March/April 2019 Belmont Citizens Forum Newsletter & PDF

 Arts & Culture, BCF Events, Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, Board of Selectmen, Environment, Historic Preservation, March/April 2019, Newsletter, Solar Power, Stormwater  Comments Off on March/April 2019 Belmont Citizens Forum Newsletter & PDF
Mar 052019
 

View or download the March/April 2019 issue as a color PDF here, or read single articles below.   Articles in this issue: Selectman Candidates Answer BCF Questions Belmont Annual Town Election to be Held Tuesday, April 2 Compiled by Mary Bradley  Each year the Belmont Citizens Forum asks candidates for selectman about issues the town will likely face in the next three years. Below are candidates Jessie Bennett, Roy Epstein, and Timothy Flood’s unedited replies to our questions about traffic, the environment, development, and other topics. Read more.   Eight Projects Recommended for Community Preservation Funds By David Kane, Stephen [READ MORE]

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Selectman Candidates Answer BCF Questions

 Air Quality, Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, Board of Selectmen, Construction and Housing, Environment, Historic Preservation, March/April 2019, Newsletter, Open Space, Solar Power, Stormwater, Town Committee Meetings, Traffic, Water Quality  Comments Off on Selectman Candidates Answer BCF Questions
Mar 052019
 
Selectman Candidates Answer BCF Questions

Belmont Annual Town Election to be Held Tuesday, April 2 Compiled by Mary Bradley Each year the Belmont Citizens Forum asks candidates for selectman about issues the town will likely face in the next three years. Below are candidates Jessie Bennett, Roy Epstein, and Timothy Flood’s unedited replies to our questions about traffic, the environment, development, and other topics. Each candidate was limited to 800 words total.     1. In response to McLean’s proposal to rezone parts of its former campus for housing, school, and R&D use, what would you recommend? Bennett: McLean’s proposed zoning changes do not meet [READ MORE]

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Eight Projects Recommended for Community Preservation Funds

 Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, Environment, Historic Preservation, March/April 2019, Newsletter, Open Space  Comments Off on Eight Projects Recommended for Community Preservation Funds
Mar 052019
 
Eight Projects Recommended for Community Preservation Funds

By David Kane, Stephen Pinkerton, and Margaret Velie The Community Preservation Act (CPA) is a state law that helps towns keep their character and quality of life by providing funds to preserve open space and historic sites, create affordable housing, and develop outdoor recreational facilities (see Table 1). Belmont adopted the CPA in 2010. Community preservation money is raised locally through a 1.5 percent surcharge (3 percent is the maximum) on property taxes, which is then partially matched by the state. In the last few years, Belmont has generated about $1.1 million per year locally and has received about $200,000 [READ MORE]

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Strategic Direction Needed for CPA Guidance

 Board of Selectmen, March/April 2019, Newsletter, Town Committee Meetings  Comments Off on Strategic Direction Needed for CPA Guidance
Mar 052019
 
Strategic Direction Needed for CPA Guidance

By Roger Colton Some Town Meeting members have expressed concern regarding the overall approach taken to CPA planning in Belmont. Vincent Stanton (Town Meeting member, Precinct 3), for example, believes that CPA decision-making should be more “strategic” in nature. Stanton observes that Town Meeting is never presented with “the big picture” for how CPA funds are being used. He cites funding for various projects around Clay Pit Pond as one example. Town Meeting has been presented with three separate projects, he notes, involving the intergenerational path, the veterans’ memorial, and, this year, the removal of invasive plants. “They all deal with maintaining [READ MORE]

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Inside Wheelworks with Peter Mooney

 Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, March/April 2019, Newsletter  Comments Off on Inside Wheelworks with Peter Mooney
Mar 052019
 
Inside Wheelworks with Peter Mooney

Bicycles and Bicycling in Belmont Interview and photos by Sumner Brown Peter Mooney is one of three owners of Wheel-works, the bicycle store in Waverley Square. He is also the store manager and a frame builder. Peter bikes to work and was a racer in his youth. We started our interview by walking out of the meticulously clean showroom, past hundreds of shiny new bicycles, clothing, parts, and accessories, back to where Peter has his shop. Once we got to the shop, Peter started talking. Peter: I have never met a bicycle I do not like. To me, it doesn’t [READ MORE]

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Letter to the Editor

 Environment, March/April 2019, Newsletter  Comments Off on Letter to the Editor
Mar 052019
 

We are always glad to hear readers’ opinions and grateful for corrections or clarifications on any topics we cover. Thanks to one astute reader for this letter regarding the January/February 2019 article, “Frozen Water in Belmont: Stories of Imagination and Unexpected Consequences” by Anne-Marie Lambert. To the Editor, Concerning the box on the bottom of page 17 on the molecular structure of water: The statement, “The coldest and densest water in a pond is still at the bottom, but then floats to the surface as the hexagon ice crystals form” is incorrect. Water has its maximum density at 4°C (just [READ MORE]

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Lone Tree Hill Volunteer Day—April 27

 BCF Events, Environment, Lone Tree Hill, March/April 2019, Newsletter, Open Space  Comments Off on Lone Tree Hill Volunteer Day—April 27
Mar 052019
 
Lone Tree Hill Volunteer Day—April 27

Join us in stewarding Lone Tree Hill! The Belmont Citizens Forum, in conjunction with the Judy Record Conservation Fund, is holding its seventh annual cleanup and trail maintenance day on April 27, from 9 AM until noon. Help complete the planting of trees along the Pine Allee, as well as cleaning up and removing invasive species at the Coal Road area. Students can earn community service credits. Bounded by Concord Avenue, Pleasant Street, and Mill Street, Lone Tree Hill spans 119 acres of permanently protected conservation land and is available to everyone. It is stewarded through a public/private partnership by [READ MORE]

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Belmont Roots, March/April 2019

 Environment, March/April 2019, Newsletter, Solar Power  Comments Off on Belmont Roots, March/April 2019
Mar 052019
 
Belmont Roots, March/April 2019

Environmental News, Notes, and Events By Meg Muckenhoupt In the winter, the outside world fades to an annoyance if you’re lucky enough to have a warm house and an indoor job. Going from home to car to work to gym to groceries to home only involves the briefest intervals of exposure to the frigid air, the weak, thin light, the silent woods, the frozen ground . . . or so you think. That frigid air is actually trying to get into your house, and it often succeeds. Now is the time to check for air leaks, before the weather warms. [READ MORE]

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