2023 Town Meeting; Second, Third Nights, Segment A: No On Fee Holiday For Payson Park Music Fest, Members OK Rink Appropriation

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Photo: With citizen petitioner Tomi Olsen listening, Select Board Chair Mark Paolillo speaks on the Town Meeting article on exempting nonprofit music events from town fees

The final two nights of the annual Town Meeting Segment A found members with little to get excited about – that’s expected to take place in Segment B – yet enough to keep busy with changes to bylaws and voting to allow the construction of a next-generation skating rink for the town.

At Wednesday’s meeting, the highlight was the passage to amend a bylaw that would clamp down vehicles that jut into the sidewalk, forcing pedestrians into the roadway to bypass the obstacle. Citizens Petitioner Gi Yoon-Huang, precinct 8, said the purpose of the bylaw “is to bring awareness to the town” that sidewalks are not an extension of a driveway and that vehicles can also obstruct sidewalks “and to educate the public” via “annual communications” about the law.

“By passing this petition, we are sending the message that we are prioritizing pedestrian safety over vehicles to the rest of the town and those enforcing them,” said Yoon-Huang.

While Town Meeting members were largely OK with the new bylaw – some questioned Belmont Police Chief James MacIsaac told the meeting he would be a little leery if his officers issued tickets under the new regulation as it goes beyond the existing Traffic Rules and Regulations, which allows the police to enforce 26 violations including speeding, parking, and obstructions. Unlike the regulations, the bylaw will require the police to identify who parked the vehicle to become an obstacle, which could be a drawback.

Belmont Police Chief James MacIsaac

In addition, because the ticket is issued for violating a bylaw, anyone seeking to appeal the ticket has to do so before a Cambridge District Court magistrate rather than a traffic clerk. “If we start writing bylaw violations for parking tickets, I guarantee you I will hear back from the Cambridge District Court asking why [Belmont] is talking about backing up the process,” the chief said.

Speaking after the meeting, MacIsaac said “only the most persistent violators” would be fined under the newly worded bylaw, a sentiment that Yoon-Huang felt would be fair.

“I wanted this petition to be changing the culture and behavior” among residents rather than “another reason to ticket them,” said Yoon-Huang.

Despite concern from members who questioned the need for a bylaw reiterating existing regulations against obstructing the sidewalk, the article was easily adopted, 176-41-6.

Also, on the second night, the Meeting approved the authorization to borrow $28.7 million – which reflects $1.3 million in donations – to construct the new municipal skating rink. Town voters approved the debt exclusion at the April 4 annual town election with 61.7 percent approval after the measure was initially defeated in November by a 350 vote margin.

“The biggest thing I want to tell you is it’s not just a skating rink,” said Mark Haley, chair of the Municipal Rink Building Committee. “We’re creating a community center for high school sports and youth programs around the town.”

While most speakers congratulated the building committee for getting the project over the line by “sharpening our pencils” and reducing costs, others expressed apprehension that piling on debt with the rink and a new $32 million library approved in November could hamper the passage of a critical $9.5 million Proposition 2 1/2 vote due in April 2024.

“If we are facing a [fiscal] cliff after [an override] failure, the town’s elected representatives must be prepared to take responsibility for past votes and our votes tonight,” said Paul Gormisky, precinct 7.

But even those who opposed the rink would not thwart the will of the voters, and the article passed with a 200 vote margin, 210-9-1.

The highlight of the last night of Segment A was whether the legislative body would assist a resident who runs a beloved summer music festival from having to pay the fee for using town property.

Tomi Olsen, Precinct 5, is the founder and producer of the Payson Park Music Festival, which has hosted a dozen weekly performances during the summer for the past 32 years. But a long-standing bugaboo for Olsen has been the $75-hourly fee imposed by the town’s Recreation Department on events to provide clean-up services and maintenance.

“The amount of $1,120 may appear small, but in our budget, it is very substantial,” said Olsen. In the past two seasons, Olsen has not paid the PPMF fee; in 2021, Select Board Chair Mark Paolillo paid the tab, and 2022’s assessment was not picked up.

The original language in Olsen’s citizens’ petition would exempt all Belmont-based non-profit organizations from paying the hourly fee for using public lands as those entities provide a common good to the community.”

