Town Meeting members authorized roughly $1.3 million in free cash to cover easement costs for the community path, but it will no longer be needed because other money already allocated for the project is expected to suffice.
According to Chief Financial Officer Geoffrey Lubien, the $1.3 million in free cash authorized by Town Meeting for the easements was based on a conservative estimate the appraiser provided to the town.
“As Town Meeting was aware, other [Community Preservation Act] and grant funds had also been allocated to cover the legal costs associated with the easements, as well as the easement payments themselves,” Lubien said in an email to The Voice. “Once the final appraisal figures were received, the Town determined that, by combining these existing funding sources, it could make the easement payments without using the $1.3 million in free cash.”
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Lubien said appraisals may be appealed for up to three years, meaning the town could need to seek additional funding later.
The savings with the current appraisal figures, however, allow the town to return the $1.3 million to the general fund.
“This approach allows the town to preserve its limited financial resources while retaining the ability to address potential future costs,” Lubien said.
The community path project has been considered for more than 20 years. 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.
In August, the project reached a “milestone” with five separate votes from the Select Board.
The five matters, which culminated in the acquisition rights for Belmont to proceed with the path, included the final MBTA lease for Phase I (a 99-year lease); permanent and temporary easements on private property; the donation of land from the Belmont Citizens Forum; a license to use Department of Conservation and Recreation Property; and votes for use of town land.
At the time, Select Board member Matt Taylor explained appraisals were completed in early July, followed by compensation letters sent to property owners on July 9. He noted that Belmont did not choose compensation amounts; they were determined by an independent appraisal firm, which was then peer-reviewed — both firms were hired by the town and their services were paid for using part of a $475,000 MassTrails grant awarded last year.
