Opinion: A ‘Yes’ Vote For A New Rink Is A Choice For A Better Future

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Photo: Poster of the ‘Yes for the Rink‘ campaign

By Sheryl Grace, Kayla Wiggin, Lucinda Zuniga

On November 8th, Belmont voters have the chance to save two community assets by voting yes on the Debt Exclusion for the rink and field sports facilities. The Skip Viglirolo Rink and White Field House are both well beyond their useful lives. Reports dating back to 1999 document the code issues and decaying nature of the buildings leading the town to identify these buildings as part of the infrastructure plan along with many other facilities in Belmont. The identified facilities were treated with only small Band-Aids over the past 20 years because larger Band-Aids would have cost more and still not enabled the buildings to come off of the list. Belmont has chipped away at the list completing fire stations, schools, town buildings, the pool, etc. It is now down to the rink, field house and library.  

Twenty plus years after the infrastructure list was created, the rink and White Field House are on the brink of being shuttered. The Youth Valley League already pulled out of using the rink deeming it unfit. This means that the Belmont Youth Hockey program does not have any home games in Belmont. Other skating clubs have stopped using the rink as well. The White Field House was slated to be demolished because its issues are beyond treatment and when the initial number of parking spaces requested for the new high school was made, a plan to use the field house land was hatched. Because of pandemic related cost increases related to the high school project, the demolition did not happen. This is fortunate as there was no plan for replacing the functions of the field house. The high school football, hockey, ski and lacrosse teams would currently be without a locker room and the Department of Public Works would be without storage for field maintenance equipment. 

It is very important for citizens to understand that the use of these buildings cannot be extended with even large Band-Aids for very far into the future. When shuttered, there will be a significant cost to demolish and remediate the site; football, hockey, ski, and boys lacrosse will lose the use of a locker room area for storing their sports equipment; 400 BYHA families will be driving to other rinks the entire season; the Belmont High School hockey teams will look to the school and town budgets for the $250,000 or more each year to pay for ice time and transportation; the BHS hockey teams will have either very early or very late practice times and no longer benefit from the support of a hometown crowd; the women’s and men’s hockey leagues and the S.P.O.R.T. program that use the rink will be displaced; the public skates, puck-n’-sticks and PTA skating events will cease. 

On November 8th, Belmont has the chance to choose a better future scenario that will not only avoid the aforementioned outcomes but benefit the community greatly. The planned building will combine the current functions of the rink and White Field House, provide new functions, and be more energy and cost efficient to operate. The new functions include locker room opportunities for field sports. Many currently have no place to put their backpacks during practice or an indoor space for team discussions which is particularly unfortunate when it is torrentially raining. The building will provide bathrooms, concessions and a warming space for events in the rink and on the adjacent fields. A room above the front community area will provide additional viewing of the rink and fields to the west and be available for rental. Should the ice sheet be removed in the summer, the space would be available for Recreation Department programming which has not been possible for the past 15 years because of issues with the current sublayer of the ice. 

The cost, while not finalized, has been projected to be around $30 million. This is more than the cost of a “rink in the box” because it includes the required demolition and site remediation; design work to create a building that includes all the features requested by the Select Board that does not encroach on the fields west of the rink; a structure strong enough to support solar on the roof; the solar panels; and the green space and parking near the building. The new functions that are included in the new building that are not in the existing buildings enable support of more student athletes and enhance the energy efficiency and revenue potential of the space. Based on past ballot measures, the estimated debt translates into about $300 additional in property taxes per year for a median valued home for the duration of the debt. (This tax figure is an estimate and has not been officially provided by the Assessor’s office.) 

It is envisioned that the facility will be like other town-owned rinks in nearby communities that are revenue neutral or revenue generating. Income will come from ice rental by the Belmont Youth Hockey, mens and womens leagues, skate rental for public skate, the Valley League, nearby private schools, club programs, and recreation department programs. The building will service more than 800 student athletes a year through the youth and high school sport programs as well as all in the community that attend their games at the rink or adjacent fields. Thriving youth and high school sports programs feed community pride and are a sign of a healthy, vibrant town.

