Finalists for Town Administrator’s Post to Meet the Public Dec. 5

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Photo: Shirley Town Administrator Patrice Garvin (left) and Kevin Sweet, town administrator in Maynard.

The working group created to nominate candidates to fill the post of Belmont Town Administrator recommended two finalists who will meet with town officials, department heads and the public in the first week of December.

Shirley Town Administrator Patrice Garvin and Kevin Sweet, town administrator in Maynard were selected by the Temporary Town Administrator Screening Committee with help from the management firm of Gerux White Consulting and presented to the Belmont Board of Selectmen on Monday morning, Nov. 20.

The selectmen will vote for the new administrator at its scheduled Monday, Dec. 11 meeting after the candidates are presented to town employees and residents on Tuesday, Dec. 5 at 6 p.m. in Town Hall.

The candidates will fill the position vacated earlier this year when David Kale returned to Cambridge after serving four years in Belmont. 

Committee chair Catherine Bowen along with Rick White of Gerux White Consulting, the municipal management consulting firm that recruits chief executives and other key staff, told the board it had whittled down the number of candidates from 19 in September to 10 and then three with one of the finalists dropping out at the last moment. Bowen noted the committee “accelerated” the process “mindful of the of the market for town administrators” is quite strong

“We would love to have more [applicants] … but we believe the remaining candidates are strong,” said Bowen, with each seasoned and with a proven track record.” 

“We were looking for candidates with the proclivity and inclination to with independent boards and residents on difficult decisions in the future,” said White. 

According to his blog site, Sweet “joined the Town of Maynard in 2009, and served in a variety of leadership roles as the Director of Public Health, Executive Director of Municipal Services and Assistant Town Administrator. On April 1, 2013, he began his tenure as Town Administrator.” Sweet received his bachelor and master of science degrees from Massachusetts Maritime Academy and a Masters in Public Administration from Norwich University.

You can find out more about Sweet here.

Garvin has been Town Administrator in Shirley since 2013. She previously served for six years as executive assistant to the Groton Town Manager and before that was recording secretary for selectmen and other boards in Chelmsford from 2004-2008. Garvin received her bachelor of science degrees in political science and sociology from Suffolk University and matriculated at Boston College where she earned her master’s in education, developmental and educational psychology.

In a recent evaluation of her job performance, Garvin received high marks from the Shirley selectmen.

Garvin has been quite active in the town administrator job market having been a finalist in three previous towns; Leicester, Upton and Easton. In September, Garvin just missed out being named Easton’s administrator, coming out on the short end of a 3-2 vote, her chances reportedly hurt by the town’s residency requirement. 

Sweet has also placed his name and experience out in the market, having been a finalist in Scituate.

“This is a big deal for us,” said Selectman Mark Paolillo on the upcoming decision. “It a big decision that will affect the town for years.” 

BREAKING: Teachers’ Union, School Committee Reach Tentative Contract Agreement

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Photo: Belmont Education Association logo.

After working without a contract for the past two and a half months, representatives from the union representing Belmont’s teachers and the School Committee told the Belmontonian they had reached a tentative multi-year contract.

While attorneys for both sides are hammering out the final wording, a contract will be presented to the union membership and the school committee members “soon,” said John Phelan, superintendent of the Belmont School District.

“We have come to an agreement,” said John Sullivan, president of the Belmont Education Association on Tuesday night.

A joint press release will be issued with the contract’s details including salary and benefits “before Thanksgiving.”

The contract will cover approximately 500 union members, of which 330 are teachers and educators in Belmont’s six public schools and those working in the district. The BEA employee contract is the largest in the town; at $26.2 million in fiscal year 2018, it just under half of the school budget of $53.0 million. 

The last three-year contract between teachers and the town ended on Aug. 31, just days before the school year began.

Sources said the delay in forming a contract was due to benefits and added responsibilities being asked of educators rather than salaries.

