/town-meeting-members

The Town Clerk’s web pages are packed with information for the potential candidates. One such example is the “Running for Elected Office and Campaigning” http://www.belmont-ma.gov/town-clerk/pages/elections-running-for-elected-office-campaigning

The deadline to submit nomination papers is Feb. 12, 2019. 

The following offices will appear on the Ballot for the Annual Town Election:

Town-wide Offices Number of Seats Term of Office
Moderator Vote for One 1 year
Board of Selectmen Vote for One 3 years
Town Clerk Vote for One 3 years
Board of Assessors Vote for One 3 years
Board of Cemetery Commissioners Vote for One 3 years
Board of Health Vote for One 3 years
Members of the Housing Authority Vote for One 5 years
Trustees of the Public Library Vote for Two 3 years
Members of the School Committee Vote for One 1 year
Members of the School Committee Vote for Two 3 years
Town Meeting Members

Each of the Eight Precincts

  

Vote for Twelve

  

3 years
Partial-Term Town Meeting Members
Precinct 1 Vote for One 1 year
Precinct 1 Vote for One 2 years
Precinct 5 Vote for One 2 years
Precinct 7 Vote for One 1 year

The Town Clerk’s Office is open:

  • Mondays from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.,
  • Tuesdays through Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and
  • Fridays from 8 a.m. to noon.

Town Offices will be closed on Monday, Dec. 24, and Christmas, Tuesday, Dec. 25, in observance of the Christmas Holiday and Town Offices will close at 4 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 31, in observance of New Year’s Eve.

As always, contact the Town Clerk’s office should you have any questions or concerns.

Tragedy Prompting Belmont To Be First In State With Defibrillators At Fields, Playgrounds

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Photo: An outdoor automated external defibrillator located at Westerly (RI) High School’s turf field.

June Howell  automated external defibrillator

“I knew they can save lives with very little training,” said Belmont’s Recreation Department’s Program Supervisor who said the town had purchased one to be located at the Underwood Pool during the summer and the Skip Viglirolo Skating Rink for the rest of the year. 

But the idea of bringing the equipment to the wider community took a back seat due to the cost and logistics associated in keeping the machines need to stay within a specific temperature range.

It took a tragedy on one of the Rec Department’s fields to renew Howell’s commitment to increase the number of AEDs  In May, during the first adult softball game played on the diamond across Concord Avenue from the Belmont Public Library, a player in his early 40s suddenly fell to the ground stricken by a heart attack. Before help could arrive, he had died.

“It was terrible,” said Howell who still shakes her head remembering the incident.  

Unfortunately, the likelihood of a person dying from a cardiac event like the one that occurred in Belmont is staggeringly high. Each year in the U.S., according to the American Heart Association, there are approximately 360,000 Emergency Medical Services (EMS)-assessed cardiac arrests outside of a hospital setting and on average, less than eight percent of victims survive.

But that does not need to the case if an AED is close at hand. The New England Journal of Medicine reported communities with comprehensive AED programs that include cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and AED training of the public have achieved survival rates of nearly 40 percent for cardiac arrest victims.

According to Howell, who told the story at Belmont Recreation Commission meeting on Monday, Dec. 3, “it’s time provide greater safety to the community.”  

As a result of the incident and the Rec Department’s efforts, Belmont is moving to become the first municipality in Massachusetts and one of the few in the entire US to install AEDs at its town-owned fields and playgrounds that can be used by citizens.

Howell said Belmont will copy a program in Westerly, Rhode Island, that has been up and running for nearly a decade. The seaside community currently has seven outside locations including the high school turf field and at the town’s beach.

Westerly, along with Warwick, have been designated HeartSafe communities, part of a long-running program underwritten by Rhode Island’s Department of Health. With an emphasis on quickly meeting the need of those in cardiac arrest, Westerly has installed more than 100 automated external defibrillators throughout town in public buildings, at schools and in its police vehicles while providing extensive public training in using AEDs. 