But in the run-up to Town Meeting, Olsen’s petition was barely treading water. The Select Board, Warrant Committee, and everyone else was lining up against the measure as it would allow more than 300 non-profits “residing” in Belmont to use space in town parks and land rent-free.

In a last-minute attempt to narrow the number of entities that would warrant a discount, Olsen submitted an amendment at the town-imposed deadline for revising articles. Working with the Bylaw Review Committee, the newly worded article – presented to the Select Board three hours before the start of the Town Meeting – whittled down the exemption to music-oriented non-profits producing free-fee concerts, which left only a pair of popular and well-attended musical events: PPMF and Porchfest.

But the Select Board was having none of that. At the board’s meeting preceding Monday’s assembly, Select Board Chair Mark Paolillo put the hammer down on both the late submittal of the amendment and what he and the board believed were “significant” changes to the article, explicitly adding the word “musical” to the article.

In a rare move, the board sent for Town Moderator Mike Widmer to attend the pre-Meeting Select Board confab to explain and defend the amendment.

Upon hearing the Select Board’s displeasure, Olsen attempted an end run around the stubborn opposition to the article by requesting a postponement of the debate and vote until the start of Segment B – which begins May 31 – allowing the amended article a chance to circulate in an attempt to garner support.

But facing a contentious and bustling budget segment, most Town Meeting demanded a final up-or-down on Olsen’s article by voting down the proposed postponement, 40-175-4.

Despite town committees and boards voting unanimously unfavorable action to her proposal, Olsen put on a brave face and questioned why the festival and Porchfest should be burdened

“If these gifts of talent can be provided for free-for-all by these non-profits, why wouldn’t we as a town want to help by waiving such a small fee for the town?” said Olsen.

While all who spoke praised the festival and promised to donate to it, members said they didn’t want to set the precedent of carving out a special exemption for the festival or any other worthy cause in the future.

Members also pointed out that Olsen has other options to reduce the PPMF’s financial burden. Recreation Department Director Brendan Fitz acknowledged his office has an existing mechanism in which individuals or non-profits can request reductions of payments, “which happens quite regularly.”

The last-second changes didn’t convince many to come to Olsen’s side, as the article was defeated 41-174-3.

Earlier in the evening, Town Meeting approved authorizing 10-year terms for town leases and procurement agreements for electric vehicles, expanding from the current state-approved three-year term. The article will allow a greater option to purchase large electric vehicles with an eye on the next generation of school buses. Since there are environmental and costs advantages to accepting the measure, Town Meeting gave the article a big thumbs up, 212-5-5

On the final article of the night, the meeting found itself scratching its collective heads when it came to the seemingly innocuous request for a property easement to allow the approved Subaru expansion along Pleasant Street to proceed. The original article used standard boilerplate language for granting all the necessary infrastructure changes for development.

What caused the article to become a glorious gallimaufry was a Substitute for the Main Motion authored by Robert McGaw, precinct 1, which town officials described as an exercise in heavy-handed “redlining” copyediting. But beyond that, they couldn’t say why the amendment was necessary. McGaw’s rewrite didn’t alter the easement’s purpose or make the article any more understandable to the members.

“Speaking for myself, and I think also for my colleagues, we were mystified, wondering what changed with this amendment. As far as I can tell, nothing has changed,” said the Select Board’s Roy Epstein.

But, as Epstein pointed out, the amendment did have real-world implications “because I can tell you a lot of time was devoted by town staff, Town Counsel – at some expense – and by the Select Board to evaluate this amendment to seemingly no purpose.”

At this moment, McGaw and Town Moderator Mike Widmer could not agree on which of the versions of the amendment the meeting would be voting on. The process became so muddled that Widmer called for a five-minute break as Town Counsel George Hall, Garvin, McGaw, and Epstein held a sidebar that got a tad animated at one point. When all was said and done, the Select Board decided it was best to move on and accept the amendment as “red.”

Director of the Office of Community Development Glen Clancy did his usual masterful job explaining the need for the easement to the assembly, which garnered not a single question. After passing with a handful of no’s, a second vote was required due to some “confusion” on what version the body was being polled. The article finally passed 207-0-2. Whew.