 

Special Town Meeting, Nov. 13 [LIVE FEED]

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Photo: Moderator Mike Widmer at the start of the Special Town Meeting, 2017.

Hello and welcome to the Belmont Special Town Meeting being held on Monday, Nov. 13 at the Chenery Middle School.

7:05 p.m.: Moderator Mike Widmer gets the proceeding underway five minutes late, or as we all know it as “Belmont time.”

7:15 p.m.: The first presentation concerned the creation of Veteran’s month in Belmont and an update on the Veteran Memorial fundraising (it still has $150,000 to go to reach its goal of $350,000). And Patty Mihelich is given a warm welcome on the recognition of the 25th anniversary of the Belmont Food Pantry. 

7:35 p.m. AnnMarie Mahoney, the chair of the Major Captial Project Working Group, discusses the process of coming to a solution to the four major building project in town: Police headquarters, DPW facility, the Belmont Public Library and the High School. The high school and the library have their own plans, so police and DPW are the best. candidates for “emergency solutions” that will increase the “humane employee working conditions, safety, accessibility.” 

The DPW needs adequately sized break room, changing area, locker rooms and office space. This is the easier of the two. Police headquarters is difficult because it needs an elevator which is problematic due to infrastructure barriers. It also needs adequate space for male and female officers.

The long-term plan for the DPW includes a new building and a place a new access road to Pleasant Street. 

Police headquarters will be in the DPW yard off Woodland Street. It will also have an access road to Pleasant Street. There are a lot of advantages to this area. 

The preliminary estimate for emergency solutions is $1.6 million for the DPW and $2.8 million for a total of $4.4 million with funding from the capital stabilization fund, capital budget, and free cash, Cushing Square parking lot money.

New buildings will cost $20-$25 million. Funding with a debt exclusion. Love to raise revenue with innovative solutions.

Prioritising projects other than the new high school. Criteria include condition, cost, readiness and public use. 

“We can do short-term solutions, but it is just not practical,” said Mahoney. 

Sample timetable: High school will have a debt exclusion in 2018 and construction in 2020 to 2023 with the library debt exclusion in 2020 and the DPW and Police in 2024. 

And there are other projects that need to be renovated and to be constructed – parking in Belmont Center and renovating Belmont schools. 

Tonight Mahoney wants $383,230 from the Kendall Insurance Fund for the emergency funding of the DPW/Police and forming a building committee for both projects. 

Mahoney’s detailed and entertaining update on her group’s work is given a big hand. For anyone who wants a primer on how to make a presentation at Town Meeting, review her deft handling.

8 p.m.: Bill Lovallo of the Belmont High School Building Committee is providing an update on the new high school which is coming along quite nicely. “This is a critical time for community engagement,” said Lovallo. By the end of August, the committee will give a presentation to the selectmen on how much money it will need to create the new school. The debt exclusion vote will occur either in Nov. 2018 to April 2019. “This is not a building committee project, a selectmen project or a school committee project. It is a Belmont community project,” he said.

8:10 p.m.: And here we go with the first article for a vote: the revolving fund article. George Hall, town counsel, said this article is mostly a technical issue to follow the lead of the legislature that now requires the funds to be part of the town’s bylaw. PASSED unanimously. 

8:15 p.m.: Article 3, this is the reason for the special town meeting: to fund the purchase of modular classrooms and improvements at the Burbank at the cost of $2,734,000. Belmont Superintendent John Phelan said the modulars are needed due principally to the system’s biggest bugaboo: just too many kids entering the system. Projected enrollment at the current rate will be 25 kids in each elementary classroom. The modulars will add one teacher per each grade which will reduce the class size. The district is also adding teachers, finding space and other things. At the Burbank, there will be four classrooms, improvements in parking, playground areas. Treasurer Floyd Carman said the program will be paid from a 10-year bond at 3 percent at $321,000 a year. 

