Belmont Select Board Punts on Rink Name, Orders Police Chief Search

BELMONT -- August 11, 2025, Belmont's Select Board deferred a decision on naming the town's new ice rink and launched a search for a new police chief at its August 11 meeting. Three residents urged the board during public comment to honor the July 23 special town meeting vote, roughly 55 percent in favor, to name the rink after the late Skip Figueroa; one resident, Wendy Murphy, read from a draft lawsuit she said she would file if the board disregards the vote, alleging ultra vires action and separation-of-powers violations. Member Elizabeth Dionne countered that the board's own naming policy requires a one-year waiting period following an individual's death and that no process has been run to consider other names, including those of women, noting only two town assets currently bear a woman's name. Chair Matt Taylor floated a possible hybrid, naming the ice-sheet portion for Figueroa while giving the broader multi-sport complex a community-oriented name to preserve future sponsorship potential, citing a Gloucester precedent where a company paid $500,000 over 10 years for co-naming rights on a school stadium. The board placed the rink name back on the agenda for August 25, the same date Police Chief Jamie McIsaac retires after 26 years with the department; Assistant Chief Mark Curley is expected to be nominated as interim chief at that meeting. The board voted unanimously to approve an $800,000 no-interest MWRA water loan and to accept a $35,000 donation from the Friends of the Council on Aging.