Letter to the Editor: Fact Checking the Belmont Center ‘Bait and Switch’

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To the editor:

A lot of ink, digital and otherwise, has recently been spent asserting that the Belmont Center Reconstruction project has been usurped by a small “faction” of influential residents, pulling a “bait and switch” on Town Meeting, and undermining the democratic process in town. The only recourse, it is claimed, is to force the Selectmen to recant and reinstitute the original plan, which was perfect as it was and universally agreed to.

Moved by this tale of overreach, corruption, and eleventh-hour backroom “politicking,” many Belmontians have signed a petition demanding an end to this blot on democracy.

It is a morally uplifting tale. But is any of it true?

Unfortunately, a look at the actual content of November’s Special Town Meeting and the process since then will make clear that the current story of the derailment of the democratic process is unfounded. The outraged narrative has “truthiness” to be sure, but it is false at its core.

First a distinction. Well-intentioned citizens may disagree about the merits of “Plan A” versus “Plan B,” but this is not what is fueling the recent petition and uproar, or in any case what is being discussed here. Rather, the fact that people have been told that an anti-democratic coup has occurred, and that they feel justifiably upset about this and have pledged themselves to see the right restored, is the issue here.

Fortunately for the town, what they have been told is simply untrue. Unfortunately, you would not know that from what is still being shouted from the rooftops.

Let’s take it piece by piece.

First of all, it has been asserted that that there was a complete plan (“Plan A”) in place at the time of Town Meeting. This is not true, a point raised as an issue on Town Meeting floor by several members at the time, including the very first comment on the main motion:

MR. MCGAW: We’re authorizing some money to be issued, but it says appropriated for the Belmont Center Reconstruction Project, and my only question is what is defined to be the Belmont Center Reconstruction Project? Is it the pictures we’ve seen tonight? Is it provided somewhere because already tonight we’ve heard some tweaks to things on the screen. So what is “the project”? … I notice people are discussing “the project,” but we don’t have a reference to “the project.”

Right from the outset, then, there was unclarity about what the project consisted of. But it wasn’t merely that some Town Meeting members had not yet seen the final plan. As Glenn Clancy, Director of the Office of Community Development, noted:

MR. CLANCY: … We have construction drawings [on the website] that are about probably 90 percent complete. I would tell you that the Belmont Center Reconstruction Project is — you know, ultimately will be the set of construction drawings that will represent this project. I don’t know how to answer it better than that.

In other words, there was no “final plan” yet; at the time of voting, the plan was incomplete. Other Town Meeting members also expressed their concerns about this.

Regarding whether feedback was still welcome, the interchange between Belmont Selectman Sami Baghdady and Town Meeting member Joe White, who was suggesting that the vote should be put off because the plan was incomplete, is illuminating on this point:

MR. BAGHDADY: Joe, with all due respect, okay, the plans are at 90 percent completion phase. If you have a design comment … I think you can come to Glenn after this Town Meeting, raise your point. It will be looked into, and if it’s valid, it will be incorporated. The purpose of this Town Meeting is appropriation — … We are here to appropriate funds for a project. If there’s fine tuning that’s needed … it can take place after.

Thus the notion that the plan was set in stone at the time, that everyone agreed on what it consisted of, and that it was not subject to further revisions, is simply false.

As to the merits of retaining the access road, this was discussed at length by a variety of Town Meeting members. Most notable was the concern of losing ease of access for elderly patrons:

MR. SEMUELS: Is there any possibility that the travel lane next to the Belmont Savings Bank can be saved rather than the amount of green space. I’m in favor of green space. I, for the most part, approve of this, but these are the concerns that I’ve heard from a lot of people who are seniors and are disabled people who may be driving, still driving.

Another member drove the same point home, noting in passing that the proposed new configuration required drivers to get enmeshed in the overall traffic.