We hope that Belmont supports this tradition by voting yes on Ballot Question 6, the Debt Exclusion for the rink and field sports facilities. 

Sheryl Grace, Kayla Wiggin & Lucinda Zuniga are co-chairs of the Yes For the Rink

Welcome Home: Belmont Harriers Open New Course With A Double Victory [VIDEO]

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Photo: A Belmont High harrier on their home course for the first time

After three years wandering the Middlesex League to run as visitors on opponent’s courses, Belmont High Cross Country teams finally has a place they can call their own.

And what a place to hold a meet: a new course on the a gently rolling terrain of Rock Meadow Conservation Area off Mill Street. Using existing portions of the Western Greenway, the 2.9 miles multi loop course transverse the 70-acre of high grass meadow, tree-lined trails as well as the wooden boardwalk over the deep emergent marsh. Being a loop race course, fans can stand at one location and watch the progress of the runners during the competition.

Rock Meadow replaces the former trek around Clay Pit Pond and the fields surrounding the former high school which was abandoned with the construction of the new Middle and High School project.

“The coaches [Melissa Tkacs and William Brotchie] went through a long list and Rock Meadow is such a beautiful place,” said Adam Pritchard, Belmont Schools Athletic Director, noting the land had been used by other cross country programs – Belmont Hill and Harvard intermural – in recent years. “We decided to ask the town … and we were fortunate enough to have access for three home meets.”

With a course that embraces nature in protected greenspace that highlights the changing seasons as the autumn foliage starts to take hold, Belmont’s Rock Meadow home is one of the most esthetically appealing in the Middlesex League if not eastern Massachusetts.

At the first meet of the season on Tuesday, Sept. 29, Belmont’s runners secured 15-45 victories – taking the first five places – in the boys’ and girls’ races against Stoneham. Sophomore Jared Rife (16 minutes, 44 seconds) and senior Stella Lesnik (time to come) crossed the finish line first, giving them the inaugural course and Belmont High records for the new home.

Belmont will race on their home course twice more this season; hosting Lexington on Tuesday, Sept. 27 and Reading on Wednesday, Oct. 12. The meets start at 4 p.m.

A Pair Of Speed Tables Set For Winter Street To Slow Down Cut-Through Commuters

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Photo: A map of hte location of the two speed tables for Winter Street

The longstanding complaints from homeowners along lower Winter Street that vehicles are treating their street more like a drag strip than a neighborhood street has been answered.

On Tuesday, Sept. 21, the Select Board approved placing a pair of raised traffic tables on Winter between Marsh Street and Concord Avenue to slow down the increasing traffic load that includes a return of the commuter cut-through drivers.

Residents came before TAC on July 8 for “what was identified as a speeding problem,” said the Director of the Office of Community Development, Glenn Clancy, with cars and trucks racing to Route 2 and towards the dicey intersection with Concord Avenue that leads to Belmont Center.

A subsequent week-long speed data study by the Belmont Police Department confirmed the residents’ observations: nearly three of every five motorists were caught traveling above 30 mph, five mph faster than the posted speed limit in thickly settled neighborhoods.

Based on the findings, TAC held a meeting in early September where all but one of the households supported Clancy’s and the TAC’s recommendation of installing three-inch tall tables at either end of that stretch of Winter Street.

“[A raised table] is a technique that we’ve used in Belmont for the last several years, which has been effective,” said Clancy, pointing to its use on School Street adjacent to the Burbank School.

“They are designed to slow traffic down. They are not designed to jolt or jar traffic” but be a visual clue for drivers to reduce their speed, said Clancy.

When Board Chair Mark Paolillo worried that more residents would petition for tables so that the town would be swamped with them over time, Clancy said a recent data study of Belmont Street from Trapelo to Common found the average speed was 21 mph.

“It is surprising when you do the studies how often the data actually shows that the average speed is below 25 mph,” said Clancy.

The project’s total cost will be $4,600 and will be funded from the annual pavement management account. The installation will occur in the following months.

