New HS Construction Schedule, Exterior Design Update At Tuesday’s Meeting

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Photo: Belmont High School design

The Belmont High School Building Committee,
 the School Committee, and the Board of Selectmen is holding a joint meeting to present to the public construction phasing and exterior design update on Tuesday, June 19 at 7 p.m. 
Chenery Middle School Community Room
, 95 Washington St.

The night’s agenda includes:

  • Construction phasing schedule, and site logistics update

  • Exterior design update

  • Questions and comments


The next Community Meeting is Thursday, June 28 at 7 p.m
. at the Chenery Middle School where the agenda will be a project costs update and a schematic design presentation.

Belmont’s Battle Of The Bands Opens Payson Park Music Festival June 20

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Photo: 

The fifth annual Battle of the Bands sponsored by Belmont Savings Bank opens the 28th season of the Payson Park Music Festival on Wednesday, June 20 at Payson Park. Middle school and high school bands from local communities will compete to be Battle of the Bands Champions. The concert begins at 6:45 p.m.

The band competing this year are:

  • Moonkite Buzzards
  • Fourshadow
  • Sweet Relief
  • Flip the Page

The Payson Park Music Festival runs every Wednesday evening until Aug. 29. June and July concerts start at 6:45 p.m. Beginning mid-August, start time is 6:15 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. due to the earlier sunset. In addition to the evening program, four children’s programs will be offered on consecutive Fridays at 10:30 a.m., beginning July 6 and ending July 27.

All the participating bands will receive a $25 AMEX gift card. The winning band will get a $250 grand prize, courtesy of Belmont Saving. The bank will be giving away a Sony XB30 speaker.

The bank will also post a video of each band in advance of the concert on its Facebook page. The band with the most votes (“Likes”) will receive a “Favorite on Facebook” award: a $50 AMEX gift card.

Celebrate Father’s Day On The Course Of The Brendan’s Home Run

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Photo: And they’re off.

Father’s Day usually starts with a hearty breakfast before a day of relaxation. But Father’s Day in Belmont begins on the starting line of the five-kilometer race through town as the 17th Annual Brendan’s Home Run takes place on Sunday, June 17.

The certified 5K (3.1 miles) race and walk starts and finishes at Belmont High School Harris Field track (adjacent the Skating Rink on Concord Avenue) at 10 a.m. The walk will start at 9:30 a.m.

With its collection of really fast runners at the head of the race and a flat, easy course for the less-than-fast folks, the race has become a must-do “beginning of summer” event in eastern Massachusetts. Race participants will also get the opportunity to take part in a standout raffle. There is also prize money for the fastest three male and female finishers, age-group and team awards including fastest parent/child tandems.

Cost: Register on the day of race: $30. Download the entry form at www.brendanshomerun.org

The first 300 entrants receive a commemorative T-shirt.

Proceeds from the race go to benefit The Brendan Grant Foundation and Memorial Scholarships. The foundation noted the race’s presenting sponsor Belmont Savings Bank is instrumental to the success of this great event and it’s deeply grateful for the support and generosity of the DerKazarian family.

Contact The Brendan Grant Foundation at 617-489-1514 or at www.brendangrant.org for more information.

Opinion: Solar Power The Best And Brightest Use For Incinerator Site

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Photo:

By Martin Plass

We as the town have to decide soon on the future use of the incinerator site. The Board of Selectmen discussed this in their meeting on Thursday, June 7 and there will be a meeting for public input on June 18 at 8 p.m. at Town Hall. I urge the public to attend and voice their input and concerns.

One thing that concerns me is the temptation to find a commercial usage for the property that will maximize the income for the town instead of using the opportunity to enhance the beautiful natural conservation lands that surround the incinerator site. We as the town are already working on improvements to Rock Meadow with an agricultural consultant. With the McLean Barn upgrades being considered on the south end and the incinerator site on the north end of Rock Meadow we can further develop this area into a beautiful park and recreation land that integrates into the Western Greenway with Lone Tree Hill and Habitat to the East and Beaver Brook to the West. (By the way: I would love to see the McLean Barn turn into a café or beer garden, maybe with artist lofts spaces and a visitor information center that could provide some income to the town and would be a great place to enjoy a refreshment after a walk).

