So-To-Be Select Board Member Elizabeth Dionne: ‘I’ve Had All These Ideas, And I’d Like To Be In The Room Where It Happens’

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Photo: Elizabeth Dionne

Elizabeth Dionne doesn’t have an opponent in this year’s town-wide election, so why does it seem like she’s busier than ever?

Having announced her intentions early to run for Adam Dash’s open seat on the Select Board, Dionne quickly cleared the field and is unopposed on the April 4 ballot. But there she was at a campaign event with the three current board members, attending a wide array of public and committee events while meeting with residents across the political spectrum.

What gives?

The Belmontonian met with Dionne in her home on Belmont Hill. The Steinway in Dionne’s front room was being tuned, just in time for her sister, Wendy Harmer, visit to Boston during her performances with Boston Baroque. So the interview took place in her kitchen with Winston, the English bulldog, snoring during his midday nap.

“It’s really not that busy as it has been,” said Dionne, with only her youngest of four children still at home. Still, she admits to putting herself and her ideas and plans out there so those casting ballots aren’t voting for a blank slate, “that they know who I am when they vote.”

Below is the interview with Dionne, edited for length and clarity.

Who is Elizabeth Dionne?

I’m a lot of things. I wear a lot of hats. In the context of Belmont, I am someone who cares deeply about the town and really wants to see it succeed and have a bright future. In the context of family, I’m a mother of four and a sibling of nine out of ten. In the context of work, I started my professional life as a corporate attorney doing corporate finance and then moved to a subset of that which was real estate finance.

And then, I have a son, Eli, who was diagnosed with autism. So step back and became really a full-time advocate for him while raising three other children. As he became more settled and regulated, I realized I didn’t have to go back to corporate work.

And so I decided what was actually more meaningful for me. In my advocacy for Eli, I saw that most people couldn’t afford an attorney. I did some training through both Federation for Children with Special Needs and Massachusetts Advocates for Children, and now what I do is represent low-income special needs children who otherwise couldn’t afford an attorney.

Seems like you’d be a better as a member of the School Committee.

I am interested in larger issues, and I do care deeply about the schools I’m grateful for the opportunity. My children had to attend Belmont schools. But if we don’t solve our financial problems, there’s not a whole lot left.

What tells you that you could do a good job on Select Board?

First, the time’s right. My youngest child just started college and Select Board is a demanding job. And if you don’t understand that, I think it would come as a shock. The amount of time that’s entailed, so for me, the timing’s right.

And it’s not right just for personal reasons but also because after seven years in Town Meeting, six years on the Warrant Committee, five years on the Community Preservation Committee three years as chair, I do finally feel that I have the breadth of knowledge and experience to push things in a positive future-oriented direction.

And there’s still a lot to learn. I’m not naïve about this. But I feel it at least I have an understanding of how the systems work in a town that has a very quirky kind of governance structure. And it just takes time and multiple cycles of seeing a budget through or multiple cycles of seeing Town Meeting through or multiple cycles of seeing how committee appointments work. Again, I feel that I finally got the experience where I feel comfortable doing a competent job at this.

And then finally, because, especially my work on the Warrant Committee, I understand the town’s fiscal situation, and that it’s problematic and that we have a structural problem to fix. It’s not as if anybody wants an override, but we need an override.

Your father, John L. Harmer, was an influential legislator in California and was Ronald Reagan’s final Lt. Gov. Did coming from that background help you decide to enter the public service?

There’s a family culture of public service. It really really matters to us to be involved.

I have a brother who was a Navy officer for years and did two tours of duty in Iraq. I have a brother who’s CEO of the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge, and their goal is civic education for both teachers and students. I have a sister who is a legislative director on Capitol Hill for a representative. So it is in our DNA that we serve.

[My father] worked very well across the aisle. And I think people forget that Ronald Reagan spent much of his life as a Democrat. Democrats were not the enemy.

{Reagan’s] best friend in Washington was Tip O’Neill.

And that’s something that I take very, very seriously that there are issues, especially at the local level. Ironically, I have aligned with the progressives on most things because they’re local issues.

