Mary Byrne
Beginning Monday, Town Meeting members will consider 24 articles, ranging from standard annual articles or other housekeeping items to financial and zoning articles.
The annual meeting will begin April 29 in the Belmont High School auditorium. Sign-in for Town Meeting members starts at around 6:15 p.m.
“It should be a relatively smooth Town Meeting,” said Town Administrator Patrice Garvin.
Of the 24 articles, 10 are expected to be included in Segment A, scheduled for April 29, May 1, May 6, and May 8. The remainder will be part of Segment B, scheduled for May 29, June 3, June 5, and June 10.
According to Garvin, segment A articles are traditionally zoning or non-financial, while Segment B articles typically focus on financial matters.
In a message to Town Meeting members, Moderator Michael Widmer said Segment A should likely be completed within two nights, while Segment B will probably need as many as four nights.
The articles include three Planning Board articles related to zoning. In particular, Town Meeting members will be asked to consider an amendment to the restaurant parking bylaw. The amendment would replace language that states restaurants are required to have one parking space per two-person seating capacity with one parking space per four-person seating capacity. The amendment further defines spaces that may be credited toward this count.
According to the warrant, this article is a result of new restaurant requirements passed in fall 2023. A two-thirds majority vote is required.
Article 16, which also requires a two-thirds vote for passage, seeks to establish an override mitigation general stabilization fund following the April 2 passage of the $8.4 million Proposition 2 ½ override. According to Assistant Town Administrator/Finance Director Jennifer Hewitt, any withdrawal from this stabilization fund would also require a two-thirds vote at Town Meeting.
“It differentiates between the general stabilization funding that would be used in the event of a cataclysmic event … versus the ones we’re anticipating using because we’re planning ahead for fiscal purposes,” she explained at a recent meeting. “If you combine the two, it could be very easy to have the override mitigating bleed in, and it just makes it a lot cleaner and clearer.”
Article 20, meanwhile, seeks to approve a five-year lease for up to 49 Tasers for the Police Department. State law requires a Town Meeting vote on any contract over three years.
The department has 10 Tasers, purchased using grant money. Police Chief James MacIsaac requested the additional Tasers.
“The goal is to move it into their operating budget,” Garvin said.
Article 22 seeks Town Meeting approval to appropriate “a sum of money” from the undesignated fund balance and tax levy to replace the boilers at Chenery Upper Elementary School. This article was separated from other capital articles with the expectation there would be more discussion on this topic.
“They’re at end-of-life,” Garvin said. “When you get to the end of life on something like that, you’re kind of playing Russian Roulette; we want to be more proactive.”
The Comprehensive Capital Budget Committee still needs to approve it, but the request is likely to be between $1.5 and $1.6 million.
Garvin added that the MBTA Communities Act — a state law requiring communities served by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority to update their zoning to increase housing capacity — will be an article for consideration at the fall Town Meeting.
“I really hope for residents to start watching Planning Board meetings so they’re up to date and up to speed on that,” she said.
The complete warrant is available at belmont-ma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif12826/f/uploads/2024-04-29_atm_warrant_true_copy.pdf
