Get Into The Christmas Spirit With Brass On Belmont Center Thursday, Dec. 23 @ 3PM

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Photo: Come hear Christmas carols on Belmont Center Thursday (Credit: Kreuzschnabel/Wikimedia Commons, Licence: Cc-by-sa-3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode)

If you’re looking to jump-start the holiday spirit – with so much going on around the world, who could use a shot in the arm – here’s an event that you don’t have to go too far to attend.

The Lokensgard Blechbaser Brass Ensemble, a group of talented amateur brass players, will be playing a selection of holiday music on the “Delta” at 2 Leonard St. (a block from Town Hall) on Thursday, Dec. 23, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Laura Tracey – she’s the tuba player – said the group consists of between seven to nine members (three from Belmont) who play every week in locations such as Davis Square in Somerville, Arlington Center and Spy Pond.

“Just like an hour at a time, playing some Christmas carols and we’d love to do that in Belmont,” Tracey told the Select Board on Monday. “If you’ll have us, we’d love to play on Thursday afternoon.” The board said yes.

So come down to the center on Thursday, do some last minute shopping and hear the sounds of the season.

Vaccine Clinic/Booster Shots For Students, Young Adults on Dec. 28; Covid Surge Testing Jan. 8-9

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Photo: Belmont will be providing booster shots and testing in the coming weeks for the youngest residents in town. (credit: Spencerbdavis, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0)

“Booster shots help,” said Adam Dash, chair of the Belmont Select Board at its Monday, Dec. 20 meeting. And along with Covid testing can mitigate the surge of the coronavirus’ Omicron variant.

But as Dash noted, “Getting the booster shot has been difficult” as people clamber for the chance to get their third dose of the vaccine. As for testing, home Covid kits have all but sold out in most stores while state health officials said daily testing sites have handled between 75,000 to 135,00 people for the past week with waits typically running two hours and more. The line at a free testing site in the Cambridgeside Galleria in Cambridge extended up and around the three mezzanine levels.

So here is some welcome news: Belmont will be providing booster shots and testing in the coming weeks for some of the youngest town residents.

The Health Department is holding a pediatric vaccine clinic on Tuesday, Dec. 28 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Beth El Temple Center at 2 Concord Ave. “This clinic is going to be geared primarily towards 16- and 17-year-old who are recently eligible for booster shots,” said Wesley Chin, Belmont’s health director.

  • Individuals 5-11 can sign up to receive their first or second dose of the pediatric Pfizer vaccine
  • Individuals 12+ can sign up to receive their first or second dose of the adult Pfizer vaccine, or Moderna if they are 18+
  • Individuals 16-17 can also sign up to receive a Pfizer booster shot*
  • Individuals 18+ can also sign up to receive either a Pfizer or Moderna booster shot*

Register for a vaccine appointment here: https://www.appointmentquest.com/scheduler/2180061935?schedule=belmontvaccineclinic

For the second time after a holiday, Belmont and Lexington will be holding joint Covid testing clinics for their residents.

The testing in Belmont will be held on Jan. 8 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Chenery Middle School; Lexington will hold its on Jan. 9 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Lexington public school administration building gymnasium, 146 Maple St. Residents of either town can

Call the Health Department with any questions at 617-993-2720.

MLK Community Breakfast Will Zoom To Belmont On Jan. 17

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Photo: Rahsaan Hall is the keynote speaker at the 2022 annual MLK Community Breakfast which will once again be a virtual event

Belmont’s annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Breakfast, historically intended to bring the Belmont and Boston communities together in a program of unity around Dr. King’s legacy, will once again take place via Zoom on Monday, Jan. 17, 2022 at 9 a.m.

This year’s keynote speaker, Rahsaan Hall, director of the Racial Justice Program at American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Massachusetts, has chosen this year’s theme to be “The Arc and the Pendulum: The Long Journey toward Racial Justice.”

In this role, Rahsaan helps develop the ACLU’s integrated advocacy approach to addressing issues of racial justice. Through legislative advocacy, litigation and community engagement, the program works on issues that impact communities of color and historically disenfranchised communities. Rahsaan also manages the ACLU’s What a Difference a DA makes to educate residents about the power and influence of distract attorneys.

