Belmont Shuts Down Thursday As Major Storm Arrives – But Trash Will Be Picked Up!

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Photo: It’s coming!

Belmont will effectively shut down for the entirety of Thursday, Jan. 4, as the region will be hit by what some are calling a “bomb cyclone” or what most New Englanders still describe as a good ol’ Nor’easter.

The National Weather Service issued a Winter Storm Warning at 4:29 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 3 that will be in effect from 1 a.m. Thursday to 1 a.m. Friday, Jan. 5. Snow will be heavy and winds will be steady at 20 mph with gusts reaching 40 mph. 

In terms of timeline, the snow will begin in the early morning hours of Thursday, continuing throughout the day. The worst of the storm will occur from noon until 6 p.m. when most of the snow will be on the ground.

How much? Depending on what media source you decide is credible predicting the weather, from 8-12 inches (Globe), 9-13 from the NWS or 18 inches (Patch).

And Belmont will be shut down tight for the “bomb”: 

  • Belmont Public Schools will be closed on Thursday.
  • Town buildings will be closed.
  • There will be a SNOW EMERGENCY PARKING BAN in Belmont on all roadways and Municipal parking lots including schools effective at 6 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 4 until further notice. All vehicles parked in violation of the ban will be towed at the owner’s expense.
  • Belmont Public Library and the Benton Library will be closed
  • Trash and recycling will be picked up as scheduled on Thursday.

If residents have any questions, they should call the snow emergency hotline at 617-993-2698.  

Recycling Event Cancelled Again; Rescheduled to Jan. 13

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Photo: Cardboard recycling.

The weather does not want to cooperate.

With a foot of snow earlier in the week, anticipated temperatures in the single digits and the demands on the Department of Public Works has forced the town to once again cancel the town-wide cardboard recycling event this Saturday.

The event has been rescheduled to Saturday, Jan. 13 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Town Yard, 37 C St. 

Another One Bites The Dust: Perkins Breaks 300 Record; Fastest 600 HS Runner in US

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Photo: Calvin Perkins at the 2017 Massachusetts All-State outdoor meet.

Don’t tell Calvin Perkins to slow down; he’s got more records to break.

The Belmont High senior all-star has taken down his second school indoor track record, turning in a stellar 35.67 second in the 300 meters last Thursday, Dec. 28 at Boston University in the team’s dual meet vs. Winchester.

And the New Year brought even better news for the talented Perkins – he is a multi-year all-district musician playing the trumpet – as his 600-meter record of 1 minute 21.42 set on Dec. 22 was ranked the fastest time in the US for High School 600 meter runners so far this indoor season.

Sold in Belmont: Ending the Year with Million Dollar Multi-families

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Photo: The multi-family at 7 Pine St. in the arbor-named neighborhood at the corner of Belmont and Trapelo.

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

• 7 Pine St., Multi-family (1913). Sold: $1,199,000. Listed at $1,299,000. Living area: 2,754 sq.-ft. 11 rooms, 6 bedrooms, 3 baths. On the market: 114 days. Last sold: Dec. 2004, $650,000.

• 32 Chester Rd., Multi-family (1918). Sold: $1,135,000. Listed at $1,199,000. Living area: 2,772 sq.-ft. 12 rooms, 6 bedrooms, 2.5 baths. On the market: 56 days. Last sold: Nov. 1987, $322,500.

• 50 Bartlett Ave., Condominium/converted multi-family (1927). Sold: $536,000. Listed at $489,000. Living area: 1,140 sq.-ft. 5 rooms, 2 bedrooms, 1 baths. On the market: 50 days. Last sold: Oct. 2015, $448,000.

• 158 Watson Rd., Colonial (1935). Sold: $1,040,000. Listed at $925,000. Living area: 1,962 sq.-ft. 10 rooms, 4 bedrooms, 1.5 baths. On the market: 42 days. Last sold: Oct. 1992, $295,000.

• 16-18 Watson Rd., Multi-family (1939). Sold: $912,500. Listed at $825,000. Living area: 2,273 sq.-ft. 11 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 3 baths. On the market: 44 days. Last sold: Nov. 1987, $322,500.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise multi-family homes – which makes up a significant proportion of residential structures in Belmont – would follow the lead of the traditional single-detached dwellings in the ever-increasing escalation in value and sales price in Belmont’s housing market. Take a look at 7 Pine, which oversees the busy intersection of Belmont and Trapleo in the neighborhood of arbor named streets. This section of town, developed a decade or two after the turn of the last century, has seen the myriad of two-families that distinguish the area really pop in popularity due, in part, to the unique post Victorian, pre-Colonial styles – affectionately dubbed “Old Style” by the Belmont Assessors in the town’s property database – and the affordability of renting or owning a condo conversion.