Like Westerly, Belmont’s defibrillators will be stored in climate controlled enclosures which enables them to be accessible on a 24/7 basis throughout all seasons. When the defibrillator is needed, a person calls 911 and Belmont dispatchers will provide an access code to open the storage compartment, enabling retrieval and use of the AED. Using an AED is “nearly foolproof,” said commission member and physician’s assistant Kathryn Jones, who enthusiastically supported the proposal. 

The first Belmont AEDs will be placed at five town-owned fields:

  • Pequossette (PQ) Park,
  • Grove Street Playground,
  • Payson Park,
  • Winn Brook Playground, and
  • Town Field.

The Recreation Division is currently meeting with the Belmont Fire Department and Belmont Light on the best sites for the equipment to be stationed and in bringing power to the posts where the AEDs will be located. It is also getting a quote from Zoll Medical, the town’s AED supplier, for the cost of additional equipment as well as maintaining and inspecting the devices once installed.

The Rec Department approached seven groups to assist in funding the venture and Belmont Soccer indicated it would fund the first $10,000 with Belmont Youth Baseball ready to step up to the plate. Howell said she’s looking for additional private funding to pay for the infrastructure work and possible town-wide training on using the equipment. 

Those who wish to donate can contact Howell at 617-993-2760 or email at:

https://www.belmont-ma.gov/users/jhowell/contact

While the town fields and playgrounds are crowded with youth and soon high school sports teams and activities, Howell said she sees the AEDs as “not specifically for kids but for every resident.”

“It’s amazing,” said Howell on how using a defibrillator increases the survivability of a person suffering a heart attack.

“It really will save a life.”

Is Town Government Accessible? Take The IT Committee’s Survey To Be Heard

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Photo: The survey by the IT Advisory Committee.

Is Belmont government – Town Hall, Board of Selectmen or the Shade Tree Committee – as responsive as you’d like it to be? What changes would you make to make the process less burdensome and more democratic?

The town’s IT Advisory Committee is now polling Belmont community members about their interactions with town government whether they are elected officials or the many appointed bodies and how the town might improve its interactions with residents and make the work these committees do more accessible.

The link to the survey is: https://goo.gl/forms/bEKdZ0BWPNFKXdA03

The Advisory Committee is looking to have as wide a possible sample size of Belmont residents. The survey only takes a few minutes.

Police Station Renovation Project Passes First Test With Funding Challenge Ahead

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Photo: Architect Ted Galante before the Zoning Board of Appeals.

It was smooth sailing as the renovation of the nine decades old Belmont Police headquarters at the intersection of Concord Avenue and Pleasant Street got its first thumbs up as it begins meetings to clear regulatory hurdles and obtain the funding for the historic preservation of the project.

“Step one done,” said Ann Marie Mahoney, chair of the DPW/BPD Building Committee which is overseeing the renovation of the police building and the facilities at the Department of Public Works after receiving unanimous approval from the Belmont Zoning Board of Appeals on Monday, Dec. 3.

“And this [vote] was good and wonderful being unanimous,” she noted.

The committee was before the ZBA seeking approval of a pair of special permits which would allow the circa 1931 headquarters project to bypass town regulations and increase the structure’s height and adding an additional floor to a portion of the building. Architect Ted Galante of The Galante Architecture Studio in Cambridge told the board the additional space would improve the building’s function and allow for a sallyport and revamping of the unsafe holding cells. There will also be a need to reconfigure the entrance to the parking lot from the corner of the intersection to a new curb cut slightly up Pleasant Street. 

The changes will correct complaints of the safety of the cells and meet Americans with Disability Act regulations, said Galante, bringing the building into the 20th century. “We want a building and facility the town can be proud of,” said Belmont Police Chief Richard McLaughlin.

