Belmont Select Board Backs $600,000 Overlay Plan and Rink Solar Deal

BELMONT — May 12, 2025 — Belmont Select Board unanimously backed $600,000 in one-time overlay funds and signaled support for a $500,000 Belmont Hill School solar donation at its May 12 pre-town-meeting session. The board recommended favorable action on a $225,000 athletic field maintenance plan covering roughly 23 acres, $100,000 toward open space deed restrictions including Rock Meadow, and $275,000 to the capital stabilization fund, all drawn from a reserve the Board of Assessors conservatively released. Town Administrator Patrice Garvin described a memorandum of understanding under which Belmont Hill School would donate $500,000 in two installments toward rooftop solar on the new all-electric ice rink, receiving in return a 20-year guarantee of 90 minutes of ice time three days a week at market rate — a deal Garvin said is essential to keep the rink's operating budget viable. Belmont Day School is donating an additional $200,000 for data access, and Belmont Light is contributing $250,000 with green energy credits flowing back to the utility. Six educators addressed the board during public comment, citing chorus classes of up to 78 students, IEP caseloads being cut from five special educators to two, and Algebra 1 class sizes projected to reach 26 students next year.