’23 Town Election Ballot Set: No Treasurer Candidate, Two From Three For School Committee

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Photo: The ballot has been all been set for the April 4 Town Election

The ballot for the 2023 Belmont Town Election is set. While there is just one competitive race for town-wide offices on the April 4 election, the competition for Town Meeting seats will be a battle in six of the town’s eight precincts and a pair of ballot questions will determine the future of a pair of town institutions.

The race for the open Treasurer’s office is no race at all as no one took out nomination papers for the post currently held by the long-time treasurer Floyd Carman. The future of the office will be on the ballot in the form of Question 2 which asks voters if the Treasurer should continue to be elected or transforms into an appointed post.

The lack of a candidate brings up the interesting predictiment that a person with the most write-in votes on April 4 could become either acting treasurer if voters approve an appointed treasurers post or could become the full-time treasurer serving the next three years if the voters continue to support an elected post.

Voters will have three candidates to fill the seats of Kate Bowen and Mike Crowley. Rachel Watson, Amy Zuccarello and Jung Yueh are all first-time aspirants for the town-wide office. And while none are Town Meeting Members, Yueh and Watson will be running for seats on the 290-plus member legislative body.

The retirement of Adam Dash from the Select Board could only muster one candidate. Community Preservation Committee Chair and Warrant Committee member Elizabeth Dionne, who announced early and effectively cleared the field, will be the first woman since Anne Marie Mahoney left in 2004 to be elected to the board responsible for the oversight of town government. 

There will be a new/old member on the Health Board as Stephen Fiore is the only candidate to take the seat of long-serving board member and former chair Donna David. Fiore returns to the board after being defeated for re-election in 2021.

Voters will decide the fate of a new municipal skating and recreation center as the project comes back before voters after a $34 million debt exclusion was defeated in November. The proposal before the electorate has changed, with a reduction in design and cost, now just under $30 million. The second question is about the aforementioned elected vs appointed treasurer’s position.

Unlike years past when three or four precincts would have more candidates than available seats, voters in six of Belmont’s eight precincts will be treated to a long ballot of neighbors seeking three (or shorter) year terms on Town Meeting. Precinct 4 will seat the 12 three-year term members on the ballot (there is a race for the single one-year term) while those in Precinct 5 will need to select the 12th seat through write-in votes. The most competitive race is – somewhat surprisingly as it goes against its historical form of being bereft of candidates – in Precinct 7 where 9 incumbents join 11 hopefuls for the 12 seats.

Some interesting hopefuls include Adam Dash running for a Town Meeting seat in Precinct 1 after six years on the Select Board, School Committee’s Jeff Liberty in the crowded 7, Emerson (’26) Student Government Association President – and best name on the ballot – Angus James Benedict Abercrombie in Precinct 8 while expecting a perfectly written and grammatically correct campaign sign from newcomer Jane Rosenzweig in Precinct 5.

Ellie’s Midnight Run: Belmont High’s Shea Ventures To The Land Down Under To Race In World U20 XC Championships

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Photo: Belmont’s Ellie Shea will be racing 10,000 miles from home Saturday in a land down under.

What are you doing over the February school break? Belmont High junior Ellie Shea will be flying 10,000 miles (think of the air miles!) over 24 hours to take part in a race that takes 17 minutes to run.

Shea will be wearing the USA vest as she toes the line at the World Athletic Cross Country Championships in the outback town of Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia at around midnight Saturday, Feb. 18, Belmont time. Shea will be running in the Under-20 race competing against 72 of the world’s best young runners from 19 countries.

The two-time national high school 5,000-meter champion indoors and outdoors on the track joins a squad made up of mostly high schoolers who will take on the 6K (3.73 miles) loop course located in the infield of the Mount Panorama Circuit, which will include tire obstacles, a trip through a vineyard, and a mud field. The 17-year-old earned her spot on the team by placing second at the USATF U20 Championships in Richmond, VA in mid-January. Shea, who runs for the Emerging Elites club, finished second in December’s Champs Sports High School Cross Country Championships National Finals to her U20 teammate Karrie Baloga.

