Belmont Girls’ Track Takes League Title, First in Nearly 40 Years

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Photo: Belmont High Girls’ Spring Track in action.

“Hotel California” and lots of disco was playing on the radio, “Star Wars” was the monster hit at the movies, TV viewers loved “Laverne & Shirley,” leisure suits were big for men and women wore high-waisted bell-bottoms and the “Farrah-flip.”

And in that same year of 1977, Belmont High’s Girls’ Spring Track came home with the league championship. And it would take nearly five decades before another Belmont team would be able to raise the trophy again. 

On Tuesday, May 12, just as the final relay finished with Belmont defeating hosts Winchester, 88-48, several senior got hold of a water bucket filled with ice and doused Head Coach Melissa Glotzbecker with a celebratory dunking as the team completed the season undefeated (6-0) and atop the Middlesex League, which took 38 years to repeat.

Then, as part of a tradition with victorious girls teams, the squad cheered and yelled from Belmont Center to the school from the buses transporting them back home. 

“We had no idea it was that long since the last title,” said Glotzbecker. Since no one could recall the last title, she went to the Wenner Field House to view the championship banners on the wall to finally determine how very long it had been. 

“So we’re proud that we’ll be putting up another [banner] for the school to see,” the former St. Lawrence distance runner said.

Belmont was able to defeat traditionally large and strong programs such as Lexington and Reading due to this year’s squads depth, said Glotzbecker. 

“We are really strong in so many events and that makes us very diverse in terms of scoring,” said Glotzbecker, noting the team has qualified multiple runners, jumpers, and field events athletes to the Div. III state championships at Durfee High School in late May, not sending participants in the shot, discus and pole vault, the last which Belmont does not compete. 

“But it’s not just those who are scoring that makes up this team, everyone who worked hard this year contributed to the success of the team. We wouldn’t be this good without being pushed and supported by the entire team,” she said. 

Next for the team is the Div. III relays at Burlington on Saturday, May 16, “which will be fun as it’s a true team event” before preparing for the Middlesex League meet on Tuesday, May 19, at Regis College. 

Caution: Prom Crossing at Belmont High School Friday Afternoon

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Photo: Last year’s prom.

The annual Great Transformation occurs this afternoon, Friday on the ides of May.

To the surprise – if not down right shock – of most adults in town, a number of Belmont High School students, who seemingly live in sports gear, sweats, and shorts no matter the weather or temperature, are altered in a Kafka-esque refiguring into sparkling figures of high fashion (tuxes and gowns of all lengths and colors with the occasional sari and kilts thrown in) and – hopefully – good taste.

Yes, it’s prom night in Belmont. 

What is becoming a great annual community event will begin at approximately 4 p.m. as the students  attending this year’s Belmont High School Senior/Junior Prom begin lining up for the Promenade, in which those high schoolers are “presented” before a frenzy of fawning parents, siblings, friends and the public in the Belmont High School auditorium.

The students will then head into the cafeteria (for the “once over” by school officials) before boarding buses to take them to some ritzy hotel for a night of dancing and having fun.

For seniors, it is the last full day of school in the Belmont school district.

By Saturday morning, the young men and women will revert to their normal state. 

Sold in Belmont: Belmont Hill Spec Manse Sells Below List, Assessed Value

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Photo: 529 Concord Ave.

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

• 529 Concord Ave. Blown-out Colonial (2013). Sold: $1,960,000. Listed at $2,250,000. Living area: 4,954 sq.-ft. 12 rooms, 5 bedrooms, 4-full, 2-partial baths. On the market: 113 days.

• 78 Grove St. Townhouse condominium (1986). Sold: $590,000. Listed at $539,000. Living area: 1,452 sq.-ft. 7 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths. On the market: 57 days.

The big Colonial off Concord Avenue has everything you’d want in a mansion – new construction, volumes of interior space (about 5,000 square feet), a great kitchen (with the exception of Granite countertops), red oak hardwood floors, nicely-designed bathrooms, fine landscaped grounds and, wow, what a view of Boston. 

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So why didn’t the new manse on the Hill hit the list price – selling at a quarter of a million dollar discount – and, more telling, couldn’t hold up to the town’s assessed value of $2,467,000? Especially at a time when inventory/supply is still considered low.

One reason could be there’s little to compare this structure to – new construction on previously undeveloped land. The developer likely threw out a number ($2.25 million) to see if it would attract some buyer with the need for lots of space. The construction cost was less than $700,000 so it’s not like its going to be a loss on next year’s tax form.

