League Of Women Voters Warrant Briefing For Special Town Meeting Tuesday, July 22

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Photo:

The Belmont League of Women Voters is presenting a remote Warrant Briefing on Tuesday, July 22 at 7:30 p.m. in preparation of the Special Town Meeting being held the next day, Wednesday, July 23. The briefing will be hosted by Warrant Committee Chair Paul Rickter.

There will be an opportunity to ask questions concerning the two Warrant articles with Town officials and Department heads present to provide information.

You can join the meeting by connecting to the links below:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89978567162

Zoom meeting ID: 899 7856 7162

Live broadcast: Belmont Ch 8 (Comcast); Ch 28 (Verizon)

Livestream or on-demand: belmontmedia.org/govtv

State Detected West Nile Virus In Belmont

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Photo: Mosquitos spread West Nile virus to humans

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health announced this week that West Nile virus has been detected in mosquitoes collected from Belmont. This year, seven samples were tested for WNV and Belmont had a positive mosquito sample.

WNV is most commonly transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected mosquito. The mosquitoes that carry this virus are common throughout the state and are found in urban as well as more rural areas. While WNV can infect people of all ages, people over 50 are at higher risk for severe infection.  

By taking a few, common sense precautions, people can help to protect themselves and their loved ones:

Avoid Mosquito Bites

  • Apply Insect Repellent when you go outdoors. Use a repellent with DEET, permethrin, picaridin, IR3535 or oil of lemon eucalyptus, according to the instructions on the product label.
  • Clothing Can Help reduce mosquito bites. Although it may be difficult to do when it’s hot, wearing long-sleeves, long pants and socks when outdoors will help keep mosquitoes away from your skin.
  • Be Aware of Peak Mosquito Hours – The hours from dusk to dawn are peak biting times for many mosquitoes. When risk is increased, consider rescheduling outdoor activities that occur during evening or early morning. If you are outdoors at any time and notice mosquitoes around you, take steps to avoid being bitten by moving indoors, covering up and/or wearing repellant.

Mosquito-Proof Your Home

  • Drain Standing Water – Many mosquitoes lay their eggs in standing water. Limit the number of places around your home for mosquitoes to breed by either draining or getting rid of items that hold water. Check rain gutters and drains. Empty any unused flowerpots and wading pools and change water in birdbaths frequently.  
  • Install or Repair Screens – Some mosquitoes like to come indoors. Keep them outside by having tightly-fitting screens on all your windows and doors.

Information about WNV and reports of current and historical WNV virus activity in Massachusetts can be found on the MDPH website at: www.mass.gov/dph/mosquito.

Belmont Opens Beech Street Center As Cooling Station Through Thursday During Heat Wave

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Photo: It’s hot out there

The National Weather Service has issued a Moderate Heat Advisory for much of Southern New England – including Belmont – from 11 a.m., Tuesday, July 15 until 7 p.m., Thursday, July 17. With the Heat Index Values – a combination of high heat and humidity – reaching 95-100 degrees Fahrenheit, the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St., will be open to provide an air conditioned respite from 8 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. through Thursday.

All residents are encouraged to drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. The combination of heat and humidity may cause heat related illnesses and can be deadly.

It’s A Wonder: Innovative New York-based Food Hall Coming To Waverley Square

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Photo: The location of Wonder in Astoria, Queens, NYC

It’s considered big news when a new restaurant arrives in Belmont. Well, how about 28 award-winning and unique restaurants from around the US about to drop into Waverley Square? And they’re arriving all at once in a single storefront?

Plans are currently underway to bring Wonder, a new approach in the popular food hall concept, into the vacant ground floor commercial space at 493 Trapelo Rd., next to Tatte and across from Wheelworks.

“Wonder is coming,” said a town official with knowledge of the proposal. While it has yet to pick up a build out permit or a business license, plans are well underway with architectural drawings in town employee hands, and meetings last week with the Restaurant Review Committee and the Belmont Fire Department.

Described as “a new kind of food hall,” the New York City-based company gives customers the opportunity to order from the menus of multiple top end restaurants from a single location. Chefs such as Marcus Samuelsson, Jonathan Waxman, and Bobby Flay have partnered with Wonder to recreate some of their signature dishes and side orders. The chefs then teach Wonder’s employees how to replicate their dishes.

493 Trapelo Rd. in Waverley Square where Wonder food hall will be located

With a myriad of regional styles and to select from, a family’s meal order could include a Bobby Flay New York Strip steak, Texas-style Brisket Sandwich from Tejas, California-inspired Peri-Peri Salmon, and a Kids Cheeseburger from Wonder’s own Bellies. And your order will be delivered within 35 minutes (well, that’s in Manhatten) or just drive by and pick it up.