One of five races, the junior women’s race is scheduled to start at 4:10 p.m. or 1610 UTC. With Bathurst 16 hours ahead of Boston, Shea’s race will take off just after midnight on Saturday. Hopefully, Belmont will be able to watch the race live by going to the World Athletics YouTube and Facebook channels. The race will be carried live on Peacock, NBC’s streaming channel noted in the US for carrying live matches of England’s Premier League.

Australia’s oldest inland European settlement, Bathurst is three hours due west from Sydney on the expansive plains just beyond the Blue Mountain Range. The town is well-known for the aforementioned motor racing track and as a designated spot for tourism by Australians.

The weather forecast for Saturday’s race is clear skies and temperatures in the low-to-mid 90s which is not the environs that would lead one to believe there will be optimum performances.

So chookas on the big race, Ellie.

Two-Alarm Fire Heavily Damages Belmont Street House

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Photo: A two-alarm heavily damaged a Belmont Street house on Feb. 15.

A two-alarm blaze heavily damaged a Belmont Street residential property on Wednesday evening, Feb. 15.

Fire crews were dispatched after a 911 call came in at 8:43 p.m., according to a press release issued by Belmont Fire Chief David DeStefano. When crews arrived, heavy fire was coming from a top-floor window. The incident commander immediately struck a second alarm.

Firefighters from Cambridge, Watertown, Waltham, and Arlington provided mutual aid at the fire. Station coverage was provided by Lexington and Somerville.

The fire was brought under control around 10 p.m. There were no injuries. The American Red Cross assisted the five tenants displaced by the fire.

The origin and cause of the fire are under investigation by the Belmont Fire Department and the State Fire Marshal’s Office.

With Likely Final League Games At The ‘Skip;’ Boys’ And Girls’ Hockey Prep For Post-Season With Pink The Rink [VIDEO]

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Photo: It’s Pink the Rink at Wednesday’s games at the Skip

With the Belmont Select Board declaring two weeks ago it will not spend any more town revenue to keep the dilapidated Skip Viglirolo Skating Rink operating past this season, unless the Belmont High Boys’ and Girls’ hockey teams can secure home games in the MIAA ice hockey tournament, it’s likely this week’s pair of contests will be the final time high school matches will occur at the “Skip.”

While both teams have secured places in the post-season, the tussles at home with Arlington (Wednesday, Feb. 15) and Woburn (Saturday, Feb. 18) will determine how many additional games will be played at the half-century old rink on Concord Avenue.

Currently 8th in the MIAA Div. 1 power ranking, the boys’ (11-4-3) could have two home games in the first two rounds beginning in the final week of February. But they will need to stay 8th or lower to keep those games which will be a challenge as the Boys host the SpyPonders (13-3-2) at 7 p.m. Wednesday. This will be the third meeting this season against Arlington as Head Coach Tim Foley’s charges earned a 2-2 tie in a Middlesex League match in January while losing to the SpyPonders, 3-2 in overtime, at the Ed Burns Tournament on Feb. 5.

It’s been a bit of an unsteady February for the boys, seeing consecutive losses for the first time in several years while compiling a 1-3-1 (each loss was by a single goal) record so far in the month.

Belmont will be relying on senior forward co-captain Cam Fici who has reached 100 career points in 52 games with 68 goals. Fici lines up with senior co-captain Shay Donahue . The Marauders puts out one of the top defensive pairs in the state with seniors captains Joseph Gaziano and Peter Grace who play in front of senior goalie Greg Federico.

The Belmont High Girls’ team have been hanging around a home game placement for the past month, currently ranked 18th (if the season ends with no changes would mean a road trip to Maratha’s Vineyard in the first round) as they prepare to meet the Div. 1 8th ranked SpyPonders who are 11-3-2. But one of Arlington’s losses was to the Marauders, a 4-3 victory in January, while Belmont only lost the other encounter, the season opener, 1-0.

