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Belmont Special Town Meeting; Session 1, Sept. 21

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The first session of Belmont’s 2021 Special Town Meeting resembled halcyon days of the legislative assembly as each article presented to the 290 members easily passed muster while only a few comments turned any heads.

Monday’s remote Zoom gathering may well seem like a floating nest in the Aegean as the body prepares to reassembles in two days time when the storm clouds gather to announce the pending clash over the future of civil service where the debate could make civil hands made unclean.

But on Monday, the eight articles and 11 votes were allowed to meander like a later summer walk with a good friend; taking their time with easy conversation with points made in polite chatter.

Under the expert hand of Town Moderator Mike Widmer, the meeting included a video tour featuring “Mayor” Stephen Rosales (Pct. 8) of the newly renovated DPW facilities – on budget and on time – a view forward of budgets to come as well as remembering two members who recently passed in Penny Schafer (38 years) and Henry Kazarian (29 years) and honoring Fred Paulsen for serving 62 years on Town Meeting, “obviously an all-time record probably never to be broken,” said Widmer.

“Serving as a town meeting member has been a rewarding part of my life in the Belmont community,” said Paulsen in a letter to the members. “I hope that I have helped to make Belmont the wonderful community that it is.”

The night would see four/fifths of the meeting done in little more than four hours.

Article 2: Carleton Circle adoption: It’s been 37 years since the last time the town accepted a private way – that being Middlecot Street in the Winn Brook neighborhood. So it’s not that common when a street is “adopted” as a public way.

The residents who are along Carleton Circle requested in 2018 that their road be accepted as a public way. And it was only when National Grid made upgrades to the street as well as each homeowner abutting the road pitched in $1,400 did the road meet the town’s standards of a public way.

The only question – from Jeanne Mooney (Pct. 6) – was if the adoption of the street will increase the property values – and it will, likely over time.

The vote: 237 yea and two opposed.

Article 3: Authorization for Temporary Easement – Wellington Elementary School Safe Route to School Project
This article authorizes the Select Board to grant eight temporary easements and one permanent easement for a transportation improvement for several approaches to the Wellington Elementary School as part of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s “Safe Routes to School” program. The project, worth $1.4 million, includes sidewalk reconstruction, traffic signal reconstruction at the intersection of Common Street at Waverley and School streets, ADA compliant wheelchair ramps, pavement milling and overlay, pavement markings, signs, and minor drainage improvements.

All questions from the body were supportive. Lucia Gates of the Shade Tree Committee did ask if there could be funds to plant replacement trees for the ones which will need to be cut down.

The vote: 237 yes, 2 no and 2 abstained

Article 4: The five Community Preservation Committee Projects approved in the spring by the CPC. Each Special Town Meeting vote is next to the project.

  • $680,624 Town Field Playground and Court Restoration. (241-5-4)
  • $100,000 Homer House Window Restoration Project. (237-11-3)
  • $173,000 Feasibility study for the redevelopment and creation of new affordable housing units at Belmont Village. (228-17-1)
  • $100,000 Belmont Police Station Front Steps Historic Preservation (228-13-3)
  • $100,000 Supplement to Emergency Rental Assistance Community Housing (221-20-2)

The most debate was directed to the $100,000 the Housing Trust would add to the $250,000 the CPC previously allocated in rental assistance to residents impacted by the COVID-19. Betsy Lipson (Pct. 6), co-chair of the Housing Trust said the money request is due to “the unprecedent need the pandemic presents.” This amount will assist between 25-30 additional residents – the assistance program already has qualified 37 applicants – seeking help to pay their rent and maintain housing stability.

While voting for the measure, Jack Weis, Pct. 2, didn’t question the use of the funds but questioned the Community Preservation Committee backing a short-term measure that didn’t support the larger goal of creating affordable housing.

“I find it very frustrating that the [Community Preservation Committee] does not act as stewards of the CPA money on behalf of the town” and “they’re the only committee that does not recommend, advise, or guide Town Meeting as to whether or not they think that the proposed action is prudent and warranted.”

Elizabeth Dionne (Pct. 2), CPC chair, said it was important for the CPC to be challenged at Town Meeting. She would vote against a permanent rental assistance program because long term housing is the much higher priority.

“We’re considering this a one-time emergency event,” said Dionne.

Article 5: Purchase Police Station Modular Units (Trailers) Using Water Retained Earnings
This article seeks to use Water Retained Earnings to purchase for up to $320,000 the modular units currently being leased for the Police Station Project located on DPW land off Woodland Street. Purchasing the units will alleviate severe space constraints for the Public Works Department and other town departments.

Ariane Goodman-Belkadi (Pct. 3) who lives on Woodland Street, expressed concern that the Select Board would have carte blanche on future uses of the modulars at the site located between the Light Department on Prince Street and the Water Department at the end of Woodland. She was worried about the possible overuse by town vehicles – many heavy trucks – of the private way and dead end.

