allegiance on the seating there are signs on the back left for non non town meeting members so anybody in front of those signs on my left should be a town meeting laws section thirty dash one one zero a of the general bylaws of the town of belmont furthermore i do hereby certify that i gave notice of the special town meeting of august sixth two thousand and fifteen by causing a copy of the warrant be sent to all the town meeting members at least fourteen days before the date of this meeting and by causing copies of the warrant to be made available at the public library the town cork's office all in accordance with the thirty dash one one zero b of the general bylaws of the town  everybody thinking about this meeting and got reflecting on stepping back and about where how we should think about this town meeting i've been about being here tonight i'm a cut the lessons of everything and i've been involved in a number of things come to mind one is compromise not always good to compromise necessarily in public policy process but i think that's the reality of how our founding fathers thought about our democracy and while we haven't been able to compromise or this meeting tonight and i just want to touch it which is fine and i'm not putting any responsibility on anybody for that that vastly neutral on this issue i just want to keep that in mind that compromise is a good thing and that's how i'm done chile a building block of american democracy the other thing i want to mention is a democracy is not neat and we see that and i our founders that up a system in which there would be understood that there would be clashes that was the nature of the human species and organization and issue then is how do you organize that in a way that is productive for a country or our state or our town interest those are whether those are advocacy groups of one sort or another or whether it's the structure of government but of course of the federal level natural that there would be over time depending on issues and we've seen this over the years here but tension between now and meeting and the board of selectmen now i think when this tension develops and issues develop and differences develop and they're hard belt we somehow think well then the other side is wrong and it's a natural thing i think and i guess what i'm suggesting is differences are imbedded in the american ocracy and that's a good thing and our town meeting to discuss tonight in addition to specifics of belmont a reconstruction but really behind it all is what's the role of meeting in this case relation to the decision the board of selectmen there's no right answer that people have different answers but that weston is a very important question it is totally appropriate for us to be discussing it's no different from the jocking that takes place between congress president that was president and it was in congress or the governor and the legislature the senate and the house what i want to emphasize tonight is that regardless of our position on any individual on this issue that we recognize and respect that we have honest differences of opinion and that we honor those differences and understand that we are in a debate that i encourage you to be healthy positive obviously there's nature of criticism in taking a position on an issue but it can be stated positively or it can be stated very negatively and i urge you and us in the spirit of american democracy in action that we take a positive approach to our debate tonight is that the town meeting that approved the construction of town of the belmont center project was a funding article was it not but the more mr gibbs and in what we're going to do is get into the discussion later let me go through the sequence and i will recognize you at the proper time i think no i think i will do that thank you let me describe now it's going to take i mean we're going to go through the amendments and so forth as i'll describe so you may want to return to you raised and i say that no other action can be taken is tell us and again i rule rests i've ruled on your point of order it's out of order and so please take your seat well once again i think you've made a serious mistake thank you specifically i have spent many many hours with the help of a lot of people and a lot of conflicting advice i might add the best way to organize the meeting tonight as it exists currently should not be accepted that they're outside the scope of the motion i thought about that i talked to some people and i think that would be beyond my  authority and fairness to rule that they are beyond the scope so because they apply to the direct blame area of the reconstruction if they were talking about the mother aspect than they would be beyond the scope so i have ruled that they are the gentleman for our consideration others of a jet suggested that we limit the debate simply for the merits of the competing design and not the process itself well i don't as my remarks already suggest i don't think that would be fair since the role of town meeting and specifically the vote of town meeting in its meaning  last november is central to the motion made by the petitioner however at the same time i will not allow discussion of the details of board of selectmen as meetings that fall owed in june and july because i think that is beyond the scope of the article and the motion and all of this is of course a grey area and a balancing act and i'll do my best to be fair let me describe the sequencing and night we will begin with a presentation by the petitioner of fifteen minutes i will then turn to the chair of the board of selectmen baghdadi for a response the petitioners as they will describe have a very simple amendment a one word change that will be presented formally after mr baghdad few minutes while allowing that discussion and the terminations we will then consider the amendment from event any and she will have up to five minutes to present her amendment with brief responses if they care to respond from the board and the petitioners then mr mercier's amendment similarly five minutes be choosers and then discuss explain his decision it was draw the amendment at that point we've gone through that we will then discussions discuss the main motion as amended or not during the discussion of the amendments or i will limit the discussion to the case of the one word change to that one word change in the case of the event tenney's amendment and don to the the fact that they are suggesting that plan zero if you will replace plan they will restrict discussion to the merits of those two proposals and not the process at that point when we get to the whole discussion as of the main motion as amended that is the appropriate time to discuss both the reality or not the reality but the proposal of  proposal to go to plan a versus buy and b and as part of that of course the process by which time meeting reached that decision but that's the sequencing lastly remind you the rules in particular three of them one is that beaking is limited to from the floor to five minutes secondly  essentially one question and one follow  what i want to avoid and i'll do my best halt and he if this takes place any act personal accusations attacks a man's to have answers from one individual or another this is not an interrogation not a court of law  town meeting and so any anything that suggests that we've gotten away from a positive discourse understanding that are criticisms imbedded in even a positive discourse moving from that into the personal or attacks are absolutely beyond what's appropriate tonight eight moved that in place of the revised belmont center improvements conceptual plan adopted by the board of selectmen at its hearing on may twenty eighth two thousand and fifteen the board of selectmen and other town officials he directed to adhere to the plan represented in the belmont center improvements design documents but out to bid by the town in january and february of two thousand and fifteen and awarded on april twenty first two thousand and fifteen said documents based on the working drawings presented in the november seventeenth two thousand and fourteen special town meeting that included the replacement of the cut the road in front of belmont savings bank with a town on his me let me get a the board of so the board of selectmen recommends unfavorable action by a vote of two with one abstaining mr roberts  i can i am in charge of the meeting mr cresent can be seated mr robert thank you mr moderator ladies and gentlemen of town meeting thank you for coming here this evening and thank you for taking your time taking time out of what i hope is an enjoyable summer but weigh in on an important and consequential matter for our town of homes our charge tonight is quite simple we are gathered here to make clear the wishes of town meeting regarding an important public works project that is ongoing in town the belmont center reconstruction project pacifically we're here in an effort to clarify this body's intention when on november seventeenth two thousand and fourteen we voted to allocate two point seven five million dollars to fund the construction of a specific plan and vision for the town center plan a which includes an expanded town green in front of the belmont savings bank created by removing the current tonight we respectfully urge the board to heed the wishes of this body and of seven hundred belmont residents and voters who have signed petitions in support of plan a more than sixty of them town meeting members signatures by more than two hundred eighty residents supporting planned a convene this very meeting in recent weeks i and more than a dozen of my fellow man fellow belmont tony and many of them town meeting members have labored and lobbied both publicly and in private to restore plan a as a vision for now and for the town center this meeting represents the end of that effort and unfortunately a last resort the special town meeting is the last remaining option available to voters to make sure that a conversation that desperately needs to take place  i can say with confidence that nobody in this room wishes to rewrite the laws by which this town has long operated nobody in this room is here to score political points at that point and in the spirit of cooperation we will be offering a simple one word amendment to our motion this evening but changes the word erected in the above motion to the word urged that the amended motion would read the board of selectmen and other town officials be adhere to the planet represented in the belmont center improvements design documents and so on and so forth like we like you we respect and appreciate our selectmen and other elected leaders they're professionals like you we recognize that they devote hours of their lives each week with difficult job that offers scant compensation we thank them for their work and their sacrifice but we also resolutely want what is best for belmont and what is best for belmont and belmont belmont with that i would like to invite mister belmont mother and resident from precinct eight to the podium please well join me in welcoming her while i am not a town meeting member but i am a citizen and homeowner with two young children i have got involved in this issue because i feel passionate about the need for a vibrant space in our town center like many families we move to due to the great community and schools the move to this town with the desire to raise our children here and make it our home we walk regularly to  visiting the various stores and restaurants one thing the center lacks however is a functional public space we never sit on the current space not because of its size but because it is an island surrounded by traffic it is surrounded by roads on all sides thus offering no sense of protection from traffic when plan a was approved by town meeting i and many other parents were excited about the addition of a vibrant public green space in the town center that provides protection from traffic with the elimination of the cut through road we were all dismayed when the plan was then changed to plan b with the reintroduction of the cut through a road which reverts back to a green space that no one will use jan gehl an urban design professor an international consultant said people are not out in public spaces because they have to but because they love to this place is not appealing they can go elsewhere that means the quality of public spaces has become very important there is not a single example of a city that rebuilt its public places with quality that has not seen a renaissance in addition he states that the number one step to a great public space is protection from traffic and belmont center you can already see evidence of people's desire for public spaces protected from traffic when you see over a dozen people of all ages sitting on the benches and for a rank of tory's an aside i enjoy cold drinks and ice