This (Short but Busy) Week: Stormwater Forum, LEGOs, Rink Presentation

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On the governmental side of “The Week.”
  • The Belmont Board of Selectmen, the Belmont School Committee and the town’s Capital Budget Committee will hold a joint session to hear a presentation on the construction of a new skating rink and field house at the present site off Concord Avenue. The meeting is scheduled to take place at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 8 at the Chenery Middle School.
  • The Belmont School Committee meets for the first time this school year at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 8 at the Chenery Middle School. In addition to the Hockey Rink presentation, new staff members will be introduced and lots of reports and goals announced.
  • The Belmont Planning Board will meet to continue public hearing on a number of existing applications and one new application at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 8 in Town Hall. 
  • The Belmont Historic District Commission will discuss Demolition Delay and the cleaning of the commuter rail bridge at its 7 p.m. meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 8 in Town Hall. 
  • The Energy Committee is meeting at 8 a.m., Wednesday, Sept. 9 at Town Hall.
  • The Community Preservation Committee is meeting at 5 p.m., Sept. 9 at Town Hall in preparation to its Sept. 17 public meeting. 
• Pre-School Summer Story Time at the Benton Library, Belmont’s independent and volunteer run library, on Tuesday, Sept. 8 at 10:30 a.m. Stories and crafts for children age 3 to 5. Parents or caregivers must attend. Siblings can join with adults. Registration is not required. The Benton Library is located at the intersection of Oakley and Old Middlesex.
• State Rep. Dave Rogers will be holding office hours at the Beech Street Center at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 8. 
• The Belmont Public Library, in partnership with the Belmont-based non-profit Science for the Public, will offer the program Origami: Art and Science, on Tuesday, Sept. 8 at 7  p.m. in the Assembly Room. The presenter for the program is Lakshminarayanan Mahadevan, Ph.D., de Valpine Professor of Applied Mathematics; Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology; Professor of Physics, Harvard University.
 
• Join Julie Goetze for traditional songs and nursery rhymes, played on her guitar on Wednesday, Sept. 9 at 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the library’s Assembly Room
 
• A jobs workshop on “Changing Careers: Reinventing Oneself in Today’s Job Market” with employment expert Gary Gekow will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Assembly Room of the Belmont Public Library. Transitioning into a new profession can be a challenging and daunting undertaking. Gekow will discuss and explore various strategies to help make the transition from one industry to another a smooth one.  This is a group discussion where everyone’s experiences and opinions are welcomed.  No sign-up necessary.
 
• Belmont Historical Society is holding its board meeting Wednesday, Sept. 9, 7:30 p.m. – 9 p.m. at the Library’s Claflin Room.
 
• The LEGOs Club is back! If you love building with LEGOs, this program is for you!  Kids in grades Kindergarten through 2nd grade will build with our LEGOs and we’ll put all the creations on display in the Children’s Room. The fun begins Thursday, Sept. 10, 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the library’s Assembly Room.
 
• The Belmont League of Women Voters monthly meeting is being held on Thursday, Sept. 10, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the library’s Flett Room.
 
• A stormwater forum titled “Water Trouble: A Neighbor-to-Neighbor Dialogue about Storms, Floods, and Water Quality” will take place on Thursday, Sept. 10, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., at Winn Brook School. Registration starts at 6:45 pm. Representatives from grass root organizations from Arlington, Belmont, and Watertown organized the forum. We have panelists from all three towns.
 
• Join Lenka from Belmont’s Music Together on Friday, Sept. 11 from 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. 
in the library’s Assembly Room for singing, playing with egg shakers and dancing!  For kids 5 and under.
 
• The senior book discussion group will meet on Friday, Sept. 11 at 11 a.m. at the Beech Street Center to discuss Middlemarch by George Eliot.
 
• The Belmont Gallery of Art invites the public to the closing reception for “!02478,” Belmont Art Association’s Summer Show, on Friday, Sept. 11, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Belmont Art Gallery located on the third floor of the Homer Building in the Town Hall complex.

