Rev. Zarro Sings on Market Day in Belmont

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The summer harvest continues to come in at the Belmont Farmers Market today. Basil, blueberries, broccoli, carrots, chard, cilantro, collards, cucumbers, eggplant, garlic, green beans, kale, mint, nectarines, onions, parsley, peaches, peppers, pumpkin greens, radishes, scallions, squash blossoms, summer squash, tomatoes, turnips, yu choi and zucchini are in season.

The Belmont Farmers Market is open from 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the Belmont Municipal Parking Lot at the corner of Channing Road and Cross Street behind the Belmont Center shopping district.

This week, guest vendors are Coastal Vineyards, Matt’s Amazing Smokehouse, Sugar + Grain, Soluna Garden Farm and Bedford Blueberry Goat Farm. For a list of weekly vendors, visit the market’s Web site.

This Week’s Food Truck: Jamaica Mi Hungry, starting at 4 p.m. Try the jerk chicken this week.

In the Events Tent

• The ABC program “The Middle” has a character named Rev. Timothy “Tim-Tom” Thomas, a guitar-playing youth minister who can solve the problems of a teenager with a song. And Belmont has its own singing pastor as Rev. Joe Zarro, pastor of the Plymouth Congregational Church on Pleasant Street, will perform under the red events tent from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.

• The Belmont Public Library sponsors storytime for preschool and older children from 4 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

• Tastings: Arlington Mexican restaurant La Posada at 2 p.m. and Belmont’s Spirited Gourmet at 4:30 p.m.

Belmont Food Pantry
Bring non-perishable items each week to the Market tent. The Market has supported the Pantry with nonperishable food collection over the years, along with donations of fresh produce from the Market’s community garden project.

SNAP Payments

The market accepts and doubles SNAP benefits (formerly called Food Stamps) up to an extra $25 per Market day while matching funds last. Your donations to our parent organization, the Belmont Food Collaborative (belmontfood.org), help with programs like this. You can donate securely on the web site, or mail a check to PO Box 387, Belmont, MA 02478. We appreciate your support!

Belmont Meets Everyone at Annual Event

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Residents turned out in force Tuesday evening, Aug. 27, as the 12th annual Meet Belmont took place in the Chenery Middle School lunch room as it seemingly does, on one of the warmest days of the season.

What is becoming a traditional “end of summer” event on the calendar (school begins in eight days) more than 100 exhibitors – the first time Meet Belmont had reached that landmark figure – representing town departments, organizations and groups were part of a large “meet and greet” with several hundred longtime and new residents.

“It’s an opportunity to get our message across,” said Florence Lefebvre of Belmont Against Racism.

Around the room, groups like the PTOs of the six public schools sought members as town departments provided a glimpse of what they do around the “Town of Homes.” Groups – such as the recently established Mother Out Front that hopes to facilitate climate change controls – and those a century old like the Belmont Dramatic Club, which pressed the flesh through the scheduled two-and-a-half hours.

In addition, approximately 40 new voters were registered by the town, according to Town Clerk Ellen Cushman.

“We are very pleased,” said Sara Oaklander, who along with Jennifer Page, has run the event since its inception in 2002.

“The turnout was great, the guests seemed to appreciate it and the exhibitors were very enthusiastic about the turnout and about their own exposure,” said Oaklander.

Both women said they were already planning for next year’s event the moment they finish packing away this year’s material.

“We have been receiving feedback from both exhibitors and guests, and we will try to incorporate some of those suggestions next year,” she noted.

Meet Belmont is sponsored by the Vision 21 Implementation Committee and co-sponsored by the Belmont Public Schools with support from Belmont Car Wash and Belmont Light.

 

New Turf Gets First Game Use With Girls’ Soccer Tussle

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Paul Graham was in fine voice on Tuesday, Aug. 26, as his latest edition of the Belmont High School Girls’ Soccer took to Harris Field for the season’s first scrimmage against Westford Academy.

“We can’t do that!” said Graham to the Belmont defenders who scurried back into position as assistant coach Stacie Marino took note of the performance of the myriad of freshmen on the field as a handful of fans and family took shelter under umbrellas. 

