BCF Newsletter 20th Anniversary Issue
By Anne Paulsen
Many Belmont citizens worked very hard in the 1990s to save as much McLean land as possible from development. The McLean Open Space Alliance led by Judy Record, and after her untimely death, by Martin Duffy, Martha Moore, and Fred Paulsen, worked for several years to forge an agreement with McLean to deed 72 acres to the town for public use. Lone Tree Hill and the surrounding private open space are a testimony to that effort, and the Judy Record Fund has made valuable contributions to the upkeep of that property.
But another valuable addition to the town’s resources resulted from that effort to save open space: the Belmont Citizens Forum. Sue Bass, a vigorous supporter of the open space effort, initiated the effort surrounded by a small group of like-minded citizens. Realizing the need to educate people fully about their local environment, both natural and built, the founders have provided us with a treasure of information otherwise quite hidden from popular view.
Think of the important issues fully explored and researched by the editors and writers—the community path, other transportation concerns, the state of our brooks and streams, energy efficiency, stormwater issues among many others.
Each issue rewards the reader with insights into topics that affect life in Belmont today and into the future. Nowhere else is this information readily available, and the Belmont Citizens Forum Newsletter is the most important publication available to Belmont residents.
The Belmont Citizen Forum was founded after a sometimes bitter battle over zoning and the future of open space in our fully developed community. We owe a debt of gratitude to the founders and those continuing the effort to help us understand the importance of environmental concerns going forward.
Anne Paulsen at the reopening of the Underwood Pool / Photo by Town of Belmont & Jean Boyle
Anne Paulsen is a long-time resident of Belmont and served on the School Committee, the Board of Selectmen, and as the representative from the 24th Middlesex District in the Massachusetts House of Representatives.
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