Sunnyside Up And Running: Chenery Solar Panels Officially Turned On

By Leave a Comment

Photo: Chenery Middle School Principal Karla Koza at the ribbon cutting for the solar array at the school

In the end of a week when the news about schools was dark, Chenery Middle School Principal Karla Koza said Friday, May 27, that she was happy to have some good vibes coming from her school.

“This is pretty cool being the first school to have this type of ribbon cutting,” said Koza as sixth grade students town and school officials and representatives of Belmont Light gathered in the school to cut the ribbon for the official start of the solar array located on the south facing side of the school.

While the solar panels – the first to be placed on a municipal building in Belmont – have been permitted and energized since January, the newly operational video information screen located near the school’s Main Office will show through charts and real-time data the amount of energy being produced by the panels. For sixth grade students now and in the future, monitoring the level of energy produced by the array will become a part of their science curriculum targeting the use of carbon-free sources to reduce the town’s fossil fuel usage to avoid the dangers of climate change.

The day’s event came about through the efforts of past and present students, residents and the town to place the solar panels at the Chenery. James Booth, a member of the town’s Energy Committee, said a $29,000 donation from the solar installer who worked with Belmont Goes Solar along with $15,000 from an anonymous donor and matching funds paid for the array set up. The installation required the collaborative effort of Belmont Light, town departments, the school district and committee and the firm Sunbug Solar.

The panels will produce 35,000 kilowatts, which will only put a small dent in the 1 million kilowatts the school uses each year. But as Belmont Light’s General Manager Craig Spinale said, ”the town has spoken by passing the Belmont [Climate Action Roadmap adopted by Town Meeting in 2019] on what they want so we will be offering our services to meet those initiatives.”

The array is expected to save the town $130,000 in utility costs over its lifetime.

Belmont Farmers Market Opens For The Season Thursday, June 2; 2 PM to 6:30 PM

By Leave a Comment

Photo: Scenes from the Belmont Farmers Market

Belmont Farmers Market opens for the 2022 season on Thursday, June 2 at 2 p.m. with its traditional fanfare, ringing of the market bell and a ribbon cutting at its home in the rear of the Claflin Street Municipal Parking Lot just off Belmont Center.

The market, run by the Belmont Food Collabrative, will be open on Thursday afternoons from June to October from 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. with closing times at 6 p.m. in October.

This season, the Market is asking patrons to bring their brown paper shopping bags with handles along with non-perishable food donations when shopping at the market to the manager’s tent, and they will be donated to the Belmont Food Pantry.

Opening Day includes the market’s Food Assistance Information Fair. Meet representatives of local and state-wide agencies who’ll have info about how people facing food insecurity can stretch food budgets.

In 2021, our food assistance program added more than $37,000 to the budgets of shoppers who are facing food insecurity.

The Information Fair will help people learn about their eligibility for food programs. But we want everyone to know about these programs. Even in Belmont, often thought of as a very prosperous town, there are many people who need assistance to buy enough healthy food for their families.

Read the full press release about the Information Fair. And find out more about our food assistance programs.

Community & Events Tent Preview

2 p.m. to 4 p.m.: Inaugural Food Assistance Information Fair
2 p.m. to 4 p.m.: Performers A & W Ukulele Players
4 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.: Storytime
4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.: Henna Art with Niyathi Srinivasan

What’s Open/Closed Memorial Day 2022: Trash/Recycling Delayed A Day This Week

By Leave a Comment

Photo: Memorial Day at Belmont Cemetery, 2019

Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States for honoring and mourning the military personnel who have died in the performance of their military duties while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It’s observed in 2022 on Monday, May 30.

Belmont will commemorate Memorial Day starting with a parade beginning at 11 a.m. from Cushing Square.

What’s Closed:

  • Belmont Town offices and Belmont Light are closed. They will reopen to the public on Tuesday, May 31.
  • US Postal Service offices and regular deliveries.
  • Banks; although branches will be open in some supermarkets.

