On a night of farewells, former Moderator Mike Widmer might wish he had stayed to watch newly elected Moderator Mike Crowley run the first night of Town Meeting. Instead, Widmer headed home to watch the Celtics cough up a big lead and lose to the New York Knicks in Game 1 of their playoff series.
Crowley got through his first night with aplomb, deftly managing a few unforeseen technical hiccups and concluding his first session unscathed.
When the meeting was adjourned at around 10:15, Town Meeting members had voted on 11 of the 20 articles on the warrant. They set up a couple of new revolving funds, authorized the Select Board to file a home rule petition to ban rodenticides, and resolved other routines of Belmont business.
Widmer Farewell
The meeting opened with Select Board Chair Elizabeth Dionne reading a proclamation for Widmer, first elected moderator in 2008. Dionne’s recitation was met with an extended standing ovation.
“Wow,” Widmer said. “It’s a bit overwhelming to hear that.”
Widmer focused his farewell remarks on the importance of Town Meeting, what he called a cornerstone of democracy.
“There are 288 individuals elected and serving, coming out these nights, speaking or not, and voting. It’s a marvelous thing for this town and this country that was built on this democratic experiment,” Widmer said.
Belmont’s Business
The Town Meeting approved the following articles.
Article 7: Members voted 239 in favor, one opposed, and one abstained to formally dissolve the Public Works and Police Department Building Committee. The committee was formed to manage the renovation of the police station and the Department of Public Works facility.
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Articles 8, 9, and 10 were removed from the warrant. According to Select Board Vice Chair Matt Taylor, the three were placeholders if fiscal cleanup was needed.
Article 11: The town set the salaries of elected officials. The moderator will earn $250; the chair of the Select Board will earn $5,000; the other two Select Board members will earn $4,500; and the Town Clerk will earn $110,861. The article passed 243-1-1.
Article 6: By a 222-18-2 vote, Town Meeting authorized the creation of two revolving funds.
The Municipal Rink and Sports Facility fund will be used for money derived from rink and sports facility programs.
The Solid Waste and Recycling fund is for money derived from solid waste and recycling service fees.
Article 14:
Set spending limits on the town’s revolving funds.
- Senior Programs $150,000
- Art Gallery $15,000
- Rock Meadow Maintenance $15,000
- Copying/Lost Books $15,000
- Stormwater Improvements $100,000
- MLK Day Breakfast $5,000
- Non-School Property Maintenance $80,000
- Stormwater Consulting $50,000
- Recreation $1,280,000
- Municipal Rink/Sports Facility $300,000
- Solid Waste/Recycling $85,000
The article passed 223-3-2.
Article 16: This article approved a four-year contract for purchasing iPads for the school department. The money for the purchase is already in the school department budget. However, any contract with a term longer than three terms must go before Town Meeting.
Spreading the cost out over four years (interest-free) lessens the year-to-year cost impact. The machines are used by students in kindergarten through the second grade. The most recent iPad purchase was in 2019.
The article passed 230-3-0
Article 4: The one citizen petition considered will authorize the Select Board to seek a home rule petition that, if passed, will ban the use of second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARS) in Belmont.
Precinct 1 Town Meeting member Jeffrey North presented the petition.
“This does not bind us to any future policy or action,” he said.
It will allow the town to make local rodenticide rules that supersede state law. Right now, state law does not allow towns to ban the use of the poison on private property. Belmont does not use the toxins in municipal buildings, North said.
The poisons are problematic because rodents that consume the poisons can live for days or weeks. As they weaken, they become targets for birds of prey and other predators, including domestic dogs and cats. The results are lethal, North said.
There is a bill on Beacon Hill that would ban the private property use of SGARS. If it eventually passes, it will render Belmont’s Home Rule petition moot.
The article’s 222-5-2 passage was greeted with applause.
