It’s Official: Garvin Starts As Belmont Town Administrator Jan. 15, 2018

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Photo: Patrice Garvin, Belmont’s new Town Administrator, greeted by Selectmen Chair Jim Williams.

The executive session during which the Belmont Board of Selectmen negotiated the contract for the new town administrator was taking twice as long as scheduled on Monday, Dec. 11, leaving Patrice Garvin – whom the board had offered the job the previous week – to wait for an hour pondering exactly what could be going on between the members, the town’s human resource official and the consultants who help interest the Shirley Town Administrator to Belmont.

But in the end, the delay was caused by the normal course of negotiating the crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s, as the board welcomed Garvin who accepted the final terms of her contract with the town.

“I am very excited to be coming to Belmont,” said Garvin after the meeting.

Garvin and the board agreed to a three-year contract running through Jan. 15, 2021 with options to extend her employment. Garvin will receive an annual salary of $168,000.

With Jan. 15th falling on the Martin Luther King holiday, the board invited Garvin to the town’s annual MLK breakfast as a way of introducing her to the community. 

Garvin told the Belmontonian she will spend the first weeks with department heads and attending meetings of many of the 66 volunteer-run community organizations and committees. She will also be seeking out long-term residents and employees to give her a tour of the town as she learns the ins and outs of Belmont.

Million Dollar Belmont: Average Assessment Hits 7 Figures As Tax Bill Jumps 4 Percent in ’18

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Photo: Daniel Dargon, Robert Reardon and Charles Laverty III

There was a time in Belmont when the statement: “Your house looks like a million!” was metaphoric and not literal.

Not anymore, as the average assessed property in the “Town of Homes” had broken the seven-figure barrier, according to Board of Assessors when it announced the numbers during the annual tax classification hearing before the Belmont Board of Selectmen on Monday, Dec. 11.

The new “average” assessed value is $1,003,750, an increase from $942,000, according to Robert Reardon, long-time chair of the Board of Assessors, who announced that Belmont’s fiscal ’18 tax rate is set at $12.15 per $1,000 assessed value, a decrease of 4.25 percent from the fiscal ’17 rate of $12.69 per $1,000.

But don’t expect your quarterly bill to shrink in the coming year as the assessed value of property in Belmont shot up a healthy seven percent to $7.3 billion from $6.7 billion in fiscal ’17. With property values increasing at its highest percentage in more than five years, the average property owner will see their tax bill increase by 3.5 percent. 

For example, the annual tax bill on the average assessed valued property ($1,003,750 x $12.15) will be $12,195.56 in fiscal ’18; an increase of $241.58 from last year’s bill of $11,953.98.

Under the new rate, Belmont will collect $86.1 million from residential, commercial, open land and personal properties. Last fiscal year, the town raised $82 million in real estate taxes.

Reardon noted a “big” increase in new property growth totaling $2,020,408, compared to the $788,000 in fiscal ’17. On top of the existing Belmont tax base of $567,550, the Uplands development on the Cambridge border that selling units at a better than expected rate and new construction on the site is underway providing the town $600,750, nearly $200,000 more than anticipated. The completion of the electrical substation and its sale to Eversourse (the former NSTAR) brought in $852,108 in one-time funds to new growth. 

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 – at a minimum 20 percent – to creating separate tax rates for residential and commercial properties. Belmont’s commercial base is 4.1 percent of the total real estate.

“People always assumes there’s money if you go with the split rate and that’s not true,” Reardon told the Belmontonian.

Selectmen Offers Shirley’s Town Administrator Belmont Position; Contract Possibly Monday

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Photo: Patrice Garvin

The Belmont Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to offer Shirley Town Administrator Patrice Garvin the vacant Belmont Town Administrator position after a public interview of the final pair of candidates on Tuesday, Dec. 5 at Town Hall.

The Selectmen anticipate approving a final contract with Garvin on Monday, Dec. 11 at its next meeting. There are reports that Garvin – who was a finalist to become town administrator in three other communities this year – is likely to have competing offers from other municipalities, which was one of the reasons the selectmen moved up by a week its vote to decide on which candidate to select. 

A resident of Chelmsford, Garvin has been Shirley’s Town Administrator for the past four years, having been the executive assistant to the town manager in Groton previously. Garvin also has experience in town government as the chair and member of Chelmsford’s Finance Committee. She had her bachelors degree from Suffolk University and earned her masters in education and developmental and educational psychology from Boston College.

Also interviewed Tuesday was Kevin Sweet, Maynard’s town administrator, who along with Garvin was the last of 19 prospective candidates seen by a screening committee headed by School Committee member Kate Bowen. Both were described by Rick White of the search firm Groux-White Consulting as “represent[ing] the younger and rising stars in the profession.” 

While the selectmen each said that both candidates would be outstanding administrators, the majority opinion was that Garvin demonstrated a grasp of the position more significant than just process and numbers. 

“[Patrice] Garvin articulated a vision which I think is important,” said Selectman Adam Dash. “[She] came across to me as practical, foreright, persistent and those are qualities we need to go forward.”

“It wasn’t just a list of accomplishments; it was a statement of purpose and motivation as well as a quiet forcefulness that we can use,” said Dash. 

Mark Paolillo, the senior selectman on the board, was impressed with Garvin’s detailed and insightful knowledge when answering financial questions, “because we are facing great financial challenges in the future.” Of the two candidates, Paolillo felt Garvin would be more successful in “finding ways to bring people together and unify the community” and “work collaboratively with departments and the school committee.”

“It was some of her nuisance responses … like growing in the position in Shirley, that tipped the scales for me,” said Paolillo.