Town Meeting will return on May 31 with Segment B, the budget portion of the annual meeting.

May 10 Public Meeting On Plan To Increase Water/Sewer Rates After No Hikes For Half A Decade

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Photo: Water rates will be heading upward if the Select Board approves a five-year plan by a consultant Raftelis

After five years where residents saw their water rates stay constant – and six years for sewer rates – the Select Board will hold a hybrid public forum on water and sewer rates on Wednesday, May 10, to discuss the likely acceptance of a consultant’s recommendation in which water and sewer bills will increase by four percent annually over the next five years.

Join the Zoom Meeting here Webinar ID: 895 3117 9431 

At the request of the Department of Public Works, the town hired Raftelis, a national management consulting firm focusing on municipal government and utilities, to conduct a five-year rate study. The goal is to “establish financial sufficiency and viability” for the town’s water and sewer enterprise by determining the revenue needed to meet the operating expenses while retaining a healthy reserve.

Ratepayers will be facing steady rate hikes for the foreseeable future, said Raftelis vice president David Fox who told the Select Board Belmont “is very much not alone in this boat.” Nationally, water rates have been increasing by five percent and sewer by six percent for the past decade due to a litany of reasons, from inflationary pressures, repairing aging infrastructure, and declining consumption which results in a fall in revenue for municipalities and their utilities.

Even if costs were stable and you didn’t need to reinvest in the infrastructure, “you already would be facing an uphill battle with a declining revenue base” due to conservation measures and just a general drop off in usage, especially after the pandemic.

And for those communities that have been “kicking the can down the road” on rate increases, “eventually you’re going to get to a position where [Raftelis] will be meeting with a community where they are looking at a 35 percent year-to-year rate increase.

During most of the 2010s, Belmont’s water and sewer bills were some of the highest among its peer communities. With that knowledge, town officials began relying on retained earnings to keep rates unchanged to align charges with neighboring cities and towns.

But relying on reserves to subsidize residential water rates is no longer viable. In its analysis of water consumption and the expected increase in the assessments from the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, which supplies water to Belmont, Fox said the water fund’s retained earnings account is scheduled to run empty by the end of fiscal ’26.

Keeping the ratepayers in their mind

While it’s a simple equation to determine how high new rates should rise by understanding how much revenue is generated and what is needed to cover expected costs, “we don’t ever want to overshoot the rated and have the rates be artificially high,” said Fox. “We have to keep the burden of the ratepayers in the back of our mind.”

One area of importance when calculating the new rate is maintaining a healthy retainer, the equivalent of a savings account, said Fox. The account is necessary to weather the financial storm of reduced consumption when there is a cool, wet spring or summer or a sudden capital demand on the infrastructure.

Raftelis forecast water and sewer operations and maintenance costs to increase three percent annually, with just over half of the water portion coming from MWRA assessments, while 71 percent of the sewer increase results from MWRA pricing.

With yearly capital improvements expenditures expected at $1.36 million for water and $1.1 million for sewer and with both fund’s retained earnings line items heading towards zero in the next few years, “[a]dditional revenue is needed immediately in [fiscal ’24] to ensure [adequate] financial [growth],” wrote Fox for both water and sewer funds.

According to Fox, Belmont’s water rates should increase by four percent annually for five years. Raftelis recommends an eight percent increase in sewer rates in fiscal ’24 and ’25 before reverting to three percent increases in the remaining three years.

While rates are heading upward, the impact on residential users’ bills will be small under the Fox recommendations. The typical single-family household in the first year of the plan using approximately 200 cubic feet of water a month – the equivalent of 1,496 gallons – its annual combined water and sewer bill will increase by 4.5 percent, or $27.84, from $624.99 in fiscal ’23 to $652.84 in fiscal ’24.

A two-family structure would see its bill rise by 5.8 percent ($76.77), and an apartment complex 6.3 percent ($158.33). The big jumps will be seen in the typical commercial site using approximately 7,500 gallons a month, where the average annual bill increases by $1,302.44 to $13,505.44. High-volume commercial users (15,000 gallons a month) can expect a $6,820.40 year-over-year hike.