According to those who viewed the retail foot print, only about 20 percent of the location will be open to the public – about a dozen seats – with the majority of the space set up as a prep kitchen. Wonder’s produce the variety of meals at a central commercial kitchen which are delivered to each location. The meals are warmed at the store and delivered.

Belmont developer Joseph DeStefano, who in 2019 built and own the two, three story retail/residential structures close to the commuter rail tracks on Trapelo Road, has not responded to press inquires, neither did Wonder.

A great source on the nuts and bolts of Wonder’s history and future plans can be found in the Eater article by Bettina Makalintal: What’s the Deal With Wonder, the ‘Food Hall’ That’s Suddenly Everywhere? (March 12, 2025). Elizabeth G. Dunn wrote the New York Times spotlight of Wonder CEO Marc Lore who created Diapers.com, ran Walmart’s e-commerce division, and dabbled in a nuclear fusion start up and designing flying taxis before settling on revamping the food delivery industry.

Having opened its first storefront operation just three years ago, Wonder growth has resembles a rocket, now operating 38 locations mostly in New York City and New Jersey – with sites in Pennsylvania, and Connecticut – with 15 more set to open in the next several months. It’s closest operation to Belmont is in East Providence, RI.

What The Mid-Summer Special Town Meeting Will Be Voting On In The Hands Of Town Counsel

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Photo: Mina Makarious of Anderson & Kreiger, Belmont’s new town counsel

A date has been set, and the question will be asked to Special Town Meeting members: Will the assembly vote to support a citizens’ petition to force the town to transfer the name of the demolished skating rink onto the replacement facility?

Petition campaigners seek to retain the former name, “James P “Skip” Viglirolo Skating Rink,” onto the new $30 million facility that’s ready to open in the late fall. They stated more than 35 years of tradition and one family’s wishes are paramount over existing town policy and the potential of what the Select Board believes could be a monetary windfall.

It’s still unclear what the Special will be voting on in three weeks as part of an all-hybrid meeting. While that vote will most likely take place virtually on July 23 – the Select Board will vote to open and close the Special’s warrant on Monday, July 7 – just what the members will be voting on now appears to be in the hands of the new Town Counsel, Mina Makarious of Anderson & Kreiger.

As with the citizens’ petition that attempted to halt changes at the town’s senior center that was brought before at the annual Town Meeting in May, Makarious will advise the Select Board and Town Moderator Mike Crowley in June whether there is any relevant town bylaw, general state law, or case law that will either prohibit Town Meeting from proceeding with the move, resulting in the vote being a nonbinding resolution.

“This is the biggest question that we’re asking [Makarious] to suss out: Is this just advisory, or is it binding?” said previous Select Board Chair Elizabeth Dionne.

There is also the real possibility that deciding who gets to name the new rink will remain an open question to be resolved at Town Meeting. “This was some uncharted territory,” said Dionne.

“There are a lot of questions that still have to be answered,” she said, beginning with the rink named in 1998 by a vote of the Board of Selectmen. But there is scant evidence of town or Town Meeting involvement in the process that took place nearly 40 years ago, with no record of the supposed Selectmen vote in the town archieves.

“We’re trying to figure out how it was named in the first place,” said Dionne, noting the board doesn’t know if a monetary gift was attached to that naming. What is known is that the rink was transferred from the School Committee, but not to what town entity took responsibile for its ownership.

“It’s a little tricky who ultimately has jurisdiction over the rink, and we’re tracking that down, whether it’s the Recreation Commission or the Select Board. There’s a lot that’s unknown,” she said.

While Makarious has yet to make his attempt to cut this Gordian knot, Dionne said a preliminary opinion by former town counsel George Hall contends that anything associated with the old building is not bound to the new building.

“There is a distinction between the old building and the $30 million new building,” said Dionne as the new building is a new asset built with a debt exclusion and with Select Board and Town Meeting involvement.

Possibly throwing a wrench into the process is the expectation the Select Board will approve a new town-wide naming policy at its July 7 meeting, beefing up the existing one-page policy written by then Select Board member Adam Dash in 2018. A four-page draft of the new policy presented at the board’s June 23 those seeking to name a town asset after a specific person would require passing over a set of high hurdles of presenting a proposed honoree’s notable achievements. It’s likely Makarious will be asked to determine whether the petition falls under the perview of the current or new naming policy.