“She did really really well [on difficult questions], the answers were really honest and didn’t sound canned. I feel like I know what we are getting if we hire her because of that,” said Dash.

While saying he was less sure about making a selection, Chair Jim Williams said he was not looking for a “fourth selectmen” but rather someone who will follow the direction of the board. While both were very capable of doing the job, “I don’t have a strong preference.” Williams ultimately voted to join his colleagues to make the decision unanimous. 

With a low-key manner and a distinct Boston-regional accent, Garvin told the board “I always want to find a career where I would make peoples lives better,” and working in local government is where she “could see my efforts and my work in a very short period.” 

She told the board as an administrator for the past four years in Shirley, she looks for common ground and finds some resolution to problems that come through her door.

Garvin said her practical experience she gained being in Shirley for the past four years was “well-rounded” from building up the town’s reserves, restructured town offices, and obtained millions in state and federal grants and funding. She described her part in revamping the Shirley Fire ambulance response from relying on mutual aid to staffing the department with EMTs and on the weekend which resulted in a positive revenue and reducing response times.

She noted that the most significant challenge in the job “is gaining the trust and respect of the board you’re working for.”

She also told board she has “three rules” when it comes to working with the selectmen: “You’re always informed. You’re never surprised. And one [selectmen] won’t know something the other two do.”

When asked what qualities she will bring to Belmont if hired, Garvin said after ten years in government, she continues to “push to know more.” 

“What drives me is my failures as much as my success. I want to learn more and do better,” said “If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not trying. And what I bring to everything I do is my full effort. If I don’t succeed with one thing, I’ll try another. I won’t give up until it’s done.” 

A Quarter Century In the Making: Selectmen OK Recommended Community Path

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Photo: Chris Leino, chair of the Community Path Implementation Advisory Committee.

After more than a quarter century since the idea was first introduced, the concept of a pedestrian and bike path running through the town took a major step forward as the Belmont Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to recommend a proposed $27.9 million route advanced by the five-member Community Path Implementation Advisory Committee at the board’s meeting held Monday, Dec. 4 at Town Hall. 

“In my view, this is really an amazing opportunity for Belmont. I think the community path if constructed would be a fantastic crown jewel for [the town] … and an amazing resource for Belmont and surrounding communities,” said Russell Leino, chair of the Advisory Committee which spent nearly three years both devising a process and then leading a year-long feasibility study which analyzed countless byways which would connect Belmont with a proposed 104-mile Mass Central Rail Trail running from Boston to Northampton.

“This is the path we need to endorse,” said Selectman Mark Paolillo, the committee’s liaison to the committee.

“It has gone through endless public meetings, a significant amount of input from all stakeholders … we have reached an answer that this board needs to support as a way forward,” said Paolillo. 

The unanimity of support from the town’s executives was the validation Leino was seeking as the project now moves forward to the critical funding phase. 

“I’m really excited because this is an important step forward for this project. [T]his vote is really the end of the beginning and now we need to move forward on both funding and construction,” Leino told the Belmontonian after the meeting.

The committee’s timeline for the roughly two-mile project includes funding for preliminary and final design in 2018, secure construction funds from state and federal agencies by 2019 and construction in 2020 and 2021.

The suggested route – running from the Waltham line outside Waverley Square and connecting to an existing travel path at the Cambridge border – was not a surprise as it was unveiled early in November during the final meeting of the 10-step feasibility study process run by PARE Consulting that spent more than a year conducting meetings, walking tours and public forums.

“Our consultant [PARE’s Amy Archer] did an incredible job. Her comprehensiveness and demeanor was exceptional and made the process successful because she was so good at engaging the public and listening to feedback and reacting to it in a calm and reflective way,” Leino told the Belmontonian. 

“There weren’t any knee-jerk decisions and the way the [recommended] path [was evaluated] was done in a very deliberative way by going over the criteria over and over again,” said Paolillo.

Selectman Adam Dash successfully proposed adding language in the declaration that will allow the board and town to “tweak” the recommended path when the project encounters “the inevitable” unexpected delays and possible disputes with landowners.

One area that will need to be negotiated is in Waverley Square where developer Joseph DiStefano is proposing constructing commercial space along Trapelo Road – to be revealed in the first quarter of 2018 – that will be adjacent to the bike path. DiStefano, who attended Monday’s meeting, said he is willing to begin discussions with the town on accommodating each other’s interest.

Vote on New Town Administrator Moved Up A Week To Tuesday, Dec. 5

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Photo: The two candidates are still in the game.

The Belmont Board of Selectmen has discovered the demand for qualified professionals to manage town affairs is far exceeding the supply as the board was forced to move up by a week the vote to pick Belmont’s next Town Administrator.

The board decided to push forward its vote to Tuesday, Dec. 5, the same day the two finalists – Patrice Garvin, the town administrator of Shirley and Maynard Town Administrator Kevin Sweet – will be interviewed each for an hour by the board with a limited number of questions from the public. After announcing the finalists last month, the original schedule had the board waiting a week until Monday, Dec. 11 before making its selection. 

The switch in days, made at a hastily convened board caucus after a joint meeting of the board, the School and the High School Building committees on Thursday, Nov. 30 at the Wellington Elementary School, was due after one or both candidates were being pursued by other communities seeking to fill administrative positions. Already this year, Garvin has been a finalist in three towns, Leicester, Upton and Easton while Sweet was considered for the job in Scituate.

“Right now we have two very good candidates which we have to select. And we would like to have one of them on board soon,” said Selectman Mark Paolillo.

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.