Jim Gammill, Pct. 4, questioned that use of the funding but it was considered beyond the scope of the question which is all about authorize funding, not spending. Katherine Poulin-Kerstien, Pct. 6, of the Burbank PTO, said she is in support of the project as a short-term solution to enrollment problems until a new High School is built which likely have a 7-12 grade configuration which will lessen the enrollment problems. Bob Sarno, Pct. 3, asked Carman if the funding could come from a debt exclusion. Carman said that yes, it’s possible but for the town “This is mission critical,” so why to spend money and time on that method. The questioned as been moved and the vote on the article is up which needs a 2/3’s margin. The vote is 229 for and 14 against; it carries.

8:45 p.m.: Article 4 is up, and Mahoney is back up, asking for the $383,230 for schematic designs for emergency repairs and the creation of a building committee for both issues. Stephen Rosales, Pct. 8, introduces a video that was created by the Belmont Media Center to give a tour of the conditions inside the DPW building and Police headquarters. Liz Allison, Pct. 2, is concerned that voting yes on Article 4 will likely result in a lack of impetus to fund a long-term solution. Ariane Goodman-Belkadi, Pct. 3, of Woodland Street, said she is not in favor of spending the money on short-term relief without knowing more on a permanent solution. Opposed to placing a police station on a dead end street, she asked if the MBTA doesn’t allow access to Pleasant Street, will the working group look for an alternative location. Mahoney said she’s not sure. Mark Paolillo said it’s high time that the town made repairs to the town facilities.

The question has been called, and the vote is 223 yea, and 12 nays, the funding passes.

9:25 p.m.: Article 5 is up which the Belmont Board of Library Trustees is seeking $150,000 from the Kendall Insurance Fund (the Library Foundation will put in $150,000 to meet the total funding) to move forward on schematic-level design and the creation of a building committee. Kathleen Keohane, head of the Trustees, gave statistics on the library and Ellen Schreiber talked about the private fundraising campaign that will be required to start the process towards building the new library. Joel Semuels, Pct. 6, asked the town to support the funding needed to create a plan that can be brought to investors and donators. Steve Rosales, Pct. 8, said the town had spent $301,000 in past planes and designs. What’s to say the $150,000 will not be wasted as funding in the past. 

The motion has been moved, and the vote to take $150,000 from the Kendall fund is 215  yes, and 21 no. It passes. 

9:50 p.m.: We are going to finish the special town meeting tonight! Last up is the citizens’ petition on creating an elected planning board. Paul Roberts, Pct. 8, is introducing his petition. The Selectmen are unfavorably inclined to the article. “This is a simple amendment to make Belmont government better,” said Roberts. Roberts said an elected board – which Belmont had from 1922-72 – would only change the way the board is populated, by the people. Co-sponsor Wayne Mesard said an elected board would bring the full breadth of talent within the community and provide a defense against bureaucratic overreach. If approved, the planning board will resemble qualified people like our other boards, as other towns do. Co-sponsor Anne Mahon said everyone in the room ran and were elected; it will be the same with the new planning board.

Selectman Adam Dash said an elected board would politicize the board – and make them susceptible to public pressure – and that the town would not get the number and quality of people who would run for the position. Ellen Schreiber, Pct. 8, said she’s opposed because people don’t run for “significant” positions because they are “hard”, incumbents are re-elected and won’t provide the accountability the proponents seek, there should be a change in the appointment process, and elected boards will be impacted by upcoming elections. “We are not in a rush,” said Schrieber. 

Michael Crowley, Pct. 8, said “we are adults” and the public can make the decision through voting. Corinne Olmsted, Pct. 1, said Planning Board serves the residents and so the residents should have a direct voice to support the board. Ian Todreas, Pct. 1, said if you have the energy and commitment to run for such an important position, you will have the drive to do a good job.

The question has been moved and the vote is … 87 yes and 141 no; it’s defeated.

And the town meeting is over.