One proposal that has come up is to use the incinerator site for an anaerobic digester that would turn organic waste (food leftovers, etc.) into methane gas that would be burned on site and generate electricity (think Deer Island). I am concerned about this usage and worry that it could seriously interrupt the natural beauty of the area by bringing undesirable odors, noise from the generator, exhausts from burning methane, and heavy truck traffic to the site. While the prospect of making money with such a plant and providing renewable energy to Belmont is tempting, we need to make sure that such a use is in harmony with the areas around it and has none of these negative side effects. For the same reason, I am opposed to developing any parcels for housing. This would convert natural recreational space into private restricted space, something that could not be reversed.

Instead, I can see a community-owned solar array as a possible compromise usage which would generate some income for the town and fit with our climate action goals. Solar would not produce any noise, traffic, smells or other negative effects on the site and could be set-up to allow vegetation underneath and secondary use in combination with it. I like the proposal from one interest group that combines a community solar array with a bike park, a skateboard park, some DPW containers and a boardwalk for nature viewing as well as parking to serve as an additional access point to Rock Meadow and the Western Greenway.

I hope to see many Belmontians turn up for the June 18th meeting and look forward to seeing other proposed uses. To me, the overriding criteria should be to use the site to enhance our recreational nature areas for the enjoyment of the entire community.

Martin Plass lives on Stanley Road and is a Town Meeting Member representing Precinct 3

Yard Sales In Belmont; June 16-17

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Photo: Yard sales

Yard sales in the Town of Homes the weekend of June 16.

115 White St. June 16 (Sat)
& June/17 (Sun)		 9 am 2 pm
55 Dalton Rd. June 16 (Sat) 9 am 2 pm
70 School St. June 16 (Sat) 8:30 am 2 pm
54 Thayer Rd. June 16 (Sat)
& June 17 (Sun)		 9 am 2 pm
54 Sycamore St. June 16 (Sat)
& June 17 (Sun)		 8:30 am 1 pm
17 Bow Rd. June 16 (Sat) 8:30 am 1 pm
60 Selwyn Rd. June 16 (Sat) 9 am 1 pm
37 Springfield St. June 16 (Sat) 9 am 2 pm
48 Concord Ave. June 16 (Sat) 10 am 3 pm

Belmont’s Cushman Named Massachusetts’ Town Clerk Of The Year

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Photo: Ellen Cushman at work, announcing election results.

Belmont Town Clerk Ellen Cushman was awarded Town Clerk of the Year at the Summer Massachusetts Town Clerk’s Association Conference held on Thursday, June 14,

“There are 351 Town Clerks in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and ours was awarded Town Clerk of the Year, a well-deserved honor,” according to a press release dated June 15.

As Town Clerk, Cushman acts as the town’s chief election official, recording officer, registrar of vital records and statistics, public records officer and licensing officer and is the point for general information to Belmont’s inhabitants, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Federal Government and the general public.

In 2017 the Belmont Town Clerk’s Office had 14,300 in person visitors, sent and received 43,878 email, and made and answered phone calls each and every day.

“This office works hard every day to make information available to the public,” read the press release.

“Ellen has always commended her team, and constantly states that the work that she completes would not be possible without her amazing staff. Ellen is joined in her Office by Meg Piccione, Nancy Casale, and Daniel Cane,” said the release.

 

Lime Or Orange: Town-Wide Bike Sharing To Start June 30

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Photo: Spencer Gober with a LimeBike.

Belmont residents will soon be able to choose between lime or orange, and it isn’t the type of citrus-flavored water served at Town Hall. Rather, the fruity choice is the colors associated with a pair of bike-sharing companies which will soon be up and running in Belmont.

Walking into the Board of Selectmen’s meeting on Monday, June 11 with a bike owned by San Mateo-based LimeBike – lime green with yellow fenders – Community Development’s Staff Planner Spencer Gober updated the board on the competing firms – the other being Spin located in San Francisco – as they prepare to begin operations in Belmont.