• The Benton Library, Belmont’s independent library, is open on Friday, Sept. 11, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., come by the Benton on the way home or after dinner. Get a free library card if you don’t have one already. Explore the collection. Select some of our gently used sale books; all proceeds benefit the library.

Final Chance to Visit New Underwood Pools is Labor Day Monday

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Photo: Belmont’s new Underwood Pool.

One month since its grand opening, the new Underwood Pool facility at the corner of Cottage Street and Concord Avenue will close for the season today, Monday, Sept. 7, according to the town’s Recreations Department.

With weekday admissions exceeding 1,000 visits, the $5.2 million, two pool space located on the site of the historic, 102-year-old “pond” has been a popular destination for families and individuals during the “dog days” of summer. And that includes today, Labor Day, with temperatures expected to reach the low 90s.

The pool will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.; those with memberships can head straight in and claim a favorite spot on the grass while those requiring a day pass will be charged $10 per adult and $5 for teens and children between 18 and toddlers. 

Sold in Belmont: ‘Tired’ Homes on the Hill Sell Below List

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Photo: 60 Stony Brook on Belmont Hill. 

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

48 Summit Rd. Townhouse condominium (2005). Sold: $1,345,000. Listed at $1,375,000. Living area: 2,520 sq.-ft. 9 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 3.5 baths. On the market: 84 days.

19 Thayer Rd. Condominum (1958). Sold: $263,750. Listed at $259,000. Living area: 625 sq.-ft. 4 rooms, 1 bedrooms, 1 baths. On the market: 42 days.

89 Bay State Rd. Colonial (1928). Sold: $1,050,000. Listed at $1,050,000. Living area: 2,616 sq.-ft. 10 rooms, 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths. On the market: 70 days.

60 Stony Brook. Custom-design/ranch (1959). Sold: $1,100,000. Listed at $1,400,000. Living area: 2,616 sq.-ft. 10 rooms, 5 bedrooms, 3 baths. On the market: 161 days.

112 Winter St. Renovated (1946/2001). Sold: $895,000. Listed at $929,000. Living area: 3,100 sq.-ft. 8 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 3.5 baths. On the market: 78 days.

58 Crestview Rd. Ranch (1959). Sold: $1,025,000. Listed at $1,100,000. Living area: 2,816 sq.-ft. 7 rooms, 5 bedrooms, 4 baths. On the market: 70 days.

If you’ve lived in Belmont for any amount of time, you know that not every house on Belmont Hill is a brick manse with sculptured gardens with a view of Boston. Yes, they are pricey but many are beginning to show their age especially in their design and style.

Likely the custom-built house on Stony Brook Road was a humdinger of a residency when it was constructed half a century ago. Just how trendy was it to have a two-car garage projecting out from the Colonial-style split ranch with a brick wing jutting from the side. Not like those boring Colonials! Well, while those “boring” Colonial are much sought after, this mish-mash of styles looks and feels old. The interior is cramped with little in ways of options to use the available 2,600 square feet. It shouldn’t come as any surprise that the structure’s asking price fell by $300,000 before selling at $1.1 million. 

The same could be said for the ranch on Crestview (in the shadow of the Boston Temple), and the terrible retro build structure on Winter, each selling below their list. Sometimes “location” can’t help a tired old building sell for what their owners think. Sorry to say but these homes would be suitable candidates for demolition with a new building on the foundation. 

Tomatoes Heading Out, Apples Coming In the Belmont Farmers Market

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Photo: Apples and tomatoes.

The Belmont Farmers Market welcomes September; a month of transitions: the return to school, the change from summer to fall, the close of tomato season and the beginning of the apple harvest. 

This is the last week that the Market will remain open until 6:30 p.m. Starting next week, Sept. 10, the market will begin closing at 6 p.m. for the rest of the season.

