Belmont Select Board Approves Renewable Energy Deal, Advances 17-Article Fall Warrant

BELMONT -- August 25, 2025, Belmont Select Board approves solar funding deal, advances fall Special Town Meeting warrant with 17 potential articles. The board voted unanimously Monday to approve a voluntary funding agreement between the town and the Belmont Municipal Light Department tied to solar installation at the Belmont Sports Complex, while holding a companion Renewable Energy Certificate purchase-and-sale agreement pending consultation with the library and refinement of pricing language; Belmont Light General Manager Kevin Bluth explained the deal would allow the town to sell RECs directly to the utility at a 75-cent-per-certificate discount rather than paying a broker's fee of roughly $3 per certificate. Town Administrator Matt Cummings walked the board through a draft 17-article fall Special Town Meeting warrant covering bylaw cleanup, Community Path Phase 1 easements and a 99-year MBTA lease, the Belmont Center Overlay zoning amendment, appropriation of excess Chapter 70 funds, and a re-vote on the Carlton Circle public way adoption missed during the pandemic. Library Board of Trustees Chair Kathy Cohen pressed the case for a new facility rental revolving fund, but board members declined to add the article to the warrant until shared services governance questions are resolved. A fiscal impact analysis cited during a board presentation on the Belmont Center Overlay projects a net $3.3 million annually for the town budget at full build-out, compared to the $8.6 million override voters approved in 2024.