Returning to 7 Pine, the assessed value was remarkably stable for a decade from 2004 to 2014 in the upper $600,000. But in the past three years, the property has increased in value by a third (in one year alone, 2015 to 2016, the assessed value jumped $170,000) to $953,000 in ’18. The property did undergo $30,000 in permitted renovations (replacing the windows a few years back), but other than that, it’s just the bubble-like skyrocketing of the price-tag on anything “Belmont” that can explain the rise in value. It has two nice, smallish units – with an eye-popping color selected for the walls – with original woodwork/moulding, updated kitchen/baths and nice porches. The best feature, for anyone who walks by the place, will know, is the sort-of English-style garden and landscaping. 

Belmont Girls Hoops Fall To Top-Ranked Newton South, 44-35, For First Loss

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Photo: Belmont High School Girls Basketball.

A slow start coupled with free throw shooting as cold as all outdoors resulted in the Belmont High Girls Basketball falling from the undefeated as the Marauders lost to Newton South, the top-ranked team in eastern Massachusetts, 44-35, in the title game of the Garden City Basketball Holiday Invitational held at Newton North High School Thursday, Dec. 28.

“The team struggled offensively in the first half so you’re forced to battle back against a very good team for the rest of the game,” said Belmont Head Coach Melissa Hart. 

In what was essentially a home game for the Warriors at Newton North , Belmont failed to find the rhythm in the offensive side of the ball until midway through the third quarter when the Marauders cut a 15 point deficit to five, 38-33, with just under three minutes to play.

With Belmont knocking on the door, the Lions turned to its leader senior guard Veronica Burton who put the game on ice with a bucket, two free-throws off a steal and a pass that led to a free-throw on consecutive times up the court. 

“[Burton’s] quite a player, scoring half of their points but also involved one way or another in most of them,” Hart said about the Northwestern-bound all-star who tallied 21 points to go along with 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks and 3 steals against the Marauders. 

Not that the game didn’t start on the upswing with Belmont scoring baskets on its first drives of the game to lead 4-1. It was then Newton South – a Division 1 South powerhouse coming off a 16-4 record last year – took off on a 14-1 run to end the first quarter, 15-5.

“While [Newton South wasn’t] shooting the lights out, they got off an awful lot of shots, more than I would have liked to see,” said Hart. “I thought early in the second quarter, ‘they’re going to score 80 on us’.”

While the Marauders defense began to stem the bleeding in the second quarter, the offense continued finding it hard to take advantage of Belmont’s frontline height difference.

“Their guard defense just made it difficult for us to get the ball into the middle,” Hart said.

Hart placed junior guard Meghan Tan – who along with backcourt partner senior captain Carly Christfori played the entire 32 minutes of the game – to play man-on-man on Burton, but did not attempt to send other defenders to assist Tan on the Newton South star.  

“We couldn’t do everything we wanted to against Burton because the other kids on Newton South were really good,” said Hart, pointing to the four 3s Burton’s teammates hit including a pair from fellow senior Paige Ollivierre. “If we would have sent more players to [Burton], we would have been killed from the outside.” 

At the half, Newton South doubled up Belmont 26-13, who were hurt by what has been an almost historic bugaboo for the Marauders; not taking advantage of chances from the charity stripe. Belmont went 2 for 6 in the first half and a woeful 4 for 11 in the second half. 

But Belmont kept the game close enough so when Tan hit a 3 pointer at the buzzer, Belmont was only down by 9, 34-25, having outscored the Lions, 12-8, in a strong third quarter on both ends of the court. During the team’s last-minute push, Christofori scored 7 of her team-high 11 points in the first five minutes of the quarter as freshman Maiya Bergdorf (5 points including a three) hit a deuce and junior sixth man Jane Mahon (5 points) went 1-2 from the line.

While the Marauders did hold Newton South to just a pair of baskets in the final quarter, it was Burton who almost singlehandedly finished off Belmont, including going 5 for 8 from the free throw line in the final stanza.

“We didn’t play a perfect game. We have further to go than they do and to me that the good news,” said Hart. “I see us getting better throughout the season. It’s an early-season loss to a good team.”