This week also marks the return of volunteer Storytime readers, taking over from the Belmont Public Library children’s librarians who hosted the event this summer.

The Belmont Farmers Market is open from 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Thursdays throughout the summer until the final week of October. The market is located in the municipal parking lot at the intersection of Cross Street and Channing Road in Belmont Center.
 
Schedule of Events
  • 2 p.m. – 3 p.m.: Music by Branson Bofat 
  • 2 p.m. – 5 p.m.: Belmont Public “Pop-up” Library
  • 3 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.: Julia Lenef is a Belmont High School graduate who has played violin since 3rd grade. She plays jazz, classical, and occasionally rock.
  • 4 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.: Storytime by the Library
  • 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.: Activities for kids by the Mount Auburn Cemetery: Staff from the cemetery will offer a make your own butterfly activity for children of all ages. In addition, they will be distributing copies of their new “Mount Auburn Family Nature Guide,” an activity guide to explore the cemetery in all seasons. 
Monthly and occasional vendors at the market this week are:  
Coastal Vineyards, Couët Farm & Fromagerie, Seta’s Mediterranean Foods, Soup N’ Spoon.
Weekly Vendors: 
Boston Smoked Fish Co., C&C Lobsters and Fish, Dick’s Market Garden Farm, Fior D’Italia, Flats Mentor Farm, Foxboro Cheese Co., Gaouette Farm, Goodies Homemade, Hutchins Farm, Kimball Fruit Farm, Mamadou’s Artisan Bakery, Nicewicz Family Farm, Sfolia Baking Company, Stillman Quality Meats.
Food Truck in the Belmont Center Parking Lot
Jamaica Mi Hungry 

Opinion: Time to Reset When Belmont Schools Start The Day

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Photo: Sleep deprivation among adolescents is a chronic problem across the country and here in Belmont.

By Andrea Prestwich and Steve Saar, Belmont Start School Later

For one Belmont High School senior, the beginning of the school year – which starts today, Wednesday, Sept. 2 – is a double edge sword; the excitement of their final year in the public schools is dampened in trying to stay awake to enjoy the moment. 

“It’s really difficult to maintain your focus in class when you don’t get enough sleep. Belmont High School is a great school with high standards, but it’s difficult to keep up when you’re chronically tired,” the senior said, who manages to sleep seven hours on a “good” night.

Our daughter is another example. She is a 12-year-old Chenery Middle School student who says she feels “heavy, slow, grumpy and lethargic” on most school mornings.

What’s wrong with these kids? As it turns out, NOTHING! Many – if not most – middle and high school students in Belmont struggle with chronic sleepiness as they are forced out of bed at 6:30 a.m. or earlier to get to school.

Numerous scientific studies have shown that as kids hit puberty their sleep rhythms change. They naturally fall asleep later and get up later. Asking a teen to get up at 6:30 a.m. is like asking an adult to get up at 4 a.m.; they are deep into their natural sleep cycle. Studies also show adolescents need eight-and-a-half to nine-and-a-half hours of sleep each night.

Depriving kids of sleep at such a crucial period of their development can lead to serious long-term health consequences, including:

  • increased risks of obesity
  • diabetes
  • hypertension
  • stroke
  • depression
  • anxiety
  • substance abuse
  • Accidents while driving.

Sleep deprivation among adolescents is a chronic problem across the country, linked to poor impulse control and self-regulation – sleepy kids make bad decisions – impairments in attention and memory and deficits in abstract thinking.

Student athletes are especially impacted by sleep deprivation. A study highlighted by the American Academy of Pediatrics showed that “athletes who slept eight or more hours each night were 68 percent less likely to be injured than athletes who regularly slept less.”

The scale of the problem has been recognized by the Center for Disease Control, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychological Association, the Society for Pediatric Nurses, the National Association of School Nurses, and the National Sleep Foundation, all endorsing later school start time, with middle and high schools opening no earlier than 8:30 a.m.