When asked what conditions would be after the five years, Fox said if he was a betting man, “I’d say you’d still be looking at probably at a three percent increase every year.” With inflation to be around for longer than most people think and infrastructure needs always in the forefront of concerns, “I don’t think you’re going to get to a period after this five years whey you just don’t have an increase,” said Fox.

All District Art Show Opening Reception Tuesday, May 2 At Belmont High

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Photo: By Adam Arredouani, AP 2D Design

The Belmont school district’s annual K-12 Art Show will hold its opening reception at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, May 2, at the Belmont High School lobby and cafeteria.

Here is an opportunity to view the artistic talent in all 13 grades in Belmont in visual, photographic, and ceramic arts.

Frankie Edmonds

A Champions’ Goodbye: Owner Of Belmont’s Iconic Sports Store Retiring After 35 Years

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Photo: Gerry Dickhaut, owner of Champions Sporting Goods in Belmont Center

For the past 35 years, Belmont’s sports universe has revolved around a small elongated storefront smack in the Center. Need your child’s first hockey equipment? How about a lacrosse stick? A bag of Little League baseballs? Swimming goggles? A sweatshirt with “BELMONT” stitched across the chest? Skates sharpened? Tickets for the spring musical? You’ll find it there.

And there you’ll find the proprietor of Champions Sporting Goods on Leonard Street Gerry Dickhaut. And make no mistake, Gerry is the business. He’s taking inventory, finding the correct size soccer cleat, sharpening the skates, stocking the youth team’s uniforms, and sending his teenage employees to Rancs for ice cream.

Gerry has been the most ardent supporter of the Center and its businesses, president of the business association, runs the annual spring Town Day (Champions is the official sponsor of the dunk tank), and knows all the best gossip on Leonard Street.

But as with all good things, Gerry will soon bid a fond “adieu” to his business home for four decades as he’s retiring.

“October 8, 1988. That’s when I opened the doors, 35 years this year. I think I can say I deserve to retire,” said Dickhaut behind the cramped counter in his shop at 53 Leonard St.

“I’ve been very fortunate. I’ve been very lucky,” said Dickhaut, interrupting the interview to help a young father pick out socks for his son.

Gerry’s Champions, one of the increasingly rare independent sporting goods outlets in the US, harkens back to when the Center was the town’s business hub with a Filene’s, a supermarket, a specialty fish monger, an Italian market, a florist, and the century-old local bank. To stay afloat and remain profitable – it’s made money since the third year in operation – as small businesses are desimated by large box store and internet sales, three recessions and a devistating pandemic is remarkable.

Gerry Dickhaut, owner of Champions Sporting Goods

“My success has everything to do with the loyality of the people in town and the youth leagues. They come back time and time again. You can’t ask for anything more,” he said.

Besides selling sporting goods, Gerry has offered generations of Belmont High School students and alumni their first job in the store. Melis Demirtas, a highly proficiant kickboxer and high school rugby player, is one of many who lug new shipments here and there and helping customers putting shoes on kindergarteners.

“Gerry, he’s great,” Demirtas said.

Gerry said he was going to retire last year but was convinced by his landlord to “stay just one more year.”

“They gave me a break when I first opened the doors. They took a chance on me,” said Dickhaut.

The rumor that Gerry was ready to move on has been circulating among parents and league officials for a couple of months with many expressing their sadness to Gerry as some considered pooling funds and purchasing the business.

“I’m humbled and flattered that they see me as a [community asset.] And it goes both ways, I appreciate that they are loyal customers,” he said.

Knowing how the residents regard the store, Gerry has been working with a Belmont resident who is “interested” to buy and continue to run the business at its location. The possible buyer is, ironically, a former employee of Amazon – a scurge of small businsses – who has been working in the store to learn the ropes. The interested person is seeking a partner or a manager to run the store as the hours are quite considerable.

Gerry said there are others interested in running the shop, “and they’re all from Belmont.”

As for Gerry, he has some idea what he’ll be doing after he hands the keys over to the next owner.

“I want to go to London. I was there for two days once and it was fabulous. I want to go to Italy and get a real pizza. Then I want to go to Asia especially Bali, that part of the world. And also tour America. There are just so many beautiful spots in the country,” said Dickhaut.