Adam Dash, Belmont’s Select Board chair, looks forward to the annual Belmont MLK event. While he
misses the in-person breakfast where people can mingle and meet, he looks forward to the perspective
each speaker brings to the presently virtual event.

“We can’t talk about race too much” and how the speaker forces local candidates for office to confront issues. Dash recalls how “blown away” he was by the MLK breakfast where former METCO students returned to give their accounts of what a difference the METCO program had made in their lives.

The Belmont Human Rights Commission, in conjunction with Belmont Against Racism and Belmont Media Center, will be the lead sponsor and organizer. The Commission is dedicated to fighting discrimination in all forms; increasing awareness of issues regarding diversity and discrimination in our community; and responding to allegations of discrimination.

Advanced registration can be found at Eventbrite at: https://bit.ly/MLKBelmont2022 For more information about this event, please contact the Commission at belmont.hrc@gmail.com or call 617-993-2795.

Winter Arrives With The Solstice At 10:59AM, Dec. 21

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Photo: Winter is here

Winter will officially arrive to the northern hemisphere at a minute before 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 21, according to the Farmers’ Almanac.

Best known for the shortest day of sunlight during the year, the sun will rise at 7:09 a.m. and sets this afternoon at 4:16 p.m., a mere 9 hours and 5 minutes of daylight – although last light will occur at 4:47 p.m.

Still it’s more light than what the residents of Oslo as those Norwegians will have less than six hours of daylight with sunrise at 9:18 a.m. and sunset just after lunch at 3:12 p.m.

Don’t Be Left On The Curb: Sign Up For Cardboard Drop Off On Saturday, Dec. 18

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Photo: Cardboard should be flattened before driving it over to the Town Yard

The Belmont Department of Public Works cardboard drop off event – which is occurring this week – is for you to get rid of excess cardboard … and only cardboard.

There is a $5 fee for all the cardboard you can stuff in your vehicle; the drop off will occur on Saturday, Dec. 18 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the DPW Yard, 37 C St., off of Waverley Street.

But before you can participate, you have to first register here.

And there are some rules:

  • Please remain in your car
  • All cardboard should be in the trunk or rear of the car 
  • All cardboard should be flattened prior to drop off

Booster Monday At Beth El: Free Covid-19 Shots From 4 PM to 7 PM

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Photo: Getting your card filled with a booster shot

The Belmont Health Department is offering a limited number of Moderna Covid-19 booster shots to eligible residents 18 and up. Massachusetts has expanded the eligibility criteria for booster shots, and the new criteria can be found below.

Belmont’s booster dose clinic will be held on Monday Dec. 13 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Beth El Temple Center, 2 Concord Ave.

Register for a booster dose appointment here:
https://home.color.com/vaccine/register/belmont
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.

  • If you are 18+, and received the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, you can get a booster dose once two months have passed since your original dose.
  • If you are 18+, and received either the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine, you can get a booster dose once six months have passed since your second dose.

*Booster shots can be any of the approved COVID-19 vaccines, regardless of your original dose; at this clinic the Moderna vaccine will be provided.

Belmont High School’s ‘Gem’: Grand Opening Of New Theater With Bands and Boston Brass On Dec. 2 [Videos]

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Photo: Alley Lacasse, Belmont High’s Band Director, on stage at the school’s new theater and concert hall.

Alley Lacasse is snapping her fingers as she is standing at the front of the stage of the new Belmont Middle and High School theater. The Belmont High Band Director then begins slowly hand-clapping, all the while listening intently to the sound emulating from the hall.

“I’m listening to how the sound reverberates from the stage,” said Lacasse, in the midst of workers putting the initial finishing touches (there’s a few more touch-ups to come) to the town’s newest performance space.

Last week was a chance for Lacasse to get a feel of the place since, well, neither she or anyone else has had the opportunity to perform in what is the gem of the new Belmont Middle and High School: A spacious two-tier 700-seat theater that is a true concert hall with professional quality acoustics and equipped with up-to-date audio and light systems.

“I have never opened a new performance space as a performer [Lacasse is a professional flutist and chamber musician] or director so it’s going to be so special for all of us,” said Lacasse who is in her third year as

On Dec. 2 at 7 p.m., the theater will hold its grand opening concert featuring the school’s two band ensembles, the symphonic band, and the wind ensemble with special guest artists, Boston Brass. Tickets [General Admission: $15] can be purchased at the POMS website here.