cream but they do not sit in the current green space because of the cut through even though it's just right across the street and plan the removal of the cut through road provides that sense of protection and not only does it take away that protection it actually also takes away the flattest and the safest part of the green space that is the furthest point away from active traffic it actually takes away the most usable and valuable part of the green space the area where people would most likely gather can you imagine with me a place where belmont locals and visitors spontaneously gather together in belmont center on any given day many will likely have ice cream maybe a grandfather sharing a treat from  with his grandson a family sits and enjoys fresh pizza veterans of thirty years play chess the younger players observe a group of friends rest from shopping before walking to dinner commuters take a break their iced coffee and local newspaper a mom and her children wait for their friends before they go to the belmont toy store in champions laughter and friendly chatter can be heard on any given day and the belmont center greenspace this is my dream for this town center this can be a reality with plan a so what is the difference between plan a and plan b plan a can become a vibrant and vital part of the community where people can spontaneously gather providing energy into the economy and unity in the community plan b will be a dead space a continuation of what it is now i choose plan a and i hope you will too thank you good evening mr moderator and town meeting members for many years going back to the time that i was a select there has been discussion about how to make our town more business friendly and plan a really represents a culmination of those years of discussion since we are a town that supports small businesses and local business owners it is important that i ask each streetscape be inviting to shoppers who live in belmont and other towns and want to shop in a pleasant and vironment people like to come to belmont center to shop because it is compact there are studies that walk boston has available to anyone that wants them that show the communities that are walkable and inviting have a more vigorous business and vironment than those that simply encourage the traffic move through quickly plan a which is before you this evening is the plan that meets those standards it has been worked on by the traffic advisory committee with input from a traffic engineering consultant for several dius and has had scrutiny not only by the transportation advisor on the traffic advisory committee but also of the town bo design will serve the town for the next thirty years and we must be willing to plan for the future and not make decisions about projects with the philosophy that the way we have always done it is the way it must continue if you look at plan at several convenient points as you approach the expanded town green it will be clear that a safe place to walk through ought to sit for a moment or two has been created and the best pot is that you can access the expanded lawn directly across more street no need to worry about people tussling through the little roadway so the expanded green is a more valuable asset because it is excessive bill easily and does not have traffic flowing on all sides it is important as a part of the redesign to have adequate packing so people can leave their cars and use the center plan a introduces ten more packing spaces that exist now because the road in front of belmont savings bank will be closed there will be room for packing on the north side of concord avenue the spaces are as accessible to the bank as the parking spaces that exist today and furthermore they will be three spaces directly in front of the door since there will be a driveway for those who use the underground parking at the bank if you look at the plans that were shown at public meetings it is clear that there is adequate turning room but those who pock in the spot since there will be a sidewalk and crosswalks close by these spots people will be able to do their rever efficiently and in a pleasant atmosphere people can walk quickly along the sidewalk in front of the bank shop on the west side of london street a person can use the sidewalk along the perimeter of the expanded green space and cross safely to the shops on the east side of the skin cern's that have been read his today about closing the cup in front of the bank have related to personal convenience people use the small road to avoid traffic in the intersections especially in the early morning and afternoon commuting we all do it and i estimate that at most we save about three minutes but this is not the only place in belmont where we have created inconvenience for a greater good when i drive down brighton st how sad i was to discover i couldn't turn right on oliver road and rush through to lake street i have to now continue along right ste of brighton street to the cross street intersection and then turn right when i'm coming i'm down  when i'm traveling east on went to st we cannot avoid the back up at the intersection of winter and concord ave because there is a no turn sign on lower the town has created a very complicated traffic  schools during certain hours of the day that certainly inconvenient but neighbors we also have one way streets that inconvenience drivers but the town has taken those steps so that neighborhoods and schools a safer and more pleasant and we have grown accustomed to those inconveniences plan it attempts to do the same it creates an inconvenience for drivers who are accustomed to cutting through but there are alternative traffic patterns that people will create for themselves if the cut through is no longer available belmont santa has many nice shops and interesting places to eat plan a will make it more inviting since traffic will be better organized docking will be available and the pedestrian connections will have a transforming effect that will enhance our businesses and create a more pleasant and usable environment i hope that you will vote  is the fourth presenter we're at the fifteen minute mark so when i ask you mr weiss when we get to the main motion discussion that is part of that that you complete the presentation at that time sammy baghdadi chairman of the board of selectmen and town meeting member precinct four first i want to thank our town clerk ellen o'brien cushman and our town administrator david calle for taking time out of their vacations to be here tonight and i thank their respective staff for all their work in organizing this extraordinary special town meeting i also want to thank you my fellow town meeting members for taking time out of your summer plans to be here tonight as a lawyer and former chair of the planning board i am a person of process i listen very carefully to resident concerns and i do believe that the board of selectmen is the board of the people petition was circulated last may which stated and i quote petition to reconsider the reconstruction of the green space in the upcoming belmont center project please save the trees in the delta and across concord and you also save the past the row in front of  that petition did get two hundred residents signatures which were certified by the town clerk and it was presented to the board of selectmen the board of selectmen was eager to put resident concerns to rest however the belmont center construction with excuse me with the belmont center construction beginning and under at tight time schedule time staff were eager to finalize the construction plans in an effort to address this final project design concern the board held a forum at the beach street center last may town meeting members were invited as were all of hound residents the meeting was well publicized and well attended the views we heard spanned the spectrum there were those who did not want any change in any changes to the delta roadway and angle parking those who wanted to remove the roadway and extend the delta all the way up to the bank and those who favored some other design the board that evening made a decision to modify the design of the delta the new design achieves a balance that addresses the concerns that were expressed it provide safer parking and access to the bank for the elderly and handicapped it provides an alternative to traffic pattern that allows drivers to bypass the busy concord avenue and leonard street intersection it provides parking that is more suitable the other businesses in the center and it enlarges the grassed area after an open and transparent process the board unanimously made a decision that decision was based on concerns that we had not carefully focused on before our decision was based on what we think is best for belmont belmont residence and the center again we believe our decision achieved a balance as we sit here tonight we have before us in motion to restore the design of the delta in front of belmont savings bank as presented in the november eighteenth two thousand and fourteen special town meeting concept planned in addition we have two amendments to the motion which would basically keep the pre construction design of the delta roadway and parking in front of the bank and a third amendment to adopt yet another new design of the delta which is being withdrawn as you can see  span the spectrum to this day there is no consensus or agreement on the design of the delta for this reason i urge you not to debate for hours whether to support one plan over another again there will never be agreement and the town will become further divided rather i urge you to support the authority of the board of selectmen to do its job for this reason  this reason for this reason i urge you to vote no on the main motion let us instead focus our attention on making positive change and progress for our town thank you yes yes please identify yourself first on a freedman precinct three town meeting member they were moved at the word urged to be substituted for the word to rectitude but that the motion now reads as follows that in place of the revised belmont center improvements plan adopted by the board of selectmen at its hearing on may twenty eighth two thousand and fifteen the board of selectmen and other town officials urged to adhere to the plan represented in the belmont center improvements design documents put out to bid by the town in january and february two thousand and fifteen and awarded on april twenty first two thousand and fifteen documents based on the working drawings presented in the november seventeenth two thousand and fourteen national town meeting that included the replacement of the cut through road in front of belmont savings bank with the town law and now can i just say a word  heard there has been consternation about the use of the single word in our motion the word direct some members of the town are concerned that the use of this word in the tone it sets might set some legal precedent or set the balance of power with this amended language we make clear what has always been the intention of this motion and those in town who have asked for a special town meeting namely that the town's executive branch understand the intentions and desires of town meeting and by extension the voters they represent belmont's government has always relied on a healthy dose of trust and goodwill to function well tell me to lack the legal authority to force the board of selectmen in this instance we hope that this amended motion will send a the belmont center restoration project to preserve an altered the layout of the delta and the road in front of the month paving spank with its angled park as it exists as existed for many years it wasn't exist on the day of the special town meeting of the board of selectmen recommends unfavorable action on a vote of two with one abstaining a please i don't think i had to introduce your since i am in that precinct to one ok first i'd like to say that i am in favor of outdoor communal space i have worked hard for the pool and also helped with the data analysis of the questionnaire for the community path also i have had i have eat my lunch on the boston common and i have also eaten a lobster  all when the fish store was in existence on the belmont delta so i do like the idea of jed green space the problem i have is that i'm concerned about the what we would be giving up in terms of the parking and traffic congestion i think that it's important for a business center to have ample easily identified park close by parking and not have people get caught up in traffic jams so i put forth this amendment plan zero which is basically the status quo because i think whoever designed it got right the balance between the three factors the green space for people to set the angled the mine fabulous angled parking spaces and the cut through which solves some traffic congestion problems and allows people to get more easily