Sold in Belmont: From High to Low, Ranch to Antique

 

A weekly recap of residential properties bought in the past seven days in the “Town of Homes.”

191 Somerset St. A Cape-style with a huge extension/wing (1950), Sold for: $1,450,000. Listed at $1,395,000. Living area: 3,167 sq.-ft. 9 rooms; 4 bedrooms, 3 baths. On the market: 70 days.

31 Robinwood Rd. Multi-level raised Ranch (1956), Sold for: $960,000. Listed at $1,059,000. Living area: 2,038 sq.-ft. 9 rooms; 3 bedrooms, 2 baths. On the market: 138 days.

• 57 Elm St. (upper). Two-level condominium (1925), Sold for: $719,900. Listed at $$719,900. Living area: 1,741 sq.-ft. 7 rooms; 4 bedrooms, 2 baths. On the market: 77 days.

41 Waverley St. Antique farmhouse-style (1880), Sold for: $690,000. Listed at $$750,000. Living area: 2,439 sq.-ft. 11 rooms; 5 bedrooms, 2.5 baths. On the market: 49 days.

 

Belmont/Watertown Takeoff Noise Concerns Remain Up In The Air

Photo: Adriana Poole (in foreground) speaking to State Rep. Dave Rogers, State Rep. Jonathan Hecht and Belmont CAC representative Myron Kassaraba at a community meeting on noise from departing jets from Logan Airport.

Adriana Poole knows first hand about oppressive government agencies.

Born and raised in Romania under the Stalinist regime of Nicolae Ceaușescu, the Louise Road resident recalls the total contempt the government had for its people.

Today, after living in the United States for decades, Poole thought her time with uncaring dictatorial authorities was at an end.

“I’m not saying this lightly, the [Federal Aviation Authority] to me is a pocket of totalitarianism … in the midst of the best democracy on earth,” said Poole as she spoke to elected officials, town representatives and citizens at a community meeting last week, Dec. 3, to discuss the increase in noise from aircraft departing Logan Airport.

Poole, who created the QuietBelmont Google forum group to provide a place to discuss and vent about the number and frequency of planes flying over Belmont and surrounding communities, said it was “troubling that no one seems to be addressing [the FAA which has] absolute power. That’s just not OK.”

According to Belmont’s rep on an overview group, it appears federal intervention, in addition to loud, community activism, is the only way to force the FAA’s hand on the issue.

Nearly one year to the day when it made its initial presentation to the town, the Belmont representative to the Logan Airport Community Advisory Committee was back before a joint meeting with their Watertown colleagues at Belmont Town Hall to update residents on the FAA’s new departure procedure and efforts to address the increased airplane noise from departing flights using Logan’s Runway 33 left.

At the meeting, Belmont CAC representative Myron Kassaraba used a detailed slide presentation that demonstrated that since June 2013, the FAA – which regulates and oversees all aspects of American civil aviation – implemented a new route for planes departing Logan. In the past, the routes out of Boston were much more random in their distribution with planes using a wide swath of air space.

With an eye towards safety and efficiency, the FAA deployed technology in June 2013 that now requires planes to move in much narrower paths as they head to the south and west. Unfortunately for residents, three of the four main air avenues fly directly over Belmont.

As a result, noise complaints to Massport, which runs Logan Airport in East Boston, have skyrocketed in the past year – from zero in Feb. 2013 to more than 250 in the same month in 2014, the most of any community in the region – as the sound of dozens of planes pass overhead “very concentrated population areas” throughout the day, said Kassaraba.

There have been some small victories for local communities to cheer, according to Kassaraba, including a trial that will last until January of varying the use of runways at Logan so that noise is not constant throughout the day but during the morning or evening. In addition, the airline industry is moving towards quieter, more fuel-efficient engines, which State Sen. Will Brownsberger said must be encouraged by the public and elected officials.

While Belmont residents are raising the concern of quality of life as well as related health concerns, the FAA is preparing a final study that could demonstrate that a greater number of communities in and around Boston are less effected by aircraft noise and they addressed other issues. Currently, the FAA is supporting its claim using what many see is an outdated noise model based on four decade old statistics.

Kassaraba said the CAC and elected officials have spoken to officials on Beacon Hill and with Massport CEO (and Belmont resident) Thomas Glynn on the noise concerns but “[t]his is really a federal issue so if there are any changes, it must be done in Washington [DC].”

“It will take an act of Congress” to change the flight patterns, said Kassaraba.

