Belmont Select Board Buys $379,500 Sewer Cleaner, Demands New Cannabis Host Agreement

BELMONT — May 18, 2026 — Belmont Select Board votes unanimously to buy a new $379,500 sewer cleaner and require a fresh cannabis host agreement from would-be new owner Clover Partners, LLC. The board, meeting May 18 at Belmont High School ahead of Annual and Special Town Meeting, approved the Vactor RamJet purchase from already-appropriated sewer enterprise capital after DPW Director Jay Marcotte said the existing machine has been borrowed from Watertown when it breaks down and that buying now saves $80,000 plus a $10,000 trade-in. Town Administrator Patrice Garvin said the recreational cannabis facility at 768 Pleasant Street — which has never opened — is being sold to Clover Partners for $1 million, triggering a 30-day state deadline. The board also heard Fire Chief David Stefano describe a third-alarm May 14 blaze at 2 Trapello Road that drew mutual aid from Cambridge, Watertown, Waltham, Arlington, and Newton and required more than 2,500 gallons per minute at peak — the fire complicated by a ruptured natural gas line and floor collapse. The board voted 2-1 against recommending a citizen's petition amendment that would give Town Meeting final say over the naming of major town assets, with Chair Matt Taylor warning the requirement could deter naming donors: "Nobody would ever go through that."