The point here is not whether the access road should be retained, but that there was general recognition on Town Meeting floor that the access road component was a complex issue that merited further discussion. And while it is true that the removal of the road was part of the conceptual plans shown on slides at Town Meeting, the response of town representatives and elected officials to feedback about this feature was not to assert that the plan is inviolable, but rather to explicitly say that, as stewards of the interests of the town as a whole, of course they were open to feedback:

MR. CLANCY: Now, that doesn’t mean that I want a parade of residents coming through my office and changing every little aspect of this project, and several thousands of dollars in design goes out the window, and members of the Traffic Advisory Committee that are sitting here in front of me, all their hard work goes out the window, but I do feel we have an obligation to respond where we think it’s appropriate.

Thus, while infinite tinkering was reasonably discouraged, it was the general sense that there would be an opportunity to opine on this difficult issue of the design, an opportunity where citizens could meet and discuss the options in an open public forum. The Town Meeting vote was about funding, not about the final design.

When several months passed and work was begun in the Center, but no public forum had yet been scheduled to address the design issues raised in Town Meeting, numerous concerned citizens brought this to the attention of the town.

Finally, the opportunity for this feedback came in the spring. The Town Clerk duly informed Town Meeting of a meeting at the Beech Street Center, and a large number of citizens attended. The positive and negative elements of the options were civilly discussed, and the Board of Selectmen took all this feedback, and no doubt much other feedback from the months preceding, and made a difficult decision that they believed balanced the various needs of the town.

The town leaders were acting on their best footing as stewards of the public good: they responded to citizen concerns, they offered revised proposals, and they provided an opening for input in a fully open publicly announced forum.

Of course, it is understandable that some townsfolk were disappointed by the results of the recent meeting. They may legitimately encourage the Selectmen to reverse their decision.

But it is a completely separate issue, indeed a wonder, that so many citizens have been misled into believing and supporting the false notion that the town leaders have committed a massive perversion of justice by these actions. That an open meeting addressing citizen’s concerns could be so thoroughly misconstrued is rather astounding.

The merits of Plan A and Plan B are worth discussing even now, but the accusation that town leaders sidestepped democracy in this case, and indeed colluded with a “faction” of select influence peddlers, is completely unfounded.

Certainly it must be morally satisfying to be outraged at this fictitious slight, but it doesn’t make it any more true.

If citizens wish to re-open the case of Plan A versus Plan B, that is understandable, but they should not do so under the false pretense that an offense against democracy was committed. It wasn’t.

Kevin Cunningham

Town Meeting Member, Precinct 4

A Little Rain Equals Fast Times At Brendan’s Home Run 5K

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Photo: Nine-year-old Gillian Palmer runs across the finish line with David Palmer in 35 minutes and 50 seconds in the 14th annual Brendan’s Home Run 5K.

While the steady warm rain may have kept the total number of runners at the 14th annual Brandan’s Home Run 5K race down from previous years – 301 runners finished the race Sunday, June 21, as opposed to nearly 425 last year – it also helped those running the Father’s Day tradition set fast times.

Leading the way was the shirtless Zack Schwartz, a 26-year-old former Brandeis cross-country and track racer, who stormed over the 3.1 mile course in 14 minutes and 44 seconds, smashing the course record of 14:59 set by Ryan McCalmon in  2012. Also breaking the old record was Eric Speakman, the 24-year-old 2015 Stony Brook University graduate, who followed Schwartz by eight seconds.

“This is my best race by far,” said Schwartz, who works at MIT and “am trying to run as much as I can.”

The woman’s race nearly duplicated the men’s as 37-year-old Northbridge-resident Stephanie Reilly finished in 17:22, within five seconds of breaking the women’s record of 17:17 set in 2013 by the woman came in second in Monday’s race, Karen Roa, 24, who finished in 17:48.

Complete race results can be found here.

And while the race – sponsored by Belmont Savings Bank, Fitness Together, and Belmont Dental Group – featured those running in the front of the pack, those participating were enjoying the inclement weather leaving them drenched and dodging puddles as they race by themselves or with friends and family.

The real winner of Sunday’s race was The Brendan Grant Foundation, dedicated to enhancing youth development, and has been instrumental in the support of key initiatives that perpetuate the best core values of healthy parent-child relationships.

 

Trapelo Road Cheese Shop Seeking Beer/Wine License

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Photo: Co-owners Jen Bonislawski and Artur Nergaryan of Art’s Specialities on Trapelo Road.