Shanah Tovah: Rosh Hashanah Begins Sunset Sunday

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Photo: Rosh Hashanah begins at sunset on Sunday, Sept. 25

The Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, begins at sunset (at 6:36 p.m.), Sunday, Sept. 25 and lasts until Tuesday evening, Sept. 27

Rosh Hashanah – which in Hebrew translates to “head of the year” – is a time of inner renewal and divine atonement. It begins the the High Holidays culminating with Yom Kippur on Tuesday evening, Oct. 4. It is a time for observant people to acknowledge their sins of the previous year and are judged for their transgressions by God.

The holiday will affect after-school activities and athletic events in Belmont’s public schools. Under current district rules, teachers should be aware of the holiday when assigning homework and tests as some students will be attending religious services. 

Meals include apples dipped in honey to symbolize a sweet new year and at least one brisket dinner. Other traditions include participating in tashlich, Hebrew for “casting off” in which people go to a nearby body of water – Clay Pit Pond is a popular site – and throw in pieces of bread, which signifies the washing away of sin.

Select Board OKs $500K In ARPA Funds For DPW’s New Salt Shed

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Photo: The existing salt shed at the DPW yard, currently closed for safety reasons.

Each year – winter, really – Belmont uses 5,100 tons of salt on town roads to keep the streets safe and manageable when ever it snows.

And you gotta store it somewhere. For the past 35 years, the salt –  basically sodium chloride much like table salt – has been stored in a bee-hive shaped shed located at the Department of Public Works yard. At 36 feet tall and 72 feet in diameter, the octagonal structure was constructed with six-foot steel reinforced concrete retaining walls that supported the wood beam dome.

But storing corrosive material such as salt in a location for decades end up doing bad things. For years, workers witnessed the six-foot steel reinforced concrete wall rusting through and showing signs of failure. In addition, the narrowness of the entry into the shed has resulted in the town’s excavator hitting the walls inside a dark interior as it maneuvered inside the structure to retrieve salt.

In July, workers began hearing what sounded like a “door opening and closing,” said DPW Director Jay Marcotte. Looking inside the shed, employees discovered the wooden dome was lifting off from the concrete wall. The DPW had seen enough, chaining a gate to the shed and closed it down.

A subsequent investigation found the wood frame was collapsing and actually being supported by the salt pile. Removing the salt when the first snows event occurs would likely cause the roof to collapse with possible injuries.

The solution: Replace wood with fabric. BETA Engineering, the town’s consultant, recommends an engineered fabric metal structure manufactured and installed by Clear Span Fabric Structures of South Windsor CT. A specialist in creating salt sheds, the firm recommended a 65 foot wide, 80 foot long and 36 feet high fabric covered structure with block footings and interior lighting.

One main advantage using this structure is it can be moved to accommodate future town plans for the DPW site.

A breakdown of the cost:

  • $50,000 to BETA Group,
  • $375,000 to Clear Span for the material and installation;
  • $50,000 to remove the current shed and move and tarp the existing salt; and
  • $25,000 for prep work.

The funds to build the new shed is allocated from the town’s American Rescue Plan Act account, which leaves a balance of approximately $4 million.

The existing dome and the concrete supporting walls will be removed, the salt covered with a tarp and a new structure built at the same location. Construction will take place in the next 8 to 10 weeks with the onsite installation taking 3 to 4 weeks. The new shed should be ready around mid-December, according to Marcotte.

A Clear Span salt shed
The interior of a Clear Span salt shed

Belmont Boys’ Soccer Miss (Many) Chances v. Melrose In Home Opener, Tie Watertown On Soccer Night In Belmont

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Photo: Belmont High senior Lucas Alvarez-Fernandez in action vs Melrose High on Monday, Sept. 12 at Belmont’s Harris Field

You don’t need to travel to the southwestern part of the US to witness a drought. You could have just come to Harris Field last week to see Belmont High Boys’ Soccer play its first two home games of the 2022 season to experience a real dry spell.

After a successful away campaign to open the season, with victories over Stoneham (3-0) and Winchester (3-1), the Marauders’ scoring prowess went hiding as the squad was shut out by Melrose 2-0 and drew 0-0 with Watertown under the lights on Soccer Night in Belmont.

