Belmont Goes Electric Set For Saturday, Sept. 17 At The Chenery

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Photo:A STIHL® Electric Blower(credit: STIHLUSA)

Join Belmont Light, Sustainable Belmont, and the Belmont Energy Committee for ‘Belmont Goes Electric!’ a joint home and garden electrification event on Saturday, Sept. 17, at 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Chenery Middle School, 95 Washington St.

Events will include:

  • Test drive or ride along in a number of All-Electric and Plug-In Hybrid Vehicles from dealers and residents.
  • Talk with a representative from the handheld power equipment firm Stihl about battery operated yard equipment, including leaf blowers, lawn mowers, and more.
  • Discover the benefits and affordability of going electric in your home, garage, and yard, including rebates from Belmont Light.
  • Talk to current owners of EVs, cordless yard equipment, and heat pump systems about their experiences.
  • Sustainability-focused groups will be in attendance.

Three Cardboard Drop-Off Days Are Coming To Belmont’s DPW Yard

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Photo: Belmont will hold three cardboard drop off events starting in October

Where do you stack the cardboard boxes that brought your online purchases? In the garage? How about the corner of your office? Or the basement where it has taken the form of a corrugated fiberboard Mt. Everest.

Well, you’ll soon have the opportunity to rid all those cartons out of your abode as Belmont will provide residents three days to drop-off those piles of cardboard, according to Jay Marcotte, director of the Department of Public Works.

“It’s that time of year,” Marcotte told the Belmont Select Board at its Monday, Sept. 12 meeting, when the town creates the schedule for paid drop off events.

Unlike past years when the town held a pair of events on either side of the Christmas holiday, demand for the service – which is revenue neutral – necessitates a extra day.

“We are slammed with phone calls right now,” said Marcotte, noting at a recent event, 400 cars lined up to toss their boxes.

The events will take place on:

  • Saturday, Oct. 22
  • Saturday, Dec. 3
  • Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023

Location: the DPW Yard off of C Street.

Cost: $5. “The fee seems to work best at $5; that seems like the magic number for participation,” said Marcotte. Residents can use an on-line registration form on the Recreation Department‘s web page or come to cash or a check written out to the “Town of Belmont.”

First Covid, Flu Vaccination Clinic Of School Year Set For Thursday, Sept. 15

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Photo: Have your vaccination card ready!

The Belmont Health Department is offering a two-fer: vaccinations and bivalent boosters for Covid-19 and the seasonal flu shot to all eligible residents, ages three and older, on Thursday, Sept. 15 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Beth El Temple Center, 2 Concord Ave.

Register for a vaccine appointment HERE.

Please bring your insurance (medical and prescription) and COVID-19 vaccination cards to the clinic.

COVID vaccines are free for all regardless of insurance coverage
Insurance is required for flu vaccines
For those covered by Medicare please bring your red, white, and blue Medicare card in addition to any other insurance cards.

Please present insurance cards, photo ID, and vaccination cards at your appointment.

This clinic will be operated through a partnership between VaxinateRX and the Belmont Health Department. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will be available.

Having difficulty registering? Call 617-993-2720 or Email: Lsharp@belmont-ma.gov for assistance

Belmont Votes: 2022 In-Person State Primary Election

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Photo: The state primary election will be held in Belmont from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 6

Voting in the Massachusetts State Primary will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 6. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

All voters wishing to cast their ballot on Election Day must go to their assigned voting precinct.

This election will determine who will be the Democratic and Republican candidate in the general election. On Ballot: Representative in Congress, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, State Auditor, Governor’s Council, State Senator, State Representative, District Attorney, Sheriff.

Belmont’s voting precincts:

  • Precinct One: Belmont Memorial Library, Assembly Room, 336 Concord Ave.
  • Precinct Two: Belmont Town Hall, Select Board Room 455 Concord Ave.
  • Precinct Three: Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St.
  • Precinct Four: Daniel Butler School Gym, 90 White St.
  • Precinct Five: Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St.
  • Precinct Six: Belmont Fire Headquarters, 299 Trapelo Rd.
  • Precinct Seven: Burbank School Gym, 266 School St.
  • Precinct Eight: Winn Brook School Gym, 97 Waterhouse Road, Enter From Cross St.

