Update: Too Close To Call As Brownsberger Carves Out 61 Vote Advantage Over Lander In State Senate Race

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Photo: Will Brownsberger

On a night that saw one of the candidates announce he would probably loss than reverse that prediction an hour later and the other declaring victory no matter the decision, just who will be the next state senator representing Belmont remains up in the air.

With 100 percent of precincts reporting, 15-year incumbent Will Brownsberger has a minuscule 61-vote advantage – 11,997 to 11,936 – over his opponent first-time candidate Daniel Lander, a former policy advisor for Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.

Neither Associated Press or the Boston Globe have called the Democratic primary race for the Suffolk & Middlesex Senate seat as of 5 a.m., Wednesday, Sept. 2.

If Brownsberger does retain his seat he first won in Nov. 2011, it will be due in large part to the strong showing of support from his hometown voters. Belmont was the only segment of the districted he won, as the long-time legislator come up second in Boston, Cambridge and Watertown to the first-time candidate.

Brownsberger took the Town of Homes 3,974 to 1,793, a 2,181 margin that allowed the two decade incumbent to create enough of a cushion to stay in the lead for the majority of the night.

But even after Belmont and Watertown reported, Brownsberger surprisingly told campaign supporters who gathered at Donahue’s Bar and Grill in Watertown that it was not going to be his night.

“[The results are] not looking that good tonight,” Brownsberger told supporter before 10 p.m. “We might have lost,” Brownsberger said, reported the Boston Globe. “I’m not quite saying that yet, but as is my way upfront, that’s what I’m seeing out there.”

A Brownsberger backer from Belmont who attended the victory celebration, said the candidate’s “forthright” announcement took a large segment of the smallish crowd by surprise. “It is sooo early and the [reported] numbers said he is in the lead,” the supporter’s text. “[Brownsberger] must know it’s already over.”

But at the 11th hour, Brownsberger told the crowd his earlier prediction did not include complete Belmont returns – Belmont Town Clerk Ellen Cushman announced the returns at 9:16 p.m. – and the vote count was now “in his favor.”

Lander entered the race with the endorsement and backing of his former boss Wu, who has been in a nasty political spat with Belmont’s veteran legislator over 2024 legislation in which he helped block a tax bill to temporarily shifted more of Boston’s property tax burden on to commercial owners.

Brownsberger would hold a 1,500 vote lead at 11 p.m. only to see the advantage slip away with each Boston precinct being called.

With Brownsberger holding on to a tight 325-vote lead after Boston’s 35 precincts were called, Cambridge votes were the final ones tallied sometime after 2 a.m. And while Landers carried his one-time hometown, he couldn’t close the gap.

It is uncertain if a recount is required or if Lander will ask for one.

In the other legislative race for the 24th Middlesex (The ABC District has it covers Arlington, Belmont, and Cambridge,} state Rep. Dave Rogers used his tireless retail campaign style to return to Beacon Hill as he defeated another first-time candidate Nomita Ganguly, 6,906 to 2,867. Rogers received 3,462 votes to Ganguly’s 2,043.

Middlesex District Attorney and Belmont’s own Marian Ryan will continue to uphold the law as she defeated David Marc Solet easily.

Early results: Brownsberger Says ‘[Election] Not Looking That Good Tonight’ As Hometown Comes Out Big For Long-Time Senator

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Photo: Will Brownsberger

With nearly 40 percent of precincts tallied, State Sen. Will Brownsberger could see the writing on the wall.

“[The results are] not looking that good tonight,” Brownsberger told supporters gathered at Donahue’s in Watertown just before 10 p.m. on state primary night, Sept. 1.

“We might have lost,” Brownsberger said, reported the Boston Globe. “I’m not quite saying that yet, but as is my way upfront, that’s what I’m seeing out there.”

Brownsberger’s reaction came just a half-an-hour after Belmont voters showed its support for the long-standing legislator. Town Clerk Ellen Cushman reported Brownsberger received 3,974 votes to his opponant Daniel Lander who garnered 1,793, a more than a two-to-one margin.

But Brownsberger isn’t rounding up that same level of support in the rest of the district, being edged out in his birthplace of Watertown and running behind in early returns in his Boston precincts where Lander had the advantage of the endorsement of Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.

Final results are expected soon.

Belmont Under Heat Advisory Until 4th Of July; Cooling Centers Opening In Town On Wednesday, July 1

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Photo: In the summertime when the weather is high

Belmont will be opening cooling centers after the the National Weather Service issued an extreme heat watch for eastern Massachusetts for the first four days of July.