If you’re going to be successful [on a local level], it doesn’t work to divide each other into camps. A lot of issues are cross-cutting. I saw a challenge, and for years, I’ve had ideas. And finally thought, this is an opportunity to be in a position where I can actually nudge the town towards some of these ideas. And I do say nudge because I’m one person. You have to work with a lot of people, and you have to be willing to share the work and credit. A lot more can get done when you’re willing to work in a group instead of insisting on going alone.

You will be the first woman on the board since Ann Marie Mahoney almost 20 years ago. And I believe you’ll be the first member of the Latter-Day Saints to be on the Select Board. Is that important?

It is, and it isn’t. What matters to me about being a Latter-Day Saint is a deep sense of integrity and conviction and a really deep commitment to public service. I think we’re quiet; you’re not supposed to toot your own horn. But if you look at involvement in the schools, PTA, or coaching, we’re quietly there. We believe in rolling up our sleeves and getting stuff done. So there’s this very strong ethic of service and public service, but also a very strong ethic of integrity. You do the right thing in the right way for the right reasons. You treat people kindly and with respect. Other religions can teach that as well. So that’s why I say it matters and it doesn’t. It informs my approach.

And the first woman in 20 years.

If people see someone who looks like them, whether or not it matters in substance, it can matter as a visual cue that ‘hey, this is open.’ The challenge Belmont has had is that there are a lot of really highly qualified women, but when you ask them about this job, they have said, “not a chance!” So again, it doesn’t matter in terms of the substance that I’m a woman. I think our public servants have served with great integrity. I do think people are just excited to see someone with good qualifications step forward.

At a recent joint meeting, you noted that the community could enter a death spiral if Belmont doesn’t make the right financial decisions in the next two years. What do you mean, and what can be done to forestall or even prevent it from occurring?

I don’t want to be accused of scaremongering, but if anybody has watched the budget summits, you can see the size of the fiscal cliff that we face in fiscal year 2025. And depending on the decisions that we make, we are still looking at an override of between $9 million and the top end of $13 million. It’s an ugly number. If we don’t do something to address that fiscal cliff, how do you make up a $13 million shortfall in an operating budget of approximately $140 million? You’re talking 10 percent cuts. You can’t cut 10 percent across the board and still function as a town. Do we shut the library? Do we shut the senior center? Do we shut down an elementary school? And it’s not going to be one of those, it will be multiples. I do feel like I’ve got to be honest and realistic about what that means to come up with that kind of savings. I don’t call it savings; I will call it cuts. That’s really hard. And it really does put into question what it means to function as a town.

Does Belmont have a revenue problem or do we have an expenditure problem? Do we need more revenue? Many of the population say we will not support it because we know we can cut expenditures.

I really do think that it’s more a revenue problem than an expenditure problem. I also want to be clear that it’s not as if people aren’t paying enough taxes. Some people say, “I’d like to pay more, but I just can’t. I’m gonna have to move out of town”. At that point, it is an expenditure problem if spending drives people out of town.

But we if you compare us to our peer towns, we do spend less per pupil on education. That’s a real number. So you can’t say that we’re overspending on education; we have significantly increased education expenditures. It results from a significant increase in our school’s population and when we have to meet federal and state-mandated requirements for special education and English Language Learners.

What initiatives or policies would you like to see done in your first three years that will begin to change the trajectory of Belmont’s future?

First, we do need to implement a few of the key provisions of the Collins Center Report. The first is the appointed treasurer. I would submit the second is an appointed board of assessors because we need a unified financial policy to address a number of issues in the town. If we don’t have streamlined governance in which we can make policy decisions and implement them, everything else becomes difficult to impossible. I’m not brilliant saying that; that’s what the Colin Center Report said. If we don’t fix our structural problems, we can’t fix our economic problems.

The second thing, and I feel like a broken record, is we have got to address our zoning bylaws, especially on the business end. This month, a bubble tea shop just opened in Belmont Center. The same owner opened in Lexington months ago. They started the application process in both towns at the same time. This is not Belmont Town Hall’s fault. They have to follow an arcane bylaw, and they’re understaffed. We need to clean up the bylaws. We need to fix the staffing problems, and we need to signal very clearly: We’re open for business. We want you.