But who is the market for this Colonial on the Hill? If you could pluck $2 million down on a special space, why not head to the Seaport District of Boston? Or a place in Concord with its better roads? Is it trying to lure wealthy families into town? Many of those buyers won’t abandon communities where they have established roots. Or it could be that not that many people will abide the light beams from hundreds of cars traveling up the hill at night as they make the turn onto upper Concord Avenue?

Only the market knows. 

Franchiser Eyes Dunkin’ Donut Store at Pleasant St. Service Station Site

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Photo: The location of a new Dunkin’ Donut franchise at the corner of Brighton and Pleasant streets.

A family-run franchise business is looking to swap servicing cars with serving coffee and donuts as it has begun talks to construct a Dunkin’ Donuts store at 350 Pleasant St. on the intersection of Brighton Street.

Nicholas Leo, the business manager of his family’s Dunkin’ Donuts franchise business, said while the Cambridge-based Leo Organization is in “very preliminary talks” with the town and the property owner to build a “first-class” outlet of the coffee and bakery multinational headquartered in Canton, he said that “we could have the store open in six months.” 

Previously, the site was occupied by Pleasant Street Getty. A repair shop is currently at the location. The address is one-block from Route 2. 

If completed, the new store will be the third Dunkin’ Donut franchise in Belmont; the others are on Trapelo Road and on Church Street in Waverley Square, owned by “Duke” Carvallo.

In 2013, a small franchise owner began, but later abandoned, the process of bringing a Dunkin’ Donut store in the small strip mall at 70 Concord St.

“We are working on the design,” said Leo, which will not include a drive through. What residents can expect is “a first-class store with lots of glass, landscaping, and bring the neighborhood a property that is all cleaned up.”

The company runs 13 stores, a dozen in Massachusetts and one in Tampa, Fla. The closest Leo Organization stores to Belmont are at 199 Alewife Brook Parkway in Fresh Pond, Cambridge, and in the Alewife MBTA Station. 

Patriots Visit Spur Boosters Funding for Belmont Sports

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Photo: New England Patriot LeGarrette Blount at the Belmont Boosters Fundraising game. 

Apparently, afternoon traffic set back the basketball game’s starting time by a few minutes. But by 7 p.m., several very skilled, really big and quite successful athletes were on the Wenner Field House court ready for a fun time in Belmont. 

And from the enthusiastic response from fans and players, Wednesday night’s Belmont Boosters Club’s fundraiser between the Super Bowl champions New England Patriots Celebrity Basketball team against a rag-tag team of Boosters All Stars.

While the game had its moments – Super Bowl hero Malcolm Butler’s near half court three-point baskets, how fast nose tackle “Sealver” Siliga is on the court and running back LeGarrette Blount bouncing around with kids during the lineup announcements – the true winners will be Belmont High School athletes, said Boosters’ Ann Reynolds.

“This is one of three big fundraisers the Boosters had in the past two years,” said Reynolds, noting the organization is in the second of a three-year contract with the Patriots.

Along with the annual golf tournament and the yearly October door-to-door fundraising “drive,” the game supports the Boosters purchase of jackets awarded at the seasonal athletic awards nights, championship banners in the field house, the team captain leadership program and a great amount of equipment and material to support of high school sports. In the past six years, the Boosters have contributed approximately $130,000 to the athletic department.

The latest project that will be undertaken by the Boosters will be renovating the school’s weight room and transform it into a fitness center, introducing new equipment and a rubberized floor. 

Those who wish to support the new fitness center, you can visit the Boosters website.

“Sometimes we have to remind people that we have sports at the high school and that we need to support them,” said Reynolds, before rushing off to tackle a number of tasks to keep the event on time. 

Belmont Selected 200th Best High School in 2015 USN&WR Rankings

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Photo: Belmont High School ranked “Best” High School by USN&WR.

The grades are in for this year and Belmont High School, once again, is receiving a gold star.

For the sixth-year running, Belmont High has been named by US News & World Report as one of the best high schools in the country, according to the latest edition of the annual review of schools across the country.

This year, the 9th-12th grade school is ranked 200 out of 21,000 public schools surveyed by the magazine, earning a “gold” medal based on students performance on state assessment tests and how well the students are prepared for college.

(Here is the full methodology on ranking schools.)

According to the ranking, seven out of ten students takes at least one Advanced Placement course while attending Belmont High, with nearly all the pupils proficient or advanced in English and math. The school does lag behind nearly 80 percent of Massachusetts high schools in terms of student/teacher ratio at 16 to 1. 

When looking at schools with “open enrollment” – in which all residents are accepted – Belmont is the second-highest ranked high school in Massachusetts, trailing only Lexington High School (194th nationally).