Belmont Festival Orchestra In Concert Saturday, Dec. 30 at the Beech Street Center

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Photo: Nathaniel Meyer

Welcome in the New Year with music as the Belmont Festival Orchestra returns to the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St., on Saturday Dec. 30 at 2 p.m. to perform its annual holiday concert featuring Verdi’s Overture to the opera “La Forza del Destino” (“The Force of Destiny”) and Brahms Symphony No. 4.

The free program will be repeated at First Church in Cambridge, 11 Garden St. on Tuesday, Jan. 2 at 8 p.m.

Founded in 2010 and led by Belmont High Class of 2009 alumni Nathaniel Meyer, the Belmont Festival Orchestra, is an ensemble of emerging young professional musicians in the Boston area, performing every year during the holiday season, and in the summer as a holiday gift from the musicians to the community.

 

Move Over Victor: Perkins Breaks School’s 600M Indoor Record

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Photo: Calvin Perkins after his record-breaking run. (William Brotchie, photo)

According to Belmont High School Head Cross Country and Track Coach William Brotchie, there was actually a 13th Labor of Hercules that was specific to Belmont: to break one of Victor Gras‘ Belmont High School track records. Gras’ name dominates the record books in the middle distance races both indoors and outdoors for the past dozen years with only fleeting attempts to challenge his times.

But Gras’ name will be replaced in the 600 meters when last Friday, Dec 22, Belmont senior Calvin Perkins completed that Herculean feat at the Reggie Lewis Center in Roxbury during the team’s dual meet against Lexington as Perkins took a half a second from the old record crossing the finish line in 1 minute, 21.42 seconds.

The Marauder captain continues his impressive run of form, coming off a junior season that saw him take second in the Massachusetts All-State 800 meters and an 8th in the 600 meters in March’s Indoor state meet.

Baby, It’s Cold Outside: Town Delays Cardboard Recycling One Week

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Photo: Cardboard event postponed.

The cardboard recycling event scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 30 has been cancelled due to expected “extreme weather conditions,” according to the Belmont Department of Public Works.

Forecast for Saturday calls for temperatures in the high teens. 

The collection day has been rescheduled to Saturday, Jan. 6 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Town Yard off C Street. 

New Federal Tax Law Has Belmont Property Owners At Treasurer’s Office, Check in Hand

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Photo: A look at your real estate taxes could lead to prepaying next year’s tax bill.

David Levin arrived at the Belmont Treasurer’s Office Friday, Dec. 22 eager to pay the real estate taxes on his ranch-style home on Richmond Road. And not just the next quarterly assessment, but the entire calendar 2018 bill.

Levin’s motivation to pay upfront a substantial amount wasn’t due to a punctilious personality but rather the passage by Congress of what is the most sweeping overhaul of the US tax system in more than 30 years, which includes changes aimed at Levin and a large segment of his fellow Belmont homeowners.

While President Trump proclaimed the bill that passed two-days earlier on Dec. 20 “a middle-class Christmas gift” – pointing to lower rates and a near doubling of the standard deduction for individuals – Belmont property owners will see deductions on combined state and local taxes capped at $10,000 in 2018. For those taxpayers who itemize deductions, the hit to their wallets could be a big one.

“The Republican tax plan has compelled me to make a number of changes to my personal finances before Jan. 1 and one of those is prepaying my 2018 taxes so I can deduct them on my 2017 federal income tax,” said Levin, who will see about $3,000 in “savings” by paying forward next year’s bill.

“I won’t be able to take that deduction, maybe ever again,” he said.

Levin isn’t alone seeking to get in front of the new tax regs taking effect Jan. 1, 2018. With the annual tax bill on the average Belmont residential property – calculated at $1,003,750 – is approximately $12,200, it’s little wonder the Treasurer’s Office on the first floor of the Homer Building has become the hot spot in the “Town of Homes.”

“We’ve had a ton of interest in the past few days,” said a Treasurer staffer as a steady stream of residents came up to the department’s payment window with checkbooks in hand.

For the town’s tax collector, the sudden influx of residents seeking answers is not unexpected considering all the news about the tax bill.

“We’ve had a significant uptick in phone calls and payments and my fundamental attitude is if you want to prepay your taxes, we are more than willing to accept your check,” said Town Treasurer Floyd Carman on Friday.

For Carman and his small staff, the data they are providing and how the town will process the additional payments “isn’t rocket science.”

“If someone comes to that window tell those what the estimated tax bill will be, we can calculate the bill for the calendar year 2018 tax bill. We give the real estate taxpayer the information. What they do with it is up to them and their financial advisers,” said Carman. 

But residents shouldn’t expect any advice on how to manage their assets.

“We are not your tax attorney. Talk to them,” said Carman.

