Though much of Town Meeting felt familiar Monday night, it was also a night of firsts.
Adam Dash stepped in to serve his first Town Meeting as moderator; Shane Smith, on his first day as chief of police, introduced himself to the community; and the first Beagle Award was presented to a member from Precinct 2.
The brainchild of Dash, the Beagle Award is designed to encourage Town Meeting members to be succinct in their comments on warrant articles.
“I got the idea to do the award … to encourage people to be efficient in their speaking and to make it fun and make Town Meeting an engaging place, to encourage people to run for it,” Dash said Tuesday.
Anyone who speaks for 90 seconds or less is entered into a drawing for the award, Dash told Town Meeting members Monday night. The prize? Preferred parking for the next Town Meeting session.
First to take home the award was Precinct 2 member Anne-Marie Lambert.
Town Meeting Business
Town Meeting voted to appropriate $2.1 million in Community Preservation Act funding for the redevelopment of Sherman Gardens, one of Belmont Housing Authority’s three public housing developments.
“This is a project not just for the Belmont Housing Authority; it’s an investment in the entire town,” said Chuck Laverty of the Belmont Housing Authority.
According to Cambridge Housing Authority Deputy Director of Planning Matthew Zajac, about 45% of renters in Belmont face a housing cost burden, meaning more than 30% of income goes toward housing costs.
“That helps us to explain why housing projects like Sherman Gardens … are so important,” he said.
When completed, there will be an additional 40 units, for a total of 120 units, in a five-story, mid-rise, elevator-equipped building, according to Zajac. Of the 120 units, 10% will be fully accessible, compared to the state’s requirement of 5%. The goal is to apply to the town for site plan approval in the next month or so, he said.
Town Meeting also made forward progress on the Community Path by approving $500,000 for the right-of-way acquisitions for Phase 1 of the project.
“The path is now fully designed, and it’s on track for Mass DOT to advertise for construction in September,” said Community Path Committee Chair Holly Muson. “The right-of-way work could not get started until the 100% design was approved by Mass DOT. The appraisals are in process to determine the full and fair value of each property that’s involved.”
According to Muson, there are 17 private properties that will require easements, some of which are permanent, while others are temporary.
Also approved Monday night was $250,000 to provide a 25% match for a $1 million federal earmark secured by Rep. Katherine Clark for the design of Phase 2. Muson said the route is currently being finalized.
The business of the meeting kicked off with a short consent agenda that included Article 2 and Article 37, which sought authorization to represent the town’s legal interests and to transfer $132,000 to the Other Post-Employment Benefits Fund, respectively.
Pulled from the consent agenda was Article 28, a two-part article that sought to appropriate $8.2 million from Water Reserves and Water Retained Earnings to Water Department expenses, and $11.1 million from Sewer and Stormwater Revenues and Sewer Retained Earnings to fund the Sewer and Stormwater Enterprise Fund. This article was pulled from the consent agenda after members cited concerns that neither the Warrant Committee Report nor the Capital Committee Report had been issued to Town Meeting.
“Putting the second largest part of the budget on the consent agenda is not appropriate,” said Chris Doyle, chair of the Capital Budget Committee. “We think this area deserves scrutiny.”
Ultimately, both articles passed.
Town Meeting is scheduled to continue on Wednesday, May 6, at 7 p.m. at the Belmont High School Auditorium.