The NWS indicated a prolonged period of dangerous heat and humidity from 10 a.m. Wednesday, July 1 and lasting through 8 p.m. on Saturday, the 4th of July with peak heat conditions during the afternoon on Thursday, July 2 and Friday, July 3.

  • Heat index values may reach in a range of 96-112 degrees F.
  • Overnight relief from the temperature will be poor.
  • Persistent exposure to high heat and humidity may cause illness.
  • All residents are encouraged to drink plenty of fluids, stay in air-conditioned buildings, avoid direct sunlight and check on relatives and neighbors.

Belmont will open two town buildings as cooling centers over the four days:

Cooling Center Locations and Hours July 2026

Breaking: Belmont Fire Chief DeStefano Leaving Post In September

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Photo: Belmont Fire Department Chief David DeStefano

Belmont Fire Department Chief David DeStefano has submitted his resignation, according to Belmont Town Administrator Patrce Garvin who made the announcement at the Select Board meeting on Monday, June 29.

Garvin said DeStefano’s final day will be Sept. 6.

The announcement was made after an executive session meeting which the Select Board discussed “next steps” in finding a replacement.

“More to come,” said Garvin.

DeStefano began his career in 1989 at the North Providence (R.I.) Fire Department, becoming Belmont’s top firefighter in March 2021.

Belmont Town Meeting Approves $1.3 M Path Price Tag Despite Last Minute Appraisal Surprise

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Photo: Select Board Chair Matt Taylor

The phones of Belmont Town Meeting Members began pinging a notification from the Town Clerk’s Office less than two hours from the start of the last week of the annual Town Meeting on June 8. 

“Urgent Update” – ATM (annual town meeting) and STM” read the 5:14 p.m. message. And many – if not most – members knew what was being revised, having been told that last-minute appraisal amounts would be coming in for a pair of articles authorizing payment for easement rights or the taking of property the meeting had voted to authorize the week before.

What was unexpected was how much the price tag attached to one of them would be.

Crossing out an earlier estimate of $200,000 in Article 3 found in a Special Town Meeting, town officials would be asking members in just a few hours to appropriate $1.3 million to gain control of the right of way over a pair of narrow parcels making up a spur of Alexander Avenue from Channing Road to the commuter rail tracks.

Apologizing for “the whiplash” the news had on the meeting, Select Board Chair Matt Taylor told the assembly it was facing an almost impossible hard and fast early August deadline from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to do anything but vote Wednesday.

“The consequenses of voting this down [is] it is extremely unlikely that we will have the funds to acquire the property rights needed for the community path,” said Taylor, thus missing out on the millions of funding, while seeing the thousands of volunteer hours and $2.2 of town and Community Preservation Committee recommended funding spent on design and acquistion of right of way would be wasted.

“And then it would be back to the drawing board,” said Taylor, with the real likelihood that a Community Path in Belmont would never be realized.

In many ways, members were presented with a scenario straight from the silent films: the Community Path was tied to the tracks with the funding deadline barreling down on it with only that Town Meeting vote able to come to the rescue.

And while many Town Meeting Members were critical of feeling “jammed” by the appraisal results and the lateness of its delivery, the loss of the path as this late junction was too great for the majority of the Meeting to tolerate.

Also favoring a ‘yes’ vote was having a source of the $1.3 million in one-time funds from this fiscal year’s Investment Income account, as well as recent precedent when almost two years ago to the day Town Meeting approved an additional $1.5 million to help cover a $4 million shortfall to construct the Belmont Sports Complex. 

“I think many people talk about this being shocking; unexpected things happen,” said Emily Peterson (Precinct 1). “To vote ‘no’ on this because it was unanticipated is biting your nose off to spite your face.” 

And many who were hesitant to be pushed to vote on the measure by the deadline constraints followed the example of the venerable Town Meeting member Robert McLaughlin (Precinct 2), who explained that while he had difficulty squaring the circle of the appraisal, “I’m going to hold my nose and vote for it.” 

The article – which required a Special Meeting format as it required current fiscal year funding – passed 212 in favor, 24 opposed, and two abstained. 

The importance of the unpaved path, principally used by MBTA crews to maintain the Fitchburg commuter line running through Belmont, is what it represents: the final pieces of the parcel puzzle needed to open the purse strings to release $48 million in construction funding to build the first half of the Belmont Community Path.

The project – a bike lane from Brighton Street through Belmont Center to the Clark Street bridge and pedestrian tunnel under the tracks – has taken the better part of a decade to envision, plan, garner support, and obtain state and federal funding commitments to arrive at a point that all the parts would come together to receive MassDOT’s final OK by the early weeks of August.

