Belmont Street Undergoes Restoration, July 6-10

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Photo: Map of Belmont Street to be restored next week

Approximately third-quarters of a mile of Belmont Street will be under construction beginning Monday, July 6 to restore the roadway which was dug up late last year.

Bannon Paving of Hyde Park will be grinding and overlaying this large second on Belmont Street from the Watertown line on Lexington Street to Common Street for the entire week from July 6 to July 10.

The work will repair the street impacted by the installation of new PVC gas-main installed by National Grid/Feeney Brothers late last construction season to connect the new Toll Brothers development in Cushing Square.

Belmont Farmers Market, July 2: Load Up For The Fourth

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Photo: Belmont Farmers Market

It is another great Market Day – sunny and toasty – in Belmont as the Farmers’ Market is open in the Claflin Street parking lot in the rear of Belmont Center.

The market is open from 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, changes have been made to shopping run the market include social distancing, preordering when possible, masks and hand washing. We have a one-way path through a larger Market area. We have eliminated social events to reduce crowding. Read our Covid-19 safety rules for you, for us, and for the vendors.

Read all of our pandemic safety rules
Read all of our pandemic safety rules
BFM-CovidMap.png

Food assistance We match government benefits to help all families take home great, local food: SNAP (Food Stamps), P-EBT (for school-aged children during the pandemic), FMNP (for moms & babies, and for seniors). Most of our produce vendors accept HIP, which adds free produce for SNAP recipients.

This week’s vendors include:

Produce
• C&M Farm
• Dick’s Market Garden

• Hutchins Farm
• Neighbor’s Acre microgreens
• Joyberry Farm mushrooms

Meat, fish & dairy
• Lilac Hedge Farm
• Hooked Fish Shop w/Red’s Best fish & Boston Smoked Fish

Bread, pastry & sweets
• Mariposa Bakery pastries & bread.

Prepared foods
• Tex Mex Eats tamales.

And more
• A Seasoned Chef Spice Blends
• House Bear Brewing
• Flores de Cafe

Tuesday’s Belmont Annual Election Will Be A 10 And 2 Event

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Photo: Belmont Town Election will take place Tuesday, June 23.

The usual combination of heavy sweaters, boots and gloves will be traded in for summer outfits, sandals and shorts as Belmont’s annual town election was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic from its traditional early April date to the first two days of summer.

The Town Election will be held Tuesday, June 23 with new special hours for voting. Poll hours are limited to 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Belmont’s eight voting precincts. Only voters will live in Precinct 2 will vote at Town Hall. 

“Voting in person will be different with social distancing protocols and other safety measures in place to protect Belmont’s election workers and voters,” said Town Clerk Ellen O’Brien Cushman. 

“Ideally most people who want to vote in the local election will do so by mail to limit exposure. Voters choosing absentee voting must submit a written signed request to receive ballots by mail,” said Cushman.

This year with expanded voting, approximately 2,000 Belmont voters have received Absentee and Early Voting ballots. All ballots must be received by the Town Clerk by 2 p.m., the close of polls on June 23. To ensure your ballot gets counted, we ask you to deposit your voted ballot in our Town Clerk dropbox, located at the base of the steps to Town Hall at the parking lot level. 

For those who have not yet filed an application to receive an Absentee or Early Voting ballot, time is running out to apply for and receive a ballot. Though the legal deadline to submit an application is Monday, June 22 at noon, per Mass General Laws, the likelihood that a ballot will reach the voter by US Mail on June 23 is slim. 

One-Time Cardboard Curbside Pickup Starts June 22 With ‘Blue Monday’

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Photo: Waste Management is putting a cardboard only truck on the road for eight weeks.

One of the consequences of the COVID-19 lockdown has been a tsunami of corrugated board spilling out of every nook and cranny of many Belmont homes.

While families are living on deliveries from Amazon, UPS and Federal Express, the pandemic has forced the cancellation of the several town-sponsored “cardboard events” as it has discouraged the gathering of large groups.

“The last three months, I would say with 100 percent certainty the number one phone call that we’ve had at DPW is what do I do with all my cardboard,” Jay Marcotte, director of Department of Public Works told the Belmont Select Board Monday, June 15, as the pandemic has amplified the town’s cardboard ‘situation” (“It’s not an emergency,” said Marcotte.)