Which ever way Makarious decides, a change in the naming policy town-wide is much needed, said Taylor Yates, the Board’s vice chair.

“We needed a better naming policy than what we have, and we put a lot of work into making, what to me, looks like a really good one,” said Yates. “We’re basically two weeks away from adopting it, and I don’t feel great about what feels like [the citizens’ petition is] jumping the gun.”

Once the new policy is adopted, “then we can say, our policy … says this, and this is how we’ve interpreted this case,” said Yates.

Matt Taylor, who took over the helm of the Select Board on July 1, said the three-member board should have a discussion on the name of the rank. “Having this drag out without some clarity is part of what has triggered this petition in the first place. I think we should have that discussion and and a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ vote before the [Special] Town Meeting.”

Gail Harrington, who is James Viglirolo’s youngest child and has helped spur on the petition, said the group submitted proposals to name the new rink for Viglirolo’s under the town’s current naming policy in January and April. After it had not recieved a formal response from the Select Board and to show broad community support, Harrington said it used the citizens’ petition process to ensure the town holds a “public meeting” perscribed under the existing policy.

That public meeting would bring attention to “many community members were not aware of the potential of the rink being named something other than to honor Skip,” said Harrington.

But the family was a little too successful collecting signatures to promote their claim. Harrington told the board at its June 23 meeting the petitioners were attempting to have their request placed on the scheduled fall Special Town Meeting in October. But the pentitioners passed the 200 signature mark in which under state law requires the town to hold a Special Town Meeting within 45 days.

The Vigilrolo family’s decision to go the citizens’ petition route was personally frustrating, said Dionne.

“We have been working on a naming policy for months now. We expect to finally approve it. I’m very concerned about the precedent this sets,” said Dionne, who is the lead author of the new policy.

“We haven’t named our high school after a person. We haven’t named our library after a person. And if you were asking me, I think there are a lot of very worthy people, including Glenn Clancy, who just served the town for 41 years,” said Dionne.

“If Town Meeting is going to be asked to weigh in on this asset, Town Meeting can also be asked to weigh in on any other asset in the town. So it makes a very negative precedent. This is, in my mind, in opposition to good management.”

Select Board Opens, Then Closed Special Town Meeting To Limit Assembly To Four (!) Nights

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Photo: A full slate of articles will highlight Special Town Meeting this October

Special Town Meetings, which mostly occur in mid- to late autumn, are called so a vote can be taken on some article that needs a little more time to flesh out than it had at the annual Town Meeting. The one feature that “Specials” have is the limited number of “mission-critical” articles, limiting it to a single night.

But that’s not the case this time around, as the Special Town Meeting that takes place in October could run for four consecutive nights, with town officials packing the “Special” with big-ticket articles to present to members.

“It’s not suppose to be anything anybody wants to add,” said Elizabeth Dionne, chair of the Select Board.

Included in the Special Town Meeting package are initiatives from the Bylaw Review Committee, finalizing Senior Tax Relief, a homerule petition granting a new set of liquior licenses, a possible Belmont Center Overlay District vote, not to exclude issues “floating around” such as additional state aid and setting the tax base, according to Town Administrator Patrice Garvin.

“That’s a hugh agenda,” said Dionne.

In an attempt to limit what is looking like a weeklong convention, the Board voted unanimously to open and close the special warrant at Monday’s meeting. By leaving it open could result in residents with specific issues to attempt to add contensious Citizens Petitions into the agenda.

Even as the Select Board was debating the growing agenda of the meeting, Planning Department Chris Ryan said the Planning Board would like to make “some tweaks” to both the commercial and residential zoning districts with an eye to allow owners to make “common sense” additions to their property and spur on new growth.

Ryan said the town’s Housing Trust would like to make inroads this fall on any possible loss of naturally occuring affordable housing at the recently sold Hill Estates.

While saying the town will put a placeholder in the warrant for the Housing Trust, “we only can do so much,” said Garvin.

Once Free, Bulky Items, Mattresses Will Now Cost Residents To Have Them Taken Away

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Photo: This will cost you to be removed come July 1 (Credit: Jeffrey M. Vinocur, Wikimedia Commons)

It’s a claim to fame Belmont wants to shed: The Town of Homes is where residents of neighboring towns throw out their threadbare mattresses and large, oversized items at no cost due to Belmont’s tradition of complimentary sidewalk collection.

“We have become the dumping ground for surrounding communities to deposit their mattresses for free,” said Select Board Chair Elizabeth Dionne. And the ‘dump and run’ practice has reached a level beyond a nuisance, said Jay Marcotte, head of Belmont’s DPW.