The third is a successful override, because that is how we bridge our short-term crisis. But to get to a successful override, you’ve got to have two things: You’ve got to have trust, and you’ve got to have hope. I think that will come when we start with a few visible wins, such as changes to the bylaws. We need those because that’s what’s going to build trust.

Late last year, you presented an out-of-the-box proposal for the future development of West Belmont, which would involve the Belmont County Club. Give me your 30 second-elevator pitch.

Looking at a map of Belmont, the southeast portion is incredibly dense, and the Northwest portion is open. If there is going to be any development at Belmont, that is meaningful, it will be in the Northwest. I’m adamant about protecting our current open space, which is zoned for single residents. So this has to be a collective decision. We’re not talking two or three years; we’re talking 10, 15, 20 years, and that’s fine.

But if we don’t start thinking about it now, in 20 years, we’ll still be where we are or worse. And the reason I say, or worse, is the country club is zoned residential single family, so basically set up for McMansions, which is bad for the environment and bad for the town. This isn’t the kind of development that Belmont needs. I think people thought that this proposal was crazy until the country club sold off the land on its Lexington side to build senior housing. I actually think that’s a great use.

And the town would like to see a Microsoft office center there.

The country club is not looking to sell its golf course right now. But they might come in the future. And if we can zone it so that we’re prepared so, we control what happens to it and not them. They could start building single right now and make a gazillion dollars selling the golf course. And I don’t mind them getting wealthy if it means Belmont controls its future. We can actually unilaterally rezone.

But one of the planning board’s mistakes is to rezone without having a developer in mind or consulting with a developer. So I actually think it’s not just the country club you want to talk to. It’s also potential for developers to tell us what would look attractive.

Again, this will all be part of an open process and is going to take a long time. But a journey of 1,000 miles begins with a first step. It’s something that honestly I’ve been thinking about for 12 years, and when I first raised it, people, as I said, looked at me like I was insane and now suddenly like, Oh, you’re right.

The town has seen similar high-profile proposals submitted only to be left on the shelf and forgotten.

This is actually part of the reason I wanted to run for Select Board. I’ve had all these ideas, and I’d like to be in the room where it happens. I’d like to be able to influence what that’s worth quoting.

And that’s what switched when people approached me when Adam [Dash] announced that he was retiring in November, saying well, you considered like, and then spent three weeks talking to people, and nobody else would step forward. I initially stepped forward out of a sense of civic obligation, as I have talked to people, it turned into really some guarded optimism and even excitement that there are things that I think we can do.

Opinion: The Superintendent Search – A Flawed Process Indeed

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Photo:The Belmont School Administration building where the district superintendent is located

By Geoffrey Lubien

As a committee member of the Belmont Superintendent Screening Committee (BSSC) and a parent of a Belmont Public Schools student, I would like to voice my significant concerns about the process of screening for up to three viable candidates for consideration by the School Committee. 

As the representative of the Warrant Committee to the BSSC, I was one of a 22-member committee which included three Belmont School Committee members and an outside consulting group with all members invited and appointed by the School Committee. With the BSSC having competed its charge and the finalists for superintendent having participated in a public process, I believe it is time to share these concerns.

As part of the process a charter, set of rules and desired competencies were agreed upon by the committee to guide us in vetting potential candidates. The timeline for this process was admittedly aggressive with the School Committee requirement to have it completed within six weeks, which, according to the consulting group, normally takes 12 to 16 weeks. Therefore, committee members were asked to accommodate tight timelines with numerous three-plus hour meetings. It was explained by the School Committee members that this aggressive timeline was due to the competitive market for Superintendents and the seasonal hiring cycle. It was also communicated to some that there was a desire for all the current School Committee members, two of whom have chosen not to run again, to have a vote in choosing the next superintendent. 

The process was kicked off on Jan. 23 and after several meetings it became evident that this was a significant task and that committee members would need to really need to dig in to determine up to three candidates by mid-March.  

Committee rules included that candidates required two-thirds vote by the full committee to advance to the School Committee for consideration. After a candidate pool was narrowed down to five, we conducted three-hour Zoom interviews with each participant, with the consulting group conducting the interviews and committee members observing. The full committee reconvened on March 6 to discuss and vote upon up to three of the five candidates to push forward to the School Committee. Through much discussion and deliberation, the committee recommended two candidates to promote to the next phase; hence, the committee met its charge. 

