just search for the belmont media podcast network now on to the talking news police resume scanning of plates by shawn musgrave the boston police department has resumed using license plate readers which can scam thousands of passing vehicles per minute after accidentally released a database of skin vehicles in two thousand and thirteen and then stop the practice according to documents obtained through a puppet public records request the technology which is used by lauren foresman across the country to find wanted felons missing persons or even get unpaid tickets resolved has been a point of contention between police and civil liberties groups who say collected data can invade the privacy and potentially chill free speech in december two thousand and thirteen after accidentally releasing the database of skin vehicles boston police took their scanners  offline while police commissioner william b evans reviewed the program but database released in response to public requests records request show the location date and time of each scam of more than sixty thousand vehicles over a six month period soon after halting the license plate scanner program evans told the city council that the laces plate readers obviously weren't being used the told the city council at the same meeting that he would work with the american civil liberties union of massachusetts to address privacy concerns and revise the boston police department's license plate reader protocols which the department made part of its new policy evans finalized the new policy in october of two thousand and sixteen according to the documents a police department spokesman says of the license plate reader program was launched again in september twenty seventh team the new policy prohibits using license plate readers to harass or target people based on race sexual orientation or any other legally protected characteristic or to infringe on first amendment rights according to the documents we really limited and it's not just overly broad capture of god or evans said in a telephone interview with the globe last week the head the technology program at the a c l u massachusetts so the organization was glad to see the data retention period shortened but would like to see several of its other protocols incorporated into the new policy including a ban on sharing data with a law enforcement but non criminal investigations and an independent audit process the organization also expected police to consult more with the community said cade crockford director of the technology for the liberty program for the local a c o u we were under the impression that before the boston police department restarted its lessons plate is hope for historic meckling future by joanna case of alice on may seventh belmont town meeting voted one hundred eighty one to fifty nine in favor of the motion to use one hundred seventy five thousand dollars of community preservation act funds to secure and stabilize the historic mclean bond structure located on four in one half acres of on mill street directly south of rock meadow built circa one thousand nine hundred fifteen and formally part of the mclean farm it is listed on the national register of historic places as part of the mclean farm national register district according to lauren meyer co chair of the historic district commission in two thousand and five mclean hospital transferred the property to the town of dumb and with the agreement the historic bond would be preserved by the town ellen management committee for lone tree hill said graffiti started appearing on the exterior of the ban in two thousand and fifteen the funds will help remove the graffiti and apply graffiti coding to the exterior secure lighting in cameras will also be installed to deter vandals and trespasses lauren maya co chair of the belmont historic district commission said if the funding was not approved the exterior appearance which was clearly a concern to residents would only get worse inviting more than to lose them this would further delay our ability to move forward on finding a suitable use because our primaries response would have to be preserving the structure the other indirect assoc effect would be to make it very difficult to look for outside grants or private funds to help with future funding said meyer lack of plans a concern for some there were a lot of town meeting members who were opposed to approving the use of one hundred seventy five thousand dollars of community preservation sons to secure and stabilize the mclean barn without determining its future use the warrant committee voted ten against and five in favor of the project mclachlan member of the warrant committee said it would be a waste of money there is no end use even thought for this building and there never will be he said he estimates it would cost two million dollars to get the building to code for any kind of practical use and the restriction on the deed of the property says it can only be used for environmental education or storage of equipment for the cemetary he recommended waiting a year to allow more dialogue on determining what to do with the building and look into changing the restriction on the deed he said the town has no legal obligation to mclean  reminded everyone the hospital has been asked to make is zero dollars of pilot that's payment in lieu of taxes roy abstaining chairman of the warrant committee said the majority of its members were concerned about how community preservation funds have been allocated and would like to see money saved for larger projects in the future such as the restoration of the incinerators site and the community path the proponents cited agreement with mclean ellen