But to keep to the deadline, the vote to approve the allocation needed to occur at Town Meeting. And the new eye-opening cost had many believing reaching the two-thirds approval benchmark would be at risk. 

The appraisal spike in the assessed value was likely due to “new development opportunities.” But even with the possibility of new development in Belmont Center and the construction of Cambridge Point, the $4.5 billion “mini-city” a quarter mile from the east Belmont line with more than 2,000 apartments and 2.5 million square feet of lab and office space, a doubling of the initial $200,000 value, was seen by many as a stretch.

To explain the ramping up of the cost, McLaughlin – an attorney with extensive experience in real estate – said appraising plots of land that measure just a few feet “are about as difficult as they come” due to the concept of “residual damage.” If taking that small parcel is critical to the value of the entire parcel, the owner is entitled to be compensated for the full amount of the damage the path caused.

“My guess is that these appraisers first saw how little square footage was being taken and came up with the initial $200,000. When you drilled down on the job, the owner told them, “Oh, now I’ve lost my view, now I’ve lost my privacy, now the fair market value of my whole property is a lot less,” said McLaughlin. It was only then the appraisers by $1.1 million. 

Complicating the request was a narrowing timeline to the deadline. With the timer ticking down to zero, Town Meeting had little leeway but to take the vote on a plan that was more than a fivefold increase in the estimated cost. 

Conspiring in compressing the deadline were an insistent MassDOT that Belmont seek funding in this year’s funding cycle squeezing the permitting process and not riding the appraisers to complete their task well before Town Meeting. Town Counsel Mina Makarious, whose firm Anderson & Kreiger hired the appraisal team, acknowledged he could have pushed the analysts more than he did but said the review was delayed due to the lateness in state documents and just the ability to visit the site. 

After 90 minutes of debate, Town Meeting Members voted emphatically – if with some grumbling – to stay the course.

Early Morning Blaze Consumes Muzzy’s, Owner Sees Possible Return ‘Of My Happy Spot’

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Photo: Muzzy’s owner Dante Muzzioli greets a friend at the scene of the fire that destroyed his business on Thursday.

An early morning three-alarm fire on Thursday, May 14, destroyed Muzzy’s, a favorite of Belmont residents with its diner-inspired menu and outdoor seating, which made it a popular summer eating destination.

“It’s a complete loss,” said Dante Muzzioli, the Belmont business owner and high school hockey Hall of Fame coach who named the eatery using his popular nomignolo. 

“Well, it’s a sad day,” he said.

From the rain-soaked sidewalk across Trapelo, passersby and Muzzioli’s friends watched as fire crews continued working. While the structure’s white exterior walls were still intact, the interior was a blackened cavity from the fire that spread quickly from the basement to the first floor. 

“The whole floor is gone. Everything’s in the basement,” said Muzzioli as he inspected the damage with Belmont Fire personnel and spoke to contractors to board up the windows. 

For Muzzioli, the location was more than a business opportunity. Muzzy’s was his way of bringing a little bit of joy to people’s lives and his own.

“I look at it as my happy spot. And that’s really what it’s about. We’re living in a world that’s upside down. Some days, we’re all fighting politically about who believes in this and who believes in that. But when you come here and you see little kids eating ice cream, how can you not be happy.”

As the Belmont Fire Department was making a final inspection of the structure, Muzzioli greeted friends, hockey acquaintances, and people who casually knew ‘Muzzy’ to offer their condolences with handshakes and hugs.

“It’s been overwhelming,” said Muzzioli of the support he’s received in the few hours after the fire began. “It’s been incredible how many people have come here just to say how sad this all is or what they can do to help. I’ve received a text from [Belmont Select Board Chair] Matt Taylor, and [Select Board member] Carol [Berberian] showed up at 6:30 a.m. just because they cared.”

Muzzioli said he learned about the fire from one of his employees who was driving by the business and saw some smoke inside. After getting a closer look, he called 911 and his boss. But in mere minutes for the Belmont Fire Department to arrive, “the thing was pretty much engulfed.”

The Belmont Fire Department arrived on the scene at approximately 4:30 a.m., having received a report of heavy smoke coming from the building, said Belmont Fire Chief David DeStefano, who was at the scene during the afternoon cleanup.

“We made an aggressive interior attack and determined the fire to be located in the basement,” said DeStefano. While companies were trying to enter the basement, the main floor became unstable and in danger of collapse. 