Artur Nergaryan said his customers – from first-timers to his regulars – keep asking him the same question.

“People will go around and pick up a salami, some cheese and bread and then ask, ‘Where’s your wine?'” said Nergaryan, the co-owner with his wife, Jen Bonislawski, of Art’s Specialities at 369 Trapelo Rd.

That consumer demand has prompted the couple come before the Belmont Board of Selectmen on Monday, June 22, seeking a license to sell beer and wine from their new speciality food store, located across the street from the Studio Cinema near the corner of Beech Street.

But the application does not mean the couple is seeking to change the tenor of the store’s character or focus.

“[Beer and wine] is not our main business; it will be complementary to what we are already selling,” said Bonislawski. The couple hopes to carve out a small section of the store near the checkout counter to sell a select number of moderately-priced wines and popular craft beers.

“It will provide that extra something that [customers] said they want,” said Nergaryan.

The Watertown couple opened the speciality store three months ago in the former location of Diver’s Jim. The 1,700 sq.-ft. store front sells an large array of regional cheeses, olive oils and balsamic vinegars, herbs, charcuteries (prepare meats including bacon, ham, sausage, pâtés and confit) as well as loose seeds, tea and nuts. It has begun stocking some prepared foods and is the only store in Belmont where you can buy your pickles – five varieties – straight from the barrel.

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But the couple will be coming before a board that has not awarded a retail beer and wine license in years. In the past 18 months, the board has rejected applications by three Trapelo Road stores – each within a few blocks of Art’s – and from Jimmy’s Food Mart at the corner of Belmont and School streets which was denied a license in March. The business has since closed after a fire destroyed the location. 

The former board that rejected the earlier bids criticized the nature of the businesses – quick-visit variety or convenient stores – which sold lottery tickets and tobacco products, fearing they would quickly evolve into package stores.

But unlike the previous applicants, Bonislawski contends Art’s Specialties – which does not hold a lottery license or sells cigarettes – will remain true to its current business plan.

“Sometimes when a store receives a liquor license, they begin pushing the alcohol. That’s not the case here,” said Bonislawski.

For the working couple – Nergaryan is a bank manager in Belmont and Bonislawski a librarian in Cambridge – Art’s is an opportunity to break into retail trade with what Nergaryan is familiar with (he grew up making cheese after coming to the US from Armenia).

“We love being here, and we’ve received a good reception from other businesses and residents,” she said. “They said how much we’re helping change the neighborhood.”

This Week: Meetings Before Summer, Final Day of School, Housing Lottery

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On the government side of “This Week”: 

  • The Belmont School Committee will meet at 6:15 p.m., Monday, June 22, at the Chenery Middle School. A crowd is expected. 
  • The Belmont Light Board will meet at Belmont Town Hall on Monday, June 22, at 6:30 p.m. to discuss net metering and the a buyback tariff. 
  • The scheduled meeting of the Board of Selectmen takes place at 7 p.m., Monday, June 22, in Town Hall. While the schedule includes an application for a beer and wine license and other routine items. it’s expected a petition with nearly 500 signatures will be presented concerning recent design changes made to the Belmont Center Reconstruction project that was approved by the board earlier this month. 
  • Municipal Light Advisory Board  will meet Tuesday, June 23, from 7:15 p.m. to 9:15 p.m., at Town Hall.
  • The Community Path Implementation Advisory Committee will meet to discuss going on a walking tour of potential paths while identifying future challenges. The meeting takes place at Town Hall on Wednesday, June 23, at 6 p.m.

The Belmont Public Library will be closed Monday, June 22, as new floor tiles will be installed. The building will reopen Tuesday, June 23, at 9 a.m.

Pre-School Story Time at the Benton Library, Belmont’s independent and volunteer run library, this morning, June 23, at 10:30 a.m. Stories and crafts for children age 3 to 5. Parents or caregivers must attend. Siblings may attend with adults. Registration is not required. The Benton Library is located at the intersection of Oakley and Old Middlesex. 

Tuesday, June 23 is the final day of the 2014-15 School Year. Summer recess begins before noon. Several schools will have “moving on” ceremonies; for 4th graders heading off to Middle School and eighth graders going to Belmont High in the fall. 