Going Up? Lack Of Temp Elevator Could Fast Forward New Police Station Decision

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Photo: An exterior elevator in Italy.

Two months ago, the Major Capital Projects Working Group revealed a long-term plan for a new Belmont Police Headquarters located adjacent to the Water Division facility at the end of Woodland Street. Best guess for its opening? Approximately 2026-ish.  

But there’s a chance the working group could recommend bringing the proposed project before town residents for a funding vote in the next year or two.

What could fast forward the project is whether an emergency “fix” to the existing police station can include a temporary elevator fitted to the exterior of the building. That was the latest update provided by Working Group member Anne Marie Mahoney to the Belmont Board of Selectmen on Monday, Nov. 6 during a board’s review of the warrant articles before Monday’s Special Town Meeting.

“If that elevator can’t be added to the building, then it’s extremely likely in the Spring [the Working Group] will have another plan ready with a new funding source,” said Mahoney.

The Working Group is requesting from Town Meeting $383,000 be spent to create schematic plans for short-term repairs to the Police Station and the main building at the Department of Public Works, both which are in severe states of disrepair. The funds for the designs – which will outline the “emergency solutions” needed to “create … humane conditions for our employees,” according to Mahoney – will come from a portion of the insurance money the town received after an April 1999 fire destroyed the former Kendall School on Beech Street.

Once the designs are finalized, the Working Group will return to the annual Town Meeting in May seeking a bond authorization of between $4 million to $5 million to make the repairs at both buildings.

The big question mark on the future of a new headquarters is a proposed fill-in elevator. The police station doesn’t have a functioning lift in the two-story building which is in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). While the headquarters is allowed to operate under a grandfather clause, once “penny one” of the renovations is spent, the town is required to bring the building up to code.

Back in October, it was assumed a temporary elevator connected to the outside of the building would be sufficient. But since then, other experts are not so sure an elevator is “doable” at the site, said Mahoney.

If the elevator cannot be incorporated in the emergency repairs, Mahoney told the board the working group would develop a secondary plan that would call for the construct a new police headquarters “sooner than later.”

“If we can’t do the emergency repairs now, we have really no choice but to move quickly on a new building,” said Mahoney.

Mahoney said it would take less than a month for schematic designs to be completed by the first of the year, “so we’ll have six to seven months to figure it out” before Town Meeting.

Mahoney said it would be a challenge to develop a funding plan – past estimates pegged a new police station in the $20 million range – which will primarily be competing with a debt exclusion vote for a new/renovated Belmont High School which could reach $200 million.

League of Women Voters Holding Special Town Meeting Preview Monday

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Photo: Modular classrooms.

The Belmont League of Women Voters and Warrant Committee is co-sponsoring a warrant briefing to acquaint Town Meeting members and residents with the articles in the Special Town Meeting warrant.

The meeting will take place Monday evening, Nov. 6 at 7:30 p.m. in the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St.

This is an opportunity for Town Meeting members and the general public to ask questions of town officials and department heads concerning any of the warrant articles prior to the Special Town Meeting to be held in one week on Monday, Nov. 13. Articles will include the financing of modular classrooms at the Burbank school and changing the selection of Planning Board members from appointed to elected.

Warrant Committee Chair Roy Epstein will lead the meeting.

Second Time A Charm: Sanderson Appointed To Planning Board

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Photo: The Planning Board earlier this year.

For Edward “Sandy” Sanderson, the second time was a charm as the planning professional was appointed as an associated member of the Belmont Planning Board by a unanimous vote of the Belmont Board of Selectmen on Monday, Oct. 30. 

Sanderson’s selection came six weeks since the Selectmen voted 2-1 to deny him a seat on the Board. The change now is the Planning Board has undergone a radical transformation since the mass resignation of three long-serving members this month. 

