Selectmen Candidates in Testy Exchanges at League’s Night

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Photo: Adam Dash (left) and Guy Carbone at the League of Woman Voter’s Candidates Night.

Over the past decade, political debates nationwide have become more course and acrimonious with sophomoric name-calling – remember last year’s “Lying Ted”? – and accusations are thrown around with little merit to any facts.

On Monday, March 20, at this year’s League of Women Voters’ Candidate’s Night, the national debating trend arrived in Belmont, when a candidate for the open Board of Selectmen seat accused his opponent of being … a “dilettante!”

Pass the smelling salt, Lovey. I feel the vapors coming!

While the dustup which occurred during the question and answers section between first-time Board of Selectmen candidates Guy Carbone and Adam Dash was nowhere near the rowdy nature of recent Congressional constituency meetings seen nationwide, the interaction between the two residents revealed different approaches each would take if elected to the three-member board in April.

For Woodfall Road’s Carbone, his experience in local (terms as selectman and on the school committee in Watertown) and state (Commissioner of the former Massachusetts District Commission) government and his long career as an engineer and attorney is the perfect mix to meet the challenges facing Belmont in the near future, specifically in capital building projects such as construction of a new high school, police station and public works buildings.

“I think I’m a natural for this,” he said. “For me, this is a busman’s holiday.”

Carbone said he would review the town’s critical spending needs with the ability of property owners to pay for them. “We have to be careful not to ask our residents for more than they are capable of providing.”

“Belmont needs balance,” said Carbone.

Goden Street’s Dash pressed his work expertise – many years working in and with Somerville and Belmont including on the Warrant Committee and Zoning Board of Appeals – to “bring action” to repair “a broken town process” and end “the sad cynicism” so many feel about local government

Dash told the audience many important municipal department buildings such as the Public Works and Police Headquarters “are not acceptable” and only by wisely phasing in projects and seeking private funding and applying for federal and state grants, “can address these capital needs without overburdening our taxpayers.”

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Adam Dash

He pointed to his work on the Underwood Pool Building Committee where he led the process where Community Preservation Committee funds, private donations and a town debt exclusion to bring about a project that is “staggeringly popular.”

“I have the current Belmont specific experience to transition onto the Board of Selectmen seamlessly,” said Dash.

During the Q&A, Carbone saw himself as having the practical hands-on experience that would benefit the town. When asked his view of the proposed Community Path running through Belmont,  the renovation of Belmont High School and increasing sidewalk repairs, Carbone said will review projects “with an engineer’s eye” then listen to all sides of the issue.

“I will ask the right questions at the right time,” said the former Army Corp of Engineers officer. 

But for Dash, Carbone’s construction expertise would best be used seeking another town position.

“I am not running for town engineer. We have a good one,” quipped Dash, who said his leadership style of bringing people together in a bottom-up approach was the most efficient avenue to avert the missteps of projects such as solar power net metering or the controversy of the Loading Dock liquor license transfer from happening again.

“Had they been done process-wise differently would not have blown up and had been as divisive. We’re a small town. We should not be at each other’s throats. We should be working together,” he said.

Testy exchanges

While both men will seek to use their slot on the board to support climate initiatives, one policy area the two diverged was how Belmont should meet the challenge of nearly $150 million in unfunded financial obligations facing the town. 

Following a question from current Selectman Jim Williams on how they would deal with the town’s pension and post-retirement health payments, Carbone said all the town has to do is “just listen to Jim Williams” as the selectman “is right on target” in paying off the obligations upfront rather than over several decades under the existing policy.

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Guy Carbone

Dash agreed with Williams’ advocacy to revisit the town’s current payment plan but would stick with the current blueprint – paying off the pension in 2029 then use the same revenue stream to begin paying down the OPEB debt – “is the way to go.”

It was a question on Carbone’s town administrative experience in Belmont that resulted in the most controversial moment of the Q&A. When Carbone said it was his careful examination of legal documents that ended a potentially costly litigation on the renovation of the historic fire station in Belmont Center, Dash noted that Carbone represented the contractor who “screwed up the fire station” which eventually cost the town in settlement fees. 

“It’s not necessarily a positive for the town,” said Dash, who said being a Town Meeting member and working on building committees and town boards showed his dedication to the community “and a lot of people I worked with these committees are supporting me.”

Carbone was not going to let Dash’s broadside go unanswered, saying he was “getting tired of what I’m hearing in this campaign,” insinuating that Dash was misrepresenting the facts.