“That’s when we withdrew our firefighters from the building” said DeStefano, at which time Belmont firefighters, along with mutual aid from Waltham, Cambridge, Arlington, and Watertown, went to defensive operations for the duration of the firefight.

As the primary conflagration was being brought under control, a gas-fed fire started due to a broken gas line, said DeStefano. “We contained that fire, and did not let it spread until National Grid was able to turn off the gas. At that point, we brought the remaining fire under control.”

But due to many hidden pockets of fire and hot spots, the fire remained only contained into the afternoon. The arrival of an excavator “allowed us to pull things apart, remove material from the building, and finally get to the deep-seated fire to bring about final extinguishment.”

A cause of the fire has not been determined, as fire inspectors have just begun their work, said DeStefano.

The four retail businesses in the one-story building that housed Muzzy’s had varied amounts of smoke and water damage, with Lucy Danger Hair suffering the bulk of the resulting loss.

Opened in 2012 at the intersection of Belmont Street and Trapelo Avenue, where a Brigham’s Ice Cream shop operated for many years. 

“I came here when I was a little kid, 12 years old, when this was a Brigham, riding bikes with his friends from Winn Brook to get a raspberry lime ricky.” 

Muzzioli – a lifelong Belmontian who owns a landscaping and construction company and coached Belmont High School Boys’ Hockey for four decades – became interested in the location as he saw the business deteriorate over the years. “It wasn’t the same place as I remembered it,” said Muzzioli.

As a lifelong entrepreneur, Muzzioli asked if putting a new ice cream store at the location was a viable situation, mimicking the Brigham’s ideas but putting some of his new concepts in place, including installing a grill that would support a diner-style menu. In the past decade and a half, the restaurant/ice cream business took off.

“It’s been great. The Fridays and Saturdays in the summer: packed, packed, packed. It’s a nice area to sit outside and eat ice cream, with a little piece of grass out here to manage kids and stuff like that,” he said.

Muzzy isn’t ready to accept defeat. 

I’m going to try to put a remote ice cream store here,” Muzzioli said, pointing to the green space untouched by the blaze. “So I’m going to work my tail off next few days and see if I can operate a little stand in here in the greenery.”

Town Meeting Passes Belmont Center Overlay, Hotel Bylaw; Rejects Move To Postpone Controversial Measure

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Photo: Select Board Chair Matt Taylor (left) and Select Board member Elizabeth Dionne offer congratulations as the measure creating the Belmont Center Overlay District passes at the March 4 Special Town Meeting

After an hours-long debate, a Special Town Meeting on March 4 approved creating a Belmont Center Overlay District, which town officials and supporters believe will spur needed development and revenue growth and housing opportunities in the town’s business hub.

The vote margin on Article 2 – 172 in favor, 82 opposed, with 7 abstentions—was surprising to many who attended the meeting in the Chenery Upper Elementary School auditorium and online believed a late social media push by those opposing the measure would result in a long night with an uncertain outcome that Kalshi would have given even odds.

But a healthy majority of Town Meeting Members rejected the attempt by critics to indefinitely postpone the vote and see the article return in the fall, after undergoing an extensive revamping to further modify down the height of structures and identify “realistic” parking solutions allowing Belmont to continue to uphold its “our small-town feel.”

But the maneuver was dismissed by backers, with one overlay supporter saying it “[was] just a warm and fuzzy way to kill [the plan].”

“All of us, regardless of which side we’re on, should want to get back to [our constituents] with a yes or no answer,” urged Julie Crockett (Precinct 5), saying that “[Town Meeting] wouldn’t be voting on this proposal that we’re all intimately familiar with. It would be something else.”

And just before 10:30 p.m., Town Meeting stood behind the town’s and the Planning Board’s construct.

“I’m shocked [at the size of the yes vote],” said Chris Ryan, Belmont’s town planner and chief architect of the form-based plan, who counted himself as one who felt the decision would be a nail-biter. “I’m pleased and proud of the citizens for their vote of confidence,” said Ryan as he accepted praise from supporters on Wednesday.

A day later, on Thursday, March 5, the Special Town Meeting voted approval of Article 3, which places an overlay on three parcels along Concord Avenue that could open a way for a lodging house to come to Belmont, which hasn’t been home to one since the Wellington Olmsted Tavern, which was demolished in 1897.

The lopsided margin of the 261 members voting yes over the two nights is being touted as a historic vindication of those who developed and campaigned for the Overlay District, revealing that residents are eager to take bold steps to revitalize other areas of town.

