Belmont Selectboard retains current schedule, alternating morning, evening meetings

BELMONT — Despite a request from selectboard Member Mark Lewandoski to alter the meeting schedule for the month of July, meetings will continue as planned, according to the alternating morning and event meeting schedule.

The next selectboard meeting is at 10 a.m., Wednesday, July 1, followed by a 6 p.m. meeting on Wednesday, July 15. All meetings take place at the Belmont Mill.

The seemingly simple request turned into a polite debate — with several pregnant pauses — over why the request was made in the first place.

“What was the reason for the request?” asked Travis O’Hara, selectboard member. “Three months ago, we all agreed on one meeting in the morning, and one meeting at night. Now, three months later, it’s being changed.”

Discussion followed, with member Sharon Ciampi lamenting the intricacies of childcare needed to accommodate the request, but no reason for the schedule change request was provided by anyone on the board, including Lewandoski.

“I have no issue with it being a one-time thing, or whatever it has to be. I don’t want it to become our normal, because [in] 2024, the voters came out, and 75% of them wanted us to have meetings after 4 o clock,” O’Hara said. “I think we’ve gotten to a point that we passed the budget by six votes, and I don’t want to rock the boat too much.”

The board did not vote, and decided to maintain the schedule as previously agreed upon.

In other meeting news, Public Works Director Brian Jackes provided an update on the Granite State Clean Fleet Grant, earned by the department to help upfit its plow fleet. A staffer from the state Department of Environmental Services came to safely view the scrapping of the outdated parts on the old plow on June 16, in accordance with grant requirements.

Now, the town can move forward with reimbursement for the new vehicle.

“We signed off on everything ... we’ll be getting everything ready to submit for reimbursement,” Jackes said. It’s "about $200,000 from Granite State Clean Fleet.”

The Granite State Clean Fleet Grant program helps with older vehicles flagged for emissions violations, modernizing the machines to build out a more environmentally-friendly fleet.

New hires for public works were shared, including a part-time summer laborer, a building and grounds laborer, and a truck driver.

The selectboard also bestowed their Citizen of the Year Award to recent Belmont High School graduate Riley DeGange, who earned a $500 scholarship for her volunteer work with the Belmont Heritage Commission. DeGange is attending Emerson College, in Boston, to study marketing communication.

Finally, Police Chief Steven Akerstrom provided an update on the two e-bikes the department obtained over the winter to better patrol areas hard to reach by car, like their portion of the WOW Trail near Route 3, as well as downtown.

The e-bikes are being put to good use.

“Two weeks ago, we had two officers go through school to be able to be trained on the bikes. They’ve since been out around town, here and over on the WOW Trail, on the Route 3 side,” Akerstrom said. “We’ve made a couple of arrests out there on them with the homeless. We’re using them, and hopefully you’ll see them out some more after Bike Week.”

For more information, visit belmontnh.gov.

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Katlyn Proctor can be reached at katlyn@laconiadailysun.com or by calling 603-524-0150.