Select Board Approves First Church Request to Use Town Green
Donna Ruvolo, trustee at-large for the First Church in Belmont, sought approval this week to host an Open House on the town green on Saturday, Aug. 24 from 10 a.m to 2 p.m.
The event is open to the general public, she said. There will be games on the common, and a petting zoo on the church property next door.
Porch Fest to be Held Sept. 7
Porch Fest will take place Saturday, Sept. 7, with a rain date of Sunday, Sept. 8.
Instead of using the town green, the marching band performance will be hosted by 53 Washington St.
Pending a conversation with the Public Works Department and Police Department, the event will require the closure of Washington Street between Garden Street and Carleton Circle from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The end of Broad Street is also expected to be closed from 4 to 6 p.m.
Town-wide Yard Sale Rescheduled
The town-wide yard sale will take place Saturday, Sept. 28.
The event was originally scheduled to take place earlier in the month, but was rescheduled so as to not overlap with Porch Fest. Select Board member Roy Epstein said 125 houses participated in the event last year.
Select Board Signs Election Warrant
The Select Board voted to sign the warrant for the Sept. 3, 2024 State Primary Election.
The deadline to request vote by mail ballots for the State Primary is Aug. 26. If you are choosing to vote by mail for the this election, you must indicate the party ballot you would like to receive: Democrat, Libertarian or Republican. Unenrolled voters who request a Primary ballot without a party selection cannot be fulfilled.
Residents must be registered to vote at least 10 days before an election. In the case of the State Primary, this would be Aug. 24.
Officials Discuss Budget Timeline
Town officials are considering revising the way in which Town Meeting is held, with the goal of streamlining the process and reducing inefficiencies.
Instead of Segment A, reserved for non-financials articles, and Segment B, reserved for financial articles, there would be one Town Meeting that continued until all business was done.
“What we’re looking to do is condense Town Meeting,” said Town Administrator Patrice Garvin.
Superintendent Jill Geiser and School Committee member Amy Zuccarello, chair of the finance subcommittee, said the later in the agenda the school budget, the better. Zuccarello said she would like to first meet with the School Committee before reporting back to the Select Board on the revised budget timeline.
Planning Board Presents Storefront Bylaw to Select Board
Planning Board Chair Taylor Yates presented to the Select Board a proposal to create a registry for unoccupied properties.
Earlier this summer, the Planning Board voted to move a proposed bylaw along to town counsel. The bylaw would require owners or managers to register a property when it becomes vacant.
There was some debate between Select Board members on how successful a registry would be, but ultimately town officials agreed the bylaw change was unlikely to be presented at the November Town Meeting, given the MBTA Communities Act, or 3A zoning, that voters will be asked to consider.
“If the Select Board said we want to put this on the warrant, this is probably about 80% of the way there,” Yates said. “There’s still some work to do.”
The remaining 20% was unlikely to be considered an imminent priority unless the Select Board was expecting to see it on the warrant this fall.