Goodman-Belkadi said she and her neighbors want a commitment from all town departments that only Water Department vehicles and those owned by Water Department employees will use the roadway.

While the town is supportive of meeting with residents to address concerns, it’s unknown if the town can make those commitments.

Other questions included the durability of the structures. When asked the life span of the trailers, Belmont’s Director of Facilities Steve Dorrance said it would last for “decades” if the buildings are properly maintained over that time.

The vote: 212 yea, 19 nay and 5 absent

Article 6: Transfer Remaining Water Capital Balances
This article transfers the remaining funds from prior year(s) capital in the Water enterprise fund will be re- appropriated to be used for the FY21 Water Main Replacement. The total is $137,641.09.

This is an annual accounting clean-up.

Vote: 221 yup, 2 nope

Article 7: Transfer Remaining Sewer Capital Balances
This article transfers the remaining funds from prior year(s) capital in the Sewer enterprise fund will be re-appropriated to Community Developments Sewer & Drain fund $25,581.20 that is used for maintenance repairs and replacements to the Town’s sewer and storm water system.

Just like Article 6 but replacing water for sewers.

Vote: The first unanimous vote of the night: 228 oui, 0 non

Article 8: Amend Zoning By-law: Grammar in Zoning
Town Meeting adopted a revised nonconforming Zoning By-law for the Single Residence B Zoning District in 2019. It later came to the attention of the Planning Board that certain language in the by-law was ambiguous. The article makes the necessary revisions to state the intent of the bylaw more clearly.

Who needs Grammerly when you have Bob McGaw, who initiated this amendment?

Vote: 228 yes, no opposition and three abstained.

Select Board Pegs McIsaac To Be Next Belmont Police Chief (VIDEO)

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Photo: Belmont Assistant Police Chief James MacIsaac

Assistant Police Chief James MacIsaac could soon be leading his hometown police department as the Belmont Select Board unanimously selected the life long resident to succeed Richard McLaughlin as Belmont’s next police chief.

“I hope to continue to serve the Town of Belmont [in] the capacity of Police Chief,” MacIsaac told the board after an hour-long presentation during a public meeting at Town Hall on Monday, Dec. 9.

MacIsaac and Belmont Lt. Chris Donahue – who addressed the board and a handful of residents on Monday – were the finalists from an original group of five selected by the Police Chief Screening Committee chaired by former Selectman Mark Paolillo.

While saying that the town “seems to have an embarrassment of riches” with two outstanding candidates for the job, Select Board’s Adam Dash believed “while Chris Donahue sounded like a great cop, I think James MacIsaac sounds like a great leader.”

MacIsaac will take command of the 108 member (with 49 sworn officers) department – pending contract negotiations with the town – from McLaughlin who is retiring on Dec. 31.

Once a contract is squared away, MacIsaac will be Belmont’s 12th full-time chief since David Chenery, Jr. was named Superintendent of Highways and Police Chief in 1877, according to the late town historian, Richard Betts.

In their presentations, Donahue and MacIsaac agreed on the need for additional support on traffic – 42 percent of all calls to Belmont Police involve traffic related incidents – assisting the elderly and strong school/police relations. Each pointed to strategies to protect victims of domestic violence which make up 90 percent of the assault and battery calls to police.

Belmont Police Lt. Chris Donahue.

They also agreed that civil service, which provides preference to residents in entry-level officer positions, has hurt Belmont’s ability to attract an increased diverse pool of candidates.

In his presentation, MacIsaac said that “attempting to maintain the status quo within the department is not an option.” He noted that his philosophy is that all organizations are “always growing even if you’ve reached that top pinnacle.”

“So we are going to build on success that Chief McLaughlin has created,” said MacIsaac.

Among the first acts under MacIsaac’s watch will be filling the vacancies of assistant chief and captain, create strong lines of communication with an emphasis on collaborative partnership between Command staff and officers as well as be cognitive of the fiscal limitations placed on the police budget.

McIsaac will also commit to a six month evaluation of 21 specific areas of policing including staff levels, whether there is too many supervisory positions, reviewing the IT function including the possibility of adding a software specialist to the force and if the department should continue a K-9 unit.

“You need to be willing to try new things. As long as it doesn’t endanger somebody or endangers civilians or cost a lot of money, I’m willing to try just about anything … to improve the organization,” he said.

The Select Board were more supportive of MacIsaac’s approach and specifics to issues. While there were many similarities to the finalists approach to the job, “the principle difference is the fact that MacIsaac’s has been assistant chief for some time and I think he is more attune to the issues on the management side of things,” said Roy Epstein.

And Board Chair Tom Caputo said while the town would benefit with either candidate in the job, “I was engaged and excited to see the depth in which he seems to understands the issues … and the manner in which he was able to provide specific examples to almost take it to a strategic level.”

“While we have two very good candidates, the nod for me is to Jamie,” said Caputo.