So, with just about every professional medical organization in the country endorsing later school start times, why does Belmont begin the Chenery day at 7:55 a.m. and Belmont High at 7:35 a.m?

Sometimes the reason is economics. Many schools set start times decades ago to save transportation costs by running the same busses in three cycles for the high school, middle school and elementary school. Starting schools early also leaves more time in the afternoon for athletics and other after-school activities.

The current schedule would make sense if adolescents had a “sleep mode” button, but sadly, evolution has not seen fit to equip them with one. You just can’t put teens to bed at 9:30 p.m. and expect them to go to sleep immediately and wake bright and early at 6 a.m. as the schedule is contrary to their natural sleep rhythms.

If you put teens to bed at 9:30 p.m. they will toss and turn until 11 p.m. when they will finally start to feel drowsy. The adage “early to bed and early to rise” doesn’t apply to adolescents; they are creatures of the night!

So why not change Belmont to a healthier, later schedule? First, there’s a widespread belief that if schools start later kids will stay up later. This is not true. A landmark study looked at 18,000 high school students in Minneapolis before and after the district’s school start time changed from 7:15 a.m. to 8:40 a.m. The main conclusion was that high school students slept an hour longer on average when their school started later. They went to bed at the same time as before the time change and slept longer. 

Athletics is another consideration. Currently, schools in the Middlesex League have early starting times. If Belmont were to shift to a healthier, later schedule, our athletes would be out of sync with the rest of the league. Practice times would also have to change, possibly causing a ripple effect and impacting youth groups who use the same facilities.

Other barriers to a later schedule include the need to re-think before- and after-school programs and the impact on some kids with part-time jobs. 

There are certainly obstacles to shifting Belmont High and the Chenery to start later but none is insurmountable. For example, bus schedules could be reversed so that Winn Brook starts first at around 7:45 a.m., then the High School just after 8:30 a.m., Wellington, and Chenery later. Elementary school kids are usually up with the larks, bouncing on their beds – they have sleep rhythms naturally suited to an earlier start. 

Start School Later has local chapters across Massachusetts working for later start times, and we are working with Massachusetts legislators. Hopefully, Belmont will join other districts as they shift times.

Even though there are difficulties in changing school start times, it is not acceptable for our kids to be sleep deprived, any more than it is acceptable for them to go without food or any other life necessity. And sleep is a necessity of life. Our kids should start the school day well fed and rested. The current start times make this impossible.

School districts around the country have shifted to healthier schedules with very positive results: kids are more alert and less grumpy, there are lower rates of tardiness and fewer missed school days. They arrive at school ready to learn.

We ask Belmont School Superintendent John Phelan and the Belmont School Committee follow the recommendations and shift Belmont schools to healthier schedules.

 

They’re Back! First Day of School in Belmont Wednesday, Sept. 2

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Photo: Crossing the street at the Burbank. 

Remember the alarm clock? It probably hasn’t been heard since the last week in June; but starting today, it returns as a weekday companion for parents and children as Wednesday, Sept. 2, marks the first day of school in Belmont for student in 1st through 12th grades.

Kindergarten students get to sleep in for a week, as the youngest Belmont students start on Tuesday and Wednesday, Sept. 8 and 9.

Belmont High School starts at 7:35 a.m.; Chenery Middle School at 7:55 a.m.; the Burbank, Butler and Wellington elementary schools at 8:40 a.m.; and the Winn Brook at 8:50 a.m. 

For school hours, the school-year calendar, bus routes, lunch menus, and more information, go to www.belmont.k12.ma.us/bps/

With students being greeted by temperatures reaching the lower 90s on both days – and with several schools lacking adequate air conditioning – school officials are suggesting students come to school with water and stay hydrated.

On these first two days of the 2015-16 year – the six Belmont public schools will be closed Friday, Sept. 4 through Monday, Sept. 7 for the Labor Day holiday – Belmont Schools Superintendent John Phelan is asking for parents and students to be safe and patient.