“I’m not going to let anyone attack my client when my client was the only who had no problems. And I have to hear this?” said an increasingly upset Carbone. “I’m getting sick of this from this candidate” before Debbie Winnick, the night’s moderator, put a halt to the line of inquiry. 

Later, after Dash said after being immersed in the critical financial issues and trends he would be better able to handle town affairs “if things go wrong,” Carbone responded that his expertise of working with project consultants in the past will be vital to the town rather than having a “dilettante who has been involved with zoning.”

In closing, Dash said speaking to residents; he discovered that they not only want potholes fixed, “but to have a voice in town government. And I will provide that voice. If we work together, we can get things done.” 

Carbone asked, “if you are not happy with the ways things are going in Belmont than you should vote for Guy Carbone for selectman.”

“I don’t have to talk about all the problems. I know what they are. I am a problem solver,” he said.

Know Before You Vote: Town Election Is April 4; Are You Ready?

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Photo: Town Clerk’s Office

Belmont’s Town Election is approximately two weeks away and it is now time for residents to check your voter registration, party affiliation, voting status, their precinct and polling location to save time and avoid frustration on Election Day.

Where do I vote?

Belmont’s voting precincts and locations:

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

Who is on the April 4 ballot?

Belmont’s Town-wide officers, including Board of Selectmen, School Committee, Treasurer, Moderator, Board of Assessors, Board of Health, Board of Cemetery Commissioners, Library Trustees and Town Meeting Members in each of our eight precincts, will be on the ballot.

View the sample ballots for April 4.

Who can take out an absentee ballot?

Absentee ballots are now available for this election; Early Voting is not available for local elections. Voters who qualify for absentee ballots by being out of Belmont on Election Day or have a medical issue making voting in person on Election Day too challenging or have a conflict on voting day due to religious reasons, may request an Absentee Ballot be mailed to them or may vote in person at the Town Clerk’s office. Requests for Absentee Ballots must be in writing and include the voter’s signature.

What is your voting status and how to register to vote?

Find information about your current voter registration.

To register to vote using the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s secure online system.

Or visit the Town Clerk’s web page and select Town Clerk, Elections: Register to Vote or Check Voter Status.

Also visit Belmont Town Clerk Elections: Information for Residents and Media or email to: townclerk@belmont-ma.gov

Look Who’s Running: League’s Candidate’s Night Monday at 7PM

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Photo: The League’s Candidate’s Night

The Belmont League of Women Voters’ Education Fund hosts Candidate’s Night on Monday, March 20, beginning at 7 p.m. The event will take place at the Chenery Middle School, 95 Washington St.

The annual event prior to the Town Election – taking place April 4 – allows residents and voters the opportunity to meet and greet with those running for Town Meeting and town-wide office.

The night’s schedule:

  • 7 p.m.: Town Meeting member candidates meet with voters by precinct in the school’s main lobby.
  • 7:30 p.m.: Town Meeting member candidates introduce themselves to the audience (no speeches, Thank you.)
  • 7:45 p.m.: Short speeches and a question and answer with the town-wide candidates.

 

Town Meeting ’17: Four Citizens’ Petitions Include Welcoming Town, Pay-to-Throw, 5 Selectmen

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Photo: Pay as you throw on the Town Meeting agenda.

Making Belmont a “Welcoming Town,” increase by two the number of Selectmen, placing the town’s cash into a particular account and making residents pay for trash removal. Those are the four citizens’ petitions that have been certified by the board of registers and will be before the 2017 Town Meeting in May.

“Welcoming” Town Designation (Anne Mahon, Alma Avenue)

After the election of President Donald Trump in November, Anne Mahon said she feared that the New York real estate developer and television personality would implement a series of campaign promises targeting immigrants for deportation and ban refugees and immigrants from majority Muslim nations from the country. In late January, Mahon’s trepidation came to fact as Trump signed a hastily created ban on people from seven Middle Eastern nations from entering the country. (That effort was successfully challenged in the courts).

Mahon, the president of the town’s Democrat Committee, felt that as a community Belmont could follow the lead of several municipalities to become a “sanctuary community” under which the town and its education and public safety departments would not cooperate with federal agencies involved with immigration.

Nearly 500 cities and towns are considered “sanctuary” communities, according to the Ohio Jobs & Justice Political Action Committee, which have tallied the number more than a decade.

After researching the issue and talking to others in the progressive community, Mahon decided to take a slightly different and less confrontation tack. The “Welcoming Town Designation” would reiterate Belmont’s history of “welcom[ing] immigrants from many regions around the world” who “enrich the fabric of this community.”