The scrimmage was also the first game-like action to take place on the field’s newly installed Turf, part of the $850,000 renovation of the track and the surface of the field that took place over the summer.

Most of the players commented on the thick padding that slowed down the ball, a condition that Belmont High Athletic Director Jim Davis said will lessen as the field settles as games are played.

As for the scrimmage, the “friendly” ended 1-1 as Sophia Eisenbach-Smith scored while goalie Linda Herlihy stopped three breakaways late in the game.

 

New Underwood Pool in Flux as Low Bidder Leaves Belmont High and Dry

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The sudden departure of the construction company set to build the new Underwood Pool complex has left the future the town’s facility in flux as officials prepare to convene to discuss Belmont’s options in completing the project by next year.

“We are disappointed that Seaver Construction decided to withdraw its bid, as we were looking forward to working with them to build the new Underwood Pool,” said Adam Dash, the vice chair of the Underwood Pool Building Committee which oversees the pool’s design and construction.

The Belmont Board of Selectmen has announced that it will be holding a special meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 3 at 8 a.m. to discuss the fate of the new complex with the Underwood Pool Building Committee at Town Hall.

Under the Building Committee’s tentative timeline, construction on the two-pool complex was scheduled to begin in September with completion by the first day of summer 2015, replacing the 102-year-old existing structure.

There is no official word whether the committee’s time schedule remains viable at this late date.

Not only was the Woburn-based company the lowest of four bids to build the $5.2 million project, Seaver was also the only firm to stay within the established budget.

According to a press release from the Belmont Department of Public Works, Seaver withdrew its bid “on the grounds of having made a clerical error” in determining their cost in completing the project.

Under state law, public construction regulations prevent adjustments from being made after bids are submitted.

But even calculating in the error, according to the DPW, Seaver’s bid would have still been within the project’s budget and would have remained the low bid.

Seaver has built several projects in Belmont, including il Casale Restaurant in Belmont Center, converting a private house into the Belmont Hill School new Alumni Center and a high-end residential home at 365 Marsh St.

Dash said the committee “would like to review the options going forward with the Town Administrator [David Kale] and the Board of Selectmen.”

 

Largest Belmont High Freshmen Orientation Wednesday at 5 PM

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The largest entering freshman class in recent Belmont High School history will have a chance to tour the halls and learn more about their next four years at Freshman Orientation today, Wednesday, Aug. 27 beginning at 5 p.m. at the High School. 

Approximately 325 incoming ninth graders will learn from upperclassmen how to get around the school before the first day of school in one week’s time on Sept. 3. 

In addition, students will have group meetings with guidance counselors, get a tour of the building and join current students for a pizza dinner.

Parents are welcome for the opening panel from 5 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Turning the White Field House from Dank to Swank

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For generations of Belmont High School athletes, the White Field House was known for being a dank and dingy building where the lockers were old and narrow and the interior dark and smelly.

What a difference a summer of hard work – and approximately $100,000 in contributions and in-kind contributions – can do.

Through the efforts of parents of current athletes and past players, craftsmen and contractors, the interior of the nearly 83-year-old brick building on Concord Avenue has been transformed into a welcoming place for student athletes when school and town officials toured the Belmont School District-owned site on Monday, Aug. 25.

“Before you might have walked in and said ‘When are we going to tear this place down?’,” said Frederick Jones, who led the effort in renovating the site.

“The hope is that this will be an inspiration. Let’s make this the beginning of a commitment,” he said.

The walls in nearly every room in the two-story building are now lined with newly-installed lockers, the entire interior was thoroughly scrubbed and cleaned (for the first time in years), layers of paint stripped and replaced with a white coat, light fixtures replaced and modernized as floors were repaired and refurbished. Soon there will be an internet connection at the field house to allow the teams to review game film.

And the bronze memorial for James Paul White, a 19-year-old Belmont resident who died in the Battle of the Bulge in 1944, was cleaned and polished, sparkling was it did in 1948 when the building was named in his honor.