to the bridge the right lane of the bridge which is not where the back up is it's the back up going  concord avenue towards cambridge where is the right lane for towards common street is usually accessible so what i'm hoping and i've tried to ask a lot of questions and correct me i hope i'll be corrected if i'm wrong but it seems like that that the delta even with the plan zero is going to be more or less steep and more usable just given the sidewalk plans and the  retaining wall the way i understand the way i understand it there is going to be sidewalks on the outskirts of the green leading down to leonard street and there will be a two foot retaining wall along leonard street and i'm hoping that means that the green space will be a little bit better leveled than it is now and and provide more usable space the other thing that i'll say about plan a is it's kind of a four sided figure and with the bank cut through it with the bank driveway there still going to be traffic on three sides out of the four so i don't see it as this completely safe free space compared to the way the delta is now ok and the other thing i'd like to do is just give a vignette of my recent experience after avoiding driving in belmont center for years i started to drive again and it was mainly because of this experience so i would drive into belmont center i would find parking in the one of the nine angled parking spaces some of which are usually free available i mean i get out of the car i'd see the green space with some people maybe sitting in it or not i might hear the train cross more street which has very little traffic i would go to the restaurants clothing stores or drug store and then when it was time to leave i could return easily by turning left out of the cut through onto up i called up or concord avenue near the police station turning left on to that part of concord avenue which is not usually have only traffic and then getting immediately into the right lane under the bridge which would take me out to common street avoiding a back up  of the cars turning left on to concord avenue past the post office and so in general the feeling i get when i do that is of a very manageable precinct one caucus and on this particular vote find ourselves on opposite views but i certainly hope that after this discussion and action on this  particular amendment that go back in a cafe oppose plans and reach a consensus by the town meeting i have four brief reasons why i opposed the by and plan b another obvious point is that you really can't roll back instruction contract has been signed as outstanding trees have been caught on the curbs and pump outs have been constructed on the eastern side of leonard street what we can't do is have a project that doesn't complete the improvements here and therefore we have to take action on one of these plans i want to talk just briefly on the merits that tanny has indicated that the plans did not provide enough improvements over the status quo why aren't these bases plan a and plan b and my reaction to that is that aren't they alter is every small and uninviting but under plan a it becomes larger more attractive or inviting i think that overcomes projection as the parking spaces are concerned on the both lands a and b we do lose the angle parking but we do pick up six places that are convenient to the belmont savings bank and as far as traffic is that it's become a much calmer and more useful and workable traffic situation and we have before but i would hope that if this amendment loses parking i grew up in this town right and cross street and know a thing about traffic i worked in the fire liens i scooped ice cream in the baskin robbins i worked seven years at the then first national and i bought my first house with my wife  t seven clapham street right next to what is now lawndale built i seem to think i know what the senate does the senate seems to have a lot of parking now and i suggest it's because macy's has been closed how many of us remember when finally ins was at its height and trying to find parking around christmas time by thanksgiving time now mind black friday or any of the other times when the first national was rock and rolling and we had builders and sages people came some walk some rode their bicycles most rural and we needed parking there was no parking then i now see we have coming in and that's really exciting if it's as popular as it's what tended to be there going to be a lot of people there we've encouraged businesses and restaurants to have vibrancy in belmont center because sally is booming other restaurants are coming in people need a place to park now i used to be when i was thinner in a darker hair a member of the port of select when i sat down at this table and we would have parking wars all the time and back then the issue was a space of fifteen minutes space of two hours space and where they were going to be and one of the vendors then gave me an economic freedom entry economic analysis of a parking space when he was discussing why he wanted a fifteen minute space and he said you know if you're traveling down belmont center and you want to beggary don't have a slice of pizza you know if there's a space you'll pull in you'll have it you'll get your stuff but if there isn't you'll keep driving and you're not going to get to bagels the next day or two pieces of that's lost business he explained to me they explained he said look if it's a fifteen minute space in terms of a four hours four times an hour at five dollars they come in by buy a piece of pizza or sandwich or do any business by dollars twenty dollars an hour  hours a day two hundred dollars a day fourteen hundred dollars a week fifty two weeks a year that's a lot of money when years ago numbers but those nine spaces that currently exist comes out to be and i'm not a reason why i'm not an accountant but it's six hundred fifty five thousand dollars that's six hundred fifty five thousand dollars ten dollars double it twenty dollars but drupal it that's lost business to our belmont rich people that we're trying to encourage the calm if there's no parking people will not it's nice and idealistic to say they'll ride their bike and walk over but my eighty four year old mother isn't going to do that many people are just not going to do that if there's no park how many of us go downtown i'm not going downtown there's no place to park it's a fact of life and let's look about the traffic pattern yes it's a small cut through a small slice but it's work and what they've done with the barrel experiment and all the things and mr clancy we've had we've agree and we disagree that's the nature of the beast but all the traffic at rush hour from lifton's tree le industry some concord have a new street they're all being funneled into one lane knowing under the bridge i don't know how many thousands of cars that is but imagine how f further backed up everything will be we want belmont to be like pleasant street is going to go from route two to the allenton center i don't perhaps you do that's why they make chocolate and  but but there you go so all the consternation and all the passion and all of the things i'm looking at it as a purely economic viewpoint that we want to be kind and friendly to our business people or don't we because these spaces nine six four or whatever plus the additional one is that mr paulson spoke about that's a good thing less of those mean money in the pockets rect emphasize that we are focusing right now exclusively on this event on missed tenney's amendment no let's we can focus on that and thank you mr boehner it are rachel berger precinct two before i get to my point i do want to correct mr a zealous my understanding mr clancy can verify that is that whatever redesign we do we end up there will still be two lanes going under the bridge thank you mr moderator in this fact sheet that we have it explains one of the reasons for these park for the the concern of plan a is that some members of the belmont council on aging we crested an area in front of the playing allowing a safer drop off for those who are elderly and are handicapped and need access to the bank we had a precinct to meeting the other night and even though i've driven past those those i guess it's nine pull in spots many times i never really looked at them apparently there is not a single one of them that is labeled for a handicapped access so i don't understand how a nine handicap spot is helpful for somebody who needs a handicap spot in addition i also learned that if you are a bank customer you can use the bank parking lot so you don't need to park on the street at all so i really do not understand how keeping the current angled parking spots allow parking for those who are elderly handicapped and need access to the bank thank sides of things but this particular situation i agree with the unfortunately i do too the fact that i was two days out of the hospital after a back  operation i missed the an meeting in november in my van are moments i like to think that i had been there i might have persuaded i might have had a situation we wouldn't be here at all the night as i thinking about plan at that time given the financial condition of an override i thought that it was a desirable project not a necessary one i would most likely have voted no on the morning of the and meeting i have reviewed that and a couple things that point it stood out one of which is relevant to the immediate question is provides plan which would not interfere with traffic flow and hopefully in the case of the intersection between leonard street ending road and are going to have a new improved or in response to a question by scally said well we didn't put any cones right off the access to the nine parking spaces and which leads me to the think it stands to reason that it will be and that will have problems with traffic trying to turn right from letters street on to concord ave it's ours going all of different directions and nine that are there i think there's a cure that you create but any event looking at the plan a parking situation there are three bases which i think i would but i know people have different feelings about it but i call them one way parking spaces easy to get into but hard to get out of i should proceed through the garage at underneath the moment savings bank as far as i know we don't have any i don't have any remit with the bank that that is that's going to be permissible but i do see the possibility of cars entering trying to leave at the same time from those three parking spaces a little space will be created as not so my opinion justify boosting the access and also making the parking less available now this is my final important i don't think that this is the right body to be trying to do design and engineering and so i think although i share bob's thoughts about that i come to a very different conclusion i think if you agree with that point of view you should not abstain you should actually vote no against these amendments this is not the right body to undo in one night's time the work that the traffic advisory committee and other people accomplished over a period of years and very lambert now meeting member precinct eight i have a question of clarification and a comment my question to clarification is mr moderator if this amendment by substitute motion passes well there be any vote on the main motion we will vote on the main motion as amended not but on the which is as amended here so essentially we would not be voting on either plan a or plan b we would be voting  thank you i have a comment about this amendment which is the same common i have about the maine motion and i'm in agreement with mr mclaughlin mr baghdadi and mr weiss i don't think we should be here i rise to support a no vote may twenty eighth and prior to that i witnessed them at that listening to a range of voices and i do not consider it appropriate for town meeting to call a special town meeting to second guess the board of selectmen is authority i'm in favor of providing input by attending meetings which we've had for years by a letters and even by an online so called virtual petition i'm not in favor of providing input by a special town meeting and did not sign the real petition which resulted in this town meeting i support mr realizes rizal us is strange bedfellows comment i know that there are lots of friends i have who disagree with this we're discussing in relation to this amendment one is accessibility likely to the bank for senior citizens or or handicapped individuals two is the utility of that road  subject and i just wanted to point out that under plan ebay and i'm quoting from a presentation of that plan to town meeting in may of last year there are ten net new spaces associated with with the plan a that partially includes new spaces created along the north side of the bank they're a little bit further but i think as a matter of fact how