o'brien cushman chairman of the land management committee encouraged members to vote yes and added to save the structure so last through belmont's lengthy decision process which might take a month to ten years she reminded everyone that mclean holds four seats on the land management committee and wrote a letter in support of the project those who spoke in favor of the proving the funding that it is important to one of the agreements the town made with mclean hospital when they acquired the land and the structure which is now part of rock meadow conservation land which was to preserve the historic bond structure elizabeth pugh precinct to town meeting member said she took a close look at the building and fell in love with its architecture to give members an idea of the cost for the project she said based on eight thousand four hundred homes it would cost twenty thousand eight eighty dollars per household for the project michael that's twenty dollars and eighty cents for the project project michael chess  on precinct for town meeting member said he liked old things and spoke very highly of the bond stretcher which he said could become the symbol of a town that began as a farming community he reminded everyone that there isn't enough office space for all the town boards and the bond could become office space for those boys now his mix thanks claire citizens petition fails petition to increase size of belmont board of select fails by joanna cates of alice belmont's town government will continue to be run the way it has been for one hundred fifty nine years with three selectmen as its c e o s town meeting had the opportunity to change that last night when it considered a citizens petition for a home rule petition to increase the number of selectmen from three to five after nearly two hours of debate on may seventh the motion failed with an electronic roll call vote by town meeting of one hundred  seventy opposed fifty five in favor and two abstentions don mercier precinct eight town meeting member made the motion to terminate debate at about ten thirty pm with several members still in line waiting to comment sue bass precinct three town meeting member who submitted the petition with judy feigns precinct five town meeting member said she was surprised and disappointed by the outcome margin i was also disappointed that more people weren't interested in hearing what the dozen people in line had to say despite the lateness of the hour wrote bass in an email to the citizen herald following the town meeting paul richter chairman of the committee to study the number of selectmen which were voted nine to four in favor of increasing the number of in their final report earlier this year said although he was one of the votes in favor on the committee he ended up voting no at town meeting it was clear to me from talking to town meeting members over the past couple of months that while many had sympathy for the idea of increasing the number of selectmen there was a serious concern that it was premature to make that change without more work on the other changes needed in town governance particularly in the role of town administrator i hope we will do some serious exploration of the roles of town meant administrator and the board of selectmen in the coming months as one member of the committee i'd be happy to talk to selectmen about this if we decide we are ready to make changes in that area the idea of increasing the number of selectmen should be revived as part of those changes and might get a very different result the town meeting road director in an email to the citizen herald following the meeting patrice garvin belmont's newtown administrator had the opportunity to address town meeting for the first time on may seventh she was asked how increasing the number of selectmen from three to five would affect her role garvan quantify the impact of two additional selectman she said she currently spends about one point five hours per day per selectman responding to emails and estimates another an additional fifteen hours a week would be necessary to respond to email from an additional two selectman she also factored in phone calls text chasing selectman for signatures and the occasional drop in visit in total she said an additional staff person working twenty hours per week would be needed at a forty five thousand dollars annual salary plus asked as to made eighteen thousand dollars for benefits shared how difficult it was to be the only woman and the only one with a different different political philosophy compared to her fellow board members she said she had to get citizens to come to meetings to speak in favor of her positions no selectman should have to go to those lengths to be heard she said polson also said she was never elected to chairman during her six years of service she said a five member board would be stronger and she believes more women would run if the numbers increase to five recommends the number of selectmen to range from five to nine members a three member board has never been recommended by the league he said of the one hundred fifty six community studied by the university of buffalo regional institute only one had a three member board the two thousand and nine study found larger councils are better able to represent diverse opinions smaller councils are better able to respond to community consensus and col approximately ten members poke in favor of keeping the number of selectmen three citing several reasons including not fixing something they do not believe is broken shorter meetings qualified candidates competitive elections too much at stake and transparency over you bob thank you max c p a projects approved by