Belmont Warrant Committee Backs Community Path Easements 12-0, Splits on Parking District

BELMONT — October 15, 2025 — Belmont Warrant Committee recommends community path easements 12-0-3 and backs most special town meeting articles at October 15 session. The 15-member body voted 12-0 with three abstentions to recommend favorable action on acquiring easements from private property owners and the MBTA for Phase One of the community path, and 15-0 on a companion article authorizing use of town and school lands for the same project — moves that officials said are necessary to secure roughly $31 million in federal and state construction funding. Chair Paul Richter and members spent the first 30 minutes debating whether the committee's mandate is strictly fiscal or more holistic, a question left unresolved, before turning to articles. The committee voted unanimously to appropriate $255,000 in Chapter 70 state funds for an elementary literacy curriculum, $157,000 for building and permitting software, and $300,000 in FY26 investment income to the override mitigation stabilization fund. The most contested vote was a parking benefit district article, which passed 8-6 with one abstention after Member Suzanne Croy said she saw even $30,000 redirected from the general fund as "part of a teacher, part of a policeman, part of the DPW or half a bus," and Member Tom Guido said he was voting yes only on the assumption the Select Board would commit to holding the general fund harmless. The committee also voted 14-1 to recommend the local option hotel tax, with Member Jack Weiss casting the lone no vote on principle, saying the town should not accept revenue from short-term rentals operating without required special permits.