many members should be aware that plan a creates a net ten new parking spaces in the center it is an amendment so mr robertson's appropriate that he can thank you mr moderator paul roberts town meeting member of precinct eight i'm rising to urge the town meeting to vote no on this amendment and i would like to address both with the petitioner and mr rizal is said which is the plan a for the town center was the product of a long and deliberative process of this community through the traffic advisory committee the planning board the warrant committee and town meeting itself it expressed and realized certain ideas and visions not for the last century but for the century to calm a century in which hopefully our lives will not be based around automobiles and asphalt we've all driven down route nine in framingham or to the burlington mall and we know what infrastructure based around cars and access and parking looks like we have a very different vision in mind for our town longer in belmont shop more buy more the idea that making it convenient for cars is good for business is just not one that i think is borne out and therefore i'm urging town meeting to vote no on this amendment let me let me be clear in terms of scope this amendment would replace plan a but it's totally appropriate for mr robert to speak as he just did a scally thank you mr moderator for enlightening me i learn every time i come to tell me i've been here for forty seven years and i am still learning and i didn't the industry and i've been talk about the reason i'm here is i would like to know as a point as a question about go to the main motion the main motion is plan a plan b right now we're discussing as tenney's amendment to replace plan a a plan zero emerse here will then present his amendment to replace plan a with plan zero we will then when we dispense with those two amendments deal with the main motion which is plan a if it prevails if not it will be pla the moderator tommy thomas you know olson precinct five i too am a little confused i think some of us think that voting that we are not going to get an opportunity that if we vote for this motion or this amendment that it will replace plan b are you they will not know this this amendment well effectively replace plan  modifies the motion presented by the petitioners the part of plan ok i think this motion would replace plan a with plan zero whatever the motion once with dispense with these two amendments whatever that final motion is as amended or not well then be the main motion and it's in that context that we would be talking about plan b thank you yes yes john buckley present to question on plan zero and plan a and plan b i heard someone say there is ten and net parking spaces on plan a i'm trying to understand the moderator glenn clancy director of community development i work in sequence so plan a which was the design that included the revised green space area in reconfiguring that area ten spaces were picked up a parking along concord haven't you i don't have a diagram in front of me a fortune but i recall it was three resp aces would be i guess below the crosswalk that's existing in your diagram and then the remaining would be above as you head towards town hall in the right hand side under plan b because we had to open that area up the allow a driveway to pass through the parking that was gained in that area the two or three spaces have gone away we picked up or spaces parallel on the belmont center garage an addition space in front of the bank building proper so that's five under plan zero the existing conditions there are six ingle parking spaces in front of the garage the reem go parking spaces in front of the bank proper to a or b and in comparison to a or b if the question was directed is there a net increase in parking spaces under a and is there a net increase in parking spaces on the b and what is the number of increased spaces to clients ok this is a moderated glen clancy's director of community development area here is three parking spaces so this was essentially replacing the three parking spaces that are now angle in front of the bank robber the six single parking spaces in this area have gone away one to three on street parking spaces were gained with this configuration and then further up on that avenue there are an additional seven spaces that will be added over the ten spaces that are referenced in the in the prior presentation  two three and then additional seven up here i think for clarity purposes moving forward let's just focus on these three here three here and then obviously to zero in this case of can we go we look at plan b ok so plan b the three on street spaces here have gone away in order to accommodate the driveway in this location one two three four spaces have been added here one space added here so four plus one is five compared to plan a there was one two three four five six so this is a that loss of one parking space between plan a in plan b we have a final mr clancy did it we have an answer to the question good evening thank you very much mr moderator michel banker from sing to i share what bob to go off and said that shouldn't be here micromanaging what's going wanting to us to go back to what the status quo wittes and somebody asking a question about the number of parking spaces net pro or con is really not all that important for very for several reasons number one one or two parking spaces one way or the other is not going to make a difference number two if somebody is quote hand easier access to belmont savings bank belmont savings bank has a nother as at least two maybe three other buildings in the town of belmont specifically the one i'm sure pillow road with a lot of level parking and extremely easy access for anybody period so saying you need to have something specifically for handicapped doesn't make it far as i'm concerned the other thing is that if you are looking for a place and where the angle cars are right now will be the most level for people to congregate s of a patio area whatever will be dealt with but upon your basically the going against four years of conversation i believe that engineers which can beat a weak howler how does that affect travel this is why i would like us to revoke down yvette's west to go back to plan zero of so that we can get to the the matter and hope the of at the heart of all i apologize of a whether a or b thank you very much mr moderat or child town council the main motion asks the board to add here to the plan represented in the documents put out to bid by the town in january and february to being the motion on the references anywhere you dated this morning on the screen is also the band that incorporated in the april documents that were signed by the select one i don't ok baghdadi chairman of the board of selectmen and i believe ok i am going to read what mr clancy wrote an e mail to town meeting members ok and the question was what analysis has been done about the impact on traffic on leonard street and surrounding street if the president cut through in front of the bank is eliminated and the response was during the traffic advisory committee belmont center public hearings in two thousand and ten two thousand and eleven the traffic consultant b s c group did consider traffic impacts on the main roadways in and around belmont center the cut there was not considered a major roadway but there's been no specific analysis are going to be severely negatively impacted by my new plan i could go into detail but we're not here to design but i'm very concerned about that that's mcveigh hi chris mcveigh am from precinct three and i rise in support of plan a i think that it's truly is the best plan for belmont i have an urban planning background and this was fully vetted it town meeting last november and we had a very long and lengthy discussion about the design of it then even though we were mostly just allocating money however we did get into design and i believe it was professionally  by a professional landscape architect and maybe some planning professionals and also an engineer so i feel that we are there was a lot of thought and time and money put into this design and i know that it's been fully vetted by several committees in town  over the months and again we vetted this a town meeting it feels wrong they were changing with us and i had several people come up to me at the intermission at the break really confused about this plan zero and what does this mean if we're voting on this does that mean plan it goes away i think there's a lot of people very confused tonight and again i feel very strongly about plan a and i fully support it and i'd like to move the question you can move the question at the end of his speech  let me just say again plan zero would replace plan a barrier and a conversation that's what we're talking about right now so yes you are next to baghdad is committee to the comment on this it seems like we're all discussing something a and a lot of time discussing and if there is no one from that my question to the selectmen is why didn't we ask someone from the traffic advisory committee to come a no no discussion two thirds vote all those in favor of terminating debate please say i was a yes the point of order yes  one is yes we already voted to end debate we are now voting on the amendment this tenney's amendment to go to plan zero if you favor that amendment  if you're opposed to that amendment  be directed to and had the words maintain the president nine parking spaces and roadway between more street and call get out of the in front of the belmont savings bank so that the amendment so that the amendment motion i'm a strong proponent leaving the parking space is you've heard much of it but one of things you have not heard we do have three hundred sixty five days a year and counting you can count how many people are going to be sitting in that park and using th using that space maybe ninety days that's only going to be during the day the other days if you if you allow the three hundred sixty five days and we've been playing the way it is those plays space  going to use morning noon and night i think it's the highest and best use of that location is believe it the way it is ben recommend unfavorable action by a vote of two with want to staining jim williams abstaining journey further discussion saying no on let's was show the total seventy in favor and fifty six opposed the amendment is defeated we are now ready to discuss the main motion as amended as amended changing the word directed to earth otherwise it's the main motion one thing i want to mention town meeting and there isn't major often misunderstanding of what a point of order is and it's a very today i won't go through that now but in page one hundred nine of town meeting time and the reasons for allowing a point of order are very narrow and so it's in that context that it was not that i did not accept mr khazan gins point of order but i wanted to explain that to  some truncated comments because some of what i was going to say has already been covered and specifically i think it was already covered in the comment that this body couldn't be trying to redesign the work of other public  bodies including groups that weighed in on the process that led to plan a that was true for the two amendments that were approved are addressed tonight in my opinion it also applies to the may twenty eighth meeting when a new plan was presented in a single night and addressed and voted on in a single night the other thing i think that is critical is to think about the context in which the november town meeting addressed this issue and there were admittedly a statement made at that meeting that down meeting was voting on the funding to no question about that but when you look at other statements and if you look at the context in which the debate and the discussion in november took place i think it's clear and compelling that the debate and the discussion and the motion of about the funding was for a specific plan t people specifically raised that question what are we voting for the night one of them in fact suggested that we table the action until we had a defined plan in both cases they and by extension town meeting members were sure that no the plan that you were looking at tonight is the plan now there was terminology about ninety percent complete and as the discussion continued ninety percent complete was basically non material modifications to that plan that vote in november required two thirds approval it asked by a margin of one five votes if five town meeting members had voted no instead of yes the entire funding in the entire project would have been voted down now ah i would submit that because of the discussion about that particular plan if the board of selectmen had brought to town meeting in november a request to borrow money and said but we still have to work out the design the design isn't final yet we