Turns out, it’s not always enough just to check your email’s spam folder.
On Wednesday night, Town Meeting authorized the town to pay an unpaid invoice from fiscal year 2025 totaling $1,316 for water bottles at the Fire Department. How did such a bill go unpaid?
According to town officials, the invoice was sent to the inactive email of a former employee. Specifically, the bill covered the cost of replacement water canisters for bubblers at the two fire stations.
That article was one of a handful of warrant articles approved Wednesday by Town Meeting members, including Article 34, which sought $2.1 million in capital authorizations and $2.6 million for sidewalks and roads.
Some of the capital items proposed as part of the $2.1 million in expenditures include $100,000 to the Department of Public Works for improvements to the Underwood Pool bathhouse and for a diving board replacement; $310,000 to the Department of Public Works for a new snowfighter (replacing one that is more than 20 years old); and $152,000 to the Facilities Department to replace the public aaddress (PA) system at Burbank Elementary School.
The bulk of the conversation, however, centered around money earmarked for road and sidewalk work. Approved Wednesday night was roughly $2 million for road paving projects and $525,065 for sidewalks.
“Not every sidewalk is a cookie-cutter sidewalk,” said Public Works Director Jay Marcotte. “Tree work is a lot of work. That cost … is part of our sidewalk repair budget. I can think of one on Walnut Street, the bump has got to be 3 feet high. That takes a lot of time to prep. … We do the best we can, some things take more time than others, and that cost is put into whatever that section will cost.”
Town Meeting members had questions about the status of individual roads or sidewalks, and the process behind prioritizing the order in which projects are completed. Marcotte explained that in some cases, such as Brighton Street, it’s a matter of coordinating with other relevant projects, such as water main repairs.
Town Meeting member Mark Paolillo commented that at the current level of funding, it seems almost impossible to complete all the necessary sidewalk and road repairs.
“One of the biggest things is concrete is like three times more expensive than asphalt,” Marcotte told Town Meeting members. “If we didn’t have concrete sidewalks all over town and convert it to asphalt, we’d be able to stretch that dollar a lot farther.”
According to Marcotte, 80% of Belmont sidewalks are concrete, and 20% are asphalt, compared to the town’s neighbor, Lexington, which has the opposite mix.
Other business completed Wednesday night included authorization to transfer $1.3 million from the Free Cash to the Capital Stabilization Fund to pay for replacement of the Chenery roof, which the town expects to replace in the summer of 2027. This project would be the third and final major maintenance project planned at the Chenery school.
Recognition for Ralph Jones
Town Meeting began Wednesday night with a recognition of longtime Town Meeting member Ralph Jones.
Select Board Vice Chair Taylor Yates read a proclamation in honor of Jones’ 27 years of service.
Following Yates’ reading of the proclamation, Jones said his decades of service to the town would not have been possible without the support of his fellow Town Meeting members over the years.
“This is a nonpartisan Town Meeting,” he said. “That means you may disagree with somebody over a particular warrant article … but the longer you serve in Town Meeting, the more you know and understand that disagreements are not permanent and you understand another important fact: all members, regardless of what their policy views, are giving their time and effort for the same reason—a commitment to what is best for the town and the inhabitants of Belmont. … I salute you all.”
Beagle Award
Precinct 7 member Michael McNamara 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 Monday, June 8.