For the Marauders, it all starts from the back with four-year starter and the heart of the squad Bridget Gray who has compiled 2,000 saves in her standout career between the pipes. The defense is anchored by juniors Alex Townsend and Jane Caputo while the offense can be found with senior co-captains Lily Duffy and Cece Carere, the Taylor sisters – sophomore Sadie and junior Mia – and first year Mackenzie Clarke.

Wednesday’s games will be special as the Marauders are holding a Pink The Rink fundraiser with all proceeds going to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Organization. There will be a 50/50 raffle, refreshments and stuff to wear on sale.

Belmont Hill School’s Revamped Parking Plan Finds Support From Former Critics, But Many Remain Troubled

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Photo: The location of the proposed parking lot of the Belmont Hill School

Last fall, Tanya Austin was not at all happy with what the Belmont Hill School was proposing adjacent to her property line. As one of the closest abutters to a new parking development off Park Avenue, the Rutledge Road resident had become one of the leading opponents to the 150-space parking lot, which would include a 7,000 sq. ft. facilities structure while formalizing parking at the school and near the athletic complex on Marsh Street.

“The area is one of the few remaining open, wooded spaces in Belmont, and our town should be committing to the long-term preservation of our environment rather than to fulfillment of the short-term wants of the Belmont Hill School,” said Austin in November. “Our petition has 2,000 signatures [showing] how widespread people’s interest is in opposing this project.”

Fast forward to this week, Austin and two other homeowners who were the project’s closest abutters are now expressing their support of a “modified” updated parking plan, much to the disappointment of many who have lambasted the private school for its plan to raze the native landscape to pave the land to put up a parking lot. After a series of meetings with the school facilitated by Mark Paolillo, chair of the Select Board, and Town Administrator Patrice Garvin, “I’m satisfied with the outcome of our negotiations,” said Austin.

The agreement by the three nearest abutting homeowners – Austin and her neighbor on Rutland and a resident whose property will be adjacent to the facilities building – came as the school presented its “modified” proposal before the Planning Board on Tuesday, Feb. 7, as the board restarts the design site plan review process that originally started in October 2022.

“This might have been different if this were a request for a special permit but based on my conversation with town council for a design site plan review, it is more of an administrative hearing … the requirements are less formal,” said Matthew Lowrie, chair of the Planning Board.

The development will occur on a total of 7.1 acres of which one acre is paved, 4.8 acres are woodlands and the remaining lawns and gardens. Under the development plans, 1.7 acres will be cleared and 1.2 acres used as parking with half-an-acre landscaped.

Primarily a day school, 437 of the school’s 464 pupils commute daily from 84 communities across New England; a new parking scheme will allow the school to manage its long-term parking goals better. The revised plan is essentially a tweaking of the original blueprints presented in the fall of 2022. Released this week, the major modifications include:

  • Removing the proposed outdoor above-ground fuel storage tanks at the facilities building.
  • Shifting the parking lot layout to increase the distance from the closest abutters.
  • Moving the fence between the parking lot and the property line; no closer than five feet from the pavement.
  • Relocating the facilities building further away from an adjacent property, reducing the number of parking spaces by three.
  • Adding additional plantings to reduce visual and environmental impact.

Those changes were enough for three owners of the most impacted properties to change their opposition to the plan to voicing their support for the school’s project.

“Our goal was convincing the school to voluntarily take the steps we would have to argue before the board or a legal appeal,” said Austin. After a series of meetings with the school facilitated by Mark Paolillo, chair of the Select Board, and Town Administrator Patrice Garvin, Austin said that “I’m satisfied with the outcome of our negotiations as the increased setbacks would mean less disturbance of wildlife and “to at least try to preserve the character of the area.”

While the proposal has restarted, the school has moved forward with peer review of the development – paying for outside professionals to appraise the school’s design – to determine the impact a finished project will have on parking, lightning, waste water drainage and other issues the Planning Board will oversee in the design site review. The school also has the Belmont Animal Control Officer confirm there are no endangered species occupying the land.

