The Community Path Project took a significant step forward as debate on cost dominated Town Meeting on June 8.
Just under two hours before the start of the sixth night, Town Meeting members received an email notice that the cost of acquiring easements needed to build the community path had increased from $200,000 to $1.3 million. The article was part of the special Town Meeting warrant.
“I think we’re all in a state of shock, frankly, at the size,” said Precinct 5 member Michael Widmer. “… Town Meeting is a legislative body, and it’s part of democracy, and it needs to be treated with great respect, and I’m not saying that anybody in the leadership does not agree with that. I know you do, but the outcome of this is really, really unfortunate.”
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The $1.3 million will come from the town’s investment fund.
According to Select Board Chair Matt Taylor, the town needs to prove to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) that it has the easements in place by the end of July.
“All of us heard the information within an hour or two before you did, so we had sort of an equal level of whiplash,” said Town Counsel Mina S. Makarious.
In total, the town is expected to pay $2.2 million for the temporary and permanent easements associated with the community path. The additional funds come from grants and the Community Preservation Committee (CPC).
To date, Belmont has invested a little over $3 million in the project, which dates back over two decades. The state has pledged about $48 million for the construction of Phase 1 of the project. The path is expected to open in 2029.
In 2019, the town selected Nitsch Engineering to design the path. Phase 1 will run from the Fitchburg Cutoff Path at the Cambridge line to the Clark Street bridge. When Phase 2 is finished, it will complete a two-mile link in the Mass Central Rail Trail, which will eventually run 104 miles, from Boston to Northampton.
“The community path is a true community effort,” said Precinct 8 member Rachel Heller. “It’s bringing tremendous value to our community, a safe way for people to travel, for kids to get to school, and to connect to other communities.”
In the end, Town Meeting members overwhelmingly approved the allocation of funds. Along the way, many expressed shock and frustration over learning of the increase, with so little time to absorb the information.
“I find more and more we are being told, ‘We have to do this now, we have to make a decision now, we can’t wait to have all the information,’” said Precinct 8 member Kathleen Cowing. “I don’t think it’s reasonable to operate from this place of panic and fear and knee-jerk reactions, and I have a lot of concerns about being asked to do that yet again.”
According to Taylor, offers for easements and rights to the land will be sent to the property owners by the end of June, and the owners will have 30 days before the town may take the land by eminent domain.
Town Meeting voted 211-24 with seven abstentions to approve the article.
Concord Avenue Sewer Acquisition
Town Meeting voted 168-23-23 to allow the Select Board to acquire a sewer line operated by CAB Sewer. The sewer line runs primarily along Concord Avenue and Somerset Street, though there are a number of unauthorized connections on Snake Hill Road.
The sewer line has been a “longstanding legal issue,” according to Taylor. The town and Neal Johnson, who operates CAB Sewer, are engaged in ongoing litigation dating back to an incident in 2019. According to an affidavit filed by Town Administrator Patrice Garvin in defense of the town, the incident involved a raw sewage leak over Thanksgiving weekend from a failed attempt to connect a Juniper Road home to Johnson’s private sewer line.
The town’s response cost $28,685, including overtime for responding during a holiday weekend, according to the affidavit. The cost was billed to Johnson, but despite repeated efforts over the years — including an agreement between Johnson and the town that he would pay $10,000 immediately, and the rest over the following two years — the bill has not been paid.
“I think that the most prudent thing that we can do as a town, and the Select Board unanimously supports, is to take over the system by eminent domain and give the owner his just compensation,” Taylor said. “We don’t think we should wait. We didn’t want to come back for another Town Meeting. I don’t think we should continue to worry about what is going to happen and how we move forward.”
Johnson has also sued the town after Belmont denied him permits for more connections.
“All the comments made by the chairman are unfounded. They have no basis in fact, they’re misleading at best, and reckless at worst,” attorney Michael Magerer, who is representing Johnson, said at Town Meeting.
He added that Johnson is “interested in making the sale to the town,” but he will not “be bullied by these misrepresentations and misstatements.”
Town Meeting also voted to approve allocating $60,000 to acquire the sewer line. Taylor said he expects a legal battle over the acquisition of the sewer line. Once acquired, the town will contract with an outside company for maintenance of the line, according to Director of Public Works Jay Marcotte.
Beagle Award
Precinct 2 member Robert McLaughlin won the Beagle Award. His name was drawn from a pool of members who kept their comments to under 90 seconds. His prize is preferred parking at the next session, marked by a labeled traffic cone.
Town Meeting is scheduled to meet again on Wednesday, June 10.
