After Decades Of Wishful Hopes, First Portion Of Community Path Hits Milestone With Board’s Approval

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Photo: The Belmont Select Board signing the documents to begin the construction phase of the first portion of the Belmont Community Path with a completion date in late-summer 2029

For more than two decades, the idea of a Belmont Community Path, a bike and walk way running through town from Cambridge to Waltham, was seen as a far-fetched hope of advocates and town officials, its reality being far off on the horizon.

That changed this week.

Monday. Aug. 10 was the red-letter day for the long-awaited path as the Select Board signed five documents that open the door for the state to seek bids next month to begin construction this time next year.

“We’re gonna have a path!” said Select Board member Matt Taylor, who has been the board’s representative on the Community Path Project Committee and has been heralding the path for years. 

With the final approvals in hand, the project has a tentative opening day for Phase 1 sometime mid-summer of 2029.

Phase 1 of the Belmont Community Path runs from the Fitchburg Cutoff Path at the Belmont and Cambridge line to the Clark Street Bridge off Pleasant Street. A major component of the first phase is a pedestrian tunnel at Alexander Avenue and St. under the commuter rail track to allow access to Belmont High School and Concord Avenue.

Monday’s main task was acquiring the property rights to do the work formally … to be certified to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) and to be funneled to the Federal Highway Administration. 

“The Town’s job is to acquire rights of way, work with the engineers to make sure that the project is planned out, and then the funding gets unlocked through the state government,” said Mina Makarious, Belmont’s town counsel, who presented the documents to the board.

The five acquisitions and uses the Board approved Monday included:

  • Final MBTA lease for Phase 1 along the commuter rail line.
  • Permanent and temporary easements on private property with compensation determined by an independent appraiser.
  • Accepting the donation of land along the commuter rail from the Belmont Citizens Forum.
  • License to use Department of Conservation and Recreation property.
  • Vote for use of School Committee land.

“Taken together, it gives you the acquisition rights for all things you need for the path,” said Makarious. 
“With the unanimous vote, the state will put the path project out to bid on Sept. 5.”

With the approvals and funding in place, a project timeline has been released.

  • Jan. 2027: State puts out bids in early September 2026. It will select a winning bid before the start of 2027.
  • Jan. 2027-Sept. 2027: Construction submittals, including data, drawings, or physical samples provided to architects and engineers for approval before buying or installing materials. 
  • June 2027-June 2028: The procurement process will start including hiring specialized trade subcontractors and ordering material that have long lead times to deliver. 
  • July 2027-August 2028: Preliminary path construction.
  • August 2028: The construction of the Alexander Ave. pedestrian tunnel, which will take one week, during which commuter service on the Fitchburg line will be suspended.
  • August 2028-July 2029: Finishing the path’s construction.

“There’ll be a lot of coordination with drawings, site visits, and walks, and plan review for much of the first six months of 2027,” said Taylor, 

It’s has been a long and dedicated process since the summer of 2019 when Nitsch Engineering was selected to design the Belmont portion of the 104-mile Mass Central Rail Trail that began when its first segment was opened in West Boylston in 1999.

In July, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation approved the town’s $48 million request in the current state Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). The community path is part of a rolling five-year capital plan (2027 to 2031) that includes all highway, road, bridge, and transit projects scheduled to receive federal funding within a specific regional planning area.

According to Taylor, putting the final pieces of the community path puzzle in place before a July deadline was dicey, as calculating the easements was conducted late in the process, and this year’s annual Town Meeting, which, as Taylor noted, “was kind of the roller coaster ride” as members were presented a surprise $1 million bill for the easement of a small spur of Alexander Avenue to provide access to the pedestrian tunnel. 

If any of the appraisals and easement determinations were not completed on time or funded by Town Meeting, it was a certainty federal and state funding would have been denied and the path – despite having finished construction blueprints – would have had to restart the process, which would have been a death knell for a future path.

But a late push resulted in the appraisals being completed in July and letters of just compensation to property owners being sent on July 9th. And Town Meeting showed its overwhelming support for the path by digging deep and funding the Alexander Avenue spur.

Sitting in the boardroom Monday was Holly Muson, chair of the Community Path Project Committee, which has overseen the project’s progress. After saying it was an important accomplishment to move a part of the project into the bid process, Muson noted the second phase – from the Clark Street Bridge through Waverley Square to the Waltham city line – will need to go through a similar process with a greater level of complexity in terms of design and obtaining right-of-way easements. 

“But today shows that we keep moving forward,” said Muson.