Inactivated Voters

Voters who have been informed that their voting status has been changed to Inactive should be prepared to present identification before being permitted to vote.

If You Requested a Vote By Mail Ballot But Prefer to Vote In Person

Voters who have requested an absentee or an early vote by mail ballot should expect that the precinct will check with the Town Clerk to determine if a ballot has already been received for that voter.

Voters who Need to Return their Mailed Ballot for Counting

Any voter who would like to return a absentee or vote by mail ballot  to be counted, must return the ballot  to the Town Clerk by the close of polls on election night, 8 pm.  It cannot be delivered to a voting precinct. There is a dedicated drop box for the Town Clerk at the base of the steps to Town Hall along the driveway at parking lot level.

What’s Open/Closed On Labor Day In Belmont; Trash Collection Pushed Back A Day

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Photo: One of the 12 Forever stamps titled “Made in America: Building a Nation” issued by the USPS in August 2013.

While most of the rest of the world celebrates workers on May 1, here in the US, Labor Day is held on the first Monday in September which makes it the last long weekend of summer.

[Peter J. McGuire, who founded the United Brotherhood of Carpenters in 1881, said the date was chosen because it fell roughly halfway between the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving.]

It’s one of ten holidays recognized by the federal government (France has 15 including the month of August), although the feds don’t require employers to pay workers for this holiday. Businesses traditionally provide their employees with a paid holiday as part of a benefits package because most other employers do the same.

Trash and recycling collection is delayed ONE DAY due to the holiday: If your pickup day is Monday, this week it will be collected on Tuesday, etc.

Closed:

Belmont Town offices, the Belmont Public Library and Belmont Light are closed.

• US Postal Service offices and regular deliveries.

• Banks; although branches will be open in some supermarkets.

• MBTA: See www.mbta.com for details.

What’s Opened:

• Retail stores

• Coffee shops; Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts are open.

• Supermarkets

• Convenience stores and,

• Establishments that sell beer and wine are also allowed to be open.

National Purple Heart Day Observation At Vets Memorial Clay Pit Pond On Sunday, Aug.7, 1 PM

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Photo: Residents of Belmont, veterans and Purple Heart recipients are invited to attend this special event. 

The Town of Belmont will honor and observe National Purple Heart Day on Sunday, August 7 at 1 p.m. at the new Belmont Veterans Memorial at Clay Pit Pond off Concord Avenue and across from Belmont High School.

Brig. Gen. Paul L. Minor, the co-rector of Belmont’s All Saints’ Church, and the newest assistant Adjutant General of the Massachusetts Army National Guard at Joint Force Headquarters, will be the guest speaker.

Residents of Belmont, veterans and their family members and in particular all of those who are Purple Heart recipients are invited to attend this special event. 

The Purple Heart is awarded to members of the United States armed forces who are wounded by an enemy and posthumously to the next of kin in the name of those who are killed in action or die of wounds received in action.

Chartered by Congress in 1958, the Military Order of the Purple Heart is composed of military men and women who received the Purple Heart Medal for wounds suffered in combat. Although membership is restricted to the combat wounded, the organization supports all veterans and their families with a myriad of nation-wide programs by Chapters and National Service Officers.

Belmont Fire’s Recruitment Open House: Tuesday, Aug. 16 At 6 PM

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Photo: If you had a dream to become a firefighter, come by the Fire Department’s HQ on Tuesday.

Learn about how to become a Belmont Firefighter at a Recruitment Open House on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 6 p.m. at the Belmont Fire Department Headquarters 299 Trapelo Rd.

Learn more about …

  • Tour our headquarters station, view our apparatus and equipment, and talk with our firefighters.
  • Our modern apparatus, equipment and stations,Exemplary Advanced Life Support Services
  • Advanced training opportunities in Haz Mat, Technical Rescue and other skills,
  • 24/72 shift schedule,
  • Competitive compensation and benefit package

An innovative fire department where you can make a difference.