Join Clarence Richardson for a presentation to find out what estate planning documents you need and why on Tuesday, June 23, 2015, at 1:15 P.M. at the Beech Street Center. Participants will leave the presentation with a better understanding of documents you may have heard of like Wills, Trusts, Powers of Attorney, and Health Care Proxies. Richardson will discuss why he thinks everyone should have some of these documents, but not necessarily all of them.

Yoga for everyone at the Beech Street Center on Tuesday, June 23 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:45 p.m.: join Susan Harris, a registered yoga teacher and associate professor of Nutrition at Tufts University for this Iyengar-inspired class which practices yoga postures slowly and with attention to alignment and safety, adapted to the abilities and needs of individual students. Practice is done with bare feet; mats and props are provided. Cost: $15/class. Non-seniors, beginners and experienced are welcome. This is a non-Council on Aging class held at the Beech Street Center. For more information, call Susan at 617-407-0816.

The Belmont Housing Trust will be holding its Homebuyer Assistance Program GAP Lottery on Tuesday, June 23, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Flett Room of the Belmont Public Library. The random selection of the three households of the eligible applicants will give them the opportunity to search, select, and buy homes in Belmont with financial assistance from the program, funding by the Community Preservation Committee Fund.

Belmont Stormwater Working Group meets in the Flett Room of the Belmont Public Library on Thursday, June 25, beginning at 7 p.m.

Belmont Yard Sales: June 20–21

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Photo: Yard sales in Belmont.

Yard sales in the “Town of Homes.” 

• 82 Bay State Rd., Saturday, June 20, from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

• 36 Hurley St., Saturday and Sunday, June 20-21, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

• 7 Leslie Rd., Saturday, June 20, from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

• 27 Leslie Rd., Sunday, June 21, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

• 17 Sycamore St., Saturday, June 20, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

• 60 Washington St., Saturday, June 20, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

• 133-135 White St., Saturday, June 20, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

This Weekend: Score a Home Run Sunday, Book Sale at the Benton, Summer in the Gallery

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Photo: The start of the Brendan’s Home Run.

• The 14th annual running of “Brendan’s Home RunTM” 5K Race & Walk will take place on Father’s Day, Sunday, June 21, at 10 a.m. at the Belmont High School’s Harris Field. The walk begins at 9:30 a.m., the race at 10 a.m. with youth races for kids a few minutes after the runners leave the field. The annual event raises funds to enhancing youth development, and has been instrumental in the support of key initiatives that perpetuate the best core values of healthy parent-child relationships. The race is sponsored by Belmont Savings Bank, Fitness Together Belmont and the Belmont Dental Group.

• The Benton Library, Belmont’s independent and volunteer-run library, is holding its monthly Saturday Book Sale, this Saturday, June 20, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Bring the family and make selections from our recently acquired sale books; all proceeds benefit the library. Borrow from the collection. Use our Wi-Fi. The Benton is open on the third Saturday afternoon of every month.

• “02478” is the summer exhibition of the Belmont Art Association is now being shown at the Belmont Gallery of Art, located on the third floor of the Homer Building which is in the Town Hall complex off Moore Street. The gallery is open Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

The show offers an opportunity to meet many of the artists—both amateur and professional—who live and work in our community. Showcasing work by BAA members, the exhibit includes work in a wide variety of media from painting, drawing, printmaking and collage, to sculpture, ceramics, textiles, and photography. Founded in 2013, the Belmont Art Association’s mission is to “create a community of and for Belmont-based visual artists by sharing information and resources and creating opportunities to display their work.” For more information about the organization visit its website.

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Three New Police Officers Sworn In By Town Clerk, Two Others Promoted

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Photo: The new hires: (from left) Officers Michael Santoro Jr., William Watkins  Jr., and Marco D ’Andrea.

Marco D ’Andrea, Michael Santoro Jr. and William Watkins Jr. were sworn in today, Thursday, June 18, by Belmont Town Clerk Ellen Cushman as the the most recent police officers to join the ranks of the Belmont Police Department. 

The officers attended the distinguished and stringent six-month Boston Police Academy and graduated on June 17, along with 64 of their classmates, according to Belmont Police Chief Richard McLaughlin. 

