Town Schedules Meetings to Discuss Grove Street Playground Master Plan

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The town of Belmont has announced a pair of public meetings targeting specific audiences in March to discuss the creation of a master plan for the Grove Street Playground.

The town’s Department of Public Works and Activitas Inc. – a Dedham-based development company that worked on the redevelopment of Belmont High School’s Harris Field – will be hosting two meetings in the Board of Selectmen Room of Belmont Town Hall as they begin writing a comprehensive long-term strategy for the heavily-used open space/playground on the Cambridge town-line in east Belmont. 

The first meeting will be on March 4 at 7 p.m. when Activitas Inc. and town officials will speak to neighborhood residents as they seek their input and to better understand their issues.

The second meeting is on March 9 at 7 p.m. when youth organizations representing soccer, baseball and other sports that use the playground will give their input to their concerns.

After the meetings, Activitas and town departments will discuss the public information acquired which will be used to set a course for the Master Plan.

Further public discussions will be scheduled with neighbors, youth organizations and others at future public meetings.

Belmont Food Holding Cooking Classes for Kids and Adults

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The Belmont Food Collaborative – the residents who run and manage the Belmont Farmers Market – will be holding a fun activity for parents and children as it teams up with Powisset Cooks! and The Trustees of the Reservations to hold two fun cooking classes for adults and kids where they will be cooking seasonal winter recipes here in Belmont.

A pair of cooking classes, taking place in the kitchen of the First Church of Belmont, 404 Concord Ave., will be held on Sunday, Feb. 22 and March 22 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. The fee is $35 for an adult/child pair
. Each class is limited to seven pairs.

The first class is “One Potato, Two Potato, Lots of Potato Pancakes,” an exciting, hands-on exploration in potato-pancake making with Powisset Cooks! culinary educator, Rachel Kaplan. The group will experiment with making and eating a variety of potato pancake recipes.

The second class is “Late Winter Soup,” is for soup lovers! Kaplan will guide the pairs through making and sampling a few soup recipes, and you’ll learn more about local, seasonal vegetables along the way.

Register online here. Please register by Wednesday, Feb. 18.

This Week: Maple Sugar and Concert Tuesday, Book Reading Thursday

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• On the government end of the things, the Board of Selectmen will meet today with the Belmont School Committee on Tuesday, Feb. 17 at 6 p.m. to discuss next year’s school district budget. The selectmen will also discuss the recommendation of the Financial Task Force to schedule a Prop. 2 1/2 override. 

• The Belmont Public Library is holding a maple sugaring program for kids on Tuesday, Feb. 17 from 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the Assembly Room.

• Staff from US Rep. Katherine Clark‘s office will be holding office hours at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St., on Tuesday, Feb. 17 from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

• Pianist Kathryn Rosenbach will present a free concert titled “Exploring the Fantasie” at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St., on Tuesday, Feb. 17, from 1:15 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.  A native Belmontian who teaches at the Powers Music School, Rosenbach will present a program of Bach, Chopin and Schumer.

• Belmont author Len Abram will read from his new book, The Medallion, Thursday, Feb. 19, from 7:30 p.m,. to 9 p.m. in the Belmont Public Library’s Assembly Room. Sasha Denisov, a Ukrainian immigrant and Chechen war veteran, drives a Boston cab, dreaming of buying his own taxi medallion and remarrying Ani, a Russian immigrant, whom he first married to get a green card and then fell in love with. This free program is part of the Library Friends Author Series. All are welcome to attend.  Books will be available for purchase and signing.
• State Sen. Will Brownsberger‘s staff will be holding office hours at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St., on on Friday, Feb. 20, at 10 a.m. 
• The Beech Street Center’s Movie Of the Month for February is “Waking Ned Devine,” on Friday, Feb. 20, at 1 p.m. The comedy is about Ned Devine, aresident of a tiny Irish town, who wins the lottery … but who his neighbors discover have died clutching the winning ticket. This puts the townspeople in a spot, since, if lottery officials discover Ned dead, the money is forfeited. When the community comes together in hopes of splitting the winnings 51 ways, they learn the importance of friendship and the value of money.

NEW DATE: PJ Wearing Belmont High Students Out to Help Needy Kids

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If your child heads off to the high school in their PJs tomorrow, Friday, Feb. 13, don’t worry – in fact, that just might be their daily routine – they aren’t late and in a rush to make their first class of the day.

Tomorrow Belmont High will hold its annual “Pajamarama,” the day for students, the administration staff and teachers to wear their “jammies” to class in exchange for a donation of money or nice, new children’s sleepwear to the “PJ Drive for Cradles to Crayons,” a Brighton non-profit organization, which provides gently-used clothes and gear for needy Massachusetts children.

For this drive, sponsored by the Boston Bruins, the school’s  is collecting both monetary donations and pairs of new, warm pj’s in sizes from newborn to 18.

For students, parents and residents who would like to help, drop off any new pj’s – please keep the tags on! – in the main office by Wednesday, Feb.25.  

Monetary donations – checks made out to Cradles to Crayons – may either be brought to the office or mailed to:

Alice Melnikoff

Belmont High School

221 Concord Ave.

Belmont, MA  02478.

 

This Weekend: Oscar Auction at First Church; ‘Charlotte’s Web’ at Town Hall

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• An Evening at the Oscars!, a live auction along with a dinner and music will take place on Saturday, Feb. 7, from 5:45 p.m. to 10 p.m. at The First Church, Belmont, 404 Concord Ave. Auction items range from vacation getaways to donated items guaranteed to delight and surprise to raise money to support all of the church’s important committee, youth and adult education work. Tickets are $50 which includes a cocktail reception, live auction, dinner and live entertainment. The silent auction continues until Feb. 14.