The former auditorium – built in 1970 and demolished in the fall to make way for the new middle school section of the building – was far from the optimum site for holding the myriad of concerts and theatricals that were presented by a music program that has earned multiple local and national honors and awards.

“This space is going to accurately now reflect the quality of music and art in a theater that happens with the Belmont High School, performing arts department all the time. We finally have a space that matches that quality,” she said.

From a design by architects from Perkins+Will which has experience in theater and performance design and construction, the hall’s design and material used – from the wall panels to the fabric upholstered seats – was selected to enhance the listening experience. And getting the right sound begins on Dec. 1 when the bands officially arrive in their new home.

Boston Brass

“We’ll start with dress rehearsals where we’ll be doing a lot of sound checks. I’ll have people in the hall listening for me both at the orchestra level and upstairs just to see how balance is working. And it’ll be a lot of adjusting,” she said.

“But it’s kind of fun. It’s the music business. It’s a mystery until you actually do it and the audience is going to hear that for the first time.”

For Lacasse, the concert will also be an opportunity for her students to experience performing with “my personal dear friends,” the five-member Boston Brass, an ensemble with a worldwide reputation.

“They’re known for putting classical music on a concert stage but dressing it up and changing it up and kind of blending genres and giving the audience a really personal human experience. They’re high-energy and very funny. They’re some of the kindest people I know. And they most importantly, truly care about music education, and they love working with students,” Lacasse said.

While the concert will provide the highlight of this primer week, it will be the seemingly ordinary that Lacasse is anticipating.

“It’s gonna be a really magical moment the first time the ensembles steps on stage and we play the first chord or tuning note or just warm up. So it’s going to be a whole bunch of surprises. But it will be a beautiful, beautiful moment there.”

As Belmont’s ‘22 Property Tax Rate Rises By Pennies, Higher Assessments Will See Average Bill Increase

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Photo: You’ll be paying more in taxes next year on your Belmont castle.

The Belmont Board of Assessors announced an increase of a couple of pennies to the fiscal year 2022 property tax rate from last fiscal year’s charge during its annual property classification tax rate presentation before the Select Board on Monday morning, Nov. 29.

“The Board of Assessors propose a tax rate of $11.56 per $1,000 of assessed value. That’s up two cents from last year,” said Charles Laverty III, the board’s vice chair stepping in Chair Robert Reardon who due to a scheduling conflict missed making the board’s presentation for the first time in nearly three decades.

Dan Dargon, the town’s assessing administrator who made the presentation, said the town’s total assessment has reached $9.001 billion with a total tax levy of $111.7 million, which includes $12.3 million in current total debt exclusions (for everything from the Beech Street Center to the new Middle and High school) resulting in the two cent increase to $11.56. Dargon noted that without the debt exclusions, Belmont’s tax rate would be $10.29 per $1,000.

New growth in the past year was higher than anticipated at $1,034,000 vs the estimated $840,000 as the Bradford apartment complex in Cushing Square was completed. [The town’s 2.5 percent increase and new growth are both added to the prior year’s levy limit to reach the current year’s levy limit.] But Dargon said it doesn’t appear the town will benefit from new large commercial growth for at least the next two years.

While it would appear the minimal rate increase would be a little bit of good news to rate payers, due to a modest four percent increase in appraised values over all classes of real estate – multi families and condominiums saw “stronger” jumps in value – homeowners will see their annual tax bill climb starting in January as the town increased the tax levy by the allowable 2.5 percent from $96 million to $99 million.

For example, on the average home in Belmont now valued at an eye-opening $1,346,700 (up from $1,326,300 last year), property owners will be handing over an additional $262 in fiscal 2022 with the total annual real estate bill now exceeding $15,000.

Last year, the average residential bill increased $706 when the rate rose by 56 cents per $1,000.

Dargon told the Select Board around 14 to 15 percent of all homes in town are inspected annually by his department for updating their value but all properties are revalued each year.

While the Assessors vote to approve the rate, the Select Board decides on two related issues: whether to implement a singular “split” rate for commercial and residential properties and to approve a residential exemption that would reduce the rate on owner-occupied properties at the expense of non-occupied residences.