Now, the town has come up with a solution to the growing menace of cardboard overload.

Rather than residents bringing the cardboard to the town, the town is coming for the cardboard. Starting next week on Blue (carts) Monday (the resident’s recycling day) June 22, residents will get a one time only “get out of jail” cardboard card as the town’s hauler Waste Management will put a truck on the road dedicated solely for cardboard pickup.

And best yet, there’s not limit of cardboard the truck will carry away. If you can pile it, flattened and neatly stacked, on the curbside, they’ll take it.

Any questions? Contact DPW at 617-993-2680.

Kindness Rocks! Beech Street Center/Belmont Helps Join To Brighten The Town

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Photo: Say it with kindness.

Belmont Helps in partnership with the Beech Street Center would like to invite participants of all ages to a “Brighten Belmont” initiative aimed to paint the town with kindness.

The Beech Street Center at 266 Beech St. has rocks available for pickup that you and your family to decorate your own thoughtful messages on. (See examples in the photos.) Afterwards, take pictures of your finished rocks and post them on social media with the hashtags #brightenbelmont and #belmonthelps.

Call Dana Leavitt at 617-993-2977 or e-mail Dleavitt@belmont-ma.gov so she can put the rocks outside the Beech Street Center for you to pick up.

“We can’t wait to see messages of kindness all around town!” said Dana Leavitt, director of the Beech Street Center.

Warrant Briefing Wednesday; Know What’s Coming At Town Meeting

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Photo: The warrant briefing provides a heads up for Town Meeting members on articles and amendments.

Town Meeting members and the public are invited on Wednesday, June 10 at 7 p.m. to attend the 2020 ‘Zoom’ Warrant Briefing for next week’s 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 articles and amendments prior to the annual legislative gathering on Tuesday, June 16.

Laurie Slap, chair of the Warrant Committee, will preside.

To join the Zoom Meeting, head to:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89869234568

Meeting ID: 898 6923 4568

One tap mobile +19292056099, 89869234568# US (New York)

Meeting ID: 898 6923 4568

FYI: Town Clerk Provides Voting Updated For Annual Town Election June 23

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Photo: “I voted” sticker

By: Ellen Cushman, Belmont Town Clerk

Do you usually like to vote in person on Election Day, and vote early in the morning, in the afternoon or early evening? For the June 23 annual Town Election you could miss out. 

In-person voting at the precincts on Election Day will be limited from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for the safety of our election workers and voters. 

This is a different election and different behavior will keep us all safe and guarantee your vote gets counted on Election Day. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has opened Absentee Voting to all registered voters, no excuse necessary. The Belmont Town Clerk encourages all voters of Belmont to consider voting early by mail, instead of going to the polls on Election Day. Every voted absentee ballot received by the close of polls will be counted on Election Day.  

Apply NOW for Your Absentee Ballot: Time is Running Out

Absentee Ballots can only be mailed to those voters who request them in writing, though every voter is eligible during the pandemic. The written request must include the voter’s signature or that of an immediate family member or person living with the voter.  

There are two ways to accomplish this, either complete and submit an application or simply write a letter that contains the voter’s name, voting address, signature, the mailing address for the ballot and contact information for the voter. Voters may choose to request Absentee Ballots be mailed to them just for the Annual Town Election or for the remainder of 2020.

If for all year, the voter must also include which party ballot to send for the Sept. 1 Massachusetts State Primary: Democratic, Green-Rainbow, Libertarian, or Republican. 

Application forms are available on the Town Clerk pages on the Town of Belmont website: https://www.belmont-ma.gov/town-clerk   and select the link on the left of page

Ways to Submit A Request For An Absentee or Early Voting Ballot by Mail

  • Fastest methods are to email the signed Absentee Ballot request to mpiccione@belmont-ma.gov    (by a clear scan, pdf, or photo), or fax to 617-993-2601,  or place it in the Town Clerk drop box at Town Hall (located directly outside the doors facing the parking lot).  
  • If you must, mail it to Town Clerk, 455 Concord Avenue, Belmont, MA 02478 but realize there may be a delay in the Post Office getting it to us. Ballots are mailed out in the order requests are received and  voters are urged to file requests as soon as possible. 
  • The legal deadline to file a request for an Absentee or Early Voting by Mail Ballot is Noon, Monday, June 22, but realistically voters should allow plenty of extra time for mail delivery in both directions.  Ballots may be returned by mail or placed in the Town Clerk Drop Box, as described above.