The petition reads that “[n]ational policies that discriminate against immigrants because of religion or country of origin run counter to our values” and so it should not assist those plans including from the federal agency Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE.

In many communities, local police will inform ICE they are holding a person with questionable immigration status and will accept and ICE  detainer warrant which is used to ensure transfer of a local inmate who has pending charges in the federal jurisdiction.

Under the petition, “Belmont Police Department will continue its long-held policy of not asking any individual about immigration status” when asking for help or are involved in a minor infraction while providing assistance and protection to all people despite that same status. 

The petition will seek Town Meeting’s solidarity with displaced persons and migrants from around the world and affirm its support for the police department’s current policy of not honoring ICE detainer warrants without a court order or a probable-cause warrant signed by a judge nor detain a person solely on the belief that the individual has committed a civil immigration violation.

Mahon said while she agrees that the police department and school district “are wonderful in how they treat all people in the community,” she continues to worry about “what’s coming down from [Washington] because it’s really frightening.”

My only goal here is to get this to pass, so it gives all people a sense of comfort,” said Mahon.

Increase the Board of Selectmen to five members (James Williams, Glenn Road)

Increasing the number of selectmen on the governing board which is responsible for the oversight town government is not a new proposal. Town Meeting rejected a pair of warrant articles to expand the board to five members in 2000 and 2002 while a few years later the League of Women Voters studied the issue but then did not to endorse the idea.

In 2009, a proposal by a Government Reform Committee would have overhauled the entire structure of town governance including giving more day-to-day power to the town administrator’s office with the selectmen adding two members and become a policy-making committee. But the plan did not reach Town Meeting that year.

In May, Town Meeting will see the return of the five-member body as Selectman Jim Williams

Under Williams’ petition, the board will increase to five members on Town Election 2018, with the election of two Selectmen for three-year terms and a member for two years.

Williams said the change would be in line with the past efforts to revamp the town administrator’s job – vacant due to the departure of David Kale – which will include removing day-to-day tasks from the board. 

While this proposal lacks the detailed governing overhaul blueprint from the 2009 Government Reform Committee, Williams told the Belmontonian that he has bandied “ideas [around] that may authorize increased responsibilities for directly-assigned functions” while eliminating the “matrix [of] duties where simply adding another layer of management to the organizational chart is not particularly useful and can be dysfunctional.” He has yet to present his proposal to the full board for its collective opinion.

Consider waste metering to save money and reduce trash (Kim Slack, Taylor Road)

Slack, who is a member of Sustainable Belmont, is calling on the Board of Selectmen as its role as financial managers to open its mind to “all options for waste management” including what is known as “pay-as-you-throw” systems. 

Familiar in with more rural and outer suburban communities – 145 municipalities out of 352 in Massachusetts that have adopted this approach, or about 40 percent – the concept is rather simple: residents pay a per-unit fee for disposal of the solid waste that they generate which incentifies recycling and reducing trash generation. 

This sustainable approach to waste removal is not a new one in Belmont; the most recent attempt to impose a PAYT system in town was 2010 when a committee suggested to the Board of Selectmen a plan where households would have free trash pickup of 39 gallons worth of garbage while being charged a $2 fee for additional bags.

But as with past attempts to include this “green” technique, you have to remember back to 1990 for context why a PATY system would be a hard sale to households

In that year, town voters approved a $2.1 million Proposition 2 1/2 operating override to pay for unlimited weekly curbside trash pick up. As the $2.1 million has grown by 2 1/2 percent annually, the override currently brings in $3.7 million this past year, nearly twice as much as the contracted cost for garbage and trash collection by F.W. Russell which is $1.8 million for fiscal 2017.

Simply put, why, asked residents, pay for a service that you pay for in your quarterly tax bill? 

But Slack says that the “needs and goals have changed since the 1990 override” and the selectmen “will be better equipped to align the town’s policies for waste with the current financial and environmental goals” which includes 2009’s Climate Action Plan. 

Transfer unappropriated available funds … a sum of money to the General Stabilization Fund” (Robert Sarno, Waverley Terrace)

This is pretty straightforward: Take a portion of the town’s certified “free” cash balance and put it into the town’s General Stabilization Fund.

The GSF was created after the town approved the $4.5 million 2015 Proposition 2 1/2 override and has managed to provide a financial safety valve for the town’s schools which have been under fiscal pressure by an unprecedented wave of enrollment.  