But it was not for lack of effort. In both losses, Belmont held the majority of possession and had the better chances at the net. But where the team controlled the midfield with its trademark deft passing that led to open shots, none beat the opposing keeper.

Going into its home game against Reading on Tuesday, Sept. 20, Belmont stands at 2-1-1.

“We knew right from the beginning of the season that we had all the pieces in place, except for potentially those guys that are going to get the ball in the net,” said second-year head coach Niman Kenkre after the Watertown game. That wasn’t the case in the first two games as senior Lucas Alvarez-Fernandez and sophomore Daniel Liu opened their accounts with a pair of goals with goalie Thomas Borkowski keeping a clean sheet at Stoneham.

Against Melrose on Monday, Sept. 12, Belmont was on the front foot in the first half with Liu hitting the post, and a Patrick Tang pass/shot dribbled along the goal line unable to find a friendly foot to steer it home. The attacks continued in the second half with junior Nikolas Stefanovic‘s cleaver back heel in front of the net just missed being a highlight reel tally while junior Sachil Kenkre had a couple of attempts that sailed just over the bar. Those almost/nearly opportunities came to bite the Marauders

Before a large crowd on Saturday, Belmont demonstrated its skill in advancing the ball with medium to short passes through the heart of the Raiders’ midfield. But once again, shots on the net were launched over the bar rather than steered into the net or the Marauders’ attempted one-too-many passes or touches that allowed an good Watertown defense to take the block. While the game officially ended in a tie, the game went to penalty shots to determine the winner of the Phoenix Cup, the Soccer Night in Belmont trophy. Despite two excellent saves by Borkowski, Watertown would take home the silverware this year.

“I’ve got to figure out how we’re gonna get goals because we don’t have that hunger in the box right now, and I may need to change some things tactically. It’s two games in a row where we’ve had perfect possession, excellent chances, and we couldn’t bundle the ball over the line,” he said.

And while Belmont is facing admittingly “big games” in the week against Reading on Tuesday and Arlington on Saturday, there’s no panic on the Marauder sideline, among the coaches or players.

“It’s not the end of the world. It’s early in the season when we’re ready to right the ship,” said Kenkre.

“I’m not unhappy with the way that we’re playing. We just need to play that way for 80 minutes, not 40 or 60.”

‘Belmont’s’ Conley’s Pub & Grille Sold To A Familiar Face

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Photo: Conley’s Pub: Belmont’s favorite bar not in Belmont

A familiar face returns as the new owner of Belmont’s favorite bar not in Belmont, Conley’s Pub & Grille.

Last week, owner Stephen Conley – who opened the bar/restaurant in 2001 – sold the location to JKT Watertown Partners LLC which leased the property to pub entrepreneur Jim O’Rourke. Renovations are reportedly taking place this week “with the possibility of it reopening the following wleek with the same name, concept, and staff,” according to Boston Restaurant Talk.

“That’s a wrap,” Conley wrote on his pub’s Facebook page.

“I simply do not have words for all this has meant to me and my family. It’s hard to put into words,” said Conley. “The community, the staff, the customers. I hope everyone knows I appreciate it all. Like, all of it. I had my name out front. And there’s a commitment to living up to that name. And honoring all that it entails.”

While located at 164 Belmont St. in Watertown, Conley’s has long been the hangout for Belmont residents which have considered the watering hole and eatery its own.

O’Rourke owns the First House Pub in Winchester and The Heights Pub in Arlington Heights and is co-owner of the recently opened Fresh Pond Beer Garden in the Fresh Pond Mall in Cambridge. His locations are described as “family-friendly neighborhood spot[s] that offer comfort food, pub grub, and classic American fare,”

The Arlington native’s connection with Conley’s began more than a decade ago when he started working there part time.

“When Conley’s expanded, the owner asked me to come on full time as a chef/manager. I worked there until First House Pub opened in 2015,” O’Rourke told Your Arlington in 2021. Conley and O’Rourke were co-owners of First House at its opening.

As he “moves on to his next chapter,” Conley had one final comment to convey.