Belmont’s New Police Chief’s First Hires Upshot From Soaring Applications Coming Outside Civil Service

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Photo: Flanked by her mother and father, Belmont’s newest Police Officer Emily Ricci has her picture taken at her swearing in on Aug. 3 at Belmont’s Town Hall.

The Belmont Police Department welcomed two law enforcement veterans into the department in a Monday, Aug. 3 ceremony. 

Emily Ricci and Robert Ludwig were sworn in by Assistant Town Clerk Meg Piccione in the Town Hall auditorium with Belmont officers, Belmont elected officials, town staff, and family and friends in attendance.

Robert Ludwig (left) and Emily Ricci at their swearing in to be Belmont Police officers on Aug. 3

Four additional police hires began 22 weeks of Recruit Officer Courses, a basic training curriculum overseen by the Municipal Police Training Committee at its Randolph Police Academy. 

“The swearing in is a time-honored tradition that affirms the dedication of a public servant to the protection of the community,” Belmont Police Lt. Paul Cowing to begin the ceremony. “A solemn vow to serve the people based on the law, the Constitution, and what is best for Belmont.

“… [T]his ceremony will mark their commitment to a new community and the start of a new chapter in their professional lives,” said Cowing.

Ricci and Ludwig are lateral/post-certified officers transferring from their previous posts.

A Bedford native, Ricci began her law enforcement career in 2020 with the Richland County (SC) Sheriff’s Department after graduating from the University of South Carolina with a degree in psychology. She was a dispatcher with the Belmont Police Department for the past two years. Ricci joins her brother, a Burlington PD detective, as an officer in Massachusetts.

With Ricci and a candidate at the Academy, Belmont will soon have eight female officers.

Belmont Assistant Town Clerk Meg Piccione issues the oath to Emily Ricci and Robert Ludwig to serve as Belmont Police officers

After serving in the US Air Force, Ludwig began his career with the Dracut Police Department in 2014 before joining the Carlisle Police Department, where he was both a firearms instructor and a patrol officer. He matriculated at UMass Lowell, where he earned a degree in criminal justice. 

This group of a half-dozen successful applicants are the first hires by Belmont’s new Police Chief Shane Smith. 

“It’s such a milestone for me personally,” said Smith. “This was a very competitive process … and these two stood head and shoulders above everyone else.” 

Unlike past police chiefs, Smith was not constrained by the state’s Civil Service system in which applicants take a competitive examination, and those eligible candidates are then rank-listed. Due to Civil Service’s strict adherence to ranked lists, departments are prevented from hiring high-potential or diverse candidates lower down if scoring thresholds interfere. 

“We were having trouble recruiting applicants, given the restraints of Civil Service,” according to Town Administrator Patrice Garvin. In the final four years under the system, Belmont received less than a dozen applicants: four candidates in 2020, three in 2021, two in 2022, and just a single candidate in 2023. 

Belmont Police Chief Shane Smith

The resulting impact was an undermanned department and large yearly budget payouts in overtime, said Garvin. In 2024, Belmont’s Town Meeting voted for the police department to leave the state-run program. 

And this year, the number of applicants has exploded.

“We received 53 applicants to fill the vacancies, and I think it’s a direct result of bringing [Smith] on board,” said Garvin, who praised his ability to use more recruiting avenues “to make sure we have the best applicants.”

“Coming from the agency that never had civil service in New Hampshire, you have to go out and recruit people,” said Smith. Because so many local police departments depend on lists of applicants, they don’t have a culture of actively finding and attracting hiring new people for a job, he said. For Smith, it was second nature.

“I took basically the blueprint that I had from [Salem, NH] that was very successful, and I brought it to Belmont,“ said Smith.

With younger people using apps, Smith focused on PoliceApp.com, a popular law enforcement job site.

“We paid a small fee, which also allowed the site to push Belmont to the top and also push us out over social media. We did our own pushing out as far as Instagram and Facebook and had people share it.” Smith said one of the six who was selected – a recent graduate from the University of New Hampshire – reached out to him on LinkedIn, the Microsoft-owned business and employment-oriented social networking service.

“I said, ‘Are you interested in being a local law enforcement officer?’ because he had a degree in Homeland Security. He said, ‘Absolutely, I am.’ So through a wide array of social media, we get an educated college athlete who is one of your people who will be studying August 3rd in the academy in Randolph.”

“I was beyond pleased with the people who came in for a chief’s interview at the end, and I was blown away by the candidates who were before me. Educated, articulate, well-rounded, from various backgrounds,” said Smith.