But the fund is quickly being drained. At the same time, the town’s “free” cash (also known as its Rainy Day Fund) account – typically includes actual receipts more than revenue estimates and unspent amounts in departmental budget line items for the year just ended – has been quite healthy coming in at:

  • $7 million in fiscal 2014
  • $6.2 million in fiscal 2015
  • $4.1 million in fiscal 2016

The free cash amount is one element in Belmont’s impressive AAA credit rating; in fact, the town’s rainy day fund could be lower without impacting the town’s gold star rating

And that free cash has come in handy over the past few years, paying for the renovation of Belmont Center ($2.8 million) and installing modular classrooms at the Chenery Middle School ($1.45 million.) 

For Sarno, the best place for some percentage of free cash is to “stretch as far into the future as possible” the money in the GSF, “thus delaying and limiting the need for a future operating override. And by placing the money there, it will be Town Meeting rather than town officials who will have the “opportunity to evaluate and vote on any proposed appropriation.” 

 

Belmont’s DPW Drivers Get A Simulating Lesson on Snow Plowing [VIDEO]

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Photo: Vincent Nestor in the simulator

Joe Foti is holding steady at 55 mph in the cab of a snow plow as it glides down a stretch of road during a blizzard.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a car comes out of his blind spot on the left side of the truck.

As the Belmont Water Division employee puts on the breaks, over his right shoulder a voice booms out: “You gotta go, Joe. Keep it at 55, Joe. Let’s go, Joe.”

From over his left shoulder, another voice tells Foti to “answer your cell phone. Where is it? It’s next to you.” As Foti reaches for the phone, a truck in the oncoming lane swerves towards him. As he turns the steering wheel, the voice to this right yells, “You’re thirsty, Joe. Grabbed that water bottle.”

With a cell phone in one hand, Foti reaches for the center console when out of the steady falling snow he suddenly spots a parked SUV in front of this speeding truck.

“Look out, Joe” he hears, as his seat is being pushed back and forth as he hits the passenger vehicle.

For Foti and more than a dozen driver who push snow and spread sand and salt on town roadways, the combination of nightmarish senarios did not take place on town streets but in the driving simulator that was located in the Belmont Department of Public Works Yard last month. 

The employees drove through a number of driving challenges with the help of two instructors – the voices behind Foti’s shoulders – who spoke of best practices and tips on driving a big truck safely in bad New England winter weather.

The simulator came from L-3 Technologies, an international firm that provides real-world driving environments that can be configured for multiple vehicle types, including snowplow trucks, tractors, dump trucks, heavy-duty trucks and tractor trailers.

The training was part of a $10,000 grant from the DPW’s insurance company, said Michael Santoro, the town’s Highway Department manager who first the simulator in action four years ago at a public works conference.

For DPW employee Vincent Nestor, the training “is pretty lifelike and I will take this training to the job.” 

 

Town Meeting ’17: 25 MPH Speed Limit To Be Voted in May

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Photo: The proposed new top speed in Belmont.

Belmont Board of Selectman Jim Williams asked a question to Belmont Police Chief Richard McLaughlin when the chief brought to the board a proposal establishing a 25 mph limit on nearly all of Belmont’s byways.

“Have you driven 25 mph on Concord Avenue?” with the inference that the speed would be a tad slow for many motorists.

The answer to that question will be left to Town Meeting members as the proposal was voted into the 2017 Town Meeting Warrant establishing the reduced speed limit throughout Belmont.

“The main thrust [for the change] is safety for pedestrians and bicyclists,” said McLaughlin – who last week celebrated his 10th anniversary as police chief – saying Belmont would be following area city and towns such as Arlington, Boston, Cambridge, Watertown, Lexington and Somerville which have switched to the lower speed limit.

Cities and towns around the state have moved to drop the speed limit since the implementation of the Municipal Modernization Act signed in August 2016, which grants local authorities the right to decrease local speed limits to 25 mph in “thickly settled” areas.

McLaughlin said three stretches of roadway that would be exempt from the new limit:

  • Concord Avenue from Robinwood Road to the Lexington town line.
  • Winter Street from Belmont Country Club to Route 2
  • Mill Street from Trapelo Road to Concord Avenue.

McLaughlin said the cost of implementing the new law would be putting up new signs at roads on the various town lines – such as Trapelo Road (Waltham), Concord Avenue (Cambridge) and Common Street (Watertown) – informing visitors of the limit. It will also require taking down signs such as along Pleasant Street with differing speed limits. 

Free for 30: Town Release New Belmont Center Parking Plan [Video]

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Photo: A pay-by-plate kiosk in Pittsburgh.