Carman said unlike other towns which have placed a two quarter prepay limit on property taxes, Belmont can arrange a payment plan.

“We will process the first two quarters and the remaining funds will be placed in a prepaid account. When we do the estimated bills in June for the remaining two quarters, then we’ll apply the money to them,” said Carman.

“Will it result in more work for us? Sure. But we’ll manage it,” he said.

While his office can come darn near close to the exact amount owed over one year, those who propose paying off two or three years in advance could be problematic as the property could see its assessed value shot up in the second year to a point where a resident will need to pay additional monies to meet their tax obligation. 

Carman said there are a number of issues that property owners will need to be aware of including if the firm holding the mortgage is contracted to pay outstanding taxes or what are the tax implications if the house is sold in the coming year.

“You need to deal with that. If someone calls me about your taxes, I can only tell them what I have in front of me,” he said.

Carman is also advising resident thinking of taking advantage of the existing exemptions to make sure the check approved at the Treasurer’s office or in the “drop box” in front of the Homer Building by Friday, Dec. 29 at 4 p.m. A mailed payment postmarked before but not processed by the deadline will not qualify for the exemption. 

“I’d advise anyone to make time to drop your payment off,” said Carman.

Sports: Girls’ Hoops Open Season 3-0; Prepare For Tough Holiday Competition [VIDEO]

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Photo: Senior Capt. Carly Christofori preparing to hit the three against Stoneham.

It’s been an easy start of the season for Belmont High School’s Girls’ Basketball teams as the team has started the 2017-18 season at 3-0.

Maybe the kickoff has been too easy as the Marauders will need to ramp up its intensity as it faces some stiff competition heading into a holiday tournament in Newton next week.

Everyone knew the Belmont High Girls’ Hoopsters were going to be a handful for both league and tourney opponents – the Boston Herald rated the Marauders as the top team in Division 1 North despite competing with the big schools for the first time.

Belmont Head Coach Melissa Hart returns not just her starting five – guards Carly Christofori and Megan Tan, center Jess Giorgio, and Greta Propp and Jenny Call – from last year’s team that ended the season at 16-4 and the number-one seed in Division 2 North sectionals which reached the semi-finals, but also has talented reserves coming off the bench such as sixth-man Jane Mahon, point guard Kylie Rhone, reserve center Ella Gagnon and standout freshman Maiya Bergdorf who Hart can use anywhere on the court, as a shooting guard, power forward or center. 

In its first three games, the squad has returned with a suffocating defense and an offense that is looking to run the break in transition. And the team has also included another weapon in its arsenal, hitting the long ball as the team has drained 18 3s with Call adding a total of seven treys to her school career record.

Each game demonstrated Belmont’s versatility with junior center Giorgio dominated inside both offensively (14 points in the paint) and on the defensive boards while 9th grader Bergdorf drained a trio of threes towards a game-high 16 points to complement Propp’s 11 and Call’s 10 points as Belmont ran away in the second half to beat visiting Burlington, 62-37, in the home opener.

Against Wilmington on the road, junior guard Tan scored a game-leading 15 points mostly on the break as she led Belmont to a 16 point second quarter to give the Marauders a 28-20 lead at the half. The second half was all defense as the Marauders shut down the Wildcats, allowing only three points in the third and a total of nine for the 51-29 win.

Thursday’s game against an undermanned Stoneham team was quickly decided as the Marauders took off to a 27-10 first quarter lead (led by Christofori who scored 14 of her game-high 15 points in the opening stanza) then clamped down on Stoneham, limiting the Spartans to four points in the second quarter while they jumped on junior Mahon’s back as she scored 12 of her 14 points (on 7 for 7 shooting) in a 23 point quarter to up the margin at the half to 36 points, 50-14. 

Hart threw everyone but the manager onto the court as 12 of 13 Marauders got into the scorer’s book. Senior Rhone hit for 7 points while running the show with fellow senior Ally Shapazian while juniors Breah Healey (1 point), Audrey Christo (4 points), and Alex Keefe (with a downtown bomb for “THREE”) scored as Belmont won 71-25. 

And the team’s X-mas “present” for its solid start will be a pair of potentially tough encounters with strong squads just after Christmas. First up will be Stoughton High on Wednesday, Dec. 27 at 5 p.m. at Newton North High School. The tourney final will be on Thursday, Dec. 28 against the winner of the Newton North/Newton South game. If Newton South is Belmont’s opponent, it will likely meet senior Veronica Burton, the 5’9″ guard and Northwestern commit who is averaging 20 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks per game this season.