Absentee Ballots Already Received Are Valid for June 23

If you’ve already requested and received an Absentee Ballot for the election, bearing the original April 7 date, please vote that ballot and mail it in.  New ballots will not be printed for the June 23 date; the special legislation allows the use of ballots that were already printed for the original election date.  

Other Voting and Election Information

For more information about voting or to see the Annual Election Ballot, visit the Belmont Town Clerk’s pages on the Town website at https://www.belmont-ma.gov/town-clerk and select a topic in the green Elections links on the left of the page. Questions should be sent by email to townclerk@belmont-ma.gov   or by phone 617-993-2603 during the pandemic.

Register to Vote by June 12 for the Town Election

Only Belmont residents who are registered to vote by June 12 will be eligible to vote in this year’s June 23 Annual Town Election.  Once you’re registered to vote and remain at the same address, there is no need to register again.

To register to vote, or change your voting address, party affiliation or name, to find out whether and where you are already registered, or where you vote, visit:    www.RegisterToVoteMA.com 

A Running Fundraiser To Aid The Fight For Racial Equality

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Photo: Logo for the fundraiser.

For James Fitzpatrick, a captain on the Belmont High School track team, the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbreys, and Breonna Taylor have made it abundantly clear things need to change in our country.  

To help aid in this movement, the Belmont High School Track Team will attempt to run 500 miles in one week in order to raise funds for Black Lives Matter Boston. The challenge will begin this week.

The site for the fundraiser is here.

“I came up with the idea to create a fundraiser after hearing about all of the terrible instances of white supremacy and police brutality towards African-Americans in recent weeks,” said Fitzgerald.

“I think that as a White American right now, it is super important to be an ally for the Black community so I read a lot of articles about ways in which White people can help in this fight,” he said.

One of the most impactful is through donating to organizations that are actively working to fight for equality in America and Black Lives Matter Boston is just one of these organizations.  

“They have three main principles: working to end police brutality against African-Americans, empowering young Black people so that they can grow up to make change, and also creating change from inside the Black community.  They are also a local group so I felt like raising money for them would be directly impactful,” Fitzgerald said.

“I am hopeful that we see a changed America in the future,” he said.

Please consider donating and helping us to help others in the best way we can right now.

Virtual Candlelight Vigil On Thursday, June 4 In Response To George Floyd’s Death

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Photo: The poster of Thursday’s remote vigil

In response to the murder of George Floyd and the resulting nationwide unrest, Belmont Against Racism, the Belmont Religious Council, and the Belmont Human Rights Commission are sponsoring a virtual candlelight vigil on Thursday, June 4 at 7 p.m. to be aired on Belmont Media.

Members of the clergy, Belmont Police Chief James MacIsaac, State Rep. Dave Rogers, State Sen. Will Brownsberger and others will be giving short words of comfort/comments which will be followed by asking listeners to light a candle or flashlight on their front porches. 

Belmont High Rolling Rally’s Route Set For Saturday

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Photo: Come out on Saturday to cheer for students like this one.

Come out on Saturday to celebrate the Belmont High Class of 2020 as they roll along the streets of Belmont.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused the cancellation of all year-end activities and events for the Belmont High School Class of 2020. As a way to celebrate our seniors, senior parents with the support of town officials have organized a rolling rally through Belmont on Saturday, June 6. 

The rally will begin at noon at the Boston Massachusetts Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Belmont Hill and will proceed along the following route:

Start: Boston Temple, 100 Hinckley Ave.

Right to Park Avenue

Right to Prospect Street

Right to Clifton Street

Left to Pleasant Street

Right to Brighton Street

Right to Cross Street

Right to Channing Road

Left to Leonard Street, under the commuter rail bridge

Right to Common Street

Left to School Street

Right to Washington Street

Left to Common Street

Right to Trapelo Road

Left to White Street

Left to Beech Street

Right to Waverley Street

Straight onto School Street

Left to Goden Street

Right to Concord Avenue

Left to Underwood Road

Right to Hittinger Street and the high school parking lot.

Make some noise, give them a wave and shout out some words of encouragement. Please also be mindful of the current social distancing requirements.