In an effort help to increase on-street parking turnover and availability for shoppers in Belmont Center, drivers parking along Leonard Street will need more than just change in their pockets; they’ll need to remember their license plate number. 

According to a press release from the town dated Friday, March 10, Pay-By-License-Plate parking stations will go into effect in Belmont Center on March 27,  primarily along Leonard Street. 

The stations, currently under wraps, were installed this past fall. The new system goes into effect about a month before the opening of Foodie’s Urban Market, the popular grocery which is expected to increase parking demand in Belmont’s principal business center.

The new multi-space meters will allow for 30 minutes of free parking and the ability to pay for up to an additional hour for a total of 90 minutes of parking per day on Leonard Street. The stations will accept cash and credit card payments. 

Patrons will be required to input their license plate number even if they intend to only take advantage of the 30-minute free period. 

Here is a video from Deerfield Beach, Florida (with Jim “Chiefy” Mathie, the local dive shop owner) on how to use the system.

Parking in the Claflin Street Municipal Parking lot, located behind Leonard Street, will continue to offer two free hour parking spaces, as well as metered parking spaces – which were installed in August 2015 – for a dollar per hour. Credit card and cash payments are accepted. 

Parking by plate number was first installed in Calgary, Canada in September 2007 and in Denver in 2008. The largest US pay-by-plate program is in Pittsburgh which has installed 800-plus terminals.

Letter to the Editor: Dash’s Experience, Ideas Make Him Ideal Selectman

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Photo: Adam Dash

To the Editor:

I write in support of Adam Dash for Selectman and hope that you will support him, too. I’ve heard Adam speak a couple of times about how he sees the role of Selectman and have been impressed on several levels.

  • First, I am struck by his extensive experience on the Warrant Committee, the fiscal watchdog for the town.  We need a selectman who has the facility with the town budget from Day One.
  • Secondly, I am impressed by his recognition that Belmont needs to get moving on its Climate Action Plan, enacted in 2008 but without any pathway to implementing it.  All over the country, action on climate change must now happen on the local level, now that we have an administration that is openly denying its existence.
  • Finally, I like his ideas on local business and how to make Belmont more business-friendly through better-permitting processes, zoning, and working with surrounding neighbors.

As a practicing attorney in the field, Adam has extensive professional zoning experience and has served on the Belmont Zoning Board of Appeals.  He also sees underused properties in town as opportunities and has the experience to help convert them into tax paying, successful businesses.

I encourage you to learn more about Adam at his website, electadamdash.com. He will serve Belmont well as our next Selectman.

Debora Hoffman

Goden Street 

Town Election ’17: Carbone Creates Committee, Announces Team for Selectman Run

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Photo: The Carbone team. Guy Carbone (left), Ana Helena Silva Cruz and Erin Lubien.

Guy Carbone was the first candidate to obtained the required signatures to run for the open selectman’s seat. On Thursday, March 2, the Woodfall Road resident arrived with his campaign team to the Town Clerk’s office at Town Hall to submit the paperwork to officially open his campaign.

And as the first-time town-wide candidate noted, he’s putting his campaign in the hands of some capable women.

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“I listen to one [woman] at home and two in this race,” said Carbone. Chairman of the campaign committee is Precinct 5’s Ana Helena Silva Cruz who was accompanied to Town Hall by two of her three children. It’s a familiar name managing the campaign with Erin Lubien taking that role. She helped Jim Williams upset Andy Rojas in the 2015 selectman’s race and ran Alexandra Ruban’s campaign in her race for selectman in 2016. The committee’s treasurer is Fred Kelley of Beatrice Circle.

Carbone and Adam Dash of Goden Street are on the ballot for the one seat on the board this year. Incumbent Sami Baghdady decided last month not to run to retain the seat.

Town Election is April 4. 

Be Counted: Belmont Town Census In the Mail This Week

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Photo: Belmont census in the mail. 

It’s been delayed by a couple of weeks, but residents can anticipate the annual town census will be in their mailbox any day now, according to Ellen Cushman, Belmont’s town clerk.

And Cushman encourages residents to complete and submit the census as Massachusetts General Laws require an annual listing of residents as of Jan. 1, 2017.

By filling out the annual census, residents provide proof of residence to protect their voting rights, can register children in schools, apply for veteran’s bonus, and subsidized housing and related benefits.

Registering is an important task since most town programs require proof of Belmont residency for enrollment and emergency response personnel will know for whom they are looking in the event of a 911 call.

Failure to respond to the census mailing will result in removal from the active voting list and may result in removal from the voter registration rolls. Those removed from the active voting list will result in residents being prevented from voting until they sign up.