As in past years, the assessors recommended and the selectmen agreed to a single tax classification and no real estate exemptions. With barely five percent of total property inventory commercial, Dargon said Belmont does not have anywhere near the amount of commercial and industrial space (Reardon has stated in multiple presentations that commercial property must at a minimum be at 30 percent to make a difference for residential rate payers) to creating separate tax rates for residential and commercial properties.

When asked by resident and Town Meeting Member (Pct. 3) Joseph Bernard asked if there was empirical evidence that municipalities which set a higher commercial tax rate reduced development or commercial activity, Dargon discussed his own experience as chief assessor for Framingham saying he witnessed the suppression of commercial activity as the then town had a high rate for business properties.

“In most lease agreements, taxes are passed on to the tenants. In the case where I was, they would often go to Natick which has a single rate,” he said.

As for residential exemptions, the administrative costs to run such a program would be prohibitive for a revenue neutral imitative. And as with the split rate, the majority of taxpayers would see little in reductions or increases in their tax bill, according to Dargon.

Because many homes in Belmont fall around the average price, a 10 percent exemption “doesn’t really benefit many people,” Dargon said. Adam Dash, the Select Board chair, noted that residential exemptions are popular in more densely populated urban municipalities such as Boston, Somerville and Cambridge with a very high percentage of absentee landlords.

Belmont’s Shea To Toe The Start Line At National X-C Championship in San Diego

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Photo: Ellie Shea

Belmont High sophomore Ellie Shea will be at the start of the Eastbay Cross Country Championships National Finals in less than two weeks after finishing 6th in the Northeast Regionals this past Saturday, Nov. 27.

Racing over 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) in historic Van Cortland Park in the north Bronx, Shea clocked in at 17 minutes and 55.3 seconds for her top-ten performance and an automatic entry to the finals to be held on Saturday, Dec. 11 at Balboa Park’s Morley Field in San Diego, Calif.

Senior Angelina Perez from Lakeland Regional High School in New Jersey claimed the Northeast title in 17:21.5.

The Northeast finals comes four and a half months after Shea shattered the freshman 5K track record in the National High School Track Championships in Eugene, Ore. while winning the race. Showing she was primed for Saturday’s race, in October Shea placed second in the BAA Mayor’s Cup Cross Country championship in 17:12 against former collegians and professional runners including current 10,000 meter national record holder and two time Olympian Molly Huddle.

Belmont High’s only other participant in the National Finals – then known as the Footlocker Cross Country Nationals – was Victor Gras who finished 9th (earning All-American status) in 2003 after being the runner up in the Northeast race. As a junior in 2002, Gras finished 28th in the finals.

Post-Thanksgiving Covid Testing in Belmont/Lexington on Dec. 4-5: Register Now

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Photo: Covid testing will be held in Belmont and Lexington this week

In an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19, Belmont is partnering with Lexington to offer free COVID-19 PCR testing following Thanksgiving. There will be two upcoming testing events, and both are open to residents of Belmont and Lexington, regardless of the testing location.

Testing for the virus remains one of the most important tools we have to slow and stop the spread of COVID-19. Celebrate safely with your loved ones this holiday season and take advantage of this free testing service for residents.

You must have an appointment to be tested. Proof of residency is required. Testing is available for anyone who has reached their first birthday.

The dates and locations are:

  • Saturday, Dec. 4 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
    Chenery Middle School, 95 Washington St., Belmont (indoor testing)
    Limited walk-ins may be accepted 9 a.m. – 11 a.m., appointments strongly recommended.
  • Sunday, Dec. 5 from noon to 5 p.m.
    173 Bedford St., Lexington (drive-through testing—remain in your car)
    No walk-ins will be accepted at the Lexington event.

Register for a COVID-19 test on either Dec. 4 or Dec. 5 here:
Registration Link

PhysicianOne Urgent Care will be providing the testing.  Please note: You will need to set up an account on their website through the highlighted link below to register for a COVID-19 test, and to view your test results.

Further Info and Tips:

PhysicianOne Urgent Care uses the Project Beacon online platform for account registration and test scheduling. If you have any issues with registration or scheduling, please contact Project Beacon by email at help@beacontesting.com, or call 617-741-7310, Mon.-Fri. from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.