The Planning Board Chair Charles “Chuck” Clark asked the same board that skipped over Sanderson to select two other candidates – re-appointing sitting member Raffi Manjikian and selecting Dalton Road’s Stephen Pinkerton on Sept. 11 – recommended Sanderson for the associate membership as being “the most qualified candidate” of the resumes he had seen. 

Sanderson was a city planner for the City of Los Angeles and is currently an urban and transportation planner in the Boston office of a New York-based civil engineering firm.  Sanderson matriculated at Worcester Polytech and earned a master’s in planning from the University of Minnesota. 

The change in the composition of the Planning Board occurred after former chair Liz Allison and Barbara Fiacco resigned last week, following Manjikian’s lead leaving the board earlier in the month.

Manjikian fired off a heated letter to Williams accusing Clark of creating a hostile workplace after he accused Allison and Manjikian of abusing their positions in forwarding a public/private plan which included moving the Belmont Public Library to Waverley Square without speaking the Board of Library Trustees.

In an aside, Williams criticized the three former members for leaving their positions without providing notice of their actions.

“As far as I’m concerned, if someone is appointed, not only do they have a personal obligation but they have an obligation to the town to allow a more organized departure,” said Williams. “It’s not fair to the community to do it any other way.” 

Clark told the Selectmen adding Sanderson to the Planning Board’s will allow the body to reach a quorum to vote on issues brought before them, including requests for “special permits” – which includes superseding the town’s zoning bylaws – that requires a “super majority” decision that requires four votes. Clark said his board had four applications waiting to move forward but are at a standstill until Sanderson was appointed. 

This points to the reason why we need to move on this expeditiously,” said Selectman Adam Dash. 

As for filling the remaining two members, Selectmen Chair Jim Williams suggested opening the application process to a new round of resumes for ten days as the current ones on file “are stale.” 

Applicants can send resumes to the Town Administration Office until Nov. 9. The final decision on the two positions – one will be for a single year term and the other three years – will be made at the Selectmen’s Nov. 13 meeting. 

They’re Here To Stay: Controlling Rats with Education, Money and Garlic

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Photo: Joey’s Park, ground zero for rat removal.

Take equal parts garlic and white pepper then add a dash of paprika and mix.

Sounds like an excellent dry marinade you can rub on chicken or steak before grilling to give the meat a bit of a punch.

In fact, the mixture is an excellent organic rat repellant. That’s correct: rat repellant. 

That spicy recipe is currently being pushed into the rodent lairs under Joey’s Park in the Winn Brook neighborhood, according to Jay Marcotte, the town’s Department of Public Works director as he came to update the Belmont Board of Selectmen of his department’s battle with the rodents.

The popular playground adjacent to the Winn Brook Elementary School has been closed for the past fortnight after workers discovered the vermin living in and around the play structure.

Currently, the town is seeking “a safe and swift resolution to the issue,” said Wesley Chin, Belmont’s Health Department director,

Marcotte said he decided to approve a non-chemical approach – at the cost of $2,300 – as “the safest possible” method as the playground is very popular with children and families from around town. The natural repellant that comes in a gel is intended to irritate the rats’ skin which will hopefully have them scurry into one of the 40 traps laid out in the park.

The park will stay closed for another three weeks when the firm applying the solution believes the job will be complete, said Marcotte.

Even if this method does the job in the Winn Brook neighborhood, Belmont will not be as fortunate as the Town of Hamlin which found a pied piper to drive off the pests – and unfortunately a large segment of the German town’s school-aged population – as the rodents have been seen congregating near the port-a-potties at Town Field, on Beech Street, and along Pleasant Street, said Chin.

“They’re not going away,” said Dr. David Alper of the town’s Health Board, advising the board to create a new line item in the upcoming fiscal 2018 budget to tackle the rat issue in the future.

“Short money for long-term gain,” said Alper.

The town will expand its current rat removal campaign in all of the town’s parks which will include removing trash cans from those public spaces to rid the rodents of their food source, said Marcotte.