Taking out charter, magnet, test, academic achievement and other schools which limit admissions, Belmont is one of the few “regular” high school that can claim a top 250 ranking in this year’s report.

Belmont outpaces some of the test schools as the Concord Avenue school achieved a 103rd ranking for top schools in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education.

Last year, the organization ranked Belmont 151st among all high schools nationally and third state-wide. In 2009, Belmont High was named the 100th best US public high school. 

A Friendly Reminder: Residents Holding Yard Sales Need a (Free) Permit

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Photo: It’s the season for yard sales.
Ah, warm weather; in Belmont that means gardening, barbecues and yard sales. It’s not usual to find a dozen tag, rummage or moving sales around town from spring through fall.
So, it’s well worth remembering that Belmont passed a general private sales bylaw last year requiring a permit for all sales held in town.
The permit is free and can be accessed through the Belmont Town Clerk’s web page. According to Ellen Cushman, the town clerk, the process takes less than one minute to obtain the permit once you know the date and hours of your intended sale. Other required fields are name, address, phone and email address where the permit will be emailed.
If the person running the sale doesn’t use email, the permit can be obtained with assistance of the Town Clerk’s staff at 617-993-2600. The address and hours of your sale are the only fields that will be viewable by the public and potential customers.
 
The advantage for people who obtain a permit is that the sales time and address is placed on the  Town Clerk’s website and placed on a map.
 
To access the permit, read the bylaw and/or view upcoming private sales with permits on the Town Clerk’s web page.

Belmont Studio Cinema Re-Opening May 22; Soup Eatery Tagging Along?

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Photo: Studio Cinema in Belmont. 

Belmont’s historic Studio Cinema will be back open for business in two weeks.

“May 22 is when we get to do our magic, again,” said owner James Bramante after the Belmont Board of Selectmen awarded the long-time owner of the 96-year-old cinema a Motion Picture Exhibition License at its meeting, Monday, May 11. 

According to Belmont Town Administrator David Kale, Bramante has resolved all the issues pertaining to fire and building codes the had forced the closure of the nearly century-old building at 376 Trapelo Rd. in mid-January. 

With the license in hand, the one of the few remaining single-screen movie houses in the country is ready to celebrate it “official” opening on Friday, May 29 – with some cosmetic improvements such as new counter tops and video message boards – with, “hopefully,” said Bramante, the summer’s first romantic/comedy, “Aloha” with Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone, Rachel McAdams, Bill Murray and Alec Baldwin.

 

In addition to reopening the cinema, Bramante said he is in talks with an old friend who runs Spoodles Soup Factory in Foxboro to take over the store front adjacent to the cinema which was once home of Cafe Burrito. 

“He loves Belmont, the location and wants to expand here,” said Bramante of the lunch-time eatery that specializes in soups and wraps. 

Playing in Belmont Could Cost More for Outside Groups under Proposal

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Photo: Harris Field in Belmont.

The good news is that Belmont has a wealth of recreation play areas and locations. With soon two pools, a hockey rink, a large field house, a Turf surface at Harris Field, parks, ballfields, soccer pitches and 22 tennis courts, Belmont has more town-owned playing spaces than any of its neighboring communities.

The bad news is that Belmont lags far behind those same nearby communities in bringing in the bucks for the privilege of using town spaces. While revenue from Belmont’s recreation facilities brought in $792,000 in fiscal 2013, next door Arlington pulled in $1.5 million during the same time frame despite not having an indoor pool (it does have pond swimming) with camps and other groups lining up to use their facilities. 

With Belmont facing limited avenues to increase overall revenue for the near future, the time has come for Belmont’s recreation areas to follow the lead of other communities and begin using its resources to pay for themselves today and in the future, according to a report from the Financial Task Force issued at the Task Force’s meeting in Town Hall on Monday, May 11.

“Now is the time for the town to change the ways we’ve done things,” said Task Force member Anne Helgen who authored the report with suggested a series of recommendations for town officials to consider. 

In her report, Helgen said while Belmont’s management of the recreational assets “ad hoc … ragged and never written down,” surrounding towns have used their resources to generate greater money through broader programming, using facilities throughout the year and all day and rent them out at a considerably higher rate.

Due to the lack of any official policy, agreements and contracts were written with groups and teams “that were not made in [the town’s] interest so private groups benefited at our expense,” said Helgen. 

In addition, while most surrounding municipalities promote recreation activities year round, Belmont generates 60 cents of every dollar it takes in annual from one season, the summer.

“It’s astonishing how much [other towns] offer,” said Helgen.