Phelan said due to street closures and road construction throughout the town, drivers learning new routes and parents giving long goodbyes to children on their first days, buses will likely be delayed. 

Parents driving their children to school along with students driving to Belmont High School are also being asked to be patient while each school’s administration works out the kinks of their drop-off and pick-up plans.

In addition, Phelan and the Belmont Police are asking all drivers “to be mindful of our students who are walking or biking to school.”  

“The sidewalks, streets,  and parking lots will be congested and we want to make sure all can share the road safely,” said Phelan. 

Beginning this year following a suggestion by Phelan, the district has adopted a pre-Labor Day opening to the school year. Phelan hopes starting school for two days, followed by the four-day Labor Day holiday and four days of school “will facilitate a smooth transition for our children.”

“This gradual start will give our students a chance to meet their teachers this week, find out expectations for the year, and set up their school routines,” said Phelan in his opening day memo sent to parents and teachers.

“Then, hopefully, they can spend the four-day weekend stress-free and return to school Tuesday refreshed and prepared to learn,” he noted.

Eye of the Marauder: Belmont High’s New Court Up and Running

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Photo: The new court at the Wenner.

Just six months after getting together with a group of friends at Conley’s Pub for a beer and to throw around the “wild” idea of replacing the worst basketball court – the vinyl floor at Belmont High’s Wenner Field House – any high school team had to play on, John Carson was standing on a shiny, new surface ready for action.  

“This is amazing,” said Carson, as he and that original group of supporters, school officials and the captains of this coming season’s Belmont High basketball celebrated the court’s completion at Wenner Field House on Monday, Aug. 31.

“Amazing that, one, we pulled it off, and two, it looks this damn good,” he said.

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John Carson.

The new stone grey and dark blue court – which will be inaugurated by Belmont High’s Volleyball team at a scrimmage this week – is a composite surface that took Rockland-based American Sport Floors about five weeks to complete.

“I couldn’t be prouder,” said Carson, who said once the original group of supporters – made up of himself, Paula Christofori, Jon Baldi, Chris Messer and David Ramsey – decided to move forward with the plan, it would take “only 10 to 12 weeks to get the money to do all this.”

The new court is an example of a growing trend in Belmont where – whether out of frustration or due to  philanthropic intentions – residents, businesses and groups join to raise the private funds needed to build or improve public infrastructure that town government is finding harder to finance.

Recently, private monies have been used to repair school playgrounds, irrigate town fields and “rescue” the new swimming facility, to name a few. 

The new varsity court joins the list of privately funded/public amenities that included a pair of $35,000 contributions; from the Belmont Savings Bank Foundation and Belmont Youth Basketball Association. 

“In no way did [Belmont Savings] want their logo on [the center court] because they wanted to do the right thing, so hats off to them,” said Carson.

An additional $40,000 was collected from private individuals – “from $10 to $5,000,” said Carson – and $15,000 from Belmont Boosters allowed for the entire varsity areas to be redone. 

The adjacent JV court and surrounding areas will be completed in the summer of 2016 financed by a $100,000 appropriation from the town’s Capital Budget Committee.

Carson also praised Belmont Schools Superintendent John Phelan as “someone who gets things done” for making the project a priority “because it will be used by all students, and that was a key for him.” 

Opening the court to the players for a brief shoot-around – Carson said hopefully the new court “will bring a championship with it.”

“No pressure, guys,” he said to the players. 

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Medal of Honor Recipients To Speak At Belmont High Sept. 16

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Photo: Clint Romesha, a Medal of Honor recepient, will speak at Belmont High School.

The Medal of Honor is the nation’s highest military honor, awarded for personal acts of valor above and beyond the call of duty. The actions by the soldiers, sailors and airmen to earn this award is heroic in every possible way.

Of the approximately 3,670 military personnel whom the medal has been bestowed since the Civil War, only about 79 are living today. 