ZBA Chair Nicholas Iannuzzi quipped that as Belmont is a “Town of Homes,” it’s unlikely any of the residents will ever be spending time in the new cell block, only out-of-town “visitors,” to which McLaughlin agreed.

Next up for the project will be a presentation before the Planning Board in January 2019 which will review the project specifically the building’s larger floor area ratio and the landscaping in greater detail. 

Earlier in the day, the committee delivered its final request to the Community Preservation Committee for a $700,000 grant to preserve the historic features of the building. While the majority of the $7 million budget will be paid for via a long-term bond financed by existing town revenue, the brickwork and other repairs to the facade is critical to complete the job.

But the request seeking funding comes during the most competitive grant cycle in the CPC’s short history. Already approved in  the 2019 grant round is $400,000 for the design of an underpass on the commuter rail line at Alexander Avenue while the Board of Selectmen is seeking $1 million to design and conduct an engineering study of a community path from Belmont Center to Brighton Street. In addition, six other requests are pending. The total requested by the nine projects if funded would exceed the nearly $2 million the CPC has to provide. 

“And we really need that money this [cycle],” said Mahoney.

Finalist For Asst. Town Administrator Visits Rec Commission; Everyone Left Happy

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Photo: Jon Marshall, the finalist for Asst. Town Administrator’s job.

The lead finalist for Belmont’s Assistant Town Administrator visited the town on Monday, Dec. 3 and impressed the group who he’d be working closely if he gets the nod.

Jon Marshall, the director of recreation in neighboring Arlington came to talk with Belmont’s Recreation Commission at its monthly meeting Monday to discuss his background and ideas if he lands the job to be Town Administrator Patrice Garvin’s right-hand.

While the meeting was billed as “a discussion with the Commission,” town officials noted that Marshall was the only candidate given the chance to talk with the group as he is the frontrunner for the position. 

In a curious aside, Belmont’s former assistant town administrator Phyllis Marshall was appointed Arlington’s town treasurer in October. 

And after talking for about 40 minutes, everyone from Marshall to the commission members were happy with what they heard.

“It was a great meeting with the commission,” said Marshall after the get-together. “I heard their thoughts on the community and things they’d like to see improved. There are things that we both can accomplish and hopefully, I will get the chance moving forward.” 

Marshall’s resume and background appear to match what Garvin said she was looking for in an assistant who would focus most of their time overseeing the Recreation Division, which is part of the Department of Public Works. Marshall has led Arlington’s rec programs since Sept. 2016, after working as the director of the Recreation & Parks Department in his hometown of Natick for four and a half years after being the department’s Program Director for seven years. During this time, Marshall served as the president and legislative chair of the Massachusetts Recreation & Park Association.

Marshall earned a Bachelor of Science in Social Work from Salve Regina University in Newport, RI, and a Certificate in Public Administration from Suffolk University.

The Recreation Division had undergone changes about 18 months ago in how the department is run and while complaints from residents on the range of services and how many of the programs have “gone stale” over time, “we see this as a work in progress,” said June Howell, recreation programs supervisor.

“We are on the right track but we need help moving forward,” said Howell. Marshall said part of the problem is requiring a small staff to do at times an overwhelming number of tasks.

“Sometimes the ability to take a step back and refocus, then get a view of the landscape of what’s going on in the community and then saying ‘let’s tackle it’,” said Marshall. One area that “really excites me in Belmont” is the opportunity to start non-sports programs as they do in Arlington. 

Marshall has also experience in keeping programs running despite the loss of space as what happened in Arlington. Belmont will soon be under the same constraints once construction for the new 7-12 school building begins in June. 

At times, the discussion appeared as if the commissioners viewed Marshall as the town’s next recreation director, peppering him with questions on how he would revamp the inner workings of the division to attract residents to its variety of programs and facilities.

But Marshall said his job would be to “drive the vision for the department while working to support the staff and the commission to make sure that some of the ideas and thoughts we come up with move forward.”