Obituary: William Monahan, Long-time Selectman from the Old School

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William P. Monahan, a popular selectman who represented the “Old School” of Belmont politics, but whose business involvement with the Boston mob would tarnish his reputation, died on Friday, Oct. 31.

Monahan, who lived for 50 years in a modest Cross Street house, was 80.

Flags at all Belmont Municipal Buildings will be flown at half-staff in honor of  Monahan through Thursday morning.

Winning a seat on the board in 1978 on his fourth try for the office, Monahan was one of the last of the “Old School” Belmont politicians, where strong personalities – in the tradition of James Watson Flett who served four decades on the board – and the will of the Belmont Citizens’ Committee set town policy with little community interaction.

In fact, in 1978, Monahan was himself a victim of a long-standing Belmont tradition: the poison-pen letter delivered days before the Town Election, attempting to smear his reputation and politics.

Monahan, a no-nonsense, at times gruff, attorney who was born in West Roxbury and raised in South Boston, said his greatest responsibility on the board was to preserve the “small town” feel of Belmont, protecting it “against urbanization.” He was a leader in efforts to keep property tax rates low to allow “old timers” the ability to reside in their hometown during a time of increasing housing values.

He would use his conservative approach to town finances – Monahan was a loyal Republican – to question other’s “fiscal responsibility” on concerns of inadequate funding for capital projects and school buildings.

“It was a much more fiscally conservative town,” Monahan said in a 2002 Boston Globe interview when describing his hometown when he arrived in the mid-1960s.

In later years, Monahan sought to increase town revenue with the creation of a new hub on South Pleasant Street where new police and fire department headquarters would be adjacent to a commuter rail station with a 200-vehicle garage.

Monahan was known for “flying solo,” as reported in the weekly Belmont Citizen newspaper, using his Selectmen’s position to advocate citizens and neighborhoods. Many times, Monahan negotiating one-on-one with entities such as the city of Cambridge for Payson Park-area residents during the renovation of the nearby reservoir, then come before the board with the “solution.”

Monahan also gave private assistance on zoning issues to the leadership of the local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints community during its successful effort to build a temple on Belmont Hill.

Residents soured on this approach, most notably when he appointed a four-member “committee” to privately negotiate a purchase agreement with O’Neill Properties for the Belmont Uplands. When brought before Town Meeting in 2001, the deal was criticized for its favorable terms to the developer while providing no guarantees to the town on revenue or environmental safeguards. The measure was voted down.

The state Attorney General also criticized the board for violating the state’s Open Meeting Laws during the multi-year settlement with McLean Hospital.

Changing town demographics and a more active – and liberal – population base would view Monahan’s approach to governing more critically. Many at the time contend Monahan’s defeat by Ann Paulsen in 1992 for an open State Representative seat had much to do with “newcomers” flexing their political muscle.

Monahan’s world view was brought out in the 2002 Globe interview when he said when he was first elected, “[i]t was fashionable, almost, for the mom to stay at home. It’s no longer fashionable, which, you know, I find extremely difficult to accept. I think the most important profession in the world is motherhood.”

Monahan made national news when he initiated a rally for Mitt Romney after the Belmont resident successfully rescued the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. On a snowy day in March 2002, Monahan handed Romney a pair of running shoes and led the chant, “Run, Mitt, run,” referring to then possible Romney candidacy for Massachusetts governor.

But many residents took exception to the rally that used town resources to promote what they viewed as partisan political efforts, a charge Monahan would decry at a Selectmen’s meeting.

Many believe the negative impact of the rally and the Belmont Uplands proposal contributed greatly to his defeat for a 10th term by Paul Solomon in April 2002.

When asked the difference in Belmont between the time he was elected and his defeat, Monahan pointed to the “[l]ack of sense of community,” in the Globe interview.

“You know, sometimes you don’t speak to [your] next-door neighbors. We’re all so busy pursuing whatever our interests are. I think not just in town government, but I think in our world, there’s been a drastic reduction in the sense of the need for civility,” he said.

During his tenure, Monahan would serve as Selectmen chair from 1983-86, 1989, 1995-97 and 1999-2001. He was also a Town Meeting member from 1974 to 2002.

Soon after becoming governor, Romney appointed Monahan chairman of the state’s Civil Service Commission in July 2003 at a salary of $80,000.

Monahan abruptly resigned in August days after the Boston Globe revived a Dec. 1992 Belmont Citizen article that Monahan and a partner secured a $180,000, 10-year loan in 1980 from Gennaro “Jerry” Angiulo, a former New England mob underboss to purchase a bar in Boston’s theater district. The real estate firm that sold the bar to Monahan, Huntington Realty Trust, was later determined to be a front for the Angiulo’s illegal gambling enterprise.

Monahan said while knowing of Angiulo’s involvement in the mob; he told the Boston Globe at the time that “It was bad judgment. No serious harm came of it, but I never should have gotten involved in the thing.”