Town Opens Cooling Centers As Heat Wave Prompts Belmont Light To Ask Public To Cool It

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Photo: Cooling centers will be open until Friday

With high temperatures to be in the mid-90s until next Monday, the Belmont Council on Aging will open the Beech Street Center at 266 Beech St., and the Belmont Public Library will open the Library at 336 Concord Ave., as cooling centers, on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

The hours will be as follows: 

  • Beech Street Center: Wednesday 8am-8pm, Thursday 8am-8pm and Friday 8am-4pm.
  • Belmont Public Library:  Wednesday 9am-9pm, Thursday 11am-9pm and Friday 9am-5pm.
  • Belmont Public Library: will also be open on Friday night from 6:30pm-9:30pm for a free movie night. 

“We encourage everyone to stay cool and hydrated. We ask you to check on elderly friends and neighbors, and others who may need help, during this period of high heat and humidity,” said the press release from the town.

Belmont Light is asking consumers to reduce electric usage when possible from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. beginning July 19 to July 22.

With Covid Variant On The Rise, Town Holding Vaccine Clinic Thursday, July 14

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Photo: The clinic will take place at the Beech Street Center

As the BA.5 offshoot of the Omicron Covid-19 variant is on the rise, the Belmont Health Department is offering COVID-19 vaccines to eligible residents (ages 3+), including 1st, 2nd, and booster shots.

Thursday, July 14, 10 a.m. to Noon
The Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St.

This clinic will be operated through a partnership between VaxinateRX and the Belmont Health Department. Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will be available.

NEW! Those 3 years and older can now sign up to receive their primary vaccine series at this clinic.

Look here for information and to register for a vaccine appointment.

If you have difficulty with registration call  617-993-2720
or Email: Lsharp@belmont-ma.gov for assistance
*Please present insurance cards, photo ID, and vaccination cards at appointment.

‘Now It’s Your Turn’: Select Board Voice Support For $39.5M Library Debt Exclusion On November Ballot

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Photo: Architectural drawing of the new Belmont Public Library along Concord Avenue (Oudens Ello Architecture)

After waiting in line for years behind other capital projects, advocates for a new Belmont Public Library building received the support of the town’s three-member Select Board for the project to be placed before voters on the November 2022 election.

”Now it’s your turn,” said Mark Paolillo, chair of the Select Board during an update on the new library project at a joint meeting with the Board of Library Trustees. ”This is ready to go.”

According to the latest data from the design firm and the library building committee, the revised price tag for the new 41,500 sq.-ft. library is $39.5 million.

“We’re feeling comfortable that this is the number that we would ask the Select Board to move forward with and what the building will cost,” said Kathy Keohane, vice chair of the trustees. The bill for the project has seen a jump since Sept. 2021 from $35.9 million due to a $2.1 million increase in construction costs in addition to the building committee adding $1.86 million in what is called ”market volatility contingency” above the current contingency line items “which we felt … was prudent to include that additional safe guard.”

While the Select Board is scheduled to vote at its July 25 meeting to OK placing debt exclusions on the Nov. 8 mid-term ballot, the members are ready to put the project before voters.

“I am committed to the library being on the ballot in November,” said Select Board Member Adam Dash. “You guys have done your homework and that the library trustees have been very patient and letting a lot of other go first.”

“You’re welcome to come [on July 25] … and listen to our favorable vote to put this on the ballot in the fall,” said Paolillo.

Keohane reported community donations to defray the cost of the new library has nearly reached $3 million (currently at $2.86 million) from 850 supporters. Keohane noted the donation figure is conservative as there are “many folks that have told us they are planning to make a donation but we don’t have that paperwork.”

”We are also pursuing grants with businesses, banks, local foundations and very much open to any suggestions that people may have about the possibilities … [in addition to] CPA grants,” she said.

The November vote comes as the library’s popularity has returned to near pre-pandemic levels, according to Library Director Peter Struzziero. The 2021-22 fiscal year [ending June 30] is the second busiest books in total collection use in library history with more than 600,000 books and material used by patrons, only topped by 2018-19 with 650,000. The library has also expanded its mentor match, collaberation with schools and other and the return of One Book One Belmont in the fall.

”We had a great response to the pandemic. We were a leader in the Commonwealth and learning new ways to serve while we built new relationships with our patrons,” said Struzziero.