MBTA: Operating buses and subways on a Sunday schedule. See www.mbta.com for details.

Trash and recycling collection: There will be no collection Monday; trash and recycling will be delayed ONE DAY this holiday week.

What’s Opened:

  • Retail stores.
  • Coffee shops: Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts are serving coffee all day.
  • Supermarkets.
  • Convenience and drug stores (CVS/Pharmacy)open regular hours.
  • Establishments that sell beer and wine are also allowed to be open.

Health Dept. Holding Covid-19 Vaccine Clinic May 31, 10AM-2PM, At Beth El Temple

By Leave a Comment

Photo:

The Belmont Health Department is offering Covid-19 vaccines to eligible residents, including first, second and booster shots.

The clinic will take place on Tuesday, May 31, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Beth El Temple Center, 2 Concord Ave.

  • Those 5 to 11 can now sign up to receive a booster dose if it has been at least 5 months since their second dose. Individuals 50 years of age and older at least 4 months after getting a first booster.
  • Individuals 18 and older with certain medical conditions may get a second Moderna booster at least 4 months after first booster.
  • Individuals 12 and older with certain medical conditions may get a second Pfizer booster at least 4 months after the first booster.In addition, per the CDC, individuals 18 and older who received a primary vaccine and booster dose of Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 vaccine at least 4 months ago may now receive a second booster dose using an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine.

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

Find information on the clinic and how to register for a vaccine appointment HERE

To register for an appointment click HERE

If you have difficulty with registration call  617-993-2720 or Email:  Lsharp@belmont-ma.gov for assistance.

Belmont’s Memorial Day Parade/Observation: May 30 Starting At 11 AM From Cushing Sq.

By Leave a Comment

Photo: Flowers at veterans’ graves at Belmont Cemetery on Memorial Day 2015.

The Memorial Day’s of pre-Covid restrictions and cancellations will return to Belmont on Monday, May 30.

For the first time since 2019, a parade from Cushing Square to the Belmont Cemetery will start the day at 11 a.m. with contingencies of veterans, town and state officials, the Belmont Police and Fire departments, the Belmont High School marching band, boy and girl scouts, and town employees in large trucks and equipment coming down Trapelo Road to Belmont Street before taking the left onto Grove Street.

All veterans and current military personnel are invited and welcome to join the other vets at the head of the parade.

The observance will take place at Belmont Cemetery adjacent to the Grove Street Playground at roughly 11:45 a.m. The parade will then proceed to the Belmont Veterans Memorial at Clay Pit Pond off of Concord Avenue for a short ceremony.

The parade and observation will be coordinated for the final time by Belmont’s retiring Veteran’s Services Agent Bob Upton.

League of Women Voters’ Segment B Warrant Briefing Via Zoom This Thursday, 7PM 

By Leave a Comment

Photo: The poster for the Warrant Briefing on May 26, 2022

Town Meeting members and the public are invited on Thursday, May 26 to attend the 2022 ‘Zoom’ Warrant Briefing on all things budget for next week’s resumption of the annual Town Meeting.

The meeting is cosponsored by the town’s Warrant Committee and the Belmont League of Women Voters.

Residents and members will have the opportunity to ask questions of town officials and department heads about the budget articles and amendments prior to the annual legislative gathering on Wednesday, June 1.

Geoffrey Lubien, chair of the Warrant Committee, will preside.

Viewing Options:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89020081969
Zoom meeting ID: 890 2008 1969
Live broadcast: Belmont Ch 8 (Comcast); Ch 28 (Verizon)
Livestream or on-demand: belmontmedia.org/watch/govtv

Belmont Town Day Returns To May Date And It’s Bringing The Heat; Cooling Station Will Be In Town Hall [UPDATE]

By Leave a Comment

Photo: Belmont Town Day will take place on May 21 in the Center

This year, you’ll WANT to be in the dunk tank. With temperatures expected to reach the mid-nineties, the 31st annual Belmont Town Day is taking place on Saturday, May 21, in Belmont Center from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., making a return to its traditional mid-May date.

