Belmont Week in Review: Loading Dock Granted Full-Liqour License, Shea Named State Teacher of the Year

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• Brighton Street’s The Loading Dock is granted by the Belmont Board of Selectmen a sole full-liqour retail license, beating out two other applicants. The license will come with conditions including that the anticipated renovations at the convenience store (as it transforms into an “international cafe/bistro” according to owner Faud Nicolas Mukarker) are completed and the store will no longer sell tobacco or lottery tickets.

• Belmont High School social studies teacher Dr. Jeff Shea was named the 2014 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year. Shea will be recognized in a ceremony at Belmont High School this Tuesday.

• The Belmont School District is running an $220,000 deficit for the fiscal 2014 budget due to the need for additional instructors in responses to the rapid increase in student enrollment, a rise in expense for special education and unanticipated costs such as the repairs to the Higginbottom Pool. 

• Less than six months since it was passed by November’s Special Town Meeting, a resident discussed before a public forum on the upcoming Town Meeting articles his citizen’s petition to strike the residential snow removal bylaw from the books.

• After a recount of the ballots cast at Precinct 3 – the first election recount in Belmont in more than a dozen years – it turned out that long-time Town Meeting member Marty Cohen lost his re-election bid by a single vote.

DPW Open House Saturday Until 2 PM

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The Belmont Department of Public Works is inviting the public to an open house to celebrate National Public Works Week today, Saturday, May 3 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the DPW yard at the end of C Street.

Please join us and bring the family to meet Public Works employees, see heavy equipment, ask questions, collect recycling and water conservation information. There will be raffles, cold drinks, balloons and coloring books for the kids!

 

Brighton Street’s Loading Dock Lands Full-Liqour License … with Conditions

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Citing a chance to bring economic development to Brighton Street, the Belmont Board of Selectmen unanimously approved a full liquor license to The Loading Dock at 11 Brighton St. during a public meeting held before 90 residents and applicants at the Beech Street Center last night, Thursday, May 1.

“This is what I wanted for the store since I [first] arrived seven years ago,” said The Loading Dock’s owner and Belmont resident Faud Nicolas Mukarker after the vote.

Mukarker beat out applications from Waltham-based D&L Liquors and the Craft Beer Cellar of Belmont Center for the coveted full-liqour license, the only one to be presented.

The Belmont Board of Selectmen; (from left) Mark Paolillo, Andy Rojas and Sami Baghdady.

The Belmont Board of Selectmen; (from left) Mark Paolillo, Andy Rojas and Sami Baghdady.

While granting the license, the Selectmen placed a number of conditions on their approval, the most significant is that Mukarker must end the sale of tobacco and lottery tickets at the location as he transforms it into an “international bistro and cafeteria,” according to the Park Road resident.

Screen Shot 2014-05-02 at 10.12.36 AM

Drawings of the proposed beer, wine and liquor area in an anticipated renovated The Loading Dock on Brighton Street.

In addition, the store can not sell individual cans of beer or “nips” – a tiny taster bottle of liquor usually 50 milliliters which is about a shot of liquor – employees must under go training on controlling sales to minors, the portion of the store reserved for liquor can not exceed 750 square feet and the business must hold a certification of occupancy from the town when the long-anticipated renovation of the site is completed. 

Mukarker said he will complete renovations at the site – which is another condition the Board is requiring of the owner before he can operate with the license – by August, dedicating between 500- to 750-square feet (about a third of the store’s footprint) to beer, wine and liquor.

In a separate vote, the Board declined an application for a wine and beer license to LC Variety on Trapelo Road due to space, cleanliness and management issues.

The native of Jerusalem left a position at Fleet Bank to become the manager of the then-White Hen Pantry at the location in 2006 before buying the location in 2011.

Things to Do Today: Final One Acts, Sports Galore at Belmont High

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• The final performances of Belmont High School Performing Arts Company’s annual One Act Plays take place tonight in the High School’s Little Theater at 6 p.m. and 8:20 p.m. One Act tickets are $5 for students, $10 for adults. Tickets are on sale at Champions Sporting Goods in Belmont Center and at the door but these performances traditionally sell out so get them early.