Less than 48 hours after the final meeting of the BSSC, the School Committee sent an email informing the committee members that the School Committee had decided to interview all four of the candidates. This egregious decision disregards the hours of work, set rules and charter, and the vote of the screening committee, all of whom were appointed by the School Committee. The School Committee unilaterally decided to advance two additional candidates that were not recommended by two-thirds vote of the BSSC including one candidate who did not receive any affirmative votes from the screening committee.  

The fact that the BSSC members were dismissed after working collaboratively and in the best interest of the Belmont Public School system is beyond reproach. Twenty two committee members worked within a very aggressive timeline for the superintendent search forgoing family and work obligations only to be completely disregarded in the end. Two of the candidates the committee did not vote to move forward were considered unviable candidates by the screening committee and should not have been pushed forward. 

The actions taken by the School Committee are extremely disrespectful of the number of hours dedicated to the process and the final decisions of the screening committee. Violating the agreed upon process in the end hurts the credibility and transparency of the selection of the next superintendent, a role critical to the Belmont School District’s and Town’s future. 

What is needed now is the School Committee to stop this current flawed process and appoint an interim superintendent to carry the schools through, form a new search committee with public invitations to serve and allow the appropriate time to garner and assess the greatest pool of qualified candidates. And when a decision is reached by said committee, the School Committee should follow suit and do what is best for the future of Belmont Public Schools.

Geoffrey Lubien is a Belmont Public School parent, a BSSC member, the Warrant Committee Chair, and Town Meeting Member, Precinct 7

Planning Board Ends Public Hearing On Belmont Hill School Parking Plan; Debate, Possible Vote On April 11

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Photo: The level of discord for the Belmont Hill School’s parking plan has been evident by the number of yard signs in town against the 140 parking lot

After four months of public comment and increasing discord, the Belmont Planning Board voted 3-1 with one abstention to end the public debate on the controversial parking plan by the Belmont Hill School to place approximately 140 parking spaces and a 7,000 sq. ft. facilities building on seven acres of the last remaining parcel of semi-wild land in the neighborhood.

“At some point, we need to close the public hearing so that we can get on to making a decision,” said Planning Board Chair Matt Lowrie at Tuesday’s virtual meeting.

Lowrie said ending the hearing does not halt the board from securing additional information. “So, for example, if we close the public hearing and there’s something else that we decided that we didn’t find out or found out and forgot, we get to ask,” he said.

“So closing the public hearing is simply the next step in the process. And I think we’re there,” said Lowrie. After little discussion among the board members, the vote was taken, and the contentious project is one vote in April from becoming a reality.

Tuesday’s vote begins the final stage of the town’s design and site plan review of the plan by the private school – celebrating its centennial this year – to develop residential parcels it purchased over the past two decades a few hundred feet from its campus. The 7-12 school with 450 students contends the new parking facility will meet the demands of student commuters, be a safer location for student to walk to the school, and will alleviate overcrowding on side streets and main roads during school events.

Critics of the plan – more than 2,700 citizens have signed a petition opposing the project – contend the parking lot will destroy habitat for a host of wildlife and cut down old-growth trees during a climate crisis while increasing traffic congestion and safety issues throughout the Belmont Hill neighborhood.

“With the public hearing … now closed, we move to the deliberation process,” said Lowrie, who suggested the board’s discussion on the parking plan take place at its next meeting on Tuesday, April 11. And while he hopes it will render a decision at its next meeting, a final vote – a simple yea or nay – will not happen until the board is ready to vote, said Lowrie.

The board has 20 days after closing the public hearing to render a decision, or the motion is automatically approved. If needed, the school has given the board an extension to April 19 to complete its work.

If the plan is approved, a draft opinion will be issued. Lowrie said Town Attorney George Hall states that a statement of reasons for denying the project is required if the plan is defeated.

Before asking for the vote, Lowrie addressed a motion submitted – and seconded – at a previous board meeting to dismiss or suspend the Design Site Plan Review process pending a study by the school on a 35 percent reduction in the parking area and a large-scale review of traffic and pedestrian safety plans.