On Wednesday, Sept. 16, three men who were awarded this highest military honor –  Tom Norris, a Navy SEAL who fought in Vietnam, Clint Romesha, a soldier from the Afghan War and Donald Ballard, a Navy Corpsman from the Vietnam War – will speak to mostly sophomores at Belmont High School about themselves and the courage, commitment and sacrifice they demonstrated.

“This is a really rare and unusual experience for our students and we are honored to have been selected,” said Deb McDevitt, the Belmont Public School’s social studies director and teacher at the High School. 

The honorees will arrive by helicopter around 8:45 a.m. and speak to the students from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., McDevitt told the Belmontonian. 

As part of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society Conference being held this month in Boston, the society conducts outreach programs at area schools “to share their stories with students and educate the public with all the things they are able to do and lessons they learned,” said McDevitt.

The society connected with Belmont High School through an alumnus who is one of the 79 living recipients. Robert Foley (graduate ’59), who was awarded his medal for actions during his service in the Vietnam conflict, is unable to attend the conference but suggested his alma mater as one of the schools on the speakers list. 

“They contacted me to see if we would be willing to host and welcome these speakers and I immediately said ‘Of course!'” said McDevitt. “It was no question that we would do this.” 

The sophomore class was selected to hear from the men as the talk dovetails with the curriculum 10th graders are studying in General American History. 

“One of the essential questions we focus our whole year around is what’s America’s place in the world,” said McDevitt.

“When they hear these stories at the beginning of the year, students are going to have a much richer understanding of the wars the nation fought and the relationships and alliances we’ve had with other countries. This will ground their studies with real-life meaning for all the work they’ll be doing for the rest of the year,” McDevitt said.

Detour: Road Work to Impact Belmont Center for Week

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Photo: Big machines taking apart the Concord Avenue roadway. 

For the remainder of the week – which includes the first day of school and the beginning of the Labor Day getaway – Belmont Center will be a good place to actively avoid.

Beginning Monday Aug. 31 and lasting until Friday, Sept. 4, General Contractor Charles Contracting will begin road pulverization and full-depth reconstruction for

  • a portion of Concord Avenue, westbound  between the Leonard Street and the Belmont Police headquarters on Pleasant Street, and
  • along Leonard Street from Alexander Avenue southbound towards the underpass. 

During construction, the roadways will be closed between 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Detours around the work site will be in effect at these times.  After 4 p.m., typical traffic flow will be restored and the road will be made passable.

For any questions or concerns about the project please contact Robert Bosselman, resident engineer in the Belmont Office of Community Development, at 617-993-2657.

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Cushing Square Municipal Lot Closing for Good in Fortnight

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Photo: The municipal lot in Cushing Square. 

A long-time landmark in parking scarce Cushing Square will soon disappear as Belmont Police announced Monday, Aug. 31, the closing of the municipal parking lot adjacent to Trapelo and Williston roads.

The lot, which serves neighborhood businesses, shoppers, overnight parking and commuters, will shut down in the next two weeks, said the release.

Police note that 50 underground spaces reserved for municipal use will be available to the public when the project nears completion in 18 months. 

The closure is due to the start of construction of the Cushing Village construction project, the long-delayed 167,000 sq.-ft. multi-use development that will occupy the lot, the location of the former S. S. Pierce store building at the intersection of Common Street and Trapelo Road and the former CVS site at Common and Belmont Street. 

After the lot is closed, area businesses that purchased town-issued monthly parking passes in the lot “will be allowed to park in the Cushing Square area free from time restrictions on parking with the exception of the following roads: Trapelo and Horne roads and Common Street. 

Belmont Police will work closely with businesses and residents to minimize the impact of an increase in vehicles in the surrounding neighborhoods. The department will rely on a similar plan in place during the reconstruction of the municipal lot in Waverley Square last year. 

Questions can be directed to Belmont Police Traffic Sgt. Ben Mailhot at 617-993-2538.