Critics at Tuesday’s meeting reiterated points made earlier that the project would result in the destruction of wildlife habitat and century-old trees on some of the last significant parcels of undeveloped land in the Belmont Hill neighborhood. Campaigners have gathered approximately 2,500 signatories on a petition opposing the project and have sent nearly 100 letters and emails to the Planning Board against the school’s plans.

One thousand residents who signed a petition in 2022 in opposition to the Belmont Hill School parking project.

Residents who have spoken out against the plan are facing difficult legal hurdles in their efforts to halt the development. The first obstacle is the school’s use of parking and the facilities structure are allowed under the town’s zoning bylaw in Single Residence District A. The town simply requires site review approval rather than than the more stringent special permit for a non residential building of more than 2,500 sq.-ft. and the creation of more than six parking spaces.

The second is a state law that limits communities from hindering certain developments. When a resident asked during a recent Select Board meeting how can the school proceed to build on the property, Board member Adam Dash bluntly said “The Dover Amendment.” The Massachusetts General Law hampers communities from restricting construction for agricultural, religious, and educational uses.

Belmont has its own rich experience with the law as it was instrumental in the approval of the opening of the Church of Latter-Day Saints’ Belmont temple in 2001. Lowrie noted Belmont Town Counsel George Hall has written an advisory saying the board would be in violation of the Dover Amendment if it attempted to deny the school’s application by demanding Belmont Hill first look to its main campus to accommodate the vehicles or for it to determine the number of parking spaces that are for “educational use.” Calculating the school’s supposed parking need was a deep dive by project critic Matthew Schwartz who determined the school could easily eliminate half the lot and still meet its educational needs.

In a new challenge to the project, residents with some support from the Select Board are increasingly calling for the project to undergo a Development Impact Report which is allowed in the zoning bylaws. Under a DIR, the Planning Board would determine the scope of the report including environment, social, physical and infrastructure impact, than issue a Request For Proposal that a professional development team would perform. The team would than produce an in-depth review for the Planning Board to review.

But according to Lowrie, the process is less than ideal, noting that in the past three decades, a DIR was not requested for major town developments such as the Middle and High School, the Senior Center, and several McLean parcels.

“What’s the difference between Development Impact Reports and what we’ve been doing instead which is peer reviews? Spoiler alert, the peer review is a better process,” said Lowrie.

According to Glenn Clancy, the head of the town’s Office of Community Development, the DIR is less flexible than a peer review – who are selected by his department – which can alter the review’s scope on the fly which assists in resolving conflicts between developers and the the town. Also, the cost for a peer review is picked up by the developer. Additionally, while the town can ask a developer to pay for a DIR, it may not be permissible under the Dover Amendment.

“What would a DIR add? Certainly delay,” said Lowrie, noting that the DIR “doesn’t authorize anything that can’t be done in the peer review process,” a view Clancy seconded.

“I believe professional engineering design, peer review, and compliance with section 5 has allowed the Planning Board to achieve the same purpose as if utilizing the Development Impact Report process … I think by de facto you guys are already operating under a DIR process. It’s just not specifically by that name,” said Clancy.

The parking project will return before the Planning Board on Tuesday, Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. with an emphasis on landscaping and the current tree layout.

Second Bite: Municipal Rink Returns Before Voters As Select Board OKs Debt Exclusion On Town Election Ballot

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Photo: Members of the Municipal Skating Rink Building Committee before the Select Board Feb. 6

The Belmont Select Board unanimously approved a ballot question on the April 4 annual Town Election to allow residents to vote on a debt exclusion to pay for a new, year-round municipal rink and sports facility, replacing the current Concord Avenue facility that was called “effectively dead.”

“This is not about an old rink and a new rink. This is about a new rink or no rink,” said Adam Dash, at the board’s Monday, Feb. 6 meeting.

This will be a second bite at the apple for the new rink after the initial proposal went down to defeat, 6,051 to 5,710, in the 2022 November general election.

The decision by the Select Board was not surprising as the night it was defeated, the board’s chair, Mark Paolillo said the closeness of the vote and the deteriorating condition of the existing 55-year-old rink would likely see the board revisit a possible debt exclusion.