As temperatures are expected to hit record highs during the event, a cooling station will be set up at the Town Hall, 455 Concord Ave. from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Anyone seeking to use the cooling station should enter the basement of Town Hall through the entrance located off the parking lot. They will be directed to the appropriate room where water will be supplied. 

Please remember to stay hydrated throughout the day. 

Hosted by the Belmont Center Business Association along Leonard Street, the Town Day will be filled with events – musical groups will be performing in front of the soon-to-be-departed CVS/Pharmacy – tours of the Belmont Center fire station, carnival rides, a bouncy castle, trinkets for sale, booths sponsored by civic groups and businesses and and lots of food. Finally, the dunk tank – courtesy of Champions Sporting Goods – will be in front of il Casale.

‘Disney’s Little Mermaid’ (The Junior Version)On Stage At Chenery Middle School, May 19-21

By Leave a Comment

Photo: The poster to the show this weekend.

The Chenery Middle School Theater will present its production of “Disney’s The Little Mermaid JR.”

Journey “under the sea” with Ariel and her aquatic friends in this production adapted from Disney’s Broadway production and the motion picture featuring the enormously popular Academy Award-winning music and delightfully charming book and lyrics. Based on one of Hans Christian Andersen’s most beloved stories, Disney’s The Little Mermaid JR. is an enchanting look at the sacrifices we all make for love and acceptance.

In a magical underwater kingdom, the beautiful young mermaid, Ariel, longs to leave her ocean home — and her fins — behind and live in the world above. But first, she’ll have to defy her father, King Triton, make a deal with the evil sea witch, Ursula, and convince the handsome Prince Eric that she’s the girl whose enchanting voice he’s been seeking.

Shows are:

  • Thursday, May 19 at 7 p.m.
  • Friday, May 20 at 7 p.m.
  • Saturday, May 21 at 2 p.m.

The shows will take place at the Chenery Middle School auditorium.

TICKET INFO: ADULTS: $10, STUDENTS/CHILDREN: $5

TICKETS AND INFORMATION AT bhs-pac.org/cms

‘Final’ Fuel Tank Virtual Meeting Set For May 19

By Leave a Comment

Photo: The current location of the fuel tanks at the Belmont DPW Yard.

It wasn’t suppose to be this difficult: replacing a pair of ancient underground tanks at the Public Works yard which funding had already been allocated to build. But two years after Town Meeting first breached the subject, Belmont officials will bring the future of the pair of 35-year-old 6,000 fuel tanks back to the public one final time before the issue returns to Town Meeting in a few weeks.

The meeting will be held over ZOOM and by phone on Thursday, May 19 at 7 p.m. Connecting to the meeting via ZOOM or by phone can be found here.

After a $533,000 request from the Capital Budget Committee was approved in 2020, a $500,000 supplemental appropriation championed by the Capital Budget Committee and the Select Board was narrowly defeated by the 2021 Town Meeting after three residents – which received the support of a fledging austerity organization – brought a citizen petition article to the legislative body.

Since then, the town has been conducting a detailed analysis to answer questions about the project which included a three-month trial study over the winter on the effectiveness of off-site fueling of town-owned vehicles at neighborhood service stations.

The results of the analysis will likely be incorporated in Article 19 – which is currently a placeholder – which will come before Town Meeting in the first week of June.

League Of Women Voters Holding Brown Bag Lunch To Hear Latest On Proposed Library

By Leave a Comment

Photo: A rendering of the proposed Belmont Public Library.

The Belmont League of Women Voters will be holding a virtual Brown Bag Lunch Talk titled:

Belmont Library: Where are we? How do we get a new one? with Kathy Keohane, chair of the Library Board of Trustees, and Peter Struzziero, Belmont Library Director.

The lunch will take place on Friday, May 20 from Noon to 1:30 p.m.

The meeting will be on Zoom: Meeting ID: 880 3835 5536, Passcode: LWV or you can follow along by going to this link.