In a move that Dionne hopes “will stop [Belmont] from bearing externality of other town’s large item trash,” beginning July 1, if you want a mattress, bookcase, or anything that can’t be stuffed into your trash cart, it’s gonna cost you after the Select Board unanimously approved the new fee structure.

Marcotte presented the suggested new payments for three catagories of pickups come July 1.

Change in cost to remove bulky items Prices for Pickups before July 1, 2025Prices for Pickups after July 1, 2025
Mattress/Box springFree$50
Bulk itemsfree (one per week)$40
Appliances$25 $40, $55 for televisions

Marcotte said under the new plan, residents will call the town, which will coordinate the pickup and take the payment. Residents should know that if they contact Waste Management, the town’s waste and recycling provider, to take away a mattress or box spring, it will cost double the town’s rate. The town is working with a outside vendor to recycle each mattress. Marcotte said the new fees will only generate enough revenue to cover the contrasted costs of the vendors.

Waste Management will continue to manage bulk items and appliance pickups under the new payment structure.

Marcotte said information on the updated costs for mattress and bulk item removal will be sent to residents with their next municipal bills and on the DPW’s website.

Middle School, Chenery Activity Fees Jump 47 Percent For ’25-’26 School Year; Follows New HS Fee Structure

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Photo: Belmont Middle School

Students at Belmont Middle School and Chenery Upper Elementary School will face a nearly 50 percent jump in the cost to participate in many clubs, after-school activities, theater, and sports after the Belmont School Committee unanimously approved a $70 increase in extracurricular fees for the coming school year.

These new fees come three weeks after the School Committee sets a new fee structure for Belmont High School students participating in Visual and Performing Arts programs, which will also begin in September [See more information at the bottom of the article]

The committee believes the annual increase from $150 to $220 per student will reduce the extracurricular program’s reliance on the general school fund.

“We really are moving towards this concept that we want to decrease reliance on the general fund for these kinds of expenses,” said Amy Zuccarello, chair of the School Committee’s Finance subcommittee.

Screenshot

The activities fee increase comes as the Fiscal Year ’26 budget has a $100,000 reduction in the extracurricular line item for all schools.

“It is potentially helpful to offset that reduction [in the budget] so that we don’t have to impact programming as much,” said Superintendent Jill Geiser.

The higher fees in fiscal ’26 will increase the estimated revenue by $6,615 at the Chenery and $11,953 at the Middle School, resulting in a positive return of $3,160 at the CUE and $6,294. According to the district, these gains can be used to offset increased program costs and/or general fund expenses.

“[A]ny increase in fees will help to offset those projected deficits,” said Tony DiCologero, the district’s director of finance, business, and operations.

The committee had few options, with a likely stipend increase for the educators and staff leading the activities and increases in the general costs of running these programs.

“We don’t want to cut $100,000 from our activities,” said School Committee Chair Meg Moriarty, pointing to fees filling the funding gap. While she is empathetic to “parents who come forward and say ‘I pay taxes and I don’t want to pay another fee’ … But unfortunately in our community and with our budget, I think these are some of the hard choices we have to make” to keep extracurriculars at the two schools.

Committee member Zehra Abid-Wood asked if a process had been established to reach out to families unable to meet the new fee requirement. Zuccarello said there is a current waiver process that is being streamlined “to make it easier to access … which should help … where this is more difficult to pay.”

Moriarty also discussed how the committee could best deliver the news to the school communities: “I think we owe the community an explanation about how this increase in fees actually hits our budget. What are we doing with that money, and what does it still provide students? And if we didn’t [increase fees], what would we have to take away?”

“I think the School Committee can do a better job of providing that context publicly,” She said.

The new high school fee structure for VPA participants is a three-tier system, with levels aligning with participation.

  • Music – $335 / year
    • Marching Band/Color Guard, BMHS Winds, Jazz Ensemble/Jazz Combo, Chamber Music small ensembles, Madrigal Singers, a Cappella, Winter Percussion/Winter Guard
  • Performing Arts – $500 / year
    • Fall Semester: Broadway Night, Fall Play, Improv
    • Spring Semester: Musical, One Acts, Improv
  • Music and Performing Arts – $600 / year
    • All activities in music and performing arts

Belmont Opens Cooling Stations During Extreme Heat Advisory

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Photo: The extreme heat arrives this weekend and will last ’til midweek.