But Gerry said he will be around to help the new owner “if they want me here.” But soon the golf enthusiast will be looking to the south for a place to hang up his clubs.

“I can’t handle the cold weather anymore. Really. It’s depressing, you’re always stuck inside,” said Gerry with an eye on someplace in Florida, around Pheonix or San Diego. A place with a golf course nearby.

Who’s That Tall Runner With Becca? Belmont Well Represented at 127th Boston Marathon

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Photo: Belmont’s Becca Pizzi with former Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chára with their medals after finishing the 127th B.A.A. Marathon (credit: Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)

Seconds before former Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chára crossing the finish line at the 127th running of the BAA Marathon on Monday, he reached down to grab the hand someone town residents know fairly well, Becca Pizzi, to share this special moment.

Turns out that Belmont’s 5’2” marathon champion was a big reason the 6’9″ Bruins legend was able to complete the 26.2 mile race which both would be raising money for the Hoyt Foundation. Being it was Chára’s first attempt at the distance, who better to be partnered with than the two-time winner of the World Marathon Challenge in which Becca ran seven marathons on seven continents in seven consecutive days.

In a twitter message before the race, Boston Marathon’s long time race director Dave McGillivray wrote: [Chára] is READY due in big part to Coach Becca Pizzi and has EARNED THE RIGHT to do this race.”

On Monday, Belmont’s 29 finishers were part of the 30,090 who completed this year’s marathon.

Belmont’s Brian Harvey at the Newton Firehouse.

Five men ran under 3 hours and four women broke 3:45 with Brian Harvey finishing 47th overall while 52-year-old Laurie Nahigian raced to a 3:44:47 finish which was the 367th finisher in her division, while long-time State Sen. Will Brownsberger was 395th in his division with a time of 4:22:54.

RunnerOfficial Time
Brian Harvey2:22:40
Cheng Zhong 2:47:42
Donal Reynolds 2:53:44
Mathew Swanson2:55:53
Tony Luongo2:58:54
Matthew Taylor3:03:31
Jacob Scott3:05:22
Lixin Qin3:05:22
David Marchefka3:05:41
Jeffrey Roth3:13:22
Douglas Hall3:16:16
Sam Belcher3:22:32
Nicholas Gallo 3:28:06
Lisa Engler3:36:22
Becca Pizzi 3:38:23
Xiaomei Zhou3:39:50
Laurie Nahigian3:44:47
Yi Zhang3:48:20
Catherine Wall3:52:37
Michael Ascione3:59:38
Yufei Xu3:59:43
Jenna Vargas 4:11:05
Erin Woodbury4:19:37
Will Brownsberger4:22:54
George Grant4:23:23
Meaghan Murphy4:54:41
Sylvia Limm5:15:42
Rachel Heller 5:15:42
Mandela Toyo5:49:23

Select Board Increases Most Parking Tickets To $25

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Photo: A close call whether this vehicle is impeding sidewalk travel

For the first time in more than a decade, most parking ticket fines are increasing, going up $10 to $25 after a vote by the Select Board on Monday, April 11. But it could take a while before scofflaws hand over the higher fine.

The hike in the parking penalties came as part of a presentation of a citizens’ petition that will come before Town Meeting on May 3.

Town Meeting Member Gi Yoon-Huang of Winn Street (Precinct 8) told the Board of a safety issue involving vehicles that jut out of driveways and block the sidewalk. She said in her precinct, this is forcing children and parents heading to the Winn Brook School to enter the street to go around them.

She was spurred to launch this effort after speaking to a resident who uses a walker and fell attempting to move past a car blocking the sidewalk.

Yoon-Huang said while police would respond quickly to calls and the owners eventually move their vehicles, “it would often be a repeat offender … and it took us years to have this one street cleared.”

“The main goal [of the petition] is to bring awareness that this is a problem, but also to further clarify it further,” said Yoon-Huang.

Her petition would also increase the parking fine for this offense – after a first warning – which will increase with each infraction; a second ticket would be $50 and a third and more at $100. The petition would require stepped up communication with residents on the new bylaw.

“This is to help improve safety for everyone,” said Yoon-Huang, who has agreed to make a presentation before Town Meeting at which time the town will adopt the bylaw provisions into the existing parking regulations. Her petition will then be tabled, and a motion to dismiss will be presented to Town Meeting.

