Belmont Select Board Approves Sports Complex Policy Amid Rink Dehumidifier Crisis

BELMONT — July 20, 2026 — Belmont Select Board tackles dehumidifier failures at new skating rink, approves management policy and six appointments. The board heard Monday that the Belmont Sports Complex has been closed due to a repeatedly failing Novel Air dehumidification unit, with a belt on the flywheel breaking or stretching multiple times and building management system alerts not triggering when the unit shuts down — leaving staff unaware of failures until condensation began dripping from girders onto the ice. Facilities Director Dave Layo and Municipal Rink Building Committee Chair Mark Haley told the board that roughly $22,000 in rental income had been lost, that a multi-party inspection was scheduled for the following day, and that an emergency plan involving a trailer-mounted temporary dehumidifier was in place if the system fails again. The board voted unanimously to approve an amended Belmont Sports Complex management policy formalizing the town administrator's operational authority, after striking a proposed "rink ambassador" role and references to contracts not yet under town control. The board also approved a 99-year MBTA lease briefing for the Community Path, with a full package of right-of-way votes scheduled for August 10, and unanimously approved six committee appointments: Joe Wright, Karen Bowerly, and Meg Clough to the Housing Trust, and Barbara Taylor, Katherine Oates, and Cedric Dubois to the Recreation Commission, each to three-year terms expiring June 30, 2029.