While admitting movement has been slow in approaching the FAA on issues impacting communities – it is hardly a single region concern as citizens in New York City, Chicago and Phoenix have recently complained of increased noise from aircraft – Jennifer McAndrew, a senior advisor to US Rep. Katherine Clark said she is an inaugural member of a new group of 25 representatives from communities impacted by airport and plane noise dubbed the Quiet Skies Caucus which was created in October to find solutions to noise barraging their constituents.

After sending a letter to Michael Huerta, the FAA’s administrator, Clark received a response in late November that indicated a willingness by the FAA to conduct a noise survey in the next year to determine if the current noise model is valid. 

In addition, the FAA’s reauthorization will be before Congress in 2015, an opportunity to push for greater responsiveness to citizens complaints, said McAndrew.

“These are small steps forward in a very long process,” she said.

In the meantime, residents should continue to file complaints via phone or online with the Massport noise complaint line, said Kassaraba.

Poole said that long lasting change to the current environment is to pressure federal and local officials to add language to the FAA’s mission statement that it must address any and all adverse impact they have on communities.

“To the FAA, I’m just collateral damage,” she said.

Come Christmas Caroling in Belmont Saturday, Dec. 13 at 4 PM

Celebrate the final 12 days before Christmas – how appropriate! – with an old-fashioned afternoon of Christmas caroling in Belmont Center.
For the third-year running, families and anyone who likes to sing (with no actual vocal skill required) are invited to come to the town’s Christmas tree next to Bellmont Cafe and the BankAmerica branch office this Saturday, Dec. 13 at 4 p.m. (weather date: Sunday, Dec. 14 at 4 p.m.) for an hour of singing familiar songs. There is the good chance passersby will be corralled to join the singing.
The weather Saturday is for a slight chance of snow showers before 11 a.m. with the chance of precipitation at 20 percent. The high will be 39.
“This is for anyone and families with small kids who want a holiday activity with almost no planning or effort required,” says organizer Amanda Retting.
Retting observed that the caroling is a good kickoff for anyone going on the Parents of Music Student’s Holly Jolly Trolley Holiday Lights Ride leaving from Belmont Savings Bank around that time.
The caroling will have the same format as previous years: everyone gather around tree, bring your own illumination (sunset will be at 4:12 p.m.) and print out your own lyrics. Children are invited to run around in circles around the tree instead of singing if that’s more festive to them.
This year, the Belmontonian will be bringing hot chocolate and decaffeinated coffee (it is 4 p.m.) to the event.
Any questions? Email amanda@moger.org
Below is the song list from previous years. Its likely that only the first two verses will be sung: The website for lyrics is http://www.carolingcorner.com/
1. Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer

2. Joy to the World

3. Deck the Halls

4. Jingle Bells

5. We Three Kings of Orient Are (Star of Wonder)

6. 12 Days of Christmas

7. Feliz Navidad

8. Frosty the Snowman

9. Little Drummer Boy

10. O Come, All Ye Faithful

11. Santa Claus is Coming to Town

12. Silent Night

13. We wish you a Merry Christmas

Time/energy/enthusiasm permitting:

14. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen

15. White Christmas

16. Hark the Herald Angles Sing

17. Silverbells

 

Clay Pit Pond Breaks Bank, Street Ponding on Concord, Common

Clay Pit Pond has breached its banks in two locations while several main streets in Belmont have become rivers themselves as a late autumn Nor’easter hammers the East Coast.

At 4:45 p.m., an Underground Weather station in Cushing Square reported 3.1 inches of rain falling since midnight. The National Weather Service has issued a flood warning for the area until tonight.

“We are having issues around town,” said Belmont Police Sgt. David Sullivan, the Night Shift Supervisor.

“There has been individual places where there has been flooding and sewage backups,” Sullivan said.

Water has advanced a few feet from the access road near the Field House parking lot at Belmont High School while the pond has swamped the low-lying area near the corner of Underwood and Hittinger streets, the location of the start of Belmont’s cross country course.

Nearby, Concord Avenue from the Cambridge line to the MBTA commuter line station at Belmont Center and Common Street at Dunbarton Road is experiencing “street ponding” where water has accumulated due to the rapid rainfall.

Belmont Fire Log: Toddler and Cooking Lunch Inside, Parent Locked Outside

Gas, on and off

Dec. 1 – At half past 4 p.m., Engine 2 and Ladder 1 headed over the Belmont Public Library on Concord Avenue for a reported odor of gas in the building. Engine 2 investigated and found a slight odor but not of natural gas. A library representative told the crew the odor has occurred in past and dissipated by itself. What the firefighters did find was excessive stored material around the boiler. It will be corrected, said the library rep.

“Not Dishwasher Safe”

Dec. 1 – At a quarter ’til 11 p.m., Engine 1 was sent to a house on School Street to investigate this “odor” in the kitchen. The discovered the source of the smell: some plastic dining ware which was placed in the dishwasher melted during the drying setting.