In 2009, Monahan sued Romney in federal court for wrongful termination without due process but the suit was dismissed.

While most people in town remember Monahan for this community service, the long-time Cross Street resident was a well-respected member of both the legal and academic world.

After serving in the US Coast Guard during the Korean War, Monahan matriculate at Boston State College, obtain a Masters Degree in counseling psychology from Boston College and a Juris Doctor from Suffolk University School of Law. He served 20 years as an assistant professor and later as an associate clinical professor of Psychiatry at Tufts University Medical School.

Monahan is survived by his wife, Edith J. Monahan (Mungovan). He is father to Julie Brady and her husband Brian of Belmont, Marianne Monahan MD and her husband Timothy Busler of Greenwich, Conn, Maureen and her husband Mark Bobbin MD of Belmont and William P Monahan Jr and his wife Kathleen Srock M.D. of Denver, Colo. His grandchildren are Brian, Marykate, John, Caroline, Connor, Teddy and Colleen. He was the brother of the late John J. Monahan and Mary Mahoney. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated at St Josephs Church, 128 Common St., Belmont on Thursday, Nov. 6 at 9 a.m. Burial will be at Highland Meadow Cemetery in Belmont.

Donations may be made in his memory to the Wounded Warrior Project P.O. Box 758517 Topeka, Kansas 66675.

What’s Open/Closed On The Martin Luther King Day Holiday; Trash/Recycling Pickups Delayed A Day

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Photo: Dr. Martin Luther King (credit: National Archives and Records Administration)

Now celebrating its 38th year as a federal holiday, Martin Luther King Day – observed on the third Monday in January – honors the civil rights leader and (the youngest at 35) Nobel Prize for Peace recipient who advocate for nonviolent social change leading to the enactment of such landmark federal laws as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. His writings and speeches continue to inspire people and groups to strive in promoting racial equality and humanitarian rights for all.

Belmont will be holding its 30th Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Virtual) Community Breakfast on Monday, Jan. 15, at 9 a.m. Sponsored by the Belmont Human Rights Commission in support of the METCO Program and METCO Support Fund, this year’s keynote address will be by Danielle Johnson, founder/CEO of Spark FM Online and a Belmont Public Schools alumnae. Register for this free event here.

Trash and Recycling Pickup is delayed by a day

What’s open and closed on MLK Day:

  • Belmont Town Hall and town departments/offices are closed
  • Belmont Public Schools: closed
  • United States Postal Service Offices at 405 Concord Ave. and 492 Trapelo Rd.: closed
  • Federal and state offices: closed
  • Banks: closed

MBTA schedules:

  • Buses, subway and The Ride: Saturday schedule
  • Commuter rail: Weekday schedule

Stores:

  • Most retail and drug stores, pharmacies and businesses will be open on the holiday.

Memorial Day In Belmont: Remembering Those Who Gave Their Lives For The Country

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Photo: Memorial Day in Belmont, 2023

Memorial Day Monday arrived in Belmont under a brilliant blue sky as residents, town officials, and veterans came to the Grove Street Cemetery to commemorate the war dead since the Civil War two years after Belmont was incorporated.

For Select Board Member Roy Epstein, those sacrifices include the men and women who fell outside of the wars this country fought. In his speech before the hundreds at Grove Street Cemetery, Epstein told the story of US Army Air Corp Captain Billy Phelps, a pilot who flew B-17 Flying Fortresses over Germany during WWII, surviving the war after his plane was shot down and he was held as a POW.

Three years after that war ended, in June 1948, the Soviet Union, in an attempt to force the American, British, and French forces out of Berlin, blockaded all the roads and railroads to the western sectors of the city to ultimately claim most of post-war Germany for themselves.

“They cut off the supply of food, electricity, and coal to hold the civilian population hostage. President Truman responded by trying to break the blockade by air. This was the Berlin Airlift, which began almost exactly 75 years ago.”

“Amazingly, Phelps volunteered to go to occupied Germany for the Airlift, to fly coal to Berlin instead of bombs. It was again desperate, dangerous work. New Soviet jets harassed the flights and sometimes tried to force American planes down in the Russian zone. Coal dust in the planes caked the controls and blinded the pilots. In letters home Phelps wrote that their planes had become ‘flying wrecks.’ Twice his engines caught fire and he was forced to crash land.”

The few loads of food and supplies grew to a massive unbreakable lifeline thanks to the determination of American and British crews. They eventually delivered millions of tons. It was the Soviet dictator Stalin who gave up and called off the blockade in May 1949.

Epstein remarked that “the Berlin Airlift changed the course of the Cold War. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was created at the end of the crisis. The security created by that alliance has preserved Europe from again becoming a battleground. Our commitment to that alliance is still being tested.”