town meeting town meeting approve the following five community purse of asian act projects totaling about one point one six million the housing trusts the belmont housing trust request for two hundred fifty thousand dollars of community preservation funds to pursue affordable housing opportunities was unanimously approved on may seventh monies will be expended per housing trust agreement developed with the selectmen possible uses of funding include purchasing of land or affordable units working with developers to promote affordable housing while leveraging state and private funds to increase the number of affordable units according to rachel heller of the belmont housing trust twenty five percent of belmont homeowners could sit id housing burdened according using more than thirty percent of their income to pay for the house veterans memorial the belmont  hundred three thousand dollars for the belmont veterans memorial project on may second the funds will be used to restore the existing memorial from one nine hundred forty clay pit pond replace the flagpole replace the bronze plaque and rebuild the wall pace impart bandstand the motion for five thousand dollars for the architectural design for a bandstand at pace and pock to be used for the pace impact music festival was approved on may second pace impact music festival founder thomas sina olson explained the bandstand will be will be a help to project the instruments of the musicians town meeting members were asked if the bandstand design would be open or have sides also and said she will be looking for public input on the design town feel playground courtney eldridge of the precinct three percent of the request for twenty five thousand dollars to design a playground for town field at the intersection of waverly in beech streets the equipment is more than twenty years old current structures are rusting and splintery there was no discussion the project was adopted unanimously on may second and finally walking path the next project discussed and approved on may second was a seven hundred eighty thousand dollar appropriation for the construction of the intergenerational walking path da present of the project design she said excess ability into the pocket is the biggest issue there are inaccessible areas due to erosion tree roots and uneven areas if a visitor is elderly walking with a has another mobility impairment access to the poc is restricted proposed improvements include a six foot wide accessible walking path circuit inside the park to seating years will be created and the number of shade trees will be planted she said they are also working with the recreation and division of the belmont department of public works temporary batting tunnels will also be installed and over to clare thank you bob town manager a men's citizen's petition to opt out special town election to vote on marijuana by law set for september a case of ellen's the citizens petition to opt out of permitting any marijuana retail establishments in belmont was defeated at special town meeting on may third by a one hundred forty three to one hundred three vote with one abstention however the petition was approved with two amendments that will let the town prohibit all retail marijuana except marijuana retailers and allow up to two such shops to open in belmont town meeting members debated the issue for more than two hours with voices in support of the citizens petition to opt out of everything and in support of the amendments to allow non medical marijuana retailers and to limit the number of locations to no mia more than two there was frequent applause for the voices in support of the amendments town moderate a mike widmer had to pipe up a few times throughout the debate to warn town meeting members they were out of scope petition sought ban on all marijuana establishment the original citizens petition sought to let voters bar all marijuana rick stablish mints in belmont under the terms of the two thousand and sixteen statewide ballot measure that legalized recreational marijuana use in massachusetts if approved the board of selectmen would have had to decide whether or not to have a special town election opting out completely will no longer be an option for belmont voters due to the approval of two amendments filed by precinct one town meeting member emma thurston instead on the ballot they will now have to decide if they want to allow up to two marijuana retail is to open in belmont if they vote no any kind of establishment will be allowed to open including cultivators manufacturers testers and retail is with no limit on how many the selectmen chose september twenty fifth as the date for the special town election at their may seventh meeting thurston said she is pleased with the outcome given the overwhelming positive feedback and notes of appreciation that i've received since the vote it was clear that people wanted an option that wasn't all or nothing i'm satisfied that my amendments served their purpose in saving retail if it goes to ballot and i look forward to welcoming the business to belmont she wrote in an e mail to the citizen herald following the special town meeting disappointing outcome for citizens petition supporters pm eager precinct a town meeting member who initiated the citizen's petition to opt out of all marijuana said the passage of the amended article one at the special town meeting was a disappointment true enough that it could be a very close bullet but the stakes are high when we consider the message i about our willingness to normalize marijuana and even make i doubt full financial profit from selling it commercially in our town to me the cost of a special election or even