Forty-one of the new officers will join the ranks of the Boston Police Department and 23 are headed to cities and towns in Massachusetts.  Boston’s Mayor Walsh and Police Commissioner William Evans addressed the graduating class.  

“We are very fortunate to have been given the opportunity to send our recruits to the nationally recognized Boston Police Academy,” said McLaughlin.

In addition to Belmont Police personnel, the swearing in was attended by Belmont  Town Administrator David Kale, Assistant Town Administrator Phyllis Marshall and family and friends of the officers.

In addition to the swearing in of the three new officers, Belmont recognized recently promoted Mark Hurley and Marc Pugliese. Hurley was promoted to the rank of lieutenant from sergeant and  Pugliese was promoted from patrol officer to sergeant.

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Pictured: L-R Sgt. Marc Pugliese, Lt. Mark Hurley, Asst. Chief James MacIsaac, Chief Richard McLaughlin, Officer Michael Santoro Jr., Officer William Watkins Jr., Officer Marco D ’Andrea.

Battle of the Bands A Knockout Opener for Payson Park Music Festival

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Photo: Will Goldsmith (right) of “The Nutrition Facts” at Payson Park Music Festival’s Battle of the Bands.

Will Goldsmith, the guitarist for the rock trio “The Nutrition Facts” (“The name is subject to change” he said) is bouncing around the stage like a pro during his band’s set during the Battle of the Bands at the Payson Park Music Festival; grimacing, windmilling, jumping up and down with beat like a mini-Angus Young – the lead guitarist of ACDC which happens to be Will’s guitar inspiration. 

“I picked up [the guitar] because I thought it was cool and I wanted to be cool,” said the Newton resident who attends the The Meadowbrook School in Weston. 

“I love it, it’s really fun,” said Goldsmith, who finished the set with a series of serious chops and a fist pumping in the air. 

Oh, by the way, he’s 11. As in elementary school. E-lev-en. 

Goldsmith’s band was one of four outstanding groups which rocked Payson Park before a packed grounds – Payson-palooza? – on Wednesday, June 17, the opening act of the festival celebrating its 25th anniversary. 

“It’s fun and great to see the kids play,” said Tomi Olson, the founder and director of the festival.

“It’s a great start to the summer. It’s nice to be able to come out and hear music outside. It’s revitalizing,” she said. 

For the second year, the season began with groups made up of high school, and this year, middle school (and with the case of Goldsmith, even younger) students who proved that you’re never too young to rock. 

The Dominoes from Newton are made up of sixth grade classmates from the Charles Brown Middle School, fronted by standout soloist Abby Matthews, who is just a year older than Goldsmith.

Since getting together a year ago, “we are really so much better,” said Matthews who captured the crowd with covers from Katy Perry and Adele. 

“It’s really exciting to be here in front of these many people,” she said, which included the group’s parents who were just as enthusiastic just listening to their kids. 

Along with Radium, made up of members of the Waltham High School Show Band (which finished the sets with a James Brown cover that was a show stopper) was Belmont’s own Free Shipping, a sophomore quintet that had considerable support of several female classmates in the audience taking Instagram photos during their set. 

“I follow them everywhere,” said Chloe Brown of Belmont. “They work hard and they have a good vibe.” 

And the band, fronted by Jasper Wolf, with Tino Decoulos (guitar), lead guitar Nico (Bono) Albano, Aidan Hamell (guitar and keyboard) and drummer Tommy Slap, was named the night’s winner – receiving a $250 gift certificate from the night’s sponsor Belmont Savings Bank – with a set that was both smooth and edgy.

Laurie Slap, the drummer’s mom and School Committee Chair, said her son’s playing was “sensational” and the band “is a testament of the great music program we have in Belmont.” 

Asked about having a drummer in the house since third grade, Slap said “I like [Tommy’s] playing.”

Protest Raises Awareness of METCO Cuts Impacting Belmont Schools

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Photo: The protest outside Belmont High School on Wednesday, June 17.

For 12 years, since first coming to the Wellington Elementary School as a first grader, Rashunda Webb has been a young woman on the move.