“In Germany today, memorials fittingly honor the Airlift by calling it ‘a gigantic operation that turned former enemies into friends.’ Do not forget what Germany had been. The Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in northern Germany, where Anne Frank and countless others perished, was only a few miles from Phelps’ airfield. The Airlift had much more than military importance.”

“Showing we could and would stand up against aggression and injustice helped Germany renounce the inhumanity of the Nazi past. It took another 50 years, but Berlin finally became the capital of a peaceful, united, and democratic Germany.”

“Captain Phelps was part of a small and very special group of pilots in the history of the Airlift. Here’s why. In December 1948, he had a few days left before rotating home to his wife and two new babies. He had to fly another mission after making three round trips the day before. A mile after taking off, his heavily loaded C-54 banked in the rain and fog – and plunged to the ground. Phelps, his copilot, and his flight engineer were all killed.”

Just like in 1948, “[a]s we confront problems in the world today, let’s remember and draw inspiration from people like Billy Phelps. Let’s hope that the American ideals, generosity, and sacrifice that made the Berlin Airlift possible will always be a beacon for those who struggle for freedom, dignity, and human rights,” said Epstein.

This year’s observance included speeches, prayer, and the Belmont High Marching Band accompanying the marchers from the cemetery to the Veteran’s Memorial at Clay Pit Pond.

Belmont Veterans Agent Bob Upton and Kip Gaudet, Jr., Waverley VFW Post 1272’s commander, hosted the annual event recognizing the town’s fallen heroes. “We remember those of Belmont who have served those who have made the ultimate sacrifice,” said Upton.

United States Army veteran and the newly installed pastor of the Open Door Baptist Church Tim Robinson, gave the day’s prayer, thanking those who had fallen for their courage, selflessness, and devotion to duty and praying for those who have lost loved ones and service to this great nation that you would continue to comfort them with the peace that only a supreme being can bring.

State Sen. Will Brownsberger and State Rep. Dave Rogers read a proclamation together from Massachusetts Governor Maura Healy, saying it was appropriate that all Massachusetts citizens remember the bravery of those who gave their lives so that their sacrifices serve as a reminder of the cost of our freedom.

Keynote speaker retired US Marine Colonel, combat veteran, and lifelong Belmont resident Mike Callahan spoke on learning more about those to sacrificed their lives for future generations.

“So as we read the names and play taps, and again recall stories of features that never played out,” said Callahan, the Belmont Veterans Memorial Committee chair. He encouraged residents to learn more about the men from Belmont who gave their lives, like James Paul White, for which the Field House at Harris Field is named, who was killed during the Battle of the Bulge, and MIA Jerry Burns, who was presumed died in the Korean War. There are Belmont football teammates Edward Teddy Lee and Walter Donny Ray, who both died in Vietnam, and Jonathan Curtis, who died in Kandahar nearly 13 years ago today.

“As we reflect on their ultimate sacrifice to the friend, the freedoms that we all enjoy each day, and freedoms that far too many Americans take for granted, let us pledge to keep their memories alive. Doing this is as much for them as it is for future generations. For if we are to retain our freedoms, that has been one for us, then similar sacrifices will almost certainly be required in the future.”

Police Chief, Department Honored For Supporting Officers Serving In National Guard

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Photo: Earl Bonett, Massachusetts Chair of Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, presents Belmont Police Chief James MacIsaac with an award recognizing the department’s support of members who serve in the armed forces. (Courtesy Photo: Belmont Police Department)

Belmont Police Chief James MacIsaac and the Belmont Police Department were recently honored for their cooperation in support of the National Guard and Reserve.

MacIsaac was presented a certificate from the Massachusetts chapter of Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) in recognition of the department’s longstanding commitment to supporting its members who serve in the National Guard or in the reserve corps of the nation’s military branches.

ESGR is a Department of Defense office founded in 1972 to carry out the mission of fostering a culture in which American employers support their employees who serve in the guard or reserve forces. Belmont Police have two active officers who are currently serving as members of the Massachusetts National Guard.

“This award is a reflection of our entire department’s collective pride in our members whose commitment to public service extends even beyond Belmont’s borders,” said MacIsaac. “We’re grateful for all who serve in the National Guard and Reserves, including Lt. Paul Cowing and Sgt. Ben Mailhot.”

The Belmont Police Department enables its members who wish to serve in the Guard or Reserves the opportunity to do so with the peace of mind in knowing that they will have their civilian positions waiting for them upon return from any activation.

Parade And Ceremony Marks Belmont’s Memorial Day, 2022 [Photos]

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Photo:

The weather cooperated – brilliant sunshine, low humidity, upper 70s – as Belmont returned to he public celebration of Memorial Day.

It shouldn’t have come as a surprise that the numbers along the route and at the commemoration were down from 2019 as the ceremony booted up for the first time in three years with the parade that started in Cushing Square and traveled to Belmont Cemetery adjacent the Grove Street playground led by a contingency of veterans and guests, girl and boy scouts, all serenaded by the Belmont High School marching band.