Lowrie said after spending “a lot of time talking to town counsel” Hall, it became apparent that a motion to force the school to review its plan is “something we lack the authority to do” under Belmont by-laws.

“On my time on the board, we have never dismissed the design site plan review except for the applicant’s request, which is a different matter entirely,” said Lowrie. “It’s illegal … statutorily. Every lawyer who’s looked at this has said the same to me.”

Lowrie also put a damper on board discussions of its ability to require either improvements or a study of improvements by the school outside of the three areas that are part of the project. While such demands have been part of developments that require a Special Permit, “you cannot use design site plan review as a vehicle to require the school to make improvements elsewhere,” said Lowrie, who noted the suggested changes would be the town’s responsibility.

Storm Delays: Early Release For Schools Wednesday; Superintendent Interviews Set Back To Thursday, Friday

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Photo: The snow map from the National Weather Service

The late winter storm set to arrive in eastern Massachusetts on Tuesday, March 14 and stay until Wednesday, March 15, has already had an impact on Belmont:

Students coming home after lunch Wednesday

Belmont Public Schools will hold school on Tuesday, but students will be dismissed after lunch at the usual Wednesday earlier release time.

Below the usual Wednesday earlier release schedule:

  • Belmont High School – 1:25 p.m.
  • Chenery Middle School – 1:15 p.m.
  • Elementary Schools – 1:40 p.m.
  • Preschool – 2 p.m. for ½ day pm children, 11:30 a.m. for community peers children, 1 p.m. for Special Education students

Additionally, all after-school and evening activities are canceled. The elementary and middle school after-school programs will contact families regarding changes to the structure of their day.

Superintendent candidate public interviews moved back two days

The inclement weather and possible traveling difficulties, the superintendent finalist district visits have been postponed to Thursday, March 16, and Friday, March 17. 

The Belmont School Committee is erring to allow maximum community participation at the public forums and interviews rather than risking inclement weather preventing anyone from attending. 

The new schedule is:

Thursday, March 16

3:30-4:30 p.m.: SC Interview with Dr. Jill Geiser
4:45-5:45 p.m.: SC Interview with Dr. Carlee Simon
6 – 6:30 p.m.: Public Forum with Dr. Jill Geiser
6:40 – 7:10 p.m.: Public Forum with Dr. Carlee Simon

Friday, March 17

4 p.m. – 5 p.m.: SC Interview with Dr. Kimo Carter
6 p.m. – 6:30 P.M.: p.m.:Public Forum with Dr. Kimo Carter

Thanks, Maura: Belmont To Net $1.5M Increase In Local Aid For FY ’24 Via Gov. Healey’s Budget

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Photo: Flush with cash, the new governor is increasing unrestricted local aid to communities

It couldn’t have come at a better time.

When newly-elected Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey filed her $55.5 billion Fiscal Year 2024 budget recommendation on March 1, it was anticipated that Bay State communities would be a beneficiary of the state’s ballooning coffer. And Belmont was not disappointed with what came down from Beacon Hill.

“Yes, it’s very good news,” said Belmont Town Administrator Patrice Garvin who presented the preliminary Chapter 70 local aid numbers for fiscal year ’24 in Healey’s proposed budget to the Select Board at its meeting on Monday, March 6.

“Looking at unrestricted general aid … the town’s receiving an additional $1.6 million over what the town received in fiscal year ’23,” said Garvin. Subtract the adjusted assessments – for instance, to the MBTA and Special Education – state aid nets out at $1.491 million for Belmont.

Garvin said her office has already commenced working with the school district, town departments and chairs of boards to “figure out how this is going to impact the amount of free cash we use in the FY ’24 budget.” That process will be discussed at the Select Board’s joint meeting with the Warrant Committee on March 20.

This new infusion of revenue from the state comes as Belmont and its schools are facing difficult fiscal choices in the coming months. In the latest version of the town’s FY 2024 operating budget presented at Budget Summit 5 in February, the school district was facing approximately $2.1 million in cuts – which would result in cutting 28 FTEs – from its proposed ’24 budget while town departments would see the fourth year of no growth in spending.