Dig Unsafe

Dec. 2 – Barely a minute past 10 a.m., Engine 1 was dispatched to a single-family house on Glenn Road for a “gas emergency.” Turns out some yard workers dug a bit too deep and cut the gas main into the home. The gas utility was called and shut down the main service to the house. Engine 1 reported normal readings for carbon dioxide throughout the abode. After the search, the gas company told the firefighters they would handle it.

Toddler and lunch from the outside looking in

Dec. 3 – At 8:24 a.m., Engine 2 took off to a single-family house on Colby Street where a two-year-old was locked inside the building. He was not just trapped, the oven was also on and there was food cooking on the stove top. Mom allowed the crew from Engine 2 to take their 24-foot ground ladder and force entry through the second-floor window. Sure, there was some minor damage the the window, sash and locking mechanism but they freed the toddler before any thing serious could have happened.

No dessert for someone

Dec. 6 – At half-past 6 p.m., a fire alarm was pulled at a restaurant in Belmont Center. Engine 2 and Ladder 1 got there in no time, only to discover a very young customer was the puller. Bon appetite.

Banding Together to Make Wonderful Music in Belmont

Belmont High School’s Wenner Field House was transformed Monday night, Dec. 8, from an athletics center into a concert venue for the 43rd annual Bandarama Concert.

Ensembles of winds, brass and percussions from elementary-school youngsters just starting out on Saturday mornings to the highly-skilled High School Jazz Band performed for parents and friends.

Light Icing Monday Night/Tuesday AM; Then the Deluge for Belmont

First ice, then lots and lots of water.

No, it’s not the first steps in making a cocktail but the spate of nasty weather – ice, rain and wind – Belmont residents will face for the next day and a half.

At 3:21 p.m., the National Weather Service issued a Winter Weather Advisory that begins at 7 p.m. tonight, Monday, Dec. 8 until 5 a.m., Tuesday, Dec. 9 that will result in a minor accumulation of ice and snow on roadways and sidewalks.

The conditions will result in “slower than normal travel” due to the slippery road conditions.

“Drivers should allow extra time and be especially careful on bridges and overpasses,” the NWS suggests.

By Tuesday morning, heavy rains – between one-and-a-half to two inches with some areas receiving up to four inches – and strong winds will arrive for most of the day with the likelihood of flooding and street ponding (when water pools at low points in the roadway, generally as a result of inadequate drainage or improper grading) in areas around town. The winds, steady at 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 50 mph, will cause some trees and branches to fall and may lead to power outages.

If you power does go out, call Belmont Light at 617-993-2800. Do not call 911 unless it’s a true emergency.

The heaviest rain and strongest winds will occur during the evening rush hour on Tuesday.

Lougee Will Not Seek Re-election to School Committee

After three-and-a-half years, Anne Lougee has decided to end her service on the Belmont School Committee by not seeking a second term at Town Election in April 2015.

Lougee’s announcement will create a second open seat on the Committee in the coming election. Also on the ballot will be incumbent Lisa Fiore, who is seeking her first full three-year term after serving the unexpired time of Pascha Griffiths, who resigned in 2013.

Lougee decided not to pursue re-election after the evaluation and selection process in November to replace School Committee member Kevin Cunningham, who resigned in September.

“It’s hard to walk away from a group of wonderful colleagues but I was encouraged by the number of well-qualified candidates who came before the committee and selectmen last month for the position,” Lougee told the Belmontonian.

Thomas Caputo was selected from eight residents to replace Cunningham. His term ends at Town Election. Caputo can file to run for the remaining two years of Cunningham’s term, challenge Fiore for her seat or decide not to run.

At his appointment, Caputo said he would seek election to the board.

Fiore, a Lesley University faculty dean with children in district schools, was elected in 2014 to fill the one-year remaining on Griffiths’ term. She told the Belmontonian in September she would likely run for re-election in 2015.

Nomination papers are currently available at the Belmont Town Clerk’s office; the deadline for their return is 5 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2015.

Lougee, whose daughter is a 2011 Belmont High School graduate, was appointed to the committee in October 2011 to fill the remainder of the term held by Karen Parmett, who resigned. She won a full stint in the 2012 Town Election.

Lougee said the selection of Belmont Schools Superintendent John Phelan and promoted social/emotional learning throughout the district was two of her accomplishments serving on the committee.

In addition, Lougee emphasized from the time she was on PTOs that parents and officials must not take a myopic view of the town’s schools.

“You have to look at the whole system. It’s K through 12; you can’t separate it by school building or class,” said Lougee, a native midwesterner who came to Belmont in the 1980s and lives on Warwick Road with her husband, Roger Colton.