have some material issues still to resolve or if the town had that order selectman had brought plan b before an meeting given the intensity of the feeling that ice received around land a given that seven hundred people signed an electronic petition requesting the board of selectmen to go back a plan and three hundred citizens signed a written petition to compel a town meeting to address that question i believe it is very reasonable to assume that had either of those other two votes been presented you would have lost i have of those yes votes and there simply wouldn't be a project that the board of selectmen could have amended in may i believe that is a material to change the project materially and i believe that to insert new traffic circulation and to materially reduce the amount of green space which was a stated be objective of that project i believe that constitutes a material change and i don't think there's any way of knowing in fact i think the is that the project would have been voted down in november ad that plan been presented or had no plan been present on sequentially i think that this body  to and here to the plan that was the result of four or five years of work extensive public him from that africa advisory committee public hearings the planning board merchants even the board of selectmen which reversed course approved it so if you're for plan and i mean there been a lot of good comments about why that's substantively different and in some people's minds better i assume you will vote in favor of this article tonight but i would argue heartless of whether you think plan a or plan b is better that it's important to respect what town meeting approved back in november of two thousand and fourteen and we ought to give the benefit of the doubt to the plan that was the result years of discussion and analysis as opposed to ninety minutes of discussion at a board of selectmen meeting and so i would strongly urge you all to vote in favor of this article thank you and frankly i'm happy with either plan a or plan b i don't think there's really a big difference between them and i could live with either one what struck me afterwards was why can't we buy a balance of some kind of compromise because i was struck by the level of the sport frankly and i sketched out a little plan and i put it away and over the course of the summer i've just been more and more astonished and dismayed by the level of rhetoric and the intensity of this whole issue was taken so i thought well a submitted as an amendment but then actually on reflection i agree with many of the other comments that we hear tonight which is that this is not really the right venue to discuss a proposal critically but i think it's a perfectly good proposal and if it ever goes back for deliberation in the context of what happened no us over the spring bill to be vetted properly then i'm happy to reintroduce timeline in the timeline on november seventeenth two thousand and fourteen i would just like to clarify to those who were not here the town meeting did not vote to fund planned a town meeting voted to fund the dolmen center reconstruction project of which what we  now call planning is that but there was never a vote specifically bought by town meeting saying yes we want plan a yes we want a green space that has been identified in that plan there were many many many questions that night about the access road i remember marion scally pointing out that when they did the barrel test people were diverting onto the access road as we have pointed out tonight the exercise road was not closed off i also remember mr clancy saying the traffic did not change with the barrels or without the barrels but nobody knows what the traffic will be like with the access road closed because it wasn't closed when the barrel test was done mr weiss notes that some people would have voted no at town meeting if the green space was not presented as it were in plan a but i also propose that some people who voted no might have voted yes if plan b had been proposed so we don't know what people would have done to say that every single person who voted yes would have stayed with us and every person who voted no would stay with no in that vote is not necessarily true i also believe that that night mr polow when we were when a town meeting member asked if we could postpone the vote and get designed more for one final get some of the questions they said we're going to take a look at these issues which is why when they had the may meeting i thought oh they've taken a look and they've realised that the taking away the access road is not a good thing and i thought that the selectmen were doing what they had committed to do in november in taking a look at the issue again what mr said that night that some people have said was why they voted yes was he said if we do not vote yes tonight the project will go away completely and some people basically said they held their nose they didn't like not having the access road but they knew the center needed to be redone so to say that everybody who voted yes which would not a voted yes that night or vice versa is just not accurate thank then any others here have referred to is the enduro house design in fact paul roberts and bonnie friedman's are lobbying for my design concept up on the screen i am the very selectman that stood up last november and made it clear to you how meeting members including joe white who asked a lot of questions and others that the vote was not about the design it was only about town meeting members allocating money to the entire project which was belmont center reconstruction from and to end not just a green space where the more i promised you time meeting members that of course there would be opportunities to changes to the design there were many town meeting members who were raising concerns but were shut off as this was not the vehicle for discussion of design but they ultimately voted yes to allocate the money even though they didn't like the concept of posing off the road they were reassured that there would be opportunities for him put before the design was finalized the vote was for the appropriation of money only it passed as jack and can buy only a few votes even though this was my original concept and of course i like it it doesn't really matter town meeting did not take a vote on a completed design it is an outrage that false statements and accusations are being spread about our town officials this is not a proud moment for belmont a town deserves better i hope you join me in absolutely supporting  input as i promised we would and i hope you will stop put a stop to this lack of civility and bullying and sending a strong message that this will not be tolerated in belmont by joining me and voting no thank you very much let me make one thing clear i almost interrupted mr laws i don't believe there has been a lack of civility tonight tonight is what we're talking about i think it's very important that we not make as i said at the outset accusations that go beyond what's happening in this auditorium tonight and i think we have had a great measure of civility and i hope it continues thank you anthony for recent days i'll start with a quick confession i was one of the no votes in november i voted against it because i figured we didn't know and i thought this might hurt the chances of getting it i voted no despite the fact that i actually like the original plan had there been choices i probably would have voted for that now another confession i did actually send an e mail initially to the board of selectmen one selectman williams replied to me copied a bunch of officials and let me make clear what he and i discussed afterwards i never implied i never meant to imply there was anything improper about the procedure they used to make the decision however i think ultimately it was the wrong decision i say that mainly because of the way the the way this was presented to town meeting in november mr weiss actually met mention a couple of these  up and asked what the plan was joe white had you know joe scully got up and he was concerned about the loss of parking spaces and was told by mr clancy will at some point given the four years with the traffic advisory committee and given all of the public meetings that had taken place we have to declare that a consensus was reached we were assured the plan was ninety percent complete we wish we were short of that design by documents were being generated based on that plan and i also understand that that  the opponents of that plan expected a design meeting that should have happened in december january february before the design documents were completed that wasn't done we all assumed that this was kind of a done deal i mean i went home having lost and forgot about it i think we should go back to the original design in part because i like it i live near belmont center i like the idea that you can get to the island without that cut through in there i think it's a good plan but also because i really do think that we were not voting for a specific plan officially and i understand that it was in fact presented that way to us mr cunningham kevin cunningham precinct four mostly everything i had to say has already been said or i said in the articles that i published but i would just like to make two distinctions one is sort of following up on jack w framework i'd like to just use first of all there's kind of conversation as if town meeting is the ultimate representative of the of the town but i just want to be clear the town meeting is one fully elected body and the board of selectmen is another fully elected one hundred percent body we do not we as a town meeting do not have some special favorite position in relation to them we're both equally representatives of the town that's the first point and then the second point is just sort of taking  s point about what happened in november so what happened in november it's also discussed kind of that what happened in november is we voted for this or the plan actually two things happened in november in terms of instructions to the board of selectmen one was we voted them the money whether the plan was involved or not that's part of what we're discussing here but the other thing is we as a body discussed issues with the design we instructed them that these were things that needed to be addressed in september's precinct meeting somebody pointed out the first question that you know this doesn't address the traffic problem which is the actual problem with belmont center there are the opportunities for beautification but the real problem was traffic and this plan that's presented in november doesn't address it so people we as a body pointed that out to them and you can say well it was just a couple of people and i didn't agree with them well a lot of people didn't vote for the actual motion but we're saying it's a consensus as a body we instructed them to to pay attention to these issues and they did and they brought in additional information if you have more information for them to reconsider their their judgment on bring it here  but don't just sort of say you should go back to another plan they are open respectful people who are listening for the best reasons they want to make the best decision that's all  also significant injuries from people trying to use cross walks i think one of the ideas of the construction was to provide a safe environment for citizens of plan that green space then we have buzzing around on all sides as we do now if we increase the number of lost walks by a factor of two we're liable to increase the number of injuries by a factor  forms for people to get disability placards and disability plates in order to get that the applicant has to be on able to walk more than two hundred feet without rest or support   as six spots i walk out that are less than thirty feet from the entrance to the bank and those are additional two spots on concrete avenue  which are less than sixty feet from the entrance to the back all of these spaces are closer to the entrance to the bank than those in plan b except for the one that is directly in front of the bank and in fact before spaces those four parallel spaces that are four that are further back in the access road some of their needs are nearly one hundred feet from the entrance to the bank  addition the savings bank has underground parking for all of their patrons and i was in there today there are ten spots and only one is being used well i think there's plenty of parking and there's plenty of parking for disabled people money of parking much closer than you need to be able to get disability plate i think also the less advantageous to them and further away also that narrow a cut which is being maintained is much more now or than the president cut it preserves our green space which is attractive and encourages pedestrians and i hope we hear from some of the businesses who