At the cemetery, the solemn tribute for the fallen who died in defense of the country commenced with Bob Upton, Belmont’s Veteran’s Service Agent who is retiring at the end of the week, who spoke of those who were honored on this holiday.

“Let’s appreciate our time together here in this beautiful place within this wonderful community of Belmont,” said Upton. “We are here today because of the sacrifices made by so many Belmont families. We are here because of the willingness of someone we love or maybe someone we many not even know who laid down their life for our freedom. We are here to honor them.”

Nor should the day be best known as the unofficial start of summer, suggested the chair of the Belmont Select Board.

“Memorial Day has become a day of picnics, barbecues, parades a day to spend time with family and friends as we look forward to their carefree days of summer,” said Mark Paolillo. “But it must remain a day to pause from our very busy lives to reflect, honor and thank those individuals that have given all to defend our freedoms. We must remember them.”

Speaking on his tenure as the vets rep in town, Upton spoke of some of his most personal rewarding efforts which may have flown under the radar such as creating a low-key coffee hour for veterans at the Beech Street Center, coordinating a trip for an aging WWII vet to Washington DC on an Honor Flight or negotiating what can seem to be an overwhelming amount of paperwork to allow vets survivors to receive the benefits they rightfully have earned.

“Some of my most proudest moments here in Belmont has been working with our veterans and their family members and the stories I heard at events and activities such as today,” said Upton.

Finally Upton read the names of Belmont’s fallen from the Civil War to the War on Terror, taps was played and the parade reassembled to the Veterans Memorial at Clay Pit Pond for a brief commemoration.

First Night Of 2022 Town Meeting Saw ‘Meat And Potatoes’ Articles Win Approval

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Photo: Mike Widmer at the start of the meeting.

Virtual presentations, virtual line of people at the microphone, virtual voting: Welcome to Belmont’s third annual ZOOM Town Meeting as members came together, once again, in front of laptops and smart phones to conducted the business of town governance on Monday, May 2.

And despite a few technical hiccups – unintended raised hands, unmuted background noise and one or two false starts in remarks and presentations – the night went smoothly taking a tidy three-and-a-half hours to wrap up by 10 p.m. in the first of an expected three nights under Segment A which covers the meeting’s non-budgetary articles.

While the meeting would have the feel of a video conference, it didn’t mean the members would miss out on the traditional moments that precedes each annual assembly: a video flag raising and the Pledge of Allegiance by the Boys and Girls Scouts, an invocation from Dane Helsing of Beacon Community Church along with the acknowledgement of those long-serving members who did not seek or was not reelected – Sue Pew served for 45 years!

And the Town Meeting oath given by Town Clerk Ellen Cushman – “the bestist and nicest Town Clerk” as one of the Boy Scouts attested to – to 50 new members (a record of sorts according to Moderator Mike Widmer) acknowledging their pledge via their wireless voting devices.

During his talk to members on procedure and process, Widmer reminded the first night attendees to not allow discussions to get the better of their emotions

“It’s critical to keep our discourse civil and respectful,” said Widmer. “It is a healthy thing to have a healthy debate. Passion is fine, but let’s keep it civil.”

There was a lot of meat and potato articles on the menu on the first night. After sweeping aside the routine housekeeping articles, the articles

Demolition Delay

The 2017 bylaw established the town’s demolition delay regulations to provide up to a one year reprieve in pulling down 181 significant buildings listed by the town, said Lisa Harrington, chair of the Historic District Commission, in her presentation to the meeting.

The original bylaw has a “sunset” provision that will take effect at the end of 2022. The article would make the bylaw permanent via some minor language changes. The bylaw change will also deleted the appeals provision as the new provision does not add properties to the list. Just how effective the law has been, said Harrington, is that none of the the 181 significant buildings have not been taken down in the past five years.

During the debate, Jason Katola, Precinct 3, opposed the article for some of the same reasons members did five years ago; there is no compensation to the homeowner due to any delay and that it prevents the most productive use (a new structure on the site) of the land. Steve Pinkerton, chair of the Planning Board and Precinct 7, kept his statement brief and to the point: the new bylaw language will not be an impediment to development in town. Vince Stanton, Precinct 3, said that if the bylaw had been on the books at the turn of the century, four historic and architecturally important buildings – the Waverley Square Congregational Church and the Thomas Clark House, as examples – that he described as “real treasures” would have had at least partial protection. Not all that controversial, the article passed easily, 221-31-1.

Membership of Town Committees

Town Clerk Cushman told the meeting that many Belmontians believe that serving on boards, commissions and committees is a vital part of government and that it’s currently reserved for residents with some limited exceptions. But, surprisingly, there is only one reason that a member can be removed from said bodies: missing three consecutive meetings.