But the most effective method of controlling the rodent issue is information and data, including calling the Health Department when rats are found so the town can track their migration.

“The best tool is educating the public,” said Alper.

Letter to the Editor: Planning Board Chaos Underscores Need for Accountability

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Photo: The Planning Board

To the editor:

And then there were three. With the unexpected resignations this week of former Planning Board Chairwoman Liz Allison and Board member Barbara Fiacco, Belmont’s Planning Board has been reduced to just three members, having lost half its members to resignation in the past month – all three under clouds of controversy. 

The unraveling of this critical body as major projects, like Cushing Village, demand attention and others like Belmont High School loom poses a serious challenge to the Town’s leadership. It also offers a powerful argument in favor of a motion I have put before Town Meeting on Nov. 13 that will bring accountability and order to Planning Board by letting the town’s voters choose its members, as 35 of 39 other towns in Middlesex county already do.

For those readers who are hearing about this for the first time, I’ve taken the opportunity to answer some “frequently asked questions”. I hope this help inform you about this important, citizen-driven initiative. 

Why are you doing this? 

Amending our bylaws to have voters elect our Planning Board will bring transparency, accountability, and professionalism to a critical body whose jurisdiction extends to every private home and commercial property in town. Popular election of Planning Board will give voters the opportunity to evaluate all candidates for open positions on the Planning Board and to choose those who are best qualified and suited to represent the community’s interests. 

This critical change to our bylaws will also bring Planning Board in line with our Town’s other administrative boards and committees, namely: Selectmen, School Committee, Board of Assessors, Board of Library Trustees and the Board of Health, members of which are all elected by voters.

Do other communities elect their Planning Boards? 

Yes. If we consider Middlesex County of which we are a part, 35 of 39 (or 90 percent) of communities with Belmont’s form of government like Newton, Cambridge, Lowell, Somerville have opted for popularly elected Planning Boards. This list includes Winchester, Lexington, Lincoln, Sudbury, Weston, Natick, Sherborn, Stoneham, Wakefield, Westford, Holliston, Hopkinton, and on and on. Belmont is one of just four that still have Planning Boards that are appointed by the Board of Selectmen.  

Why Planning Board? Why now? 

Planning Board is one of the most critical public bodies in our town. It helps shape the town through its decisions concerning both residential and commercial development and has the power to shape public and private spaces within a town.  As it stands, however, there is no mechanism in Belmont’s bylaws to ensure that Planning Board is accountable to voters and the public in any way. This is a critical omission in Belmont’s bylaws that has directly contributed to the erratic and damaging behavior of our Planning Board in recent months. 

If elected, won’t Planning Board start kowtowing to voters instead of being independent?

Of course not. Elected Planning Board members, like other elected officials, will be expected to think independently and to use their best judgment and make decisions that they feel are in the best interest of the whole community. That’s no different than what we expect of appointed officials. 

Let’s face it: Planning Board is an unpaid, volunteer position. Election to Planning Board is no more likely to engender self-serving, short-term decision making by members than an election to other unpaid positions like Town Meeting or School Committee. Consider: the punishment for losing re-election to Planning Board for a decision that voters disagree with is that the individual is forced to volunteer less. That’s hardly the kind of punishment that will have members betraying their values and common sense.  

What’s wrong with an appointed Board? 

It is critical that voters in Belmont have a means to express their preferences for Planning Board as they do for other administrative bodies like School Committee or the Selectmen themselves.  Under our current bylaws, they do not. 

Consider: it is the Selectmen, not the public, who receive and review applications from community members who are interested in a seat on the Planning Board. Voters in Belmont are not privy to who has applied for open seats or their qualifications, nor are they given the benefit of the Board of Selectmen’s reasons for eliminating any particular candidate or ultimately appointing one over another. Yes, voters may appeal to the Board to choose a specific candidate, assuming they even know who has applied, but the Selectmen are under no obligation to heed the voters. 