While much of the focus for the new revenue is squarely on needs in fiscal ’24, Select Board Chair Mark Paolillo noted the school district is undergoing a historic rise in Special Education related out-of-district placement expenditures, resulting in the district’s FY ’23 budget projections falling from a $140,000 surplus to a $890,000 deficit.

“The ’24 budget has to be recast” based on the exploding special education costs, said Paolillo.

Looking further afield, Galvin said the town will need to determine how the $1.5 million will impact the fiscal ’25 budget. “We’re going to have to be careful. We’re not going to project our state aid increasing in fiscal ’25 by 13 percent,” said Galvin.

But all in all, the jump in aid is being warmly greeted by Belmont officials.

“This is a good news story, so far,” said Paolillo.

“More is better than less,” said board member Adam Dash.

What’s Up With The Rink: Public Meeting Thursday, Tours Of The Skip This Week, How Much Will New Rink Cost Taxpayers

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Photo: The first look of the new rink

With less than a month before the vote to determine the future of a new Belmont Rink & Sports Facility, supporters are ramping up events to help convince voters to support a new 40,313 sq-ft skating rink/recreation center at the location of the existing rink.

Public Meeting This Thursday

On Thursday, March 9 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., the Municipal Skating Rink Building Committee is hosting a hybrid public forum to update the public on conceptual plans for the new rink/recreation facility to be constructed on the site of the ‘Skip’ adjacent Harris Field.

Discussion will include conceptual design, current costing, energy utilization and year-round facility programming. Speaking will be architect Ted Galante and members of the Building Committee.

The meeting will take place on the third floor, Art Gallery, in the Homer Building in the Town Hall complex or via Zoom to learn more about the project and for an opportunity to provide the public feedback.

Trips of the ‘Skip’

Wondering why people are saying Belmont needs a brand new rink/recreation center? Can’t the existing facility be rehabbed? Put a new coat of paint on it? This weekend is your chance to see “why” a new rink the only solution.

Yes for the Rink, the voluntary campaign spearheading the effort to bring a new rink to Belmont, will be holding tours of the ‘Skip’ – the existing ‘Skip’ Viglirolo Skating Rink – to highlight the dilapidated condition of the half-century old building.

Tours are taking place:

  • Saturday, March 11; 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.
  • Sunday, March 12; between 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

How Much Will An Average Homeowner Pay For A New Rink

Belmont Town Treasurer Floyd Carman this week has released the calculations on the cost to the “average” homeowner if voters approve the debt exclusion for a new rink at the April 4 Town Election. With a current net price-tag of $28.6 million – the $29.9 million construction cost minus $1.3 million in fundraising money – the owner of an average single family house, currently valued at $1.4 million – would see their residential tax increase $248 per year over the 30 years of the debt exclusion.

Belmont Affected By Three Month Shutdown Of MWRA Fluoride Facility

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Photo: The treatment plant in Marlborough will be offline for the next three months.

The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority will shut down the fluoride feed that supplies Belmont for approximately 90 days starting this week as part of a project to replace portions of a 20-year-old fluoride feed piping and equipment at the Carroll Water Treatment Plant in Marlborough that serves two million customers in 47 communities in MetroWest and metro Boston.

“While fluoridation is important for dental health, health officials indicate that this short-term shutdown does not require any special additional action by consumers,” said an MWRA press release.

“MWRA has been adding fluoride to the water since the 1970s to reduce tooth decay and promote community public health,” said Fred Laskey, MWRA’s executive director. “Like most other water suppliers, we follow the recommendations of the CDC, as well as the World Health Organization and the American Dental Association. These are the public health experts, and we look to them for guidance on this important issue.”

For questions about the fluoridation project, contact the MWRA at 617-242-5323 or ask.mwra@mwra.com

Belmont Police Promote Donahue To Captain

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Photo: BPD Lt. Christopher Donahue (left) being sworn in as a captain by Belmont Town Clerk Ellen Cushman at Police HQ

The Belmont Police Department promoted Lt. Christopher Donahue to captain on Thursday, Feb. 23, when Town Clerk Ellen Cushman swore in Donahue at Police Headquarters.

“I want to congratulate Capt. Donahue on his well-deserved promotion,” said Belmont Police Chief James Maclsaac. “Throughout his career, Capt. Donahue has shown unwavering dedication to the Belmont Police Department, and I am confident he will excel in his newly appointed role.” 