“You must know how it all works together for your child because they will be a graduate one day,” said Lougee.

In addition to the collegiality of the committee members, Lougee said she’ll also miss witnessing the growth of students in the classroom, in athletics and the arts.

“I love watching the kids test themselves and build their confidence,” she said.

Clang, Clang, Clang Goes the Holly Jolly Trolley on Saturday, Dec. 13

The Parents of Music Students and the Belmont Savings Bank are sponsoring the inaugural Holly Jolly Trolley, a half-hour tour on an old-style trolley (just like the one in the movie “Meet Me to St. Louis” which showcased the song, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”) of the holiday lights of Belmont accompanied by Belmont High School musical groups.

The tours take place on Saturday, Dec. 13 from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are $15 with children that can sit on your lap riding free.

All proceeds benefit the outstanding music program in the Belmont public schools.

Tickets are available at Belmont Savings Bank headquarters at 2 Leonard St. or on-line at www.belmontpoms.weebly.com

This Week: Bandarama Monday, Panel on Loss, Grief and Hope Thursday,

• Author Marjan Kamali will speak on her debut novel “Together Tea,” Monday, Dec. 8, from 11 a.m. to noon in the Assembly Room of Belmont Public Library. Selected by the Massachusetts Center for the Book as a “Must-Read Book 2014,” Kamali show us the complex life of Mina Rezayi, an Iranian immigrant, as she, her mother, Darya, and their family attempt to balance Iranian traditions with American culture. This book is a story of the tug-of-war between old and new, the universal quest for love and the unbreakable bond between mother and daughter. All are welcome to attend this free program.  Books will be available for purchase and signing.  Refreshments will be provided.

• It’s loud, festive and fun. Come hear the music of the Belmont Public Schools’ bands, representing musicians from elementary middle and high schools, at the 43nd annual Belmont Public Schools Bandarama! taking place Monday, Dec. 8 at 7 p.m. at Belmont High School. The Wenner Field House will be filled from end to end with bands, highlighted by a combined band performance of “Jingle Bells.”

• Join Heather Hurd of Blue Cross Blue Shield for a talk onHeart Health” on Tuesday, Dec. 9, at 1:15 p.m. at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St. The talk is free but you should sign up.

• The Belmont Municipal Light Advisory Board will discuss and possibly vote on a solar distributed generation proposal at its meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 9 at 7:15 p.m. at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St.

• The Belmont Health Collaborative presents a panel discussion: “Grief, Loss, Recovery, and Hope, a candid conversation concerning the universal experience of living with loss,” on Thursday, Dec. 11, 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Belmont Media Center, 9 Lexington St. The panel will be moderated by Rev. Joe Zarro of Plymouth Congregational Church.

Belmont Light is inviting residents to a “Celebrate the Winter Solstice” event at its headquarters at 40 Prince St. on Thursday, Dec. 11 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. They are asking residents to donate either new or gently used blankets, bedspreads, comforters or quilts for those in need.

• The Chenery Middle School Honors Concert takes place in the Chenery Auditorium at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 11. 

• The Book Discussion Group for 3rd and 4th grades will take place on Thursday, Dec. 11 from 3:15 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Flett Room of the Belmont Public Library.

• The monthly meeting of Belmont Against Racism will take place in the Flett Room of the Belmont Public Library on Thursday, Dec. 11 at 7:30 p.m.

• The 5th Grade Chorus Concert takes place at the Chenery Middle School auditorium at 9 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 12.

• The Belmont Gallery of Art will hold an opening reception for its Small Works Holiday Show and Sale on Friday, Dec. 12 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the gallery on the third floor of the Homer Municipal Building on Moore Street in the Town Hall complex. This is a not-to-be-missed chance to purchase affordable works of art by local artists including paintings, ceramics, photographs, sculptures, jewelry and cards. The show runs until Dec. 21.

• The Senior Book Discussion Group will meet on Friday, Dec. 12 at 11 a.m. at the Beech Street Center, continuing to discuss “Bleak House” by Charles Dickens (Chapter 32 through the end of the book). 

• The Beech Street Center’s Movie of the Month for December is 1989’s “Driving Miss Daisy,” with Jessica Tandy and Morgan Freeman on Friday, Dec. 12, 1 p.m. No cost.

• The Belmont Public Library continues its OTAKUrabu program. Watch anime, do a craft/activity, plan for future events and nibble on some Japanese snacks (while they last – they’ll go fast) on Friday, Dec. 12 from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Assembly Room. Provided to you for free, thanks to the Friends of the Belmont Public Library. Just drop in, no registration required.