Don’t we affect Planning Board with our choice of Selectman?  

It might be argued that voters can express their Planning Board preferences in their vote for a Selectman. As a practical matter, however, this never happens. Planning Board appointments are not an issue in Board of Selectman races nor have promised appointments been deciding factors – or even talking points – in selectman races. Our bylaws left unchanged will continue to shield the selection, decisions, and actions of the Planning Board from voters and any accountability. 

I hope you will support this citizen-driven effort to make an important change to Belmont’s bylaws and inject democratic accountability to this critical body. I urge you to contact Town Meeting members from your precinct and ask them to support the Planning Board article. 

Paul Roberts

Town Meeting Member, Precinct 8

Living With Coyotes In Belmont, Thursday At 6:30PM At Belmont Media

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Photo: A coyote.

When asked what to do when residents see a coyote taking a stroll through neighborhood streets or backyards, Belmont’s long-serving Animal Control Officer John Maguranis told the Belmontonian that people should follow a simple three-word phrase when they encounter the animal. 

“Don’t freak out,” said Maguranis, who is one of the leading experts on coyotes and their growing interaction in urban spaces. Too many residents immediately revert to “panic” mode when one of the wild canines is in the vicinity of their homes, which Maguranis said is unnecessary in nearly all cases when people and coyotes cross paths. 

Maruranis, who is the Massachusetts representative to Project Coyote, a national coalition of scientists and educator working to promote coexistence between people and coyotes, will be presenting a multimedia presentation about all-things coyote in Belmont on Thursday, Oct. 27 at 6:30 p.m. in Studio A at the Belmont Media Center, 9 Lexington St.

Maruranis will talk about:

  • Common misconceptions about the animal
  • Management and coexistence with coyotes
  • Human and pet safety 
  • The right way to haze coyotes, and
  • Tracking the animal.

The public is invited to ask questions after the presentation. The event will be televised live and rebroadcast for future viewing. 

Maruranis will give the same presentation at The First Church in Belmont, Unitarian Universalist on Wednesday, Nov. 15 from noon to 2 p.m.

Breaking: Two Planning Board Members, Including Former Chair, Resign

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Photo: (left) Barbara Fiacco; Liz Allison

Former Chair Liz Allison and member Barbara Fiacco suddenly resigned from the Belmont Planning Board since Monday, Oct. 23.

The departure of the pair comes less than a fortnight after associate member Raffi Manjikian angerly resigned on Oct. 13 due to a “hostile work environment” created by newly-elected Chair Charles Clark. 

As of Tuesday afternoon, the board has three members – Clark, Karl Haglund, and newly appointed Stephen Pinkerton – efficiently making it redundant to make decisions as it needs a fourth member. It will be up to the Board of Selectmen to appoint replacements.

Allison, Fiacco, and Clark could not be reached at this time. The article will be updated if they decide to respond. 

Allison and Fiacco’s letters – received on Monday, Oct 23 and Tuesday, Oct. 24 – were brief statements that did not elaborate the reason for their decisions.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to have worked with some very fine people and served a fine town,” said Allison.

Fiacco was more specific for her resignation, noting her “current workload and travel schedule. I am unable to dedicate the time necessary to address … challenges [facing the board] effectively this year.”

Allison and former member Manjikian were accused by Clark of abuse of power in September after it was revealed the pair had advocated moving the Belmont Public Library to a public/private Waverley Square development to revitalize the once-vibrant business center. The scheme, dubbed the ‘Big Idea,’ turned controversial when supporters of the library said they were never informed of the project or the move.

In the past month, a group of residents submitted a citizens’ petition to be heard at the Nov. 13 Special Town Meeting to consider changing the Planning Board from an appointed to an elected body.

Professionally, Allison is a noted economist who has served on the town’s Warrant, and Finance committees and Fiacco is a partner at the Boston law firm Foley Hoag.