Another year has passed and Board of Selectmen activities have continued at a brisk pace. At the annual town election in April, Dr. Paul Solomon was elected as Selectman. He replaces William P. Monahan who admirably served the Town of Belmont for 24 years and was recognized by the Town Meeting in April for his significant contributions to the Town. William Brownsberger was elected as Chair and Anne Marie S. Mahoney was elected as Vice-Chair.
Faced with the need for additional revenue to support Town and school services, the voters of the Town of Belmont showed their support in June by passing a property tax override of $2.4 million. In addition, the voters approved a debt exclusion to fund renovations to the Town Hall Complex, which is court mandated for the Town to be in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. In other financial news, the Town successfully retained its AAA bond rating. As a result, the Town was able to borrow $14.2M for its large-scale capital projects at an interest rate of only 3.91%
For the first time, in Belmont’s history, a resident was elected Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. On November 5, 2002, Mitt Romney became the 68th Governor of Massachusetts. After serving as Chairman of the 2002 Olympic Committee, the Mr. and Mrs. Romney returned to Belmont in March and were warmly greeted by residents.
New faces have arrived at Town Hall due to the retirement of some long time department managers. Devoted Town Treasurer, Ernie Fay retired in March and was replaced in the April election by Susan Freiner. Our Town Accountant, Stephen Szabo, retired in February and was replaced by Barbara Hagg.
A September 11th memorial remembrance ceremony was held on the grounds of the Town Hall complex to mark the one-year anniversary of terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. This solemn occasion was attended by hundreds of residents. The Town, in conjunction with local businesses, purchased US Flag banners to display on light poles in the Town’s three business centers, Belmont Center and Waverley and Cushing Squares.
Town recreation fields have always been important to the residents of Belmont. After residents voted an appropriation for a new track and field complex on Concord Avenue, work commenced and was completed in the fall of 2002 under the watchful eye of High School Athletic Facilities Building Committee Chair, Bill Webster (see "Town Report" cover). All residents may now enjoy athletic events held at the field, as well as exercise on the new track.
The Town has been increasingly responsive to its citizen's requests for more information. This has been accomplished through an enhanced website (www.town.belmont.ma.us), as well as publication of the Town’s first quarterly newsletter, which was mailed in the December electric light bills. Both methods of communication inform residents about issues that they once may not have known about. The website, in particular, brings Town Hall information into the homes of on-line residents and allows users to look up a variety of information that previously would
have required a trip to Town Hall.
Following a resounding "yes" vote by Town Meeting Members to renovate the Town Hall Complex, progress goes forth with the planning for renovations. Several departments have been temporarily relocated while work is commencing. Other building projects, such as the consolidation and relocation of the Town’s fire stations and the construction of a senior center at the Kendall site topped the Selectmen’s agenda for future large-scale capital projects. The Board of Selectmen hopes to receive funding for these projects in 2003.
The Board of Selectmen formed several new temporary committees during the year in response to a variety of police issues that were raised. Dogs were in the spotlight for a while as residents sought relief from excessive barking dog noise. The Kennel and Dog Noise Regulation Committee was formed to develop draft by-laws, regulations, and/or legislation for the regulation of dog kennel operations and dog noise. The committee was charged with developing draft by-laws to regulate kennel operations and excessive dog noise for Town Meeting approval in 2003. The Sewer and Stormwater Drainage Committee was established in response to the increasingly severe problem of flooding and sewer back-ups in the Town. This temporary committee will assess the adequacy and condition of the Town's sewage and drainage and
infrastructure. In addition, the Board of Selectmen established two working groups of the Belmont Vision 21 Committee. The first group will examine business planning and economic development. The second group will study public information and communications. The Board also formed the Belmont Center Parking Study Committee to develop a proposal to increase parking in Belmont Center in response to the Board’s decision to build a fire sub-station on the Alexander Street municipal parking lot.
Pleasant Street, state highway Route 60, has long been a denizen of potholes and sketchy sidewalk areas. The Town successfully reinstated state funding for the reconstruction of this roadway, after staunchly protesting the Boston Metropolitan Planning Organization’s sudden elimination of this project from its 2003 project list. Work on this project will begin in 2003.
The Board of Selectmen has continued to address a variety of issues that have a Town-wide impact. McLean Hospital construction plans continue and a legal decision was reached upholding the Town’s rezoning of the McLean property. On the eastern edge of town, the Belmont Uplands generated much interest from the Town as the owners of the property, O’Neill Properties, sought a rezoning of the property to allow commercial office use on the land. After significant negotiations between O’Neill and the Selectmen, the Town Meeting reviewed and approved the rezoning of the property and a memorandum of agreement between the Town and O’Neill Properties.
Other issues of discussion, which directly affect Belmont citizens, have included a discussion of the potential for the Town to develop a solid waste Pay-As-You-Throw program after the expiration of the current NESWC contract in FY 2005. In addition, the services offered by Belmont's Cable TV provider, AT&T Broadband (now "Comcast, Inc.") have been under continued scrutiny by the Town as the Board initially denied the request by AT&T Broadband to transfer the license to the newly merged company of AT&T Broadband/Comcast (Comcast, Inc.). The Town did reach a settlement with Comcast, with Comcast’s commitment to upgrade the Town’s cable infrastructure to allow for digital cable and broadband services by the end of 2003.
The Selectmen extend their heartfelt thanks Lydia Phippen Ogilby and her family for unselfishly placing a farming preservation restriction on nine acres of her property. The property, known as "Richardson Farm" has been an agricultural use since 1612. Congratulations to the Ogilby family for having the foresight to preserve the last remaining farm in the town in perpetuity. Finally, congratulations to the New England Patriots for giving the citizens of New England a Super Bowl winning team in 2002!
Board of Selectmen
Town of Belmont
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