By analyzing the way other communities have set up their recreation programs, Belmont can begin turning around its underutilized assets by following their lead, said Helgen. They include:

  • Expand programing at recreation sites, such as introducing Cross-Fit, alternative sports including flag football and Ultimate Frisbee and other enrichment events like chess, Legos and art programs. 
  • Target underserved market such as pre-kindergarten and toddlers with active programs as well as the stay-at-home population and seniors.
  • Expand the hours the facilities are open. Summers, weekdays and many hours over the weekend “Harris Field is empty,” said Helgen, while the pools could attract more campers and programs if the pools’ times were managed more closely. 
  • Outsource programing such as using fitness firms to supply the demand for outdoor exercising.
  • And take advantage of the high demand in the greater Boston area for pools and turf fields to charge market rate to non-residential users. Watertown rents out nearby Victory Field for $130,000 a year to groups from Boston University and Boston College during its off-peak hours.

But “jacking up the fees” will not come at the expense of Belmont youth sports or people who live in town, said Helgen.

“No, we are not proposing to put these fees on youth leagues in town. That’s not the purpose at all,” she reiterated.

 

Those most effected by the increase in rents will be current and future non-resident users, such as camps and sports teams which the majority of participants are not Belmont residents. 

To bring these suggestions to fruition, Helgen advises Belmont to hire at approximately $100,000 a year a veteran full-time recreation director  – a position not filled in the past three years as a cost savings measure – to management and lead the turnaround. The new director will be assisted by a Field Management Committee (which is currently employed in Wayland, Wellesley, Winchester and Burlington) made up of residents, the schools, sports programs and other stakeholders whose job will be to balance the needs of all users. 

The town should consolidate the school and town assets under a single consolidated management – including the aquatics facilities – in addition to inventorying the available facilities. 

A conservative estimate by Helgen suggests the town could generate between $165,000 to $330,000 in net revenue within three years, enough to not only run the department but also to make contributions to future capital improvements. 

But just as important as developing new committees and policy approaches, according to Helgen, is changing the mind set of the town and the Recreation Department. 

“We need to adopt a new mentality,” said Helgen, having heard possible initiatives to use facilities in new ways were turned down “because they were told ‘we’re not allowed to do that’.”

If successful, Helgen said the end result will be a “win-win” for the town and residents with greater and more creative programs drawing in more users, high costs to outsiders will subsidize the fix costs and there will be greater use of the town’s facilities. 

Belmont’s New Underwood Pool Set To Open August 1

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Photo: The “deep” pool of the new Underwood Pool under construction. 

Despite a last-minute financial monkey wrench that nearly stopped the project last September and this winter’s record snowfall, it appears that summer swimming is in the cards for Belmont residents as the team building the new Underwood Pool expects to have the twin pools open to the public by the first week in August. 

While anyone going by the site at the corner of Concord Avenue and Cottage Street will not mistake it for anything but a construction site, “it will definitely look like a swimming pool in August when the water pours in,” said Henry Sarkis, owner of New England Builders, the general contractor, during a recent tour of the project.

Workers in waders are directing streams of cement into wooden frames that will become the pool closest to Cottage Street while power tools and nail guns are heard inside the partially completed pool and pump houses.

While the project was pushed back due to the 100-plus inches of snow that was deposited on the site over two months from January to March, “we feel we are on schedule,” Sarkis said.

The $4.6 million construction project began in November with the demolition of he original pool which was built in 1912 and was the oldest municipal outdoor pool in the US.

After a successful debt exclusion and funding from Town Meeting earlier in 2014, the project appeared dead in the water in September when an original low bidder of the project withdrew his proposal leaving the Underwood Pool Building Committee facing a deficit of approximately $400,000.

That figure was quickly erased with a $200,000 grant from the Belmont Savings Bank Foundation and a community fundraising effort that raised more than $210,000 in small and large contributions by October.

Today, construction is in full swing. The so-called “deep” pool, which includes the diving area and lap swimming, is completed and cement is being poured this week into the shallow “kids” pool, said Sarkis.

Stainless-steel gutters will be installed by specialists from out-of-state beginning on Monday, May 11 and will take two weeks to complete the larger, deep pool nearest the Belmont Public Library. They then will return to finish the shallow pool by the end of May.

The filtration system has been delivered and is being installed to run the two pools. Sarkis said the three buildings are framed and have all the plumbing and electrical systems installed, and the grounds around the pool is being expanded with new trees soon to be planted along Concord Avenue.

According to Anne Paulsen, chairman of the Underwood Pool Building Committee, while the late date for the opening means the potential 2015 swimming season will be cut in half, the Belmont Recreation Department will be selling reduced memberships to residents so they can enjoy some time by or in the new pool.