For the last several years, the Belmont High School auditorium has been home to Town Meeting.
Due to scheduling issues, however, the upcoming special Town Meeting, scheduled for March 4, will be held at Chenery Upper Elementary School—a change in plans that had town officials frustrated Monday night. The move does not impact the annual Town Meeting later in the spring.
“We made a promise [to voters] that the high school would be available for Town Meeting,” said Select Board member Elizabeth Dionne.
Among other articles, the warrant seeks Town Meeting member approval for the proposed Belmont Center overlay project.
According to Superintendent Jill Geiser, the special Town Meeting falls during the week of the annual spring musical.
“The auditorium will already be fully set up for the show that week,” Geiser wrote in an email to The Voice. “The staging, lighting, and orchestra set-up required for the production cannot be dismantled and reset for a Special Town Meeting within the available time frame without disrupting the students’ work and the overall production schedule.”
Geiser expressed appreciation for the town’s flexibility in shifting to the Chenery auditorium as an alternative venue, “which ensures that our students can move forward with their performance as planned.”
On Monday, Chief Innovation Officer Chris McClure said a hybrid meeting would be possible, but given the change of location, “there’s a lot unknown.”
“We’ve just gotten used to the idiosyncrasies of the high school auditorium,” he said.
Jeff Hansell, executive director of Belmont Media Center, echoed a similar sentiment.
“It would be extremely difficult for BMC to manage that effectively with the complications that exist at that space,” he said.
Town Moderator Michael Crowley said one of his top concerns was the lack of cell service in the Chenery auditorium, which could impact how members vote.
“My question is, to avoid that problem, is there no possibility of renting some sort of … piece of equipment that provides a temporary cell signal in the auditorium space?” he asked.
Town Administrator Patrice Garvin said if that were such an expense, she would expect the school to cover the cost.
“We’re trying to make one place for Town Meeting,” she said. “I don’t think we’re hitting that message of ‘This is where Town Meeting is.’”
Crowley also expressed concern for the lack of space for people who want to wear masks and physically distance themselves from other Town Meeting members.
“It will push up our remote numbers,” he said. “We’re already drifting to about half online and half in person. I would be concerned if we started getting to 70% on remote or 30% in person, … it causes you to question what we’re doing with hybrid.”