Donahue has been a member of the Belmont Police Department for 27 years, serving in various capacities, beginning his career in 1996 as a patrol officer. In 2000, Capt. Donahue was promoted to sergeant, where he helped the department for four years before his appointment to lieutenant in 2004. In 2020, Donahue was assigned as the Officer in Charge of the department’s Detective Division.

Donahue also graduated from the elite law enforcement leadership program at the FBI National Academy in Quantico, VA.

Donahue has received numerous awards and commendations over his career including the Chief’s commendation 2011 and the Sept. 11 Award, presented by the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office for his work with high-risk domestic violence cases. The award is presented annually to one or more first responders or investigators for demonstrating extraordinary courage, bravery and/or selflessness in a way that is reminiscent of first responders who responded to the World Trade Center on 9/11.

Celebrate Ensuring Belmont As A Welcoming Town On Saturday, March 11

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Photo: The Beech Street Center will host an informal, non-partisan gathering of community groups

On Saturday, March 11, various groups are coming together for an informal, non-partisan gathering of community groups dedicated to ensuring Belmont is a welcoming town.

Belmont Against Racism (BAR), The Belmont Human Rights Commission, and The Belmont Democratic Town Committee invite the community to celebrate our people, learn more about each other, and help create a more welcoming town. Let us know what you love about Belmont and what you would like to see improved. Meet with others from our community and share ideas with Belmont neighbors in an informal setting.

All are welcome to this free, non-partisan event.

Please RSVP – belmontagainstracism@gmail.com – so we know how much pizza and drinks to get!

We look forward to seeing you at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St., on Saturday, March 11, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Belmont Hill School’s Revamped Parking Plan Finds Support From Former Critics, But Many Remain Troubled

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Photo: The location of the proposed parking lot of the Belmont Hill School

Last fall, Tanya Austin was not at all happy with what the Belmont Hill School was proposing adjacent to her property line. As one of the closest abutters to a new parking development off Park Avenue, the Rutledge Road resident had become one of the leading opponents to the 150-space parking lot, which would include a 7,000 sq. ft. facilities structure while formalizing parking at the school and near the athletic complex on Marsh Street.

“The area is one of the few remaining open, wooded spaces in Belmont, and our town should be committing to the long-term preservation of our environment rather than to fulfillment of the short-term wants of the Belmont Hill School,” said Austin in November. “Our petition has 2,000 signatures [showing] how widespread people’s interest is in opposing this project.”

Fast forward to this week, Austin and two other homeowners who were the project’s closest abutters are now expressing their support of a “modified” updated parking plan, much to the disappointment of many who have lambasted the private school for its plan to raze the native landscape to pave the land to put up a parking lot. After a series of meetings with the school facilitated by Mark Paolillo, chair of the Select Board, and Town Administrator Patrice Garvin, “I’m satisfied with the outcome of our negotiations,” said Austin.

The agreement by the three nearest abutting homeowners – Austin and her neighbor on Rutland and a resident whose property will be adjacent to the facilities building – came as the school presented its “modified” proposal before the Planning Board on Tuesday, Feb. 7, as the board restarts the design site plan review process that originally started in October 2022.

“This might have been different if this were a request for a special permit but based on my conversation with town council for a design site plan review, it is more of an administrative hearing … the requirements are less formal,” said Matthew Lowrie, chair of the Planning Board.

The development will occur on a total of 7.1 acres of which one acre is paved, 4.8 acres are woodlands and the remaining lawns and gardens. Under the development plans, 1.7 acres will be cleared and 1.2 acres used as parking with half-an-acre landscaped.

Primarily a day school, 437 of the school’s 464 pupils commute daily from 84 communities across New England; a new parking scheme will allow the school to manage its long-term parking goals better. The revised plan is essentially a tweaking of the original blueprints presented in the fall of 2022. Released this week, the major modifications include:

  • Removing the proposed outdoor above-ground fuel storage tanks at the facilities building.
  • Shifting the parking lot layout to increase the distance from the closest abutters.
  • Moving the fence between the parking lot and the property line; no closer than five feet from the pavement.
  • Relocating the facilities building further away from an adjacent property, reducing the number of parking spaces by three.
  • Adding additional plantings to reduce visual and environmental impact.