With daytime temperatures nearing triple digits and humidity on the rise through midweek, Belmont has opened cooling stations for residents seeking to get out of the heat:

  • Saturday and Sunday, June 21-22: Belmont Media Center, 9 Lexington St., will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. for cooling, and the Underwood Pool on Concord Avenue will be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
  • Monday and Tuesday, June 23-24: The Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St., will be open from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., and the Underwood Pool on Concord Avenue will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

What to do during extreme heat:

  • Never leave children or pets alone in a closed vehicle. Even with the windows cracked open, interior temperatures can rise almost 200°F within 10 minutes.
  • Slow down and avoid strenuous activity.
  • Wear lightweight, loose-fitting, light-colored clothing. Light colors reflect heat and sunlight, and help maintain normal body temperature.
  • Drink plenty of water — even if you are not thirsty. Avoid alcoholic beverages and liquids high in sugar or caffeine. If your doctor generally limits the amount of fluid you drink, ask how much you should drink during hot weather.
  • Eat well-balanced, light, regular meals.
  • Stay indoors as much as possible and limit exposure to the sun. Do not leave pets outside for extended periods.
  • If you must be outdoors, limit your outdoor activity to the morning and evening hours. Try to rest often in shady areas so your body temperature can recover. Use sunscreen with a high SPF and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
  • If you do not have air conditioning, stay on your lowest floor, out of the sun. Avoid using your stove and oven.
  • Electric fans may provide comfort, but when the temperature is in the high 90s, fans will not prevent heat-related illness. Taking a cool shower or bath, or moving to an air-conditioned place, is a much better way to cool off.
  • If there are power outages during warm weather, you may need to take additional precautions or go to a cooling center or emergency shelter to stay cool.
  • Know the symptoms of heat-related illnesses and watch out for them. Call 9-1-1 to report emergencies.
  • Be a good neighbor. Check on family, friends, and neighbors, especially the elderly, those who live alone, those with medical conditions, those who may need additional assistance, and those who may not have air conditioning.

Citizens’ Petition Would Force Belmont To Name New Rink After The Old One

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Photo: What was once old is now new: a Citizens’ Petition would require the town to name the new skating rink and recreation center after the old one

In a move that would circumvent a newly written policy on naming Town assets that is expected to be approved by the Select Board on Monday, June 23, a Citizens’ Petition certified on June 18 would force the town to retain the name of the former dilapidated rink onto Belmont’s new municipal skating facility if the article is OK’d by members in a rare summer Special Town Meeting.

Submitted by resident Gail Harrington, the “Save the Skip” would require the new $30 million facility adjacent to Harris Field on Concord Avenue to continue being named for James ‘Skip’ Vigilrolo, a long-time Parks and Recreation Department employee, outstanding hockey player, and head coach of Belmont High School hockey for a quarter century. Vigilrolo died earlier this month at 95.

The petition states that in recognition [of] Viglirolo’s years of leadership, service, and contribution to Belmont, “by retaining the James P. “Skip” Viglirolo Rink, as the official name of Belmont’s newly reconstructed municipal rink and sports facility … for generations beyond to keep Skip’s legacy alive in our community.”

The successful petition, which secured 258 signatures, now triggers a scramble for the Town Clerk’s office to prepare for a Special Town Meeting – most likely a virtual meeting – that must be held 45 days from its certification. The final day for the STM will be Aug. 9.

The Citizens’ Petition is anticipated to be on the Select Board’s agenda at its June 23 meeting.

But before the “Skip” gets a debate in the heat of summer, supporters face a significant barrier similar to what collapsed an initiative by residents at the Spring Town Meeting in May to place limitations on town involvement at the town’s senior center located on Beech Street: Does the Town Meeting have the authority to name town assets, or does that power lie in the hands of Belmont’s three-member administrative board? 

“Town Meeting will need to know whether its vote is binding or merely advisory in nature,” said Elizabeth Dionne, overseeing her final meeting as Select Board Chair this Monday. Vice Chair Matt Taylor will succeed the Chair on July 1.

The drive to continue honoring Vigilrolo has been a feature of an online campaign and direct action by campaigners before the Select Board.

The Citizens’ Petition will be highlighted at this Monday’s Select Board’s meeting when the administrative body is expected to put the final touches on a detailed rewriting of the one-page naming policy currently on the books. Since Spring, the new naming policy for all town-owned buildings and properties has been earnestly underway. 

In preliminary and draft proposals, the Board has avoided naming town assets—including buildings, athletic facilities, and grounds and fields—requiring a high bar to achieve that honor.

The Board of Library Trustees and the Belmont School District have separate naming policies.