“I think we are now living in a different dynamic,” said Taylor Yates, the Select Board’s vice chair, who spearheaded the board’s efforts supporting the measure. “Belmont is saying ‘yes’ to things.
I think we’re trying to be more positive and proactive as we watch the surrounding communities change.”

Thayer Donham, chair of the Planning Board, said the members decision proved the body has faith in the board’s deliberative process, which will benefit future projects.

Dionne echoed Yates and the Planning Board on the importance of passing both bylaw measures.

“This is an inflection point,” Select Board member Elizabeth Dionne said of the articles’ sweeping passage. “This is pivotal. And I don’t want to say that it’s only symbolic. It’s a relatively simple plan because it’s small and contained. If we couldn’t get this across the finish line, we couldn’t get anything across the finish line.”

“Every time we try to create one of these plans, it requires a huge investment of time, staff, and money for consultants; we can’t justify investing that again if we were unable to finish this. So this lays the groundwork for everything else that the town wants to do,” said Dionne.

‘Yeah, we get it’

In the view of supporters, not many voters were swayed by the two nights of debate, as campaigners had made a successful pro-Overlay pitch to undecided members months previous. 

“There was one constant since January 2025. The more we talked to residents about the plan, the more they said, “Yeah, we get it,” said Yates. 

Dionne – who held informational meetings at her house for members from each precinct to explain the plan in late 2025 – was also not surprised by Town Meeting’s sweeping endorsement of the new bylaws.

“I thought we’d get there because my experience was that once people came into my house and I explained the plan, it wasn’t this big, scary plan. A lot of people came in skeptical but left saying, ‘I like that. That could actually be really nice.'”

The Belmont Center Overlay is designed to address three main concerns of the town, said Donham, who presented Article 2 to the assembly: maintain Belmont Center as a vibrant downtown, meet the needs of downsizing seniors and others who want smaller housing options, and begin addressing the financial challenges of a town with a minimal commercial tax base. 

“[T]onight, we’re presenting a real opportunity to begin generating more revenue. More effective zoning will attract private investment into our community while the town maintains control of the finished product,” said Donham.

The overlay district allows structure heights within the four zones varying from two-and-a-half stories in Zone 1 to five stories in Zone 4. At least two stories of commercial space are required in all zones, with limited residential development required, helping establish a built-in customer base for Belmont Center businesses.

While presenting details of the district, Ryan noted the center’s existing zoning code is limiting, allowing by right only two-story structures and 28 feet in height, “and that’s why nothing happens here.” 

The new form-based zoning code will give Belmont “more control over the appearance of the buildings and the streets. It’s a proven planning tool that’s been used around the country and in communities across Massachusetts” including Brookline, Watertown, and Littleton.

Ryan told members the Planning Department and Planning Board held 30 public meetings and listening sessions in the past 14 months, incorporating public input and altering major aspects of the plan, including reducing maximum heights and excluding the Claflin Street Parking Lot from development. Traffic and parking studies and a financial analysis were conducted.

When debate commenced – with nearly 30 members waiting before two microphones – those opposing the zoning change were the first to speak, and they sent out one of their heavy hitters, former Town Moderator Mike Widmer (Precinct 5).

“I’ve never seen an issue with this scope come before Town Meeting with so many questions,” Widmer told the 140 members who attended in person, adding that “[n]o comparable town in Massachusetts has undertaken anything of this magnitude in such a concentrated geographic area.” 

Widmer said the main concern focused on the proposal’s financial viability, pointing to the analysis from three financial experts that a fully built-out district will produce, at best, modest revenue gains.

“If we delay, we might be able to develop a viable proposal that actually produces financial benefits in the short term,” he said. We owe it to the town to try to come together in the fall and approve a plan with reduced scale and questions answered.” 

One area of the opponent’s concern was the impact of increased housing and retail development on the Center’s parking and traffic. Larry Lenk (Precinct 1), a former member of the town’s Transportation Advisory Committee, focused on cars, saying it was highly unlikely that only a third of those living in the new residential units, at 500 units and 750 new residents, would own a vehicle. He envisions 400 residents’ vehicles and about 1,000 additional cars driven by employees of new retail under the new zoning.

“The only real place for parking the excess cars will be the two to three residential blocks surrounding this new village,” said Lenk. 

A vote for a win, win, win, win

Supporters argued the status quo or a watered-down overlay plan would condemn Belmont Center to limited to no growth potential for years to come. Rachel Heller (Precinct 3) said the district proposal placed in front of the members was “a win, win, win and actually a fourth win”: for housing production – “the number one issue in the state”- as it provides a range of options including for downsizing elders wanting to stay in town; reliable foot traffic for the new Center businesses; a magnet for state grants to improve infrastructure as state goverment provide funding to towns with growing mix-use developments; and a win for Belmont to stay in the drivers seat by achieving the 10 percent affordable housing threshold on the Subsidized Housing Inventory to prevent “unfriendly” 40B projects. 