What pushed the effort to fund a new rink was a month of dramas at the rink as warm weather and faulty equipment delayed the rinks opening and operations by more than a month. The headaches started with leaking condensers, the chiller that is about to fail, and finding an existing refrigerant supply that the US EPA has banned. On top of mechanical issue, an unusually warm late fall prevented rink ice to properly form as the building’s envelop is open to the outside elements. It took nearly a net of $30,000 in emergency town funds and a cold snap to get the rink up and running for the 2022-3 season.

And the price tag to allow the rink to open next fall in its current consition will be $275,000, said Ted Galante, the project’s architect. That doesn’t include the cost replacing numerous systems that are about to fail in the near future: plumbing, HVAC, the hot water heater, and it’s compromised electrical system.

When asked by Paolillo by if he would invest in the existing structure, Galante’s answer was unequivocal: “No.”

“The rink’s broken. I think it’s effectively dead. We can live through March and that’s probably the end of it,” said Dash.

The Building Committee presented the board with a 2.0 version of the past design, a leaner, cleaner, and less expensive second look at the proposal defeated by approximately 350 votes three months previous.

“This building is kept very simple,” said Galante, noting a low-sloping roof with $1.1 million of solar panels, and an entry that will have visual access to Concord Avenue and the playing fields west of Harris Field.

The most significant change is it will be “brand new” with no attempt to keep recycling the steel beams or other recoverable material. This will allow the structure to be reduced in size from 48,000 sq. ft. to 40,313 sq. ft. in a rectangular-shaped building located slightly north of the existing rink. The rink will occupy 30,000 sq. ft. Cost reductions from the original proposal include eliminating the proposed 3,000 sq. ft. observation mezzanine, 1,000 sq. ft. space for the DPW, and leaving the White Field House in place. The new shape will allow for possible future buildout when the White Field House is removed.

The entry to the new municipal skating rink

“I think what’s come out [of the latest design] was fantastic. I think it’s an efficient, clean design that provides what’s needed,” said Roy Epstein of the Select Board.

While there are design cuts from the first design, “we should be clear that the program that we’re putting forward has not been compromised,” said Tom Caputo, member of the building committee, as the rink will still have four dressing rooms – mostly for hockey events – and four locker rooms designed to serve the various different sports throughout the fall, winter, and spring that are currently in the Field House.

Galante said this structure would be a year-round operation, which will allow the town’s Recreation Department will offer activities such as town camp activity and possibly tennis courts during the seven months the rink will be without ice, an idea advocated by neighbor Anne Paulson.

The total cost of the new proposal is $29,953,000 million, a reduction of $5.1 million from the original cost defeated in November. Supporters are hopeful to reduce the total cost fronted by taxpayers with fundraisers and business donations.

“What the town needs to hear is that this is not just a skating rink,” said Building Committee Chair Mark Haley, noting how the structure serves the high school teams, the Recreation Department, and as a staging area for events such as road races and community functions.

Epstein said he sees a new rink as a community asset as the Underwood Pool was when it was rebuilt in 2015. “When we built a new, modern pool, membership rocketed, he said, noting that as a 12 month facility usage will increase with those who don’t skate or play hockey.

“This is going to serve our community. It’s going to be an addition to our town,” said Dante Muzzioli of the Building Committee.

If passed in April, Haley said the demolition of the existing rink would take place immediately after the vote – with the assistance of town funding – which will cause the youth and high school hockey programs to lose only a single season as the new structure could open as early as the late fall of 2024.

“I think voters need to decide based on all this new information, this new design and the lower cost,” said Dash. “And if it’s no, then the people have spoken.

Letter To The Editor: Accomplishments, Priorities Of Belmont’s Economic Development Committee

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Photo: Small business revival in Belmont Center is a priority of Belmont’s Economic Development Committee

To the editor:

As Co-Chair of Belmont’s Economic Development Committee alongside Katherine Venzke, I am pleased to share a brief overview of our accomplishments this past year with the greater Belmont community. 