• “Guys and Dolls” presented by the students of Chenery Middle School will be performed at 7 p.m. in the Chenery’s auditorium. Tickets are available online and at Moozy’s at the corner of Trapelo Road and Belmont Street and Champions Sporting Goods in Belmont Center. Preconcert tickets are $10 adults and $8 for students. Tickets will also be available at the door with adults paying $12 and students $8. The final performance is Saturday at 7 p.m.

• Lots of sports this afternoon at Belmont High School: Boys’ Tennis vs. Wilmington High at 3:30 p.m.; both baseball and softball get underway at 3:45 p.m. against Wilmington and Girls’ Lacrosse against Wakefield High at 4:30 p.m. at Harris Field.

• On this day in 1941, General Mills began shipping a new cereal called “Cheerioats” to six test markets. The cereal was later renamed “Cheerios.”

Belmont High’s Jeff Shea Named State’s Teacher of the Year

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Dr. Jeff Shea has been leading his students to explore the world outside of Belmont, and make a difference.

Recently, Shea, a social studies teacher at Belmont High School, created a microfinance project for students in his innovative Global Leadership course, an elective open to 11th and 12th graders designed to increase students’ awareness of international issues.

Using online resources and other technology like a class blog, Shea asks students to examine human rights challenges and consider solutions through the frameworks of finance, leadership and diplomacy. One lesson was choosing a recipient from across the world to receive money in an effort to benefit their community. After a semester of discussions and presentations, the Shea’s class used a small pool of money – including using his own funds – for the expansion of a dairy farm in Uganda and a foreign exchange business in Liberia.

Shea has made presentations on his course at international teaching conferences and to educators nationwide.

While teaching leadership in the classroom, Shea also managed and coached an extremely young group of golfers to a historic third-place finish in the state Div. 2 golf championships.

For his innovative teaching and leadership, Shea was named Wednesday, April 30, as the 2014 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year.

Shea will be recognized in a ceremony at Belmont High School on Tuesday, May 6 at 9 a.m. in front of the entire school and state officials.

DPW, Butler Elementary Ready to Recycle on Saturday

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Got recyclables but they won’t fit or won’t be accepted in the blue/green recycling bins?

On Saturday, May 3, there will be a pair of location where you can dispose of non-toxic (those have to be recycled once a month in Lexington) materials in Belmont.

• From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the DPW Water Division Yard at 35 Woodland St,. residents will have the chance to recycle things like textiles, bulky-rigid plastics, Styrofoam and paper to be shredded, courtesy of the Belmont Department of Public Works.

Since the event will take place during the DPW Day celebration, residents coming only to recycle items should enter by the DPW Water Division via Woodland Street and exit via Prince Street.

Any questions about the recycle event, call 617-993-2689.

• The annual Butler Elementary School Electronics Recycling Day will take place from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the school at 90 White St. This is a convenient, environmentally-friendly way to recycle electronics at rates lower than what the town charges.  So gather up your old monitors, TVs, – anything with a plug counts.  Rates will range from a buck to $30 for disposal.
Residents can swing by the Butler to drop off unwanted electronics before heading over to the DPW event.

Belmont Police Release Information on Level 3 Sex Offender

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According to state requirements on community notification, the Belmont Police Department has released information on Belmont’s only Level 3 sex offender.

“[R]egistered sex offender and Belmont resident Carl Peterson is moving to 108 Clark Lane,” read the announcement released April 30.

Peterson and his family currently reside on Barnard Road. 

According to additional information provided by Belmont Police, it appears Peterson will be working from home. 

“This offender is not wanted by the police at this time and has served the sentence imposed on him by the court,” the announcement said. “This notification is not intended to increase fear in the community. It is the belief of law enforcement that an informed public is a safe public.”

According to the state’s Sex Offender Registry Board, a level 3 classification is placed on an individual who the Board has determined in which “the risk of reoffense is high and the degree of dangerousness posed to the public is such that a substantial public safety interest is served by active dissemination.”