Travis Frank (Precinct 5) said those seeking a delay to rightsize the overlay’s size, finances, and traffic and parking plans, which often means a smaller proposal. 

“But my understanding is that as we reduce scale, we reduce our revenue. And my principal interest is to help the fiscal budget of the town,” said Frank, noting over the past year and two months the original proposal, “we have already reduced it to the point where now … there are estimates that we have really small financial benefits. “This is our one opportunity [at financial rewards], and I’d rather go big or go home … to actually change the ratio of residential vs. commercial tax revenue.”

The decision on Article 2 was foretold in the procedural amendment to indefinitely postpone the plan, going down 121-145-3, showing – by a narrow margin – that pro-growth would carry the night. 

Thursday’s vote – with barely 120 members in attendance of the 260 attending – on Article 3, dubbed the Center Gateway Overlay, which was designed to allow one of three types of hotels: boutique-style hotels of 26 and 100 rooms and a business class operation with 150 rooms. Ryan said while the three parcels east up Concord Avenue from the US Postal Service building could be developed into commercial or senior living, a hotel was preferable as it is a “triple threat” for town revenue – room, meals, and property taxes.

Opponents said the parcel area being proposed was far too small to develop a hotel and expressed concerns about the necessary parking for employees and guests. They also argued that a 70 percent occupancy rate was highly unlikely, as there’s nothing interesting nearby that would attract travelers.

But supporters argued that it was not the role of Town Meeting to determine the financial viability of the site. It would be hotel investors and developers who would make that decision. Town Meeting “job” was only to open the door for any interested party. The measure was passed by more than the necessary two-thirds margin, 196-52-8.

Yates said the Town and Planning Board should follow the script that proved successful in Belmont Center with the upcoming zoning changes . “So I think the same thing will apply elsewhere. The more more people learn, the more they like it and because, and part of that is because we have a really good Town Planner and a really good Planning Board, and they do really good work.”

Breaking: Belmont Selects Salem, NH Shane Smith As Next Police Chief

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Photo: Salem, NH Deputy Chief Shane Smith

The Belmont Select Board will begin contract negotiations with Salem, NH Deputy Chief Shane Smith to be Belmont’s next Police Chief.

The board voted unanimously at a special meeting at Town Hall on Friday, Feb. 20, where the board interviewed the three finalists provided by the Police Chief Screening Committee. The other two candidates were Daniel S. Unsworth of Southbridge and Shane D. Woodson from Watertown.

More to come

‘A Place To Come Together’: Belmont Public Library Grand Opening Weekend Jan. 17-18

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Photo: Kathy Keohane, chair of the Board of Library Trustees and Library Director Peter Struzziero climbing the main staircase to the second floor of the new Belmont Public Library.

It’s less than six days before its scheduled grand opening, and the spanking new $39.5 million Belmont Public Library is less than ready for its moment in the spotlight.

The front lobby is a sea of white cardboard boxes holding the library’s book collection. The public computers are in place but not yet up and running. Window shades need to be installed as a wide array of finishing work continues while legacy stained glass windows depicting children’s storybook scenes destined for the Children’s Room have just arrived and are sitting in the outer lobby. So much to do!

But Kathy Koehane said the 40,500 square foot, two-story structure replacing the original circa 1965 building will be ready to welcome an expected overflow crowd of patrons and residents on the holiday weekend starting off with a grand opening at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 17. [See the list of events here]

It’s a place to come together, to gather. It’s a destination; it’s a place to learn, explore, and connect, and we need that more than ever in today’s world

But what is opening on Saturday is more than a new municipal structure of glass, brick, and mortar, said Keohane. Saturday is the start of the new library’s legacy as the heart of the community.

“It’s a place to come together, to gather,” said Keohane. “It’s a destination; it’s a place to learn, explore, and connect, and we need that more than ever in today’s world, where you can try something new,” she said. Here you can borrow tools for a project, be part of a book group or cooking club, learn a language class, look for a job, or attend a lecture. “It’s so much more than what your grandparents’ library was,” Keohane said.

For close to a quarter century, after a proposal to replace the already threadbare original building with a new facility supported with a Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners grant across Concord Avenue collapsed due to a lack of town support and resident interest, Keohane and a slew of volunteers made it their mission to galvanize the public for a new structure to house the town’s library, first established in 1868.