2022-23 Accomplishments

Over this past year, I am proud to report that the EDC has made an important contribution. 

Last spring and summer, the EDC implemented a $25,000 Wayfinding and Branding Design grant through a dedicated working group and critical community input most notably by third-generation Belmontian and Town Meeting Member Allison Lenk and Boston-based design studio Favermann Designs. Our process resulted in the Select Board approving the Belmont Gardenia flower design. Mark Favermann – who has worked with 40-plus committees on branding and wayfinding design – described our process as “one of the best examples that really connects to the community and the town’s history in a very natural and authentic way.” The EDC remains fully committed to implementing the design on the Trapelo Corridor and eventually across all of Belmont.  

Second, through a designated state surplus appropriation of $100,000, the EDC successfully designed and advocated a Belmont Small Business Grant program to the Select Board. Ten businesses were eventually awarded $10,000 by our state representatives, state Sen. Will Brownsberger, state Rep. Dave Rogers, the Select Board, Venzke, and myself.  

Third, the EDC has also worked to improve communication and networking among local business leaders. We hosted a small business networking event last fall and will do another in the next month or two. We increased our committee membership from seven to nine and have also worked diligently with other town committees, boards, and Belmont residents to bring the voice of economic development across various town initiatives.  

2023-24 Committee Priorities

However, we understand there remains much to do over this next year and beyond. While empty storefronts are being filled by remarkably persistent and talented local business owners, including Café Vanak on Belmont Road, rated as one of the world’s best restaurants by Condé Nast Traveler, Belmont can and must make the permitting process for local restaurants and businesses easier. We want a vibrant Leonard Street increased business at Cushing Square, and increased mixed-use development at Waverly Square. 

We are also committed to serving residents as a sounding board for ideas and suggestions. As the Collins Center Report and the recent Belmont budget summits clearly show, the town would benefit from a more robust commercial tax base over the medium and long term. Working professionals are spending more time in home offices than in pre-2020 due to the rise of hybrid work. This increases Belmont’s daytime population and local business opportunities across our three key commercial centers: Belmont Center, Cushing Square, and Wavery Square.  

In conclusion, I would like to reiterate that the EDC has made significant contributions to the Belmont community this past year. Looking ahead, the Committee is committed to making the permitting process for local restaurants and businesses easier, increasing small business formation, and serving as a sounding board for ideas and suggestions from the community. We believe that a more robust commercial tax base is crucial for Belmont’s medium and long-term growth, and we will continue to work toward this goal.  

Paul Joy

Co-Chair, Economic Development Committee

Three Take Out Nom Papers For Two Open School Committee Seats; No One Pulls For Treasurer Post

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Photo: Nomination papers deadline is Feb. 14

Three newcomers have started the process of running for two School Committee seats in which both incumbents have chosen not to seek re-election.

Two-term member Kate Bowen is not seeking a third on the committee, according to an email Bowen sent to the Belmontonian. Bowen would not explain why she would not be returning. While incumbent Micheal Crowley has taken out nomination papers, he told the Belmontonian he would not turn in the nomination papers when qualified candidates run for both seats open this election cycle. Crowley joined the board after winning a rump election in 2019 and was elected to a full term three-year term in 2020.

As of Friday, Feb. 3, three residents have taken out nomination papers from the Town Clerk’s office: Rachel Watson, Amy Zuccarello and Jung Yueh. So far, Yueh is the first of the three to return the necessary number of signatures to qualify for the April 4 Town Election, according to Town Clerk Ellen Cushman.

Yueh is a director of client services for a small Belmont software developer. Zuccarello, a partner with Sullivan & Worcester, is active with Parents of Music Students, and Watson, a Human Resources Administrator, and attorney, is the co-chair of the Belmont Special Education Parent Advisory Council (Belmont SEPAC).

Zuccarello and Yueh were two of ten candidates to apply to fill a vacant seat on the school board created by Andrea Prestwich’s resignation in Nov. 2021. Ralph Jones was selected for the post.