Both companies operates dockless bicycle-sharing systems in several cities and college campuses across the United States, using a mobile app to unlock and use the bikes for a dollar a ride. The Selectmen voted in April to join a regional bicycle-sharing program developed by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council.

The impetus in approving the agreement was to cut vehicle traffic from the neighborhoods to business centers. Gober noted Malden has a similar system in operation since May, generating 250 rides per day with the average distance of a little less than half a mile.

Spenser said both firms will have 17 bikes distributed about town that will roll out in three phases over the summer. The bikes will begin operating in town on Saturday, June 30 with the first rides commencing from the Belmont Media Center in Waverley Square.

2018 Belmont High Graduation In Words And Pictures

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Photo: Mortarboard saying

With a cool 60-degrees outside keeping the temp ceremony below the usual sweltering conditions of past graduations, the Wenner Field House was packed with family, relatives, and friends who witnessed a record 331 seniors from the class of 2018  graduate from Belmont High School on Sunday, June 3.

The afternoon was filled with pomp and circumstance, a cappella singing, thoughtful remarks, senior pranks, an hour of presentation of diplomas and throwing of hats at the conclusion of the ceremony. 

Three students addressed their classmates and the audience: 

Class President Benjamin Brody

“As we sit where we are, right now, we are on the precipice of the old and the new. We can look retrospectively on our lives as high school students as we look prospectively on whatever comes next. … When we get to the beginning of the next part our prospective journeys, that same confident, that same level of comfort, that same feeling of belonging and of ‘I’ve made it’, all the stuff that makes up our right foot, our best foot, our ‘pedidextrous’ … it can all stay with us if we put our minds to it. … All us can look to the future and put our best foot forward … take on this journey with the same zeal and confidence that I know we will all have as we walk across this very stage.

Kosta Tingos, School Committee Award for Outstanding Achievement in Scholarship

“It isn’t a fluke that his class of 2018 is special. I believe we were not born this way but instead we fought for every inch of our success and made a mark at BHS and our greater community. … Today we find ourselves facing a similar transition, one from high school to a new chapter in our lives, whether it be college, career, gap year, or some other pursuit. We have been through a lot and accomplished a lot and now we have an opportunity to start fresh and do what we love and dream of. Everything is possible, and relish all the unexpected twist and turns. … Go into the world, wear your heart on your sleeve, win your own championship and, most importantly, enjoy your life. 

Sofia Schlozman, School Committee Award for Outstanding Achievement in Scholarship

“As we step away from the familiar routines of Belmont High School and the next stages of our lives, we will all encounter setbacks. There will be moments when we will feel small, confused and a little bit lost. But while the prospect of these challenges  [is] truly frightening, there is also excitement and the opportunity to work for something new and to learn from the moments that don’t immediately go our way. … Let’s learn to embrace the difficult moments and to celebrate what we accomplished, whether the outcome is as perfect as we hoped it would be or not. After all, the beauty of things that don’t come easily is that they always matter more.”

New Retail/Residential Project On Trapelo Could Spur Waverley Sq Redevelopment

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Photo: The location on Trapelo Road of new development in Waverley Square.

A pair of mixed-use developments slated for the heart of Waverley Square could hearken the beginning of a major renovation to Belmont’s business center, according to the longtime resident leading the

Developer Joe DeStefano is proposing two nearly identical projects with ground floor retail and two floors of residential units, mostly studio apartments, at 493 and 505 Trapelo Rd., abutting the commuter rail tracks. The locations are currently occupied by the Waverley Insurance Agency (493 Trapelo) and “a dated strip style building” housing a fitness center (505 Trapelo).

In his letters to the board, DeStefano said the project will not just “greatly enhance the appearance of Waverley Square.” the new construction will “hopefully encourage further redevelopment along the Trapelo Road Corridor to complete an exciting revitalization of Belmont’s retail and residential neighborhoods.”