“The good story is that at the beginning of the season, the town has a renovated White Field House and Harris Field, which are both town assets,” said David Kale, Belmont’s Town Administrator.

Led by Woodfall Road’s Jones, a small committee made up of Larry Christofori, and Bob Delhome and Eric Aulenback –both former Marauder football players and Belmont High graduates – spearheaded the work with both cash contributions and using their contacts to solicit both volunteers and contributions to the cause.

“There was a lot of sweat equity by the members of this group,” said Jones. Christofori said the monetary and the in-kind contributions – which totaled $100,000 – worked hand-in-hand in bringing the project to completion.

“There is leverage when you come up with $50,000 in cash contributions. People see that we had the wherewithal, and it attracts a whole lot more people. They see it being successful, and they want to be part of it,” said Christofori.

He pointed out a few individuals who took on the challenge: Bob Aiello of JDC Demolition took care of all demolition, absorbing that cost; Gene Vetrano, owner of EJ Vetrano Painting and Wallpapering, put in more than 400 hours of labor into the project with top-of-the-line material at substantially below his actual cost; and John Rumley, owner of Rumley Electric, took care of all electrical work, new lighting and safety lighting at substantially below cost.

In addition, Dennis Rocha of D.Rocha Construction, Tom Ferraro of Northeast Industrial Tech and Jon Baldi provided “jack-of-all trade” services on small, but challenging job when needed.

The group also took a look at the renovated Harris Field and Track, the main playing surface for multiple teams in Belmont. The project, financed by the continuation of a bond approved by a special Town Meeting in 2013, cost about $850,000, approximately $100,000 less than originally estimated, said Peter Castanino, director of the Department of Public Works. Besides a state-of-the-art padded artificial Turf field, the field has a new track surface, fencing and padding. New drain covers will be coming soon.

And it will be the athletes who will benefit from the improvements.

“Coming off the back of a difficult season last year, we’re very blessed to have these two new spaces and very grateful to all the people who did this out of the goodness of their hearts,” said Belmont Head Football Coach Yann Kumin.

Belmont Fire Log: Monkey Business at McLean

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Left on the stove top

Aug. 17 – Right at 7 p.m., Engines 1 and 2, the Ladder truck and Rescue 1 were sent to an apartment complex at 655 Trapelo Rd. for a reported fire. It turned out to be food left to cook a bit too long.

Leaving the stove top on

Aug. 19 – At a quarter ’til 11 p.m., Engine 1 and Ladder 1 were sent to a multi-family on Thingvalla Avenue for a gas leak. Turned out that someone left the stove top on so it smelled a bit gassy.

Forgot your keys?

Aug. 20 – At a quarter until 10 a.m., firefighters were sent to Clyde Street to help a resident who was locked out of his home.

Not mulch of a problem

Aug. 20 – At 1:22 p.m., Engine 2 traveled to the corner of Blanchard Road and Concord Avenue for a grass fire. In fact, it was a “small” mulch fire in the island between the east and wet bound lanes of Concord Avenue. It was put out.

McLean monkey business

Aug. 22 – Fire crews were sent to McLean Hospital off Mill Street for a possible biological hazard after a hospital employee pulled the fire alarm after smelling what was describe as a “rotten egg” odor that could be detected on all four floors of the effected building including the basement hallways and tunnels.

In conducting their investigation, firefighters determined the odor came from the work a plumber was performing using a chemical to unclog a floor drain in a laboratory where the primates are held.

A Sunny Muddy Day at the Underwood Pool

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Sunday was the perfect summer weekend day; sunny, warm and dry.

Dry, that is, until you mix water and dirt together and then send wave after wave of children racing on an obstacles course around the Underwood Pool on Sunday, Aug. 24 as the Belmont Recreation Department held its inaugural “Kid’s Mud Run” to give kids a chance to say goodbye to the century-old municipal pool. 

Belmont Recreation Department’s Program Supervisor June Howell and her staff spent the morning creating a course that included a downhill water slide, a tour of the Underwood Playground, sack races and two mud-filled children pools at the beginning and end of the “Tour de Underwood.”