As a METCO student, she traveled from Dorchester to Belmont initially on a bus for her early years before switching to public transportation. While she attended Belmont High School, it took Webb a good 90 minutes on MBTA buses and subways to get to school and then back home.

Yet she said without benefits of graduating from one of the best open enrollment high schools in the country, “I don’t think I would have had the chance of attending the college I’ve been hoping to,”  said Webb, who is matriculating at New York University this fall as a nursing student.

And while she succeeded in using the opportunity METCO gave her, Webb wants to see others from her neighborhood take the same route she did.

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Rashunda Webb of Dorchester and Belmont High School.

“There are many, many kids who want to come here,” Webb told the Belmontonian. 

But the program Webb took advantage of is battling to maintain it funding level to where it can remain a viable option for other students from Boston.

“The budget cuts are closing the doors to the same opportunity I was privileged enough to experience,” said Webb at an informational protest rally at the entry to Belmont High School at Underwood Street and Concord Avenue on Wednesday, June 17. 

“That is why we are here today, that METCO will no longer open those doors of opportunity if we don’t speak up,” said Webb.

Holding bed sheets with “Protect METCO” and “The fight for equality is your responsibility,” written on them, a small but dedicated group of recent graduates and current students – each taking time away from finals preparation – sought to raise the issue that they believe has not received the attention or coverage it deserves. 

While many cars and students gave curious looks at the group, other beeped their horns and gave a supportive wave. 

“We’re looking to gain support in Belmont with this protest,” said Joe Fitzgerald, a 2014 Belmont High grad who coordinated the protest. Currently, 119 students from Boston attend Belmont schools in the first through twelfth grades. 

METCO – which stands for Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunities – is a voluntary integration program founded in 1966, provides a suburban public school education for African-American, Hispanic, and Asian students from Boston.

The program is currently in a tug of war between Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker’s budget which attempts to close a $768 million deficit. His budget cuts the METCO line item by $1.2 million to $17.9 million in fiscal 2016 while over in the House of Representatives, they propose to restore METCO funding to $20.14 million, a million dollars greater than last fiscal year’s amount. 

If the cuts are approved and passed, Belmont could see a resulting reduction in METCO of $54,000, a sizable hit for the program, Fitzgerald said. It could result in a drop in the over number of students attending Belmont schools and could result in siblings of current METCO students not provided an easier avenue to follow their brothers or sisters to the same schools. 

“We want to gain the democratic voice we need to bring more people into the debate, so it’s not just a debate between two or three higher ups but of the community which wants this program continue at adequate levels,” said Fitzgerald. 

‘Anything Goes’ Behind the Scenes Stars Honored at Theater Guild Awards

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Photo: Belmont High’s Sara Nelson and Nomi Vilvovsky with their “Best Stage Management’ award from the Massachusetts Educational Theater Guild. 

They are the unsung heroes back stage at a play or musical; providing actors their cues, oversee the tech crew, assist the director, making sure props are either off or on stage while keeping the show moving.

And for a production with as many moving parts – dancers, singers, actors, musicians – as this spring’s Belmont High School Performing Arts Company production of the Cole Porter musical “Anything Goes,” stage managers Sara Nelson and Nomi Vilvovsky, along with assistant managers Sophia Lubarr, Georgia Sundahl and Eli Dearden, where like jugglers being thrown an ever increasing number of balls to shuffle, with the expectation they would keep all of them in the air.

This past Monday, June 15, Nelson and Vilvovsky were honored for their organization and professional mastery by being awarded “Best Stage Management” in the High School Division at the annual Massachusetts Educational Theater Guild awards ceremony held in Boston. 

More than 70 Middle and High School productions were adjudicated by professional theater artists and educators and awards were given in a number of technical and performance categories.

“The award is a recognition not just of our strong team of student stage managers, but also the level of cohesion in all elements of the production: scenery and set changes, lighting, props, costumes, sound, actors and musicians,” noted Ezra Flam, “Anything Goes” producer and director.

In addition to the Stage Management Award, BHS PAC received nominations – which went to the top five schools in each category – for Best Dance Ensemble, Best Specialty Ensemble (the Sailors in the show) and Best Supporting Actor, Henry Dalby, as Moonface Martin.