Belmont’s worst kept secret over the past two years has been the landowners of parcels in Waverley Square and along the length of South Pleasant Street are actively working in a loose partnership behind the scenes to advance plans to create a large-scale, multi-use development on land currently used for low-impact retail and equipment storage. Currently, the town’s Planning Board has been discussing the development options along South Pleasant Street and Waverley Square.

Last summer, the Planning Board (which, at that time, DeStefano was a member) took a first stab presenting a redevelopment blueprint for Waverley Square when it proposed building a housing development on the site of the Belmont Car Wash – across the commuter rail line from the DeStefano projects along Trapelo Road – centered by a relocated Belmont Public Library. That plan was immediately criticized by neighbors and the Board of Library Trustees which said it was never informed that the library was part of the plan. The proposal died soon after. 

DeStefano’s project, dubbed the Waverley Square Redevelopment, envisions building two, 40-foot tall buildings on the sites with approximately 10,000 square feet of storefront space on the ground floor. The two floors above the retail will be small living units. At 495 Trapelo, there will be six studios on the second floor (with one handicap accessible) and four studios and two one bedrooms on the second floor. At 505 Trapelo, there will be three studio and two one bedrooms on the first and second floors. Parking is located at the rear of the buildings.

Due to the existing business-related zoning bylaw, DeStefano initial attempt in April to obtain a building permit was denied by the Office of Community Development as both developments do not comply with the town’s current zoning bylaw in which a mixed-use building must obtain a Special Permit.

The project is in a Local Business I commercial zone which allows for the highest intensity development, include sit-down and fast-food restaurants and office and retail by Special Permit. The maximum building height is two stories, but three-story buildings may be approved by Special Permit. Belmont has a pair of LB I districts in Cushing and Waverley squares.

Nick Iannuzzi, chair of the Zoning Board of Appeals, told the Belmontonian the board will hold two nights of a public hearing beginning on June 18 to discuss the Special Permit request.

Before Heading (With A Relay In Tow) To Track Nationals, Krafian Places Twice at New Englands

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Photo: They’re back! Anoush and the Belmont Boys (this photo is from last year’s event) return to the National Outdoor track meet this weekend. (Heather Krafian, photo)

Before she leaves Thursday for the 2018 New Balance Nationals Outdoor meet in Greensboro, N.C., Belmont High’s recent graduate Anoush Krafian traveled to the New England Championships in Durham this past Saturday, June 9, and had double the fun of the other athletes.

The Dartmouth-bound track not only competed in her specialty, the 100-meter hurdles against the best runners and jumpers in the five-state region, Krafian also took time to compete in the high jump. That meant Krafian ran a preliminary round and the finals over the ten hurdles while taking a number of attempts at the jump. In the end, arguably Belmont’s best all-around track athlete in school history had quite an afternoon on the campus of the University of New Hampshire.

After taking the Massachusetts state championship last week in near record time of 14.26 seconds, Krafian took second to senior Katherine Jacobs of Connecticut’s Northwest Catholic High School as the Babson-bound hurdler came home in 14.84, four one-hundred of a second in front of Krafian’s 14.88. 

Earlier in the morning, Krafian cleared 5-feet, 5 inches, equalling the fourth highest jump with five other athletes which was good enough for sixth place due to the number of misses she accumulated. 

On Friday and Saturday, Krafian returns to the Nationals to compete in the two-day heptathlon, in which participants gain points on how well they perform seven track events – 100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, and 200-metre run on the first day; and the long jump, javelin, and 800-meters on the second day. Last year, Krafian finished in fifth with 4,496 points, about 450 points behind the winner Kaitlyn Kirby of Palm Harbor, Fla. 

Like last year, Krafian will have company from her hometown in Greensboro as a team of four Belmont High seniors will compete in the 1,600-meter Sprint Medley Relay (comprised of two 200 meters legs, a 400 meters leg then finishing with an 800 meters anchor) as Bryan Huang, Max Serrano-Wu, Mel Nagashima and Belmont High 400 meter record holder Calvin Perkins will attempt to earn All-American status. 

Belmont’s sprint medley relay team which will compete at Nationals this weekend.