Voted (3-1).  Mr. Hurd was not present. Mr. Diggins voted in the negative. The majority of the Select Board supports the resolution in spirit, but Mr. Diggins questioned the utility and impact of the resolution. Mr. DeCourcey and Mrs. Mahon viewed the resolution as part of a larger worthwhile discussion regarding the fairness of the MBTA assessment process and its disproportionate impact upon Arlington.  The members voting in favor of the proposed resolution support the movement to revisit the historical statutory formula by which assessments are determined so that all current MBTA communities pay their fair share. 

Further, the Board members in attendance were unanimous in their questioning regarding whether the Select Board is the best forum for voting on such resolutions, with Mr. Diggins and Ms. Mahon noting that the Town Meeting may be better suited to develop its language.  Mr. DeCourcey and Mrs. Mahon suggested that it should be considered whether resolutions should be sent directly to Town Meeting so that petitioners are not faced with the prospect of having to submit a substitute motion at Town Meeting if their resolution language is amended by the Select Board.  Mrs. Mahon noted that such a change may “streamline the process” and Mr. Helmuth suggested that the resolutions are properly the “voice of Town Meeting.”  

That Town Meeting does and hereby resolves as follows:

Whereas, the last streetcar from Arlington Heights to Harvard Square ran on November 18, 1955; and

Whereas, the last MBTA train from Arlington to North Station ran on January 10, 1977; and

Whereas, the last 79 bus from Arlington Heights to Alewife ran on March 12, 2021; and

Whereas, on December 18, 2022, six days after the Green Line Extension opened to Tufts-Medford, the MBTA reduced service on the 80 bus that connects Arlington Center with the Green Line Terminus, and

Whereas, the lack of frequent bus service from Arlington to Tufts-Medford prevented Arlington commuters from connecting to the Green Line or the Lowell Commuter Rail line as a viable alternative for travel to and from Boston during the recent shutdown of the Red Line, and

Whereas, despite challenges faced by Arlington commuters and student pass holders due to poor service, the MBTA reduced service on the 77 bus on December 18, 2022, and

Whereas, the deterioration of MBTA bus service has become extreme enough that, for the first time, the Arlington School Committee has been forced to run parallel bus service for Ottoson Middle School students beginning on January 29, 2024, and

Whereas, the Town of Arlington and the City of Cambridge have built bus lanes to facilitate the movement of buses along Massachusetts Avenue, at the same time the MBTA reduced bus service along this artery, and

Whereas, the Town of Arlington’s projected FY25 MBTA assessment is three times the per-capita assessment of two municipalities categorized under the MBTA Communities ACT as Rapid Transit Communities, as well as 33 municipalities classified as Commuter Rail Communities, and 

Whereas, the assessment multiplier used to determine Arlington's projected FY 25 MBTA assessment of $3,403,415 is the fourth highest (along with 10 other cities and towns) among the 176 communities within the MBTA service territory. Of the 11 communities, Arlington is one of only two (along with Watertown) that do not host either a rapid transit or commuter rail station, and one of only three (along with Belmont and Watertown) that are not designated as Rapid Transit Communities in the MBTA Communities Act, and

Whereas, the Town of Arlington demonstrated its commitment to transit-oriented housing when Town Meeting voted 189-35 on October 25, 2023 to create a MBTA Communities Overlay District that significantly exceeds the town’s requirement for permitting multifamily transit-friendly residential units by right, and

Therefore be it resolved, the Town of Arlington asks the MBTA to provide frequent, reliable service along Massachusetts Avenue with convenient connections to the Red Line, and

Be it also resolved, the Town of Arlington asks the MBTA to provide frequent, reliable service from Arlington Heights, through Arlington Center, and along Medford Street and Boston Avenue with convenient connections to the West Medford commuter rail station and the Tufts- Medford terminus of the Green Line Extension, and

Be it also resolved, the Town of Arlington seeks a partnership with the MBTA to plan significant improvements to the transit infrastructure in Arlington, and

Be it also resolved, the Town of Arlington invites Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt and MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng to conduct a community forum relative to the transportation needs and expectations for service in the Town, and

Be it also resolved, the Town Clerk of the Town of Arlington shall transmit a copy of this resolution to Governor Maura Healey, Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll, United States Senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, United States Representative Katherine Clark, State Senator Cindy Friedman, State Representatives Sean Garballey and Dave Rogers, Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt, and MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng.

Select Board Report

Amendment by Eugene Benson, Precinct 10