think that it will actually improve business for them and i'm also wanting to stick with plan a because i think there is a precedent here and i've heard from many people that they're against this article does it sets a precedent that the are going against the border select and i believe the border so i voted in a way that they thought was appropriate but that meeting on may twenty eighth the announcement that was put out by the town clerk and that was listed in the agenda that evening says both public scuse me were at the five minute mark here update on belmont center reconstruction project and discussion of the green space  land a but i think the greening of that area the closing of the street would promote tables would have open spaces with benches ice cream store itself benefits greatly from the outdoor benches the fenway chairs that the town  selectmen were favorable to us installing and so when i think of a town green in that location it would promote having elderly or more people having morning coffees there would have certainly usage by the kids after school and early evenings there would be pizza slices and subs sandwiches and hopefully ice cream being eaten in that location too but i don't speak just from a favor of my business i just think the twenty thirty projection vision i have for the town is one of more walkability one of more multi use with bike lanes being promoted and i think this fits into that vision as opposed to allowing for a parlor waned to be used for a left turn lanes out of one area so i wanted to thank you all i speak in favor mahogany and marie mahoney town meeting member precinct one mr moderator i rise to address the child meeting solely as an individual town meeting member as i read over the materials for this meeting this afternoon i was reminded of the issuance commercial with beatrice showing her friends her vacation photos posted on her wall is in her living room not on her facebook page and exasperate in one of her friends exclaims this is not how it works that's not how any of this works that is my message tonight this is not how any of this works our meeting does not design it approves funds for a project and at least the design of that project the duly appointed building committee or town entity such as the office of community development or in the case of this project the board of selectmen sitting as the board of survey or the parks commission i oppose this article most importantly for the precedent it sets for all future projects that this town will undertake that precedent is that is if a group of citizens does not like a design or of a project they can expect to call a special town meeting to have a changed that is not how this works i'd like to use two examples from the very building we're meeting in tonight generally middle school i served on that building committee we had many issues on this side to overcome not the least of which was parking and a bus drop off we worked with the neighbors the police and the school administration on several designs the one we chose was not the most popular but it was they focused well into the construction of this building but for intendant requested that we reconfigure the office space and it cost additional money that was difficult to do but we did it and result this beautiful building dot point for point what we showed the public prior to the dead exclusion in terms of drawings or adl but it is the result of the best work in the best decision making of the duly appointed building  democracy sometimes means sucking up a design feature that you don't like as those who are responsible for the project have deemed it to be the best or the safest or the most cost effective or the only topic graphically feasible  design i worry that as the town moves forward to address w the police and library facilities as well as the skating rink energy path maybe some features of gross trees that we are setting a precedent of design by special town meeting that will not result in a better design nor in the accommodation of more citizen imports that will only result in chaos and the failure to complete any future good evening i am joel samuels now in meeting a member precinct six an attorney former general counsel of the massachusetts executive office of elder affairs and a member of and former chair of the belmont council an aging board the council on aging is an eleven member town board charged with the responsibility of advocating on behalf of seniors of belmont as well as overseeing programs and policies of the c e o at the beach street center i've been authorized by the council an aging board to speak on behalf of the coun aging on this issue this evening as you may recall at our nov seventeenth two thousand and fourteen town meeting where the appropriation was voted i and others raised the fact that many seniors and disabled persons had expressed concerns about the proposed testimony i also stated that people are concerned about the loss of the travel lane people will be parking up the hill if they can find a space in the center as a result of these concerns i raised this issue at the council an aging board meeting at r d center first two thousand and fourteen meeting at that meeting other board members discuss hearing similar concerns as well as concerns about the accessibility of the three new parking spaces to be created near the exit of the belmont savings bank as a result of the proposed loss of access to the bank and nearby stores for seniors and those with wheelchairs or walkers a working group of several members of the board was formed to meet with and discuss their concerns with glen clancy director of community development our minutes reflect the fact that because it appeared that the design of the project would be completed by january two thousand and fifteen before a next meeting the working group was authorized to discuss concerns with glenn but not make any recommendations from the full board several members of the working group met with glenn on december third and expressed their concern when discussed possible changes which might occur in the configuration of the proposed parking spaces within the concord have access to the bank several members of the working group also attend the final traffic advisory committee meeting which approved the town meeting discussed design on december eleventh two thousand and fourteen it is important to note that t board has not bet with the selectmen as a board on this issue nor has it as a board engaged in any petition campaigns however at our july thirteenth two thousand and fifteen meeting when the issue was raised and discussed the c away board voted ten to zero with one person absent as follows for the benefit of the seniors and others who use belmont center the council an aging board supports the selectmen is revised bellman center renovation plan may twenty eight in addition the board recommends traffic mitigation measures such as a speed bump on the pass through road the c e o aboard met earlier this evening in a post that august meeting and has taken the following mission on the three amendments offered  sea away born after due consideration confirms the support of the roadway and parking space configuration identified as plan b may twenty eighth two thousand and fifteen i would like to briefly explain the comments and concerns raised to and by board members which have led to these votes experts agree that senior population is ever increasing and that young disabled persons are increasingly mobile plan b restores for parallel parking spaces and one handicapped space and a pass through road which will continue to allow convenient access to shopping and smooth eat grass from the bank parking lot plan b resumes a pass through street which will continue to act as a safety valve for westbound lenard street traffic headed up past the police station it will continue to serve as a safety valve for more street which is two ways which with parking on one side plan b supports the businesses in belmont center seniors and others come to belmont center to shop and do business belmont center is and should continue to be the commercial center of our town most people come to belmont center to pass through as commuters and or shop nine or bank by car the short term spaces in front of the bank may turn over multiple times a day bringing hundreds of people by foot traffic to center merchants plan b provides the best option for easing traffic congestion the westbound traffic congestion problems with the recognizes the fact that many seniors walk through belmont center and would appreciate the expanded green space with benches in one less street to cross however we believe the placement of a speed bump before the westbound pass through road will come traffic while still allowing close acce enjoy it with traffic surrounding me so i think that's the point i'm trying to make essentially i would urge everybody to vote for thank you i'm soo bass from precinct three and i wanted to reassure i had lunch today with some friends on both sides of the issue we agreed we're all going to be friends and i'm sure that's true of everyone here  i want to say something about parking i was asked you this a lot of people have raised the issue of parking places in various positions there was a parking study of belmont center a few years ago the study determined that belmont was using its parking spaces so extremely inefficiently by having free parking right where everyone wanted to park and having expensive parking where no one wanted to park and they should do it in reverse and we are putting there are going to be parking meters on these on the streets of belmont center and that means that if you're willing to put in a plan b and b immediately after last november's town meeting which we voted for plan and a of the plan was street to little bit to delete a cross walk that i had particularly want the town when clancy i think he did it personally had the right to do that and as i understand it if we vote for plan a as i hope you will the board of selectmen can overrule us and stick with plan b that is the reason i believe why all roberts was and bonnie friedman were asked to amend the original motion so it doesn't say wisdom from my point if you were here to rebuke the board of selectmen for giving in at the first push on something that had already represent substantial compromise as people have said many years of of work and urged them not to reimpose plan b even though they have the authority to do that that worth giving up your evening for well i hope so for here i'm not where i wanted to be and i and i but i hope you'll all vote to support this motion to support plan ebay and urge t selectmen to stand by plan and a and not to revert to plan b thank you whether there's a compromise here it's unfortunate we are here and i had hoped at that we would have reached a compromise before we got here i watch with this may in terms of what was happening but i do have to rise sebas you did get me out of my seat in terms of you comments about and when we went to that meeting on may twenty eighth and i recall coming out of that tommy november and hearing joel samuels and some of the concerns that were expressed particularly from the seniors in town and even my parents about the need to continue to have access believed when i left that meeting when i went to meet on may twenty eighth that we were in fact compromising and taking into consideration the points of view of all citizens in particular the seniors and that the compromise plan did increase the greenspace almost fifty percent like plan a as well clearly but it depends on you to provide an access point for the seniors and that's why i voted for it because i believe it was in the best interests of our community right mr moderator thank you my name is price armstrong i'm a town meeting member from precinct seven i'm also a professional transportation planner and a certified urban planner by the american planning association and i'm not going to take very much time i hope i just want to say i'm also not at all crazy about this process planners are really process oriented and i agree town meetings should not be micromanaging design i am reluctant to say that voting no would fix that but rather reexamining what it takes to compel a special town meeting might be more in order but that's a discussion for another time but anyway here we are even though i'm not happy about the process i do want to take advantage of the opportunity so i'm just going to say generally speaking from my professional experience we can either design our town for cars or for people and that sort of what it really boils down to you can look at a town hartford connecticut which has lovely parking and it's super easy to get in and out of the town and it's a totally i'm not crazy about downtown hartford i apologize to any hartford natives and you can compare that to for example san