Belmont Police Chief James MacIsaac said his department actively targets any vehicle that is an obstruction, including those crammed into driveways to avoid violating the town’s 60-year-old overnight parking ban enforced between 1 a.m. and 7 a.m.

“So they have a choice to make. They leave the car out at night, and they absolutely get a ticket, or they squeeze it in the driveway. An officer working the midnight shift is not going to probably tag those cars in the drive way as they are making an effort to be off the street,” said MacIsaac.

But for a group of residents, the current $15 fine isn’t much of a deterrent. “Some people pay them and just go on violating it,” he said, noting the last time Belmont increased ticket fees was 2005, and before that, in the 1980s.

A few parking violations have unique penalties, such as parking at an MBTA bus stop which is $100, and $50 for stopping in a designated bike lane.

MacIsaac noted that during his nearly quarter century in law enforcement, residents’ first and overriding complaint about his department is parking tickets. “I’ve been people get ten times more upset getting a $15 parking ticket than a $200 speeding ticket.” The chief said officers issue an average of 28 parking tickets daily, of which eight to nine are overnight violations.

MacIsaac said that of the two sections of state law (MGL 9020) governing traffic citations, Belmont adopted the one where most tickets top out at $25. He said creating a unique violation with an increasing fee would run counter to state law. If the town wants to raise ticket fees, it should adopt the other section of the ticketing law – which only Boston and Cambridge have adopted – under which Belmont can jack up parking ticket fees to $60.

“I actually think that the dollar fine would really spur good behavior,” said Elizabeth Dionne on her first meeting as a board member. “I think $20 is not that significant. I think $50 and $100. The goal is never to collect the money. The goal is to have clear sidewalks.”

Board member Roy Epstein believes that “it’s not necessary to jump to a very high fine right away” to force compliance; instead using the existing enforcement options available to the town. He said under the current traffic citation law, the police can return to towing vehicles (suspended during COVID) for someone with a significant number of tickets as well as “boot” vehicles “just to let them know that we are serious about this.”

While not wanting to impose a significant increase in the parking fee structure, Epstein said it was time to bring these penalties to a more realistic level.

“I think its time to increase all of the $15 to $20 because of 20 years of inflation,” said Epstein, with Dionne suggesting upping it to $25.

The discussion then proceeded to whether the town needed to include vehicles as an “obstruction” impeding pedestrian travel on a sidewalk. Town Moderator Patrice Garvin said town bylaws already call for action on any “obstruction,” whether it’s a car, shrubbery, or snow.

Rather than bringing complicated issues on enforcement before the 290-member Town Meeting, Paolillo said the board would “combine the spirit of some of the things [in the citizens’ petition] into our parking regulations and increase our fines. I think that goes a long way to address the concerns of the petitioners.”

While the board quickly passed the new $25 parking fine, there will be some leeway before the bylaw goes into effect. MacIsaac said the department will need to finish the existing supply of ticket books with the old fine before ordering a new batch with the $25 fee.

Back Live! Annual Town Meeting Begins On May Day At BHS Auditorium

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Photo: Town Meeting is coming to the Belmont High auditorium

For the first time since November 2019, Belmont’s Town Meeting will be held live and in person at the Belmont High School auditorium.

The 2023 annual Town Meeting begins at 7 p.m. on the following dates:

  • May 1, 3, 8, 10  (Segment A); and
  • May 31, June 5, 7, 12 (Segment B, the budget section). 

These dates the town has reserved as per custom; it is not likely that all eight nights will be required.  

The meeting will not be using any mobile voting for in-person, rather there will be a return to using of handheld voting devices, often referred to as “clickers.”

The Town Moderator has designated specific areas of the Belmont High School Auditorium for those Town Meeting Members who wish to observe a social distance from other Town Meeting Members during the meeting.

For those Town Meeting Members whose email or phone has changed, and for all new Town Meeting Members, submit a new contact sheet to the Town Clerk as soon as possible.

The order of articles will be determined by the Town Moderator, Mike Widmer, and will be distributed with the motions. In addition to articles and citizen petitions, the town meeting will have a “special” dropped into the proceedings.