• The Menotomy Musical Theater presents “Charlotte’s Web” Friday, Feb. 6 through Sunday, Feb. 8 at Belmont Town Hall auditorium, 145 Concord Ave. Adapted from the classic E. B. White novel, Charlotte’s Web tells the memorable story of Wilbur, a little pig who becomes famous with the help of his clever friend, a spider named Charlotte, and their chatty animal neighbors.

Performances: 

  • Friday, Feb. 6 at 7 p.m.
  • Saturday, Feb. 7 at 2 p.m.
  • Saturday, Feb. 7 at 7 p.m.
  • Sunday, Feb. 8 at 2p.m.

Price: $15 on-line or $20 at the door.

Information and Tickets available at www.menotomymusicaltheater.com

Residents Group to Present Argument for ‘McMansion’ Moratorium

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The newly-created Belmont Citizens for Responsible Zoning is hosting a meeting for Precinct 7 Town Meeting Members in the Flett Room at the Belmont Public Library tonight, Thursday, Feb. 5, from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m where it will present its case for  a moratorium on construction of oversized single-family dwellings in a large section of the precinct.

Last month, the residents group submitted to the Town Clerk’s Office a citizen’s petition seeking to place a one-year suspension of oversized single-family dwellings in a portion of Belmont’s Single Residence C Zoning District. The amendment to the zoning bylaws has been accepted and will be presented to the annual Town Meeting in May. The petition will need to achieve a two-thirds margin of acceptance to be approved.

The area – known by long-time residents as Shaw Estate – includes single-families within the bounties of School, Washington and Grove streets and Grosvenor, Dalton and Bacon Roads.

See the group’s flyer here.

The group believe oversized replacement homes – popularly known as McMansions – change the character of neighborhoods by excluding middle-income families from buying single-family homes as assessments and values of surrounding homes increase, crowd out sunlight and natural habitats while taking advantage of zoning that is not as strict as existing rules for renovations and additions.

 

The group will also lead a discussion on recruiting candidates to fill vacancies in the precinct’s Town Meeting delegation.

The Remainder of The Week: Lots for Toddlers to Do and LEGO Club is Back

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Thanks to the snow storms, “This Week” is an abbreviated one:

• Sing-along with Julie Goetze will be happening Wednesday, Feb. 4, at 10:30 a.m. at the Belmont Public Library’s Children’s Room. 

• The Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St., is holding free hearing tests on Wednesday, Feb. 4, from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Mass Audiology offers this service free of charge to our Center participants.

• Infant Lapsit Storytime is for infants and pre-walkers. Enjoy songs, finger plays, and rhymes chosen especially for our littlest readers on Thursday, Feb. 5, at 10:30 a.m. in the Flett Room of the Belmont Public Library.

• The LEGO Club for kindergarteners through second graders is back on Thursday, Feb. 5 from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Assembly Room of the Belmont Public Library. Drop in anytime. Members will be creating their own unique LEGO structures.  All LEGOs  will be provided. Just bring your imagination!

• Precinct 7 Town Meeting members will be holding a precinct meeting on Thursday, Feb. 5 from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Belmont Public Library’s Flett Room. Everyone from around Grove Street Playground and the Harvard Lawn/Belmont Corner neighborhoods is invited. 
• Pre-School Storytime will be held at the Benton Library, Belmont’s independent and volunteer run library, at 10:30 a.m., Friday, Feb. 6. Stories and crafts for children age 3 to 5 with Denise Patnod or Mary Creedon. Parents or caregivers must attend. Siblings may attend with adults. Registration is not required. The Benton Library is located at the intersection of Oakley and Old Middlesex. 

Tickets Now On Sale for Foundation for Belmont Education’s Spring Dinner

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The social event of the year in Belmont is just around the corner as tickets are on sale for the Foundation for Belmont Education’s 16th annual Spring Dinner set for Saturday, March 21, the first day of spring.

You can obtain tickets here.

“Mad for Education” is this year’s theme for a night of dinner, dancing and a fast paced auction led by Neal J. Fay.

The event takes place at the Belmont Hill School from 6:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Early bird tickets can be purchased until March 2. It’s advisable for anyone thinking of attending to obtain their tickets early since for the past five years, the event has been sold out before the early reply date.

For more information, email the FBE at springdinner@fbe-belmont.org

No School Tuesday Due to Snow, Partial Lifting of Parking Ban at 7AM

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The larger-than-expected snow fall from the Groundhog Day storm has forced the Belmont Public Schools to be closed once again tomorrow, Tuesday, Feb. 3. This marks the fourth snow day to be called in the past week.

According to the Belmont Police Department, the snow emergency parking ban will be partially lifted at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 4. Belmont Police reported that parking will be allowed on the ODD side of most street in town. Exceptions will include business centers such as Waverley and Cushing squares and Belmont Center.

Town Offices will be open and trash and recycling will be picked up on Tuesday as scheduled.

The Belmont Public Library and the Beech Street Center will be closed.

Belmont to Experience Flash Freeze Conditions As Snow Totals Best Predictions

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An arctic blast in the midst of today’s snow storm will cause any slush or standing water in Belmont and eastern Massachusetts to rapidly freeze causing hazardous road and pavement conditions, according to the National Weather Service in a Special Statement it released at 3:10 p.m.

In addition moderate to occasionally heavy snow will continue, at times up to an inch an hour can be expected into the evening hours. This means that some areas could receive another 3 to 5 inches of snow. This will bring storm totals closer to 15 to 18 inches in areas of the Mass Pike northward with local 20 inch amounts possible.

Motorists and pedestrians are urged to slow down and use extreme caution this afternoon and evening due to reduced visibilities and the flash freeze conditions.