francisco california or cambridge or even our lovely town center which is actually pretty easy to bike into or take the bus and i really i want to see our town center be even more walkable so ample parking does not make great places i want our town center to be a great place green space shopping multi modal access really important multi modal access walkability and crucially people not ours it's people that make great places and that can make our downtown a great place and finally i just want to say what we decided today we're not planning for the twenty first century we're planning for the twenty second century whatever we decide today we're going to build and it's going to be there for decades and decades and decades so again i'm not crazy about the process but i heartily take advantage of this opportunity to support the amendment because i truly want to be a great place thank you urge or are we voting on a plan a or plan b that can thing is i wanted to have as we had discussed to admit mr kerry dick out who is the president of the belmont banner business association and i think he's still here and then the third thing is something that i written that i would like to speak on and so i serve on traffic on aging affectively versus plan b ok so this would be if you vote in favor of this you are voting for plan a you're not voting for the change of the wording you know that we already did that to i wanted to address you all i have been a member of the traffic advisory committee for over twenty two years i remember because i remember sitting next to mark below and we were comparing his wife's baby bump to mine my our babies are twenty two so it had to be before then i have served on council on aging for five years and i'm the current chair of the economic development advisory committee and i stress  advisory asic has an advisory committee we have made recommendations to the selectmen regarding belmont center our goal has always been to it han't local business and yet retain belmont's hometown feel so that's our goal to that end both joel and i had joel samuels who is my colleague and c e o a and i requested mr jerry dick out the president of belmont center business association to speak but he's not here unless ok as a c e o a member we reaffirmed as joel said tonight our support of the compromise for plan b which joel has already spoken on as a tack member i'm well aware of the discussions of belmont center from the late eighty's to october fourteenth tw ten when we made our first pre presentation we started we began to look at the issues that we hoped would address the the center the center discussion for me and i am not speaking as chair but i have to commend our chair linda nick and she has been a great chair all along the center discussion for me was always about beautifying the center maintaining parking and accommodating bike traffic though we were concerned about pedestrians but our primary objective was to bring those three pieces together i also knew that again our chair miss nick ins and the director of community development were always ready to to listen to citizens ideas and many of you have come to traffic and you know that's exactly what we have done so at the november two thousand and fourteen meeting i looked at that plan as a conceptual plan i re read the transcript the transcript they the preponderance of what was said in that transcript had to do with how we were going to fund this as a matter of fact i think selectman williams raised the issue of should we do it now or i can't remember exactly  but it was about money i also remember that since the late eighty's belmont center has been behind every other capital budgeting project and it was our time to get the center beautified so again for me i knew there would be tweaking ninety percent means ten percent is left i don't know i don't have a calculator but i'm wondering if the green space we're talking about actually onstott to ten percent so it any rate at i we at the time we voted for the money because we knew that we had to get it done yes there were only five people who voted more than the others but we knew we had to get the center done the may twenty eighth meeting which i attended there were many in attendance and we had to leave the peach street center by the time it closed so there was a lot of hearing of everyone so finally i would say after well after taking a show of hands the board of selectmen voted unanimously for a compromise plan and that's what we're about we're about opera minds so i would urge you to consider the compromise plan because it meets the  goals more of the people in the town and i believe strongly that n r all our deliberations at least for me on traffic it was about beautifying the center and getting the money to do that thank you cowen toe meeting member person three just a moderator ladies and gentlemen i have a few observations to me engineering like politics is the art of compromise  our priorities there are alternatives these are considered discussed and a plan or a design is worked out sometimes there is a reconsideration of the priorities reevaluation and the plans are changed but i will lots of discuss politics i'm going to discuss the some engineering aspects of it i give my views as an engineer i will give you my conclusion first and that is i support plan b i support the selectmen honest at the may twenty eighth meeting my reaction to plan a when i realized there was an alternative being offered a plan a in one word is i repeat that it's all awkward if you look at what we have there are two lane bribable a going through a green space in order to provide parking for the bank access to them but also a second beach or is that it provides three parking spaces i question the propriety of the town providing a driveway or they park but the banks parking all over town the green space i don't like the parking in not quite the middle but cutting through this green space where we expect families perhaps small children to gather and to play in the parking which is like parking lot parking cars parallel to each other require that the cars back up in order to leave the parking space and i don't like that where they might be small children also i predict what something that will happen occasionally not very often that some driver will pull in thinking there's an available parking space and not realizing that there is no exit except won't happen often but i think will happen there is talk of providing a town green or or town lawn and whether you capitalize it or use lower case that will not happen the total area that when we look at it all together the difference between town by n o a a and plan b is one parking space and just under two thousand square feet i think that's a small price to pay for getting rid of a lot of awkwardness and having safer parking and so that's why i support my and be slope and this isn't the first time i recall the annual town meeting we had five nonbinding warren articles of what we should direct us representatives to do and net metering in williams for articles on directing the the debate i think the real question is right the benefits of a vs be as some people said i think are somewhat irrelevant to the discussion tonight and i think the real questions are you know whether a is what we actually did vote on in november whether whether unintentionally it seems as what we were led to believe we were voting on i think there's a different opinion on that and i think the second question is regardless of how we voted whether or not the selectmen overstepped some type of question is not meant to be put you guys on the spot at all as i'm just wondering have you anticipated or do you have a plan for if it does pass what your expectations are as a board and if plan a doesn't pass what your expectations are as the board of the board of select we are listening i think our plan would be to meet an open public meeting the brief reflect and deliberate right so regardless of the vote that's your course of action yes thank you very much as today thank you mr moderator adam dash tommy member of precinct one member of the warrant committee i want to i will out myself that i did vote against appropriation of the money for this project back in november not because i don't like the project i do like plan a rising in support of this article i did not want to use the money for this because i thought we had greater needs in those pre override days however this plan a does follow the current trend of open space first as a parking which our colleague the engineer had stated for instance i just saw today at for instance in somerville on somerville avenue a taking two on street parking spaces a putting a wooden dark wooden wall around it and putting benches and chairs in it making a park let out of when the park is on somerville avenue which is literally on somerville avenue and they're losing parking for that to have this little sort of pop up outdoor area that's relatively small but it's useful and this is sort of the direction where we're going none of this in my mind is about the board of selectmen is authority of the board just like men's intentions they clearly have the authority to do this and i think their intentions are honorable that's not behind this whatsoever the one thing i do point out is even people complain about apathy in local government you see it around here all the time i think we should be very proud that our populous in our town meeting everybody is so involved the turnout in that override vote was tremendous i think what you're seeing is sort of a surge coming out of the populace here asking for things to be done a little differently and asking to be heard in a way that they haven't in the past it's not necessarily a bad thing it is that messy democracy that mr moderator you were talking about earlier i've also heard it's not a liberal or conservative issue either you've seen a lot of odd bedfellows tonight speaking i should note i've been i've heard from a lot of constituents on this since this all came up actually more than i've heard i think about anything a town meeting and that's been almost unanimous in precinct one they feel like almost like there's been some kind of a bait and switch pulled on them with the plan being changed so i wanted to convey that everybody as well i would note also for the record that this fact that came out from the board of selectmen which states on it about capital projects is common to make design changes and modifications after town meetings appropriated funding e g underwood pool i'm the vice chair of the underwood pool building committee i was talking to somebody on the committee and we are wracking our brains as to what we changed from what we showed you the only thing i can think of is the in the family pool there was an island in the state board of health told us we couldn't have it they also told us we couldn't have the slide we call them down to town hall with senator brown's burger and represented rogers we fought with them we got the slide back we lost on the island but that was because we fought to keep the plan we showed you when we asked the money it was taken away from us through no fault of our own and even got down to the color of the buildings we were debating what color to paint them and we had a discussion we should paint them in the dark green as we showed that on the rendering to town meeting when we asked for the money we talked about it we put up the banner in front of the pool which had a rendering of the pool what should we put up the renderings of anything changes going to look like the picture on the rendering it does look like the picture on the rendering because we didn't as we really came to these points when we lost the money when we had the building problem we talk about should we make it one pull instead of two we actually talk but no we shouldn't do that because we didn't show that to you when we came to get the money and that saying we didn't have the right to change it we clearly did we didn't feel it was the right thing to do and we didn't do it i just want to clear for clarify that but i think in this fact it is sort of implies that we made some change showed you when that's not the case the issues that are being raised in plan b i think from the council aging are truly legitimate i think unfortunately they were just brought up late in the process and they've been brought up during the process it could have been vetted we wouldn't be here tonight but they were brought up sort of at the eleventh but been point fifty nine valor and it was just a little just a little too far along i think to make the change i wouldn't made the change as valid as the point or had it been something else either because it was just simply too far along i would suggest we go back to the original plan a and move on association and the national highway traffic safety administration as i suspected if i were to