How the Special Town Meeting will work

On the second night May 3, the meeting will begin at 7 p.m. At 7:30 p.m., the Town Moderator will briefly adjourn the annual Town Meeting and convene the Special Town Meeting to take action on the only article, the appropriation for the Rink and Sports Facility, the debt exclusion approved by Belmont voters on April 4. Once the votes under the Special Town Meeting are completed, the Moderator will dissolve the Special Town Meeting, and we will return to the business of the annual Town Meeting.

The Handbook for Belmont Town Meeting Members is available on that webpage but here’s a direct link.

Amending Articles

The deadline for amendments to the articles is at the close of business, three business days before the date the article will be taken up:

For Segment A:

  • Monday, May 1 deadline is 4 PM April 26
  • Wednesday, May 3, deadline is Noon April 28
  • Monday, May 8 deadline is 4 PM May 3
  • Wednesday, May 10 deadline is Noon May 5

Precinct 6 caucus

Due to a failure to elect at the annual Town Election held on April 4, Precinct 6 Town Meeting Members will attend an in-person caucus at 7 p.m. on April 27 at the Homer Building in the Town Hall complex. All Precinct 6 Town Meeting Members have been sent the notice.

“I hope that the caucus will be completed in time for members to participate in the warrant briefing that has since been scheduled for the same night.,” said Town Clerk Ellen Cushman.

What’s Open, Closed On Patriots’ Day; Trash/Recycling Delayed A Day

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Photo: What’s open on Patriots’ Day

Patriots’ Day, the Bay State’s homegrown holiday, commemorates the battles of Lexington, Concord, and Menotomy on April 19, 1775, the first of the American Revolutionary War. 

While the first shot was fired in Lexington and the Regulars were halted at North Bridge in Concord, more than half of all casualties that day occurred in modern-day Arlington as Minutemen from surrounding towns converged on Menotomy to ambush the British over the short distance from Foot of the Rocks (at the intersection of Lowell Street and Massachusetts Avenue) to Spy Pond on their retreat back to Boston.

Arlington will celebrate on Patriots’ Day to greet National Lancers riders reenacting Paul Revere and Williams Dawes’s famous ride warning, “The Regulars are out!” The celebration will occur at Whittemore Park, in front of the Cyrus Dallin Art Museum, 611 Mass. Ave. While awaiting the riders, you’re invited to join the activities: crafts, snacks, and a scavenger hunt beginning at 11 a.m. The riders are expected around noon.

Most of the day’s attention is focused on the Boston Athletic Association’s annual 26.2 miles marathon that bifurcates a 26-mile stretch of eastern Massachusetts. It will be a great day for runners and fans as the forecast calls for highs in the mid-50s, and overcast skies, with the rain holding off until the afternoon.

So, what’s opened and what’s closed?

Closed

  • Belmont Town Hall, offices, and buildings are closed, as is the Belmont Public Library.
  • Belmont public schools are closed Monday as they are shut for the week-long spring-time break.
  • State offices such as the Register of Motor Vehicles and courts are closed.

Due to the holiday, trash and recycling curbside pickup is delayed a day, so if your removal day is Monday, don’t! Bring it to the side of the road on Tuesday.

And Massachusetts residents get an extra day, Tuesday, April 18 at 11:59 p.m., to submit or mail their federal and state taxes.

Opened

As it is a state holiday, the US Post Offices on Concord Avenue and in Waverley Square are open as are federal offices.

Star Market on Trapelo Road is open as are retail and convenience stores, eateries and restaurants, and liquor establishments. MBTA: All subway lines will operate on a regular weekday schedule with added service before and after the Marathon.

Marathon Monday on the MBTA:

  • Various bus routes on the marathon route’s North and South sides will be detoured.
  • Due to congestion, bikes are prohibited on any MBTA vehicles on Patriots’ Day.
  • An all-day pass is being offered for the Framingham/Worcester line.
  • Copley Station will be closed all day Monday. 
  • View the MBTA’s Patriots’ Day schedule here.

Planning Board OKs Belmont Hill School Parking Plan

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Photo: The area which will become a parking lot for the Belmont Hill School

By the narrowest of margins, the Belmont Planning Board approved the Design and Site Plan Review for a proposed 140-space parking lot and 7,000-square-foot facilities building to be built on a seven-acre parcel off Prospect Street presented by the Belmont Hill School.