The volunteers worked hard to convince a vocal segment of Belmont residents who did not believe the existing aging library needed to be replaced or it simply required a renovation to house the town’s collection. But retreating on the proposal was not an option.

“There was no choice,” said Keohane. “We had to do something. The old building was not safe. It was not suitable. It was not maintainable. This was the right decision. We could design this building to be flexible, to accommodate the current needs of the community, and for years and years to come; the library is much more than books.”

After a decade of work, a new proposal was presented to residents, who approved by a 58 percent to 42 percent margin a debt exclusion in November 2022. A building committee was created with architect Clair Colburn, who has been the president of the Belmont Library Foundation, as its chair, who steered the project so it was completed on time and on budget.

“We have a great building committee, and we are so lucky to have [Colburn] as the chair,” said Keohane. “We’ve had great partnerships with the architects, with the construction team, and with the owner’s project manager. 

“What you hear sometimes was about the stress and the tension. While everybody on this team worked together collaboratively and respectfully, it didn’t mean that we weren’t at odds sometimes. But everybody came together, and we all have such pride in this building and what it means for the community,” said Keohane.

Even after the vote, the town’s support for the library was evident by its fundraising program. “Never before in the history of Belmont has there been the amount of funds raised for a project of this size. So we set an aggressive target. It’s all volunteers who have given $5 million (so far), which has never been done in the history of Belmont. We exceeded that,” said Keohane.

Designed by Boston’s Oudens Ello Architecture, the library is airy and filled with light with its myriad of windows that even on a cloudy Monday, the two-story interior is illuminated. At night and in the mid-winter afternoon, the library is lit by a large light feature.

Patrons will enter into the Belmont Savings Bank Foundation Library Commons, the hub of the new library. It’s also the location of the glass-enclosed Robert McLaughlin Hall, where events, arts performances, lectures, and meetings will take place. 

“I would hope that, like, least once or twice, the School Committee and the Select Board could come here [to hold a meeting],” said Keohane.

Throughout the structure, “[w]e have four conference rooms … that are reservable as are seven quiet study rooms,” said Keohane.

The Commons and other areas can be converted into a larger space as the bookshelves are on casters. “So if we’re having movie club, we can move the shelves and have a performance in here. Everything’s movable.”

The eastern area of the first floor is the Children’s Room, created with three distinct areas designed and equipped for different ages: a Discovery Zone for toddlers and young children where they can find a favorite spot to come sit and read a book; an Exploration Area for older kids to allow for independent study and a dedicated program space. 

Along the sunny side, visitors can view and enter the newly renovated rainwater garden and walking path. A great deal of care was taken during the design phase on landscaping along the Wellington Brook, designed by Cambridge-based STIMSON, noted Keohane.

“What we heard long and loud and clear was the importance of outdoor space, which was reaffirmed and even heightened because of COVID,” she said. “These are all native plants and grasses. There is an amphitheater that can be used as a community outdoor classroom. Where you can have story hour. But this also serves as an overflow area in the event of a 100-year flood. 

“I love the porous pavements throughout that connect to the existing woodland gardens. And all of it is the Americans with Disabilities Act compliant, which it wasn’t in the past,” said Keohane.

Reduced from the initial proposal after a design review, the center staircase retains a visual presence that connects the floors, with bench-like seating that overlooks the Commons.

The second floor is where the teen section and the Belmont Media Center studio are located. The Belmont Historical Society and the library’s own historical collection will be side by side, making for greater availability and coordination. Along the South side are the seven small study rooms that can be reserved, as are the conference rooms.

The east side is the impressive floor-to-ceiling window wall where quiet activities such as reading periodicals or a favorite book occur. There is also an outside balcony that overlooks the Underwood Pool and two of Belmont’s newest municipal buildings: the Belmont Middle and High School and the Belmont Recreation Center.

“[Patrons] want different experiences. So we’ve tried to find something for everybody in this, so you want: the second floor is a quieter, reflective space. You want a louder, more convivial space that’s on the first floor,” said Keohane.

The new building was designed with a strong emphasis on maintenance and upkeep. The floor at the Concord Avenue entry is an unpolished gray stone, not to impress but to endure.

Libraries are never going away. All that we’ve done is we’ve become a place that continues to evolve with the needs of the community

“Look at this floor. It’s not the prettiest, but it’s going to last for 50 years. And that was deliberate. When you go into some of the other spaces, you see carpeting that was deliberately selected because of the wear and tear especially in New England.”

