Town Meeting 2013 - Session 2 Recap

The second night of Belmont's 2013 Annual Town Meeting was consumed by a single article, #26, approving projects funded by the Community Preservation Act. This is the first time Belmont TM has had to make such decisions, so there was a bit of feeling our way around. Moderator Mike Widmer acknowledged that, indicating we would need a bit of patience.

I thought having Treasurer Floyd Carmen and former Selectman Paul Solomon leading the presentations and discussion worked quite well. They come from opposite ends of the political spectrum and showed a diverse group can get things done. (US Congress should tune in.) In some ways, I would have liked to have heard more about the CPA committee's sharper discussions, if only to show that although they surely bruised each other, they did indeed come out doing good for the team. All projects passed TM, which is not surprising. They were thoroughly vetted by the committee.

Sprinkled throughout were comments about the philosphy of the CPA. Is it just a way to fund projects that the regular budgets (operating or capital) could not cover? Partly. Is it a way for those in charge of "regular" funding to shirk their responsibility, pushing some items off to CPA? Perhaps. (I do feel that is true when it comes to the Foundation for Belmont Education. I've heard a Warrant Committe member say "oh, the Foundation can pick that up.") With funds short the past decade, I think many people view the CPA as a means for enhancing the quality of life in town, trying to reach out of our race to do the absolute minumum. Some have told me one aspect they like is that CPA funds are out of the grasp of the Selectmen and Warrant Committee.

The Projects

The $100k for Joey's Park passed with zero discussion and was unanimous. I was a bit surprised, given how much the duscussion of funds for the Butler playground dragged on. And on. But the Joey's Park drivers are super organized, have lots of support from across the board, and have raised a lot so far from big and small donors. They have a lot of skin in the game, and everyone knows and respects that.

The discussion about the path around Clay Pit Pond was the longest among the nine projects, at 32 minutes. (Surely that was partly because it was one of the first discussed.) I've always been a little put off by the pond, perhaps because the reputations for how gross the water is. The presenter, Mary Tredeau, kept calling it a "park". I was already planning to vote yes, but thinking of it more of a park than just a pond to run or drive around, got me more excited about the project.

Should CPA funds ($147k) be spent on something as as close to maintenance as replacing the electrical service to some of our subsidized housing stock? Some valid points were made about how this should be the state's responsibility, and we should be striving to create more affordable housing. About the CPA project, my TM colleague Andrea M said, "If this isn't affordable housing, I don't know what is." That summed it up for many of us - CPA funds for keeping these 60+ year old units livable is perfectly reasonable.

It's maddening that the Town Hall front doors were not done in the multi-million dollar (and court-ordered) rehab a while back. (Quite a few aspects of that project were maddening, but I'll save that for another time...) I was surprised at the pictures of the gaping holes betwen doors. Isn't it Buildings Manager Kevin Looney's job to maintain stuff like that, even if a cheap fix, just to save on heating costs?

Don't forget the pool. BOS Chair Mark Paolillo did a good job outlining the various aspects and the board's concerns. There really are no easy choices for how to assemble the various projects (pool, library, police), with our lack of space anywhere in town.

I didn't know we had a "shanty town" in Rock Meadow until the discussion about the replacement of the watering system for the Victory Gardens. Donald Mercier (who did not have anything good to say about any of the projects) pressed that we should not be subsidizing people's "hobbies". Of couse that could be claimed against any recreational activity involving the Town.

Observations

As with discussions at any Town Meeting, if presenters anticipated the questions of the chief TM complainers, it would have saved everyone some time. Joe White's inane questions grew tiresome. Presenters rattling off rejected solutions (eg, drilling a well was not cost-effective for the gardens) would have saved several round trips of Q & A from several in the room.

I was wondering, if residents are allowed to grow their own marajuana for medicinal purposes, can they grow it in the Victory Garden, using the CPA funded watering system? Just sayin'.

One comment Mr Carmen made that needs repeating: "Belmont is not real good at doing planning." In so many cases in my nearly 20 years in Belmont, I've found this to be true.