The bylaw change proposed by Cushman would create three reasons to remove a member; missing three consecutive meetings, non-compliance with the mandatory on-line state ethics training and they are no longer a Belmont resident. And it was surprising to discover that 18 volunteers are currently out of sequence with the ethic education requirement and 2 are no longer residents.

During the debate, Town Counsel George Hall said that town has no way of running off a volunteer who breaks the state’s ethnic laws – that’s up to the state – but can remove them if they don’t take the biannual test.

Meeting members had no problem with the bylaw change, passing it by a 247-1 margin.

Stormwater management and erosion control

Article 6 amends the town’s storm water management and erosion control bylaw of 2013 so that it aligns with the MS4 permit, which is issued by the US Environment Protection Agency authorizing discharges from Belmont’s storm sewer system into ”the waters of the United States.”

“We have provisions that require sewer and stormwater service connections to comply with certain regulations,” Glen Clancy, the town’s engineer and director of the Office of management. ”There are requirements that have to be in the bylaw in order for us to be in compliance with the MS4 permit so the proposal is to add wording to clarify definitions” said Clancy such as what the total maximum daily load requirement.

The article received overwhelming support from the residents who count, those who promote clean water and best practices for storm water management.

“We are lucky to have someone line Glen Clancy who was willing to put in the time to try to figure out how to conform the … bylaw to all the inconsistent and conflicting requirements of EPA and state DEP,” said Bob McGaw, precinct 1. And Clancy pitched a rare shut out with the amendment with a 254-0-3 vote of Town Meeting.

Oakmont Lane

The town has a new public road when the once private Oakmont Lane was accepted by Town Meeting by a 165-61-17 margin. Unlike previous articles to accept a private way such as Carleton Circle, the cul-de-sac was built by the developer of the four residential homes which he purchased in 2015 from the town for a little over a million dollars. As part of the purchase and sale, the road would be brought before Town Meeting by the developer rather than the residents. The debate hinged on doing right by the new residents and accepting the road or let the developer continue to control the road and work it out between him and the homeowners on repairs and snow removal.

Retail Liquor Licenses

It may come as some surprise to newcomers that up until 2007, Belmont was strickly a teetotaling kind of town. For nearly 150 years, the Town of Homes was in the grip of our Victorian and Prohibition-era forefathers as liquor sales was strictly verboten. You’d have to hope the trolley to Cambridge to have wine with your dinner.

But by 2022, Belmont is more than willing to top off the number of alcohol and beer and wine licenses as high as they can. But only up to a point. The Select Board’s Adam Dash reported the article was a simple one: to go from two all-alcohol retail licenses to four and to increase the number of beer and wine licenses from four to six with an eye to increasing businesses and retail shopping. Why four and six licenses when an earlier version of the article called for seven beer and wine permits? Dash said it was pointed out that 4 and 7 total 11 and that additional license would have triggered a state law that requires the town to increase the number of marijuana retail sale licenses to three from the current two.

Dash noted that the fee for the licenses will remain steady: an annual all-alcohol license is $4,000 while beer and wine are $2,500 annually.

Town Meeting took no time in approving the article, 223-18-2, to bring in the booze.

Town meeting will return on Wednesday, May 4 with articles 10 and 3

Opinion: A View Of Holidays and Freedoms On This 4th Of July

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Photo: Veterans Day and Memorial Day are our holidays to remember those who have served and those who have given their lives to win and protect our freedom.

By Will Brownsberger

The recent hate crimes in Belmont, Winthrop, and Brighton, so close to home and so near the Fourth of July, have me thinking about the meaning of our national holidays.

Seven of our eleven federal holidays celebrate our struggles for freedom and justice. Each of our national struggles have occurred in the context of broader international liberation struggles. 

Independence Day and Washington’s Birthday celebrate our declaration of independence from King George III and honor those who fought our revolutionary war to uphold that declaration. Our revolution was just the first of many revolutions to replace the autocratic rule of European monarchs with government by the people.

Our new holiday, Juneteenth, celebrates the final end of slavery in the United States. More than 600,000 died in our Civil War. By comparison, only 25,000 died in our revolutionary war. Almost as many soldiers died in the Civil War as in all our other wars combined. Roughly 10 percent of the men between 18 and 45 died in the Civil War and many more were maimed for life. The union soldiers sacrificed to free four million people from slavery.

It took a horrific convulsion to expunge the stain of slavery that ran so deep in our nation and to enshrine liberty for all in our constitution. It is fitting that we finally have a holiday that specifically celebrates that milestone in our progress. 

Martin Luther King Day celebrates a great leader and those who struggled alongside him to make freedom real for African Americans by dismantling the state and local laws discriminating against them.  

The struggle for universal civil rights and freedoms continues to this day, but it is broader and more complex. It is not just about changing laws. It is about changing the behavior of individuals and institutions who may discriminate against not only African Americans but other minorities and/or women. All nations that are committed in good faith to basic human rights continue to struggle to realize those rights universally for their citizens.