Even the chairs and seating elements were put to the test. “We conducted sitting tests. I think we sat in probably 60 of them. [Struzziero] actually took some of the fitted wall coverings and poured coffee on and wrote on them, and then we tried to get [the stains] out. We thought about how we were going to maintain this,” said Keohane

The new library will also enhance the work of the librarians and staff. 

“We have a great staff in the old building, but they didn’t have the tools that they needed,” said Struzziero. Where there were two public programming spaces in the old building, there are a dozen now. 

“So we can offer everything that we want to offer at the same time. We don’t have to flip a coin between a children’s program and an adult program or the need for a committee meeting from a town group to be held here. We can do everything all at once. Everything that people said that they wished that they could have in their library,” said Struzziero.

“We are more aware the staff is not just checking out books; they’re doing ‘library value added’: interacting, solving problems, answering questions,” he said.

The new library is looking to build a strong connection with Belmont schools – the Belmont Middle and High schools as well as the Wellington Elementary are stone’s throws away.

“They were great partners throughout the project because [the library administration] lived in the Chenery Upper Elementary space for two years. We’ve told them, ‘Call on us!’ We owe them a debt forever. Furthermore, we’ve made it clear that we’re available,” said Struzziero.

Just as Belmont has committed to a building for the next half century, one can find countless articles and commentary that proclaim that the concept of a library is both outdated and of a bygone age in a world of instant communications in a handheld devise. 

Struzziero disagrees.

“The last year before we took down the old building was the highest circulating year in Belmont Public Library history. In 2023, we were the 10th busiest site in Massachusetts, in that old building that didn’t serve the public, that wasn’t ADA compliant,” he said.

“Libraries aren’t going anywhere. They said when TV came out, they said, ‘That’s the end of libraries.’ Then when you could watch movies on VHD cassettes in your home, ‘That’s the end of libraries.’ The Internet came out, ‘Libraries are going away.’ Libraries are never going away. All that we’ve done is we’ve become a place that continues to evolve with the needs of the community. Belmont did the best numbers we’ve ever done just before this project began, and we’re going to smash those numbers going forward.”

Next Act: Dionne Announces Candidancy For State Treasurer In 2026 General Election

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Photo: Elizabeth Dionne

Following in the footsteps of her fellow Republican and Belmontian, Mitt Romney, Select Board member Elizabeth Dionne will be seeking to win statewide office in next year’s Massachusetts general election.

In what was becoming a not-so-surprising announcement made Tuesday, Dec. 9, Dionne is challenging incumbent Democratic State Treasurer Deb Goldberg, who many political pundits view as the most vulnerable officeholder on the state ballot in 2026.

In a statement released by Dionne on Tuesday, she said “[l]ike so many other residents of Massachusetts, I have had enough of the corruption, cronyism, and chaos happening in the treasurer’s office. It is time for a change. I will not be the treasurer for the insiders or special interest groups. I will be the taxpayers’ treasurer who answers to the people of Massachusetts.”

Goldberg has encountered controversy with her handling of the state’s Cannabis Control Commission and the 2024 firing of its Chair Shannon O’Brien, who was returned in September of this year to that post by a Suffolk County Superior Court judge.

Dionne also introduced a slogan – “The Taxpayers’ Treasurer” – a campaign website, VoteDionne.com, and a blue and green logo (see below.)

While having a limited experience with elected office – the Wellesley Road resident ran unopposed for the Select Board in 2023 and won election to the Belmont Town Meeting – Dionne has a formidable CV: graduating from Wellesley (BA Political Science), Cambridge (M.Phil., Political Theory), and Stanford Law, she worked at Goodwin Procter and taught constitutional law and political science at Wellesley and Boston College. And politics is in her blood as the daughter of John Harmer, who served in the California State Senate from 1966 to 1974 and for three months was Ronald Reagan’s last lieutenant governor.

Dionne told the Belmontonian she anticipates to run as a “Charlie Baker Republician” referring to the successful two-term Bay State governor whose policies and style led to a 74 percent approval rating according to a 2018 WBUR/MassINC poll, making him the most popular governor in the United States.

As a member of the Belmont Select Board, Dionne pushed the board to emphasize economic expansion with “[a] focus on long-term planning for Belmont’s financial health and infrastructure” she said in October when she announced that she would not seek re-election to the board.

Dionne championed revamping the zoning bylaws to promote a “friendlier” environment for businesses and developers by promoting commercial investment, the passage of the MBTA Communities Act by Town Meeting, and the current effort to pass overlay districts in Belmont Center and along Concord Avenue to spur a mix of retail and residential developments, and allow a hotel along Concord Avenue.