Those changes were enough for three owners of the most impacted properties to change their opposition to the plan to voicing their support for the school’s project.

“Our goal was convincing the school to voluntarily take the steps we would have to argue before the board or a legal appeal,” said Austin. After a series of meetings with the school facilitated by Mark Paolillo, chair of the Select Board, and Town Administrator Patrice Garvin, Austin said that “I’m satisfied with the outcome of our negotiations as the increased setbacks would mean less disturbance of wildlife and “to at least try to preserve the character of the area.”

While the proposal has restarted, the school has moved forward with peer review of the development – paying for outside professionals to appraise the school’s design – to determine the impact a finished project will have on parking, lightning, waste water drainage and other issues the Planning Board will oversee in the design site review. The school also has the Belmont Animal Control Officer confirm there are no endangered species occupying the land.

Critics at Tuesday’s meeting reiterated points made earlier that the project would result in the destruction of wildlife habitat and century-old trees on some of the last significant parcels of undeveloped land in the Belmont Hill neighborhood. Campaigners have gathered approximately 2,500 signatories on a petition opposing the project and have sent nearly 100 letters and emails to the Planning Board against the school’s plans.

One thousand residents who signed a petition in 2022 in opposition to the Belmont Hill School parking project.

Residents who have spoken out against the plan are facing difficult legal hurdles in their efforts to halt the development. The first obstacle is the school’s use of parking and the facilities structure are allowed under the town’s zoning bylaw in Single Residence District A. The town simply requires site review approval rather than than the more stringent special permit for a non residential building of more than 2,500 sq.-ft. and the creation of more than six parking spaces.

The second is a state law that limits communities from hindering certain developments. When a resident asked during a recent Select Board meeting how can the school proceed to build on the property, Board member Adam Dash bluntly said “The Dover Amendment.” The Massachusetts General Law hampers communities from restricting construction for agricultural, religious, and educational uses.

Belmont has its own rich experience with the law as it was instrumental in the approval of the opening of the Church of Latter-Day Saints’ Belmont temple in 2001. Lowrie noted Belmont Town Counsel George Hall has written an advisory saying the board would be in violation of the Dover Amendment if it attempted to deny the school’s application by demanding Belmont Hill first look to its main campus to accommodate the vehicles or for it to determine the number of parking spaces that are for “educational use.” Calculating the school’s supposed parking need was a deep dive by project critic Matthew Schwartz who determined the school could easily eliminate half the lot and still meet its educational needs.

In a new challenge to the project, residents with some support from the Select Board are increasingly calling for the project to undergo a Development Impact Report which is allowed in the zoning bylaws. Under a DIR, the Planning Board would determine the scope of the report including environment, social, physical and infrastructure impact, than issue a Request For Proposal that a professional development team would perform. The team would than produce an in-depth review for the Planning Board to review.

But according to Lowrie, the process is less than ideal, noting that in the past three decades, a DIR was not requested for major town developments such as the Middle and High School, the Senior Center, and several McLean parcels.

“What’s the difference between Development Impact Reports and what we’ve been doing instead which is peer reviews? Spoiler alert, the peer review is a better process,” said Lowrie.

According to Glenn Clancy, the head of the town’s Office of Community Development, the DIR is less flexible than a peer review – who are selected by his department – which can alter the review’s scope on the fly which assists in resolving conflicts between developers and the the town. Also, the cost for a peer review is picked up by the developer. Additionally, while the town can ask a developer to pay for a DIR, it may not be permissible under the Dover Amendment.

“What would a DIR add? Certainly delay,” said Lowrie, noting that the DIR “doesn’t authorize anything that can’t be done in the peer review process,” a view Clancy seconded.

“I believe professional engineering design, peer review, and compliance with section 5 has allowed the Planning Board to achieve the same purpose as if utilizing the Development Impact Report process … I think by de facto you guys are already operating under a DIR process. It’s just not specifically by that name,” said Clancy.

The parking project will return before the Planning Board on Tuesday, Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. with an emphasis on landscaping and the current tree layout.