tell my primary care of your physician that plan a would make getting to the belmont saving spank difficult for me he would be obliged to evaluate me for being able to drive safely the goal of counseling older drivers is to enable them to drive safely for as long as that is possible in addition to particular relevant medical details the overall strategy is to help people age well to components of aging well or exercise such as walking and social engagement such as gathering in belmont center with friends plan b maybe a disservice were people who driving skills are declining by setting driving skills so low plan b may encourage older drivers to think that their ability the driving ability is fine the problems are those inconvenient left plan a plan b discourages walking and its health giving benefits also plan b eliminates the circular patio that gets lost to the cut through road this loss of that is a loss of opportunity for social connections which are important for everyone there are people who need handicapped parking the people who need it have and it kept parking in front of belmont savings bank consider the health of those who can and should still walk live i'm a man i appreciate being allowed to speak tonight i started following this closely when i read that plan a had been revised to accommodate the elderly this surprised me because i thought that plan a was especially good for people my age and older most of the concern for the elderly seems to be focused on our ability to get into belmont savings bank but in either plan there are spaces close to the entrance that could be used as parking or dropoff beyond that this is the fifty year plan and it's likely that in the future most people will be banking online with all this focus on banking i think what's been lost is how important it is that we not become isolated as we age but that instead stay connected to our communities surrounded by people of all ages the senior center is great but not all of these connections can happen there a green in plan and a provides a wonderful space for elders to main goal with everyone in town there's enough room for a circular brick patio with benches all around it the placement of those benches encourages eye contact and conversation i can see elders sitting there in the morning with a cup of coffee or in the afternoon reading a book they wouldn't have to know the people around them just being there would make them feel a part of the community i appreciate that the select are trying to accommodate everyone including the elderly when they revised plan as a i was touched by the deference they accorded me as an elder at a recent meeting that said i think that in trying to  craft a plan that pleases everyone they unavoidably and unintentionally bakra feist the wonderful gathering space that was on the original plan of flat space is at the top of the hill by the sidewalk if you used most of that area for a cut through your left of the space that so hampered by the slow and the shape of what land is left at i probably not possible to turn it into a space that people will want to use the revised plan doesn't indicate where benches are to be placed but i can't imagine that they can be placed in a way that would encourage the kind of community feeling i'm talking about i really think it comes down to a choice between one or the other we can have a cut through or we can have a viable gatherings  i really don't think we can have i hope you will vote for plan a thank you i'm wondering if i can read a statement from a belmont citizen belmont center a business owner yes she could not be here tonight this is a statement from kay wigan she's the owner baking company in belmont center i was walking a few days ago and i bumped into kay and this is the result this is case words i have been a resident of belmont for over thirty years i respect and helped elect the town selectmen three years ago i finally decided to risk opening a third i prayed a baking company in my children's home town i was thrilled by the prospect of  elop center my location in the nature of my business will be directly impacted by which plan is implemented i imagine the green space is a unique and very positive addition to the  center and the holiday tree lighting would take on a whole new dimension most of all i imagine that day to day life would be enhanced by families with a green to enjoy belmont census rush hour traffic is not unique every town has experienced this every surrounding town as a cut through town rush hour is just that rush hour we would and we should not let traffic and parking dictate the development of the green space therefore i strongly support the plan as a as the best option i imagined families having a fun place to congregate during lacey's summer evenings i imagine my customers having early morning weekend breakfast picnics on a lovely green space before going to soccer and i wonder can i add a couple of words of my own my own opinion course very quickly i was set the november town meeting i voted for a plan and a i'm almost certain if it had been plan b i would not have cast a favorable vote i'm a senior citizen have lived in belmont for over thirty five years and i've been a bank customer almost savings bank for that long i'm never had a problem with excess ability to the bank and i don't think with plan they were i would any problem i'm also walker and i'm sad that we  and i expect now meeting to express their opinion on a vision and for the executers of our executive branch to look at that vision for guidance with regards to process i would never have signed a petition or taken the time out of my busy life here to night for a minor process infraction i'm here tonight because the vision  you can crossed it and i will slide right down it because when it comes to vision this is belmont fifty years from now this is not belmont one year f feel like my board with plan b as i feel like it conflates two issues that are both important but about which i feel differently so to the extent that plan b is about providing adequate easy parking for the  elderly and disabled i'm in favor of that to the extent that plan b makes it easier for people to use that area as a cut through i'm very much opposed to that so encouraged by mr baghdadi saying there still things to be considered and at the risk of getting mr madoff mad at me i'd say this is just like two minutes of design not even thirty seconds of design i would just suggest a multiple speed bumps in plan b if we're going that way and a right only turn and you get to the end if you want to go through there that's fine you can take a right you cannot take a left and go underneath the bridge my two cents  interests of this town as they see them and in this and in all other matters that is not at issue today at all in my opinion i think there are two main issues main issues and we've seen them both come up one has to do with the design per se  seeing two different design plans for the same project and i think that it's very reasonable for people to disagree as to those design projects having said that we've heard tonight from our town leaders that the move from plan a to town b effects a change of negative one in parking spaces with immediate access to the bank there so that doesn't really seem like a very good argument for plan b and we've also heard that no study was done of the traffic effect of removing the pastor though that also seems to me like not a very good grounds for making this change and i'm sure there are other reasons i i must say i haven't heard very many of them but let me shift to the process because i believe that that's actually more important to make a point about some of expressed the feeling tonight that we should not even be here that we have a we are embarked upon a slippery slope when we attempt to second guess the planning decisions of the board of selectmen i think that that reflects a certain black and white framing of the process issue that in large part brings us here tonight certainly it is true that the town meeting does not design projects we expropriate money for them that is our constitutional as it were a role in the town nevertheless we're not in the business of writing blank checks we don't come here and we're not told that someone wants to beautify belmont center and there are no slides and there no plans we say sure go ahead sounds like a great idea but doesn't happen it's never going to happen right nor of course do we you know design the whole plan as i've already said when we approve something we see something a plan a vision as one of my colleagues previously mentioned the board of selectmen of course as a significant amount of discretion in moving from that vision to the concrete manifestation of the project no question of that but that discretion is not absolute if the town passed a debt exclusion to build a school then the board of selectmen decided to build a casino i think they would have gone beyond the scope of their discretion of course that's a silly example but the question is how far in fact does its discretion extend if you had to that question then you have the answer to how you want to vote tonight in my opinion the reason we're here tonight is in the opinion of many belmont residen including many town meters meeting members in this case the board of selectmen with the best interests at heart i have no doubt of that have over extended their discretion in the matter of this particular project and that's why i stand to vote in favor of the article to thank you gnatures and demanded a town meeting to me a group of two hundred people got as bunch of signatures and demanded a change after construction had begun so i would argue that in the that's not how any of this works kind of that precedent was set before this town meeting i just want to briefly share the experience that i had in november i heard language ninety percent complete and i heard the language those substantive changes  so to me as a parent a very young children i felt that when i got the email saying and update on the belmont enterprise that i thought gosh well i don't really think i need to get a sitter for that because i'm sure i'll read about the update later additionally on the information we were given there was another item listed with the word boat that there was not the word boat next to the belmont cent r so again as someone who has young children i felt i don't really think i need to get a sitter for this i didn't think i needed to be there to be heard as a town meeting member this is the first time ever i have had other citizens in town find my information from the town clerk e mail me call me and even stop by to say bees we didn't realize this was ever even an option to change i am someone again but the millionth time with young kids i love the idea of a town green its use of i've very much appreciate that the selectmen in plan b attempted to expand the green space but speaking as a parent i beseech you it's not usable i've tried to use the delta as it stands now and with the addition of that road with a three year old who thinks running away is the funniest thing ever it's not a place i can go if you put a cut through back it's not a usable space for young families additionally i totally appreciate the concerns of the senior population however if we're talking about parking then be loses  if we're talking about driving through oman savings bank has a dr if we're talking about the ability to not have to do a three point turn they can pull into the garage turn around there and exit i just i really besieged you i agree i don't want to be here tonight none of us want to be here tonight but i didn't think i needed to be there in may because i didn't think this change was even an option so i'm asking you now please reconsider and bring back planning now vote on the main motion as amended the one amendment banning directed her otherwise it's the main motion that was presented at the beginning of the evening each person voted so in order to have a roll call vote needs a support of thirty five meaning members so we'll now use our electronic device all right let's display the result ninety people supporting a roll call vote and we will have a roll call vote the final vote of the evening so we'll open the changing the result of the previous vote yes it does yes in favor of plan a no same boat as a mom who moments ago will open it though in this case you have a third option you can absta saturday at one thirty but no swimming saturday monday morning we can swim show this first and then we'll do that sorry this is part of the requirement as part of the public record now on how people voted and then we'll adjourn the main i mean  and i think the spirit in which we approach this will help us work together as a community on all the issues that are facing us and they're no shortage of issues this will ellen reminds me this will be on the website tomorrow