Those joining the committee in April will step into a budgetary tempest with the possibility of significant cuts in staff and programming and defending a major Prop 2 1/2 override.

Town-wide races

With just under ten days to return the necessary papers to have the Town Clerk, no one has taken out nomination papers for Town Treasurer despite Belmont’s long-time treasurer Floyd Carman declaring late in 2022 he would not seek re-election after 18 years on the job. The lack of potential candidates comes less than a week after a Special Town Meeting approved a ballot question on the April 4 Town Election to change the Treasurer’s position from an elected to an appointed post.

Most incumbents have taken out nomination papers in other town-wide elected positions:

  • Town Moderator Mike Widmer, first elected in 2008, has secured a place on the ballot.
  • Incumbents Kathleen Keohane and Gail Mana are seeking to fill a pair of three-year terms on the Board of Library Trustees.
  • Gloria Leipzig is running for a second five-year term on the Housing Authority.
  • Bob Reardon, Sr. – who is looking to secure another three-year term – and Pat Murphy have taken papers out to run for seats on the Board of Assessors.
  • Elizabeth Dionne has qualified for a run to succeed Adam Dash for a three-year term with the Select Board.
  • Alex Corbett, III, hopes to retain his seat on the Board of Cemetary Commissioners.
  • Long-time member and former chair of the Health Board, Donna David has yet to take out nomination papers, while Stephen Fiore, who lost a seat in 2021, has pulled papers for the one three-year seat on the board up for grabs this cycle.

The deadline to submit nomination papers to have the candidate’s name appear on the ballot is St. Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, at 5 p.m.

Belmont Two-Alarm Fire Heavily Damages Beech Street Multi-Story Structure

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Photo: Belmont firefighters responded to a two-alarm fire on Beech Street on Saturday morning. (Photo Courtesy Belmont Fire Department)

Belmont Fire Department responded to a two-alarm fire in a multi-story structure on Beech Street early Saturday, Feb. 4, which heavily damaged the top floor.

According to Belmont Fire Chief David DeStefano, first-arriving crews discovered flames coming from the roof of the residential building. Six occupants of the home escaped unharmed from the two-alarm fire.

With the assistance of mutual aid partners from the Arlington, Cambridge, Waltham, and Watertown fire departments, Belmont firefighters brought the fire under control in approximately an hour. Extensive overhaul operations were required to check for hot spots.

“Extreme cold creates additional challenges in fighting a fire, and this fire was no exception,” DeStefano said in a press release. “I wish to commend our firefighters for their terrific work and professionalism in below-zero temperatures and minus-35[F] wind chill, and especially our mutual aid partners for their timely response and support.”

Belmont Schools Open During Friday’s Dangerous Freeze; Library Open Weekend As Warming Area

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Photo: National Weather Service low temperature chart for Friday

Belmont Public Schools will be open on Friday, Feb. 3, while weather forecasts are indicating a period of very cold temperatures and dangerous wind chills over the next 48 hours, according to the Town of Belmont website.

“The town’s Facilities Department is assessing each school building and will keep the heat settings at a higher temperature overnight for [Friday]’s arrival to school and over the weekend,” read a press release from the Belmont School District.

“In addition, the district has reached out to the bus company to confirm buses are winterized. Drivers will report early to ensure buses start and are warmed up for a timely student pick up,” according to the release.

The National Weather Service issued an updated forecast:

  • Dangerous wind chills with temperatures as low as -30F starting early Friday through Saturday, Feb. 4 across southern New England.
  • Isolated power outages possible due to strong winds.
  • A few snow squalls are possible late Thursday into early Friday, but “we are not sure if they will hold together as they move in,” said the NWS press release.

The Belmont Public Library at 336 Concord Ave. will have regular hours on Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for anyone looking for a place to warm up.

“We encourage everyone to stay sheltered from this dangerous weather,” the town press release advises. “If venturing outside during this weather event, please dress appropriately and protect exposed skin from the cold and wind. We ask you to check on elderly friends and neighbors, and others who may need assistance, during this period of extreme cold.”