And the large number of applicants allowed Smith to be selective about who he wanted in the department.

“I had several certified officers apply. I did not select them. I would only take the best. I’ve learned in my career that if you settle for what’s out there, bad things will happen. Maybe not now. Maybe not in my time here. The last thing I want is a future chief to say, “I cannot believe that Chief Smith hired this person.”

Town Honors Belmont Ruggers On Eighth Straight State Championship

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Photo: The Belmont Select Board honors the Belmont High Girls: (from left) Select Board Chair Taylor Yates, Head Coach Kate McCabe players Adele Goho, Nina Lind, Serena Field, and LeeLee Kozelian with board members Carol Berberian and Matt Taylor.

For this one time, there’s actually no word that describes the accomplishments of the Belmont High School Girls Varsity Rugby team.

“I’ve heard of repeat champs. I’ve heard of repeat, repeat champs. I don’t know what the word is for an eight times champion,” said Taylor Yates, the chair of the Select Board commemorating the girls’ rugby team’s eighth consecutive title after the team defeated Weymouth High School, 36 to 24, in the 2026 MIAA Division I girls rugby state championship on June 11 at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Quincy,

“One of the things that we do here at the select board is recognize exceptional achievements, accomplishments, and contributions by members of our community. And I’d like to congratulate on behalf of the select board, the girls rugby team,” said Yates.

Juniors Adele Goho, Nina Lind, Serena Field, and LeeLee Kozelian joined long-time head coach Kate McCabe in accepting the proclamation from the town.

Part of the citation reads:

“You have set a high standard of excellence, commitment, and dedication, which the youth of our town may follow, and you serve as an inspiration to the citizens of the town of Belmont.”

“The student athletes, coaches, families, and supporters of Belmont’s girls rugby have demonstrated commitment, dedication, perseverance, and pride in representing Belmont High School and the town of Belmont, now therefore it be resolved that the Select Board of the town of Belmont joins with the community in paying tribute to the Belmont High School Girls Varsity Rugby Team for this outstanding achievement.”

Letter To The Editor: Brownsberger, ‘A True Public Servant’

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Photo: Will Brownsberger

To me, Will Brownsberger is the definition of a public servant.

I first met Will in 2017 over a bill I was deeply concerned about. Of all the elected officials I spoke with, he was the only one who truly understood the issue despite the prevailing narratives. 

As an immigrant new to this country, I was self-conscious—not just about my English, but about everything. Will was incredibly encouraging and became a mentor to me. Since then, we’ve worked together on several projects, most recently on dental care coverage for head and neck cancer survivors.

Will is compassionate, thoughtful, and a man of his word. When he says he will do something, he does it. In an era when many people are frustrated by politicians who make big promises but deliver little, Will stands out because you can trust that he means what he says.

I’ve never seen another elected official publish a personal cell phone number in a full-page local newspaper ad, inviting constituents to reach out directly. Even more remarkably, he replies to every email and text—and quickly. I often wonder how he manages to do it.

After the COVID-19 pandemic, the local Asian community hosted a cultural celebration. Will was the very first guest to arrive, well before anyone else. It genuinely surprised the organizers and made all of us feel seen and honored.

Will is transparent. He regularly updates constituents through his blog and writes thoughtful analyses on various policy issues. I remember one reader challenged him to read a book presenting an opposing viewpoint. Will accepted the challenge and wrote back with his thoughts. That openness has earned him respect, even from many people who disagree with him.

Will has earned my vote again in Sept. 1.

Ye Zhang Pogue 

Lewis Road

School District Holding Info Forum Monday, Aug. 3 To Answer Residents Questions After Staffer’s Arrest

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Photo: Belmont Middle School

Belmont Public Schools is hosting a hybrid community forum on Monday, August 3, at 4 p.m. in the Town Hall auditorium, a week after the arrest of a long-time educator for the possession of images of child sexual exploitation.

At the Aug. 3 forum, district leadership and members of the Belmont Police Department will answer questions and provide any additional information on the incident.

Leon Dyer, who had been an educator at Belmont Middle School for approximatley 19 years, pleaded not guilty to two counts of possession of child sexual abuse material on Monday, July 27 in Cambridge District Court. Dyer posted bail and was released on Monday.

Residents who want to participate remotely can attend the forum via ZOOM at:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89006941103
WEBINAR ID: 890 06941103

“The safety and well-being of our students will always remain our highest priority,” said Belmont Superintendent of Schools Jill Geiser, “Although we do not yet have a complete understanding of this matter, we will continue to share what information we have when we can.”