two special elections is nothing to the cost in life quality and the mental and physical health of my grandchildren and all the young people in belmont i would rather have seen the vote put to the citizens of dominant with full acknowledgement of their right to decide either in favor or oppose to marijuana the town is the citizens who live here wrote eager in an email to the citizen herald following the special town meeting julie crockett precinct five town meeting member who supported the original citizens petition said the outcome means we'll never know what the voters think about the complete op n proponents give voters a say tom lowry precinct to town meeting member presented the citizens petition this discussion is about whether belmont voters have the right to express their preference about adult use marijuana as stablish mints in belmont said lowery the question was not voted on november sixth two thousand and sixteen is there anyone in this room that doesn't know we already have marijuana sales in belmont asked in may and of precinct four this is a way to control the sales now over to max thank you claire broadway coming to chinnery school stage bye bye birdie opens may seventeenth by joy in a case of alice bye bye birdie is this year's cherry middle school spring musical featuring sixty three seventh and eighth grade belmont students on stage and approximately twenty behind the scenes who hope to take audiences back to the one nine hundred fifty s for their three schedule performances may seventeenth eighteenth and nineteenth at seven pm bye bye birdie is a tony award winning broadway hit hundred sixty one nine hundred sixty one based on a book by michael stuart with lyrics by lee adams and music by charles strouse it's a romantic comedy about a media circus for rock star conrad birdie who was drafted into the army and visits the small town of sweet apple ohio to perform for fans and give one last kiss to lucky fan kim mcafee we chose this musical this year because it is so represent representative of youthful energy and fun and hope and excitement said nicole catalona producing director energetic dancing the show is very dance heavy korean choreographer monica fent friends are generous health education teacher has love the show since she was a young girl and always dreamed of choreographing for it the dancing is very energetic i have them doing a lot of jumps and leaps and big movements to can convey their excitement over seeing this rockstar said friends are eighth graders me edgy a trial us and lincoln crockett play two of the main characters rose and albert rose would like to marry albert but he is very attached to his mother who doesn't want to let him go amelia rono and eric mcafee and conrad birdie kim as a fifteen year old girl who wins a kiss from rock star conrad birdie before he leaves to serve in the army we have some beautiful voices in this cast and the way we cast the show we really let their voices shine and i love hearing that said catalona sara carson music director and vocal coach said the students have been working very hard at rehearsal and at home he described the music as poppy with a little bit of old rock and roll with it some barbershop many different cost aisles of music the teenagers in the cast in the singing cast relate to the lyrics because the show is about having a teenage icon friends are said bertie is a student run the show the staff guided man sews slipped designs in aromatic flavors of new generation electronic cigarettes been attracting increasingly larger number of teens across massachusetts belmont too has uptick in the trend over the past two years this is a challenge nationwide locally i work with twenty five to thirty principals on high school issues each of them has been challenged with the problem ro belmont by reducing the amount of nicotine they intake dr average spira a pulmonologist at the belmont medical center at the boston medical center was done extensive research on the health effect of the east cigarettes seventies cigarettes have been affective in helping his patients quit smoking east cigarettes first came to the us market about ten years ago and have evolved rapidly into hundreds of varieties given the novelty of the vague being phenomenon there is still much unknown about the elf risks of the device and the substance we don't know how safe electronic cigarettes but we know that they are safer than regular tobacco products that contain a lot of cancer causing agents said spear up over the years the trend had spread far beyond its targeted market extending to middle and high school students who had not smoked before the devices and vait shoes containing nicotine have become culprits of the new addiction for teens while the in the field of e cigarettes is not conclusive some of the early data suggests that inhaling east cigarette vapor could potentially damage parts of the lungs said spira another major wary is the potential progression of the habit it could be a gateway to smoking other things down the road said spira that's a wherry winchester officials share students turns dition into vague being marijuana and easier for younger children to bypass the legal age threshold for purchasing tobacco which varies between eighteen and twenty one years old across the state in twenty fourteen belmont's board of health recommended a resolution to increase the town's legal sales age of tobacco in nicotine products including east cigarettes from eighteen to twenty one years my colleagues claire and max we thank you for listening to the talking news and we hope you have enjoyed the show we return next week for another edition of local news happenings around belmont