The recent hateful incidents diminish the freedom of all minorities. Whether one is visibly Black, visibly Asian, visibly an orthodox Jew or visibly transgender, one should be able to walk the streets free from the fear of random violence.

Many people who commit hate crimes may suffer from some form of mental illness, but it is hateful ideology that leads them to translate their inner struggles into hateful actions. All of us, whether healthy or unhealthy, act based on the ideas we are exposed to. That is why it is so important that all of us speak out against violence and broadcast our appreciation for diversity.

We celebrate and thank the law enforcement officers who respond when hateful violence unfolds. They, like our soldiers, put themselves in harm’s way to protect our freedoms. Veterans Day and Memorial Day are our holidays to remember those who have served and those who have given their lives to win and protect our freedom. On those days, we also honor our public safety personnel.

Labor Day honors public safety personnel, teachers, and other unionized workers, but more broadly honors all those who fought for better wages and working conditions in the international labor movement. It is easy to forget across the distance of years just how low wages often were and how cruel the workplace could be. The labor movement fought and won great victories to create the relative comfort that many of us now enjoy.  As in the civil rights movement, there is more to be done.

Columbus Day has become controversial for good reason. Columbus’ revealed the Americas to Europeans, but he did is so in the service of a monarch bent on acquiring resources for royal aggrandizement. Those who came after him destroyed the great pre-Colombian civilizations in the Americas. I support rethinking that holiday to align it better with the consistent values expressed by our other holidays.

The remaining three federal holidays — Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day — bring families together to enjoy the freedoms we have been blessed with.

Belmont Returns To Normalcy With Solemn Memorial Day Observance

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Photo: Belmont veterans at attention.

Across the country cities, town and counties marked the first holiday weekend in more than a year where most, if not all, restrictions to halt the spread of the COVID-19 were lifted. Some saw the return of crowds to sporting events (the Indianapolis 500, playoff basketball and hockey), businesses and restaurants open fully, or crowding beaches and playgrounds.

In Belmont, the day was observed in solemn remembrance of the 119 residents who died defending the country since the Civil War, a return to the annual ritual cancelled last year due to the pandemic which took so far nearly 600,000 of our fellow citizens.

“It’s fitting that [Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker] lifted the COVID restrictions on Memorial Day weekend, as the future of maskless freedom coincides with this day of honoring those who fought for our freedom, both here and around the world,” said Belmont Select Board Chair Adam Dash. “Today we remember those lost in the military. We should also reflect on those losses to the horrible sickness which profoundly changed our lives as we were sequestered in our homes and left without full human contact for over a year.”

In the days before, Belmont High School athletes and volunteers placed new US flags at the graves of veterans and the fallen. On Monday, the weekend rains ended and residents along with contingencies from Belmont Police and Fire departments, the Belmont High School marching band, boy and girl scouts, and town employees all came to gather at Belmont Cemetery to remember and reflect.

The observance, coordinated by Belmont Veterans Service Officer Bob Upton and led by master of ceremonies retired USMC Col. Michael Callanan, recalled the son, the father, friend, colleague, and neighbor who made the ultimate sacrifice. Retired Army Brig. Gen. Len Kondratiuk spoke of Pharmacist Mate Second Class Daniel Joy, a 23-year-old medic who died at Guadalcanal in 1942; Richard Quigley, an 18-year-old who was one of the first Americans killed in the Korean Conflict; Edward Teddy Lee, a 20-year-old leader in an elite army reconnaissance unit known to his comrades as the bravest and toughest soldiers in the company, who was killed in action in May 1968 in Vietnam; and Jonathan Curtis, an Army specialist who gave his own life protecting his fellow soldiers in Afghanistan 10 years ago. His mother, Pamela, was in attendance.

Pastor Bob Butler of the Open Door Baptist Church recalled Lincoln’s Gettysburg address in which the 16th president said “we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate, we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.” In airing our gratitude, “we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not out of the words, but to live by them,” said Butler, quoting John F. Kennedy.

Massachusetts State Rep. Dave Roberts, while remembering his friends Alex and Tom, Army personnel who died in service, connected Memorial Day with June 15, the day the state of emergency in Massachusetts will be over. “I just want to say I hope you and your families have come through this trying time.”

Dash noted the lasting legacy of those who sacrificed their lives for the country continues in their hometown’s civic structures both physical and systematic including municipal buildings, natural preserves, “our schools, our library, monuments, and infrastructure, both old and new.” But that local bequest “has been fractured of late by choices, politics, and economic hardship. But fractures can heal” by putting aside our personal interests for the greater good … and recognize that we were stronger together than we were apart.”

“This little town of homes is a family. Families may sometimes fight, but they love and defend each other. We’re not all soldiers and sailors, but we all understand the example that they set, the legacy that they leave, the honor that they embody in life and echo in death,” said Dash.

“We owe it to them to pull together and marching to the future united, and ready to leave this town better than we found it.”