Last September, Peterson made headlines across the country when he suddenly spoke about his status and the fear he brought to Belmont at a community forum held by police and county law enforcement officials when it was learned that Peterson had become a resident.

Sold In Belmont: ‘Tiny’ Single-Family Clears Half-a-Million

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Here is the weekly recap of residential properties bought in the “Town of Homes.”

73-71 Lewis Rd. Two-family (1924), Sold for: $680,000. Listed at $829,000. Living area: 3,332 sq.-ft. 13 rooms; 5 bedrooms, 3 baths. On the market: 81 days.

19-21 Wilson Ave. Two-family (1915), Sold for: $710,000. Listed at $729,000. Living area: 2,372 sq.-ft. 11 rooms; 4 bedrooms, 2 baths. On the market: 136 days.

29 Knox St. Old-style Cape (1939), Sold for: $532,500. Listed at $549,000. Living area: 1,142 sq.-ft. 5 rooms; 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths. On the market: 64 days.

158 Beech St. #2. Condominium. Sold for: $486,600. Listed at $429,000. Living area: 1,590 sq.-ft. 7 rooms; 2 bedrooms, 2 baths. On the market: 64 days.

158 Beech St. #2. Condominium. Sold for: $486,600. Listed at $429,000. Living area: 1,590 sq.-ft. 7 rooms; 2 bedrooms, 2 baths. On the market: 64 days.

73-71 Lewis Rd. Two-family (1924), Sold for: $680,000. Listed at $829,000. Living area: 3,332 sq.-ft. 13 rooms; 5 bedrooms, 3 baths. On the market: 81 days.

73-71 Lewis Rd. Two-family (1924), Sold for: $680,000. Listed at $829,000. Living area: 3,332 sq.-ft. 13 rooms; 5 bedrooms, 3 baths. On the market: 81 days.

19-21 Wilson Ave. Two-family (1915), Sold for: $710,000. Listed at $729,000. Living area: 2,372 sq.-ft. 11 rooms; 4 bedrooms, 2 baths. On the market: 136 days.

19-21 Wilson Ave. Two-family (1915), Sold for: $710,000. Listed at $729,000. Living area: 2,372 sq.-ft. 11 rooms; 4 bedrooms, 2 baths. On the market: 136 days.

 

Things to Do Today: Curtains Rising at School Shows, Liquor Licenses Meeting, LEGO Club

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• The curtains are going up for “Guys and Dolls” presented by the students of Chenery Middle School at 7 p.m. in the Chenery’s auditorium and for Belmont High School Performing Arts Company’s annual One Act Plays at 7 p.m. in the Little Theater.

“Guys and Dolls” tickets are available online and at Moozy’s at the corner of Trapelo Road and Belmont Street and Champions Sporting Goods in Belmont Center. Preconcert tickets are $10 adults and $8 for students. Tickets will also be available at the door with adults paying $12 and students $8. Additional performances are Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m.

One Act tickets are $5 for students, $10 for adults. Tickets are on sale at Champions Sporting Goods in Belmont Center and at the door but these performances traditionally sell out so get them early. You get another chance to be in the audience tomorrow at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.

• The Belmont Board of Selectmen will be continuing an earlier public meeting on the four applications for full-liquor or a beer and wine licenses this evening beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St.

• In Control Crash Prevention will present “7 Ways to Make Good Teen Driving Memories” tonight at 7 p.m. in the Belmont Public Library’s Assembly Room.

• The Belmont Public Library’s LEGO Club for children in kindergarten through the third grade will be held in the Library’s Assembly Room from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. All LEGOs will be provided. 

• Town Meeting members from precincts 7 and 8 are holding caucuses at 7:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. at Town Hall to fill representative vacancies.

• Quarterly real estate and personal property tax bills are due to the Treasurer’s Office at Town Hall by 4 p.m. on Thursday, May 1. You can make the payment online by going to the town’s bill payment web page. If you need assistance, call 617-993-2770.