“I’ll go ahead and make a motion to approve design site plan review of the application as amended on the ground that the proposal complies with all elements of the Zoning Bylaw,” said Matt Lowrie, board chair who shepherded the contentious review over the past five months.

The vote was three-to-two, with Lowrie, Thayer Donham, and Karl Haglund voting to approve the proposal, while Carol Berberian and Jeff Birenbaum voted no at the meeting held virtually on Tuesday, April 11.

In a prologue to what was a swift review of the proposal, Lowrie presented the legal next steps for critics if they choose to challenge the board’s decision. But Lowrie expressed his opinion that since many of the most immediate abutters had come around to support the proposal after some mitigation by the school of its plans, “[W]ho would do this?”

When he met with those same abutters early in the process, they admitted that their legal counsel said litigating a favorable review decision, in this case, would likely result in them losing in court.

During the meeting in which public comment was not taken – the review was closed back in March – Lowrie presented a step-by-step overview of the process, highlighting the main campus parking, the facilities building, and the east campus parking off Marsh Street.

Lowrie ran down many of the “expressed concerns” that were brought up during the review process, such as the impact on abutters, the number of parking spaces, the clearing of trees and vegetation, traffic congestion, and stormwater issues.

Lowrie pointed to the legal decision Forster vs. Belmont when discussing whether parking for athletic events is considered an educational use. The court said the town could issue a special permit for tall light poles on athletic fields as the Dover Amendment protects it. The state law prohibits the Planning Board from regulating or restricting the use for an educational purpose – such as parking and the facilities building – assuming it’s a nonprofit educational institution.

Throughout his review, Lowrie relied on the opinion of town counsel George Hall in supporting the approval of the design and site review.

“In order to actually make sure that we have a decision, we need to be on the merits,” said Lowrie.

After members sought clarification of aspects of the stormwater runoff from around the new facilities building, the board voted to approve the measure. There is no indication from the Belmont Hill School on a start date for the parking lot construction.

Last Of ARPA Funds Directed For School Security, Butler Roof

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Photo: The Butler school will have its original roof replaced in the summer of 2024.

The “last” of the $8.7 million Belmont received in American Rescue Plan Act funding will be spent to create secure entries at all district schools and replace the 123-year-old roof on the Butler school.

In January, the Select Board voted to allocate the remaining $1,137,214 in the town’s ARPA account to go towards capital needs. After reviewing the capital projects in the town that align with the ARPA spending requirements, the Comprehensive Capital Budget Committee Chair Christine Doyle returned to the board on April 3 with two recommended projects:

  • The creation of security vestibules with security cameras in three district schools totaling $245,000
  • The remaining $892,214 will be combined with $607,786 in discretionary capital funds to be mainly used to repair the Daniel Butler Elementary School’s roof.

A security vestibule is a secure room between the school’s outer door and the building interior, allowing visitors access to one space at a time. The structure limits and regulates entry, allowing more efficient screening of people entering the school.

The three vestibules will cost $75,000, and the upgraded cameras and technology are priced at $170,000. Doyle said the Select Board’s OK will allow the Facilities Department to advance the project immediately, with the vestibules and cameras completed by the start of school in September. The CCBC will request an additional $160,000 in the fiscal 2025 budget for further camera upgrades in the other three schools.

“I think the security additions are timely,” said Board Chair Mark Paolillo, noting how schools around the country are stepping up measures to keep students and teachers safe.

The Butler slate roof is part of the original structure built in 1900 and is showing its age. David T. Blazon, director of the town’s Facilities Department, told the board the existing slate roof will be completely replaced with a synthetic version that is comparable in price with the natural rock. Due to a lot of engineering specifications and prep work needed, the job will take place in the summer of 2024 when students are not in the building.

Blazon said the new roof could be expected to last for a century.

While the ARPA account is now at zero, it doesn’t necessarily mean it will remain empty, said Town Administrator Patrice Garvin. She noted that many projects using ARPA funds are estimates of what they expect to spend on a job. If bids come in less than what was allocated, the account could once again have a positive balance in the future.