At high noon, the children from 4 to 12 where sent along the route circling the pool – after 102 years, the facility will be replaced with a modern $5.2 million two pool complex approved by the spring Town Meeting in April – to the thrill of parents, friends and siblings.

“It was really nice,” said Grace McDonald, the winner of the girls’ 4 to 6 year old group. All winners received a Summer 2015 Family Membership and a trophy.

The winners are:

Girls’ 4-6: Grace MacDonald

Boys’ 4-6: Aaron White

Girls’ 7-8: Candace Burger

Boys’ 7-8: Adam Bower

Girls’ 9-10: Sylvia Davidson

Boys’ 9-10: Colin Fergason

Girls’ 11+ : Oliva Zarzycki

Boys’ 11+ : Sean Palmer

Finally, several Rec Dept. councilors and lifeguards took their lives into their hands in their own special race.

After the event, the pool was open to all for free with music, hot dogs and games for the remainder 0f the day.
The Underwood Pool’s final day will be Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 1.

Starbucks Staying Put During Cushing Village Build

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Like the little house in the Pixar film, “Up,” the Cushing Square Starbucks Coffee cafe will stay put at its current location as the proposed Cushing Village development – the three building, 186,000-sq.-ft. residential housing, retail and garage complex – goes up around the popular cafe, according to a town official.

And when Starbucks does move, it will not require 20,000 balloons but a few hand trucks to transport the shop as it will go into one of the newly-completed building.

According to Glenn Clancy, Belmont’s director of the town’s Office of Community Development, Starbucks will remain in the former Friendly’s restaurant structure at 112 Trapelo Rd. “with relocation coordinated with the construction of the new buildings.”

The announcement comes as developer Acton-based Smith Legacy Partners withdrew its application before the Belmont Zoning Board of Appeals last week to temporary relocated the busy Cushing Square Starbucks to a pair of store fronts at 6-8 Trapelo Rd.

Residents who have been critical of the proposed relocation plans by Cushing Village’s developer Chris Starr to place the national coffee retailer to the corner of Belmont Street and Trapelo Road across from the neighborhoods where they live.

“We are pleased that the proposal was withdrawn and that [Mr.] Starr seems to have found a way to uphold his original statements that Starbucks would not need to relocate during construction,” said a joint statement to the Belmontonian from four neighborhood residents.

Since the proposal was made public at the May meeting of the Zoning Board of Appeals, residents voiced their concerns the store would generate additional parking on nearby side streets while promoting greater trash and litter, creating safety issues and other nuisances.

The development team was scheduled to present the latest proposal incorporating mitigation plans on Sept. 9.

By pulling its application, the developer has “withdrawn without prejudice which means they retain the right to resubmit in the future should they choose to do that,” said Clancy.

The town has yet to receive the development team’s new development scheme or construction timetable.

“[W]e are waiting on final confirmation,” Clancy told the Belmontonian.

The neighborhood group is also waiting to catch the latest word on the development team’s plans.

“Commenting on a possible future proposal would be premature, though the arguments made by the neighbors remain valid, and we will, of course, closely monitor developments over the coming months,” said the group made up of Rita Carpenter, Doug Koplow, Mark Clark and Dr. David Alper.

More than 100 Exhibits At 2014 Meet Belmont

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The 2014 edition of Meet Belmont – taking place tomorrow, Tuesday, Aug. 26 – will be breaking the century mark; for the first time, there will be more than 100 exhibitors at the yearly community “meet and greet.”

The 12th annual event will take place from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the cafeteria at Chenery Middle School, at the corner of Washington Street and Oakley Road.

Meet Belmont is an opportunity for all residents – from newcomers to those who have lived in town for their entire lives – to come together to discover what the town offers:

• Learn about town departments, local government and the schoolsŸ,

• Get information about recreation and arts programsŸ,

• Find community organizations and activities that may interest youŸ, and

• Register to vote.

Meet Belmont is sponsored by the Vision 21 Implementation Committee and co-sponsored by the Belmont Public Schools with support from Belmont Car Wash and Belmont Light.

For more information, email: meetbelmont@gmail.com