“Thank you Belmont. Thank you Watertown. You’ve been left in incredibly capable hands. See you soon. On the other side of the bar.”

A Race That Makes A Difference: 10th FBE Apple Run 5K/2K; Sunday, Oct. 2

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Photo: And they are off in the 10th FBE Apple Run

This is a run that makes a difference.

Now in its 10th year, the Foundation for Belmont Education Apple Run 5K/2K will see hundreds of runners take to the streets of Belmont to support public education and innovation in the Belmont Public Schools. Since the inaugural event in 2013, the Apple Run has raised more than $200,000 for the Foundation for Belmont Education, a 501c3 non-profit organization that awards grants to the Belmont Public Schools to enrich the education provided to Belmont students.

FBE APPLE RUN takes place on SUNDAY, OCT. 2, on Harris Field at Belmont HIgh School. The 5K will start at 9:30 a.m.; the 2K at 10:45 a.m.

The FBE Apple Run 5K follows a scenic, 5-kilometer route through Belmont. Starting and ending at the Belmont High School track at Harris Field on Concord Avenue, the course passes by four of the town’s six public schools – Burbank, Chenery, Wellington, and the High School – and the historic Payson Park Reservoir. The course ends back at the track.

Go get your sneakers, your family, friends, neighbors, classmates, and teammates, and get out and run at this great Fall community event.

REGISTER HERE TO RUN

There are many great reasons to run:

  • You get to run with your community, family, and friends!
  • The first 400 runners get a very cool 10th anniversary dri-fit T-shirt!
  • Run to win! Prizes available for the fastest per age group (10-year increments), the largest team, the fastest team, and the most festive running outfit!
  • Get motivated to run by the great tunes from FBE Apple Run DJ Paul Madden!
  • This event is for everyone, any age and any pace!
  • Run because the money raised funds grants to educators in the Belmont Public Schools to implement innovative programs and advanced technology that result in richer and deeper learning experiences for our students!
  • Belmont has been running for education for 10 years now – let’s keep running to fund our students and educators!

Please visit our website to learn more about how the FBE makes a difference in the Belmont Public Schools.

CAN’T RUN? VOLUNTEER!

Please sign-up here and donate a little of your time. Thank you for your support.

Questions?

racedirector@fbe-belmont.org

The Foundation for Belmont Education is grateful for your support!

All Ages Invited To Belmont’s First Touch-A-Truck On Oct. 8

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Photo: Touch-a-Truck is on its way

You don’t have to be a kid to enjoy Belmont’s first ever Touch-A-Truck event which is set to go on Saturday, Oct. 8, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Belmont Center Parking lot on Claflin Street.

Walk in the parking lot for an up-close view of tractors, trucks, diggers, police cars, and fire engines from Belmont DPW, Light, Fire, and Police along with several local businesses and potentially room for a couple more. Sit in the seats, honk the horns, or take your picture on the front end of the equipment.

Hosting the event is Belmont Youth Activities and D.A.R.E. Inc., with the support of the Town of Belmont as well as the Belmont Center Business Association.

Belmont Fire Pins Newest Member

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Photo: New Belmont Firefighter Mike Nolan has his badge pinned by his wife, Brittney.

Belmont Fire added its newest member – for a second time – to the force at a pinning ceremony at the Select Board’s meeting Monday, Sept. 12.

Three years ago, Mike Nolan joined the Belmont Fire Department before heading off to another department a year-and-a-half ago, according to Belmont Fire Chief David DeStefano.

“He has since decided that the Belmont Fire Department is the place to be and we’re glad to have him,” said DeStefano.

Nolan had his badge pinned for the second time by his wife, Brittney. The pair was married just five weeks before – honeymoon in St. Lucia – the event at Town Hall.

Nolan will be a “proby” for the next year.

From left: Belmont Fire Chief David DeStefano, Asst. Chief Andrew Tobio, BFF Mike Nolan, Select Board member Roy Epstein, Brittney Nolan, Select Board members Adam Dash and Chair Mark Paolillo, Brian Nolan, Terrie Nolan and Ashley Tworig.