Belmont Under Winter Storm Warning, Heavy Snow During AM Commute

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Photo: Snow in the Friday forecast.

Here is the latest forecast of the pending snow event heading for Belmont: 

At 11:10 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 4, the National Weather Service issued a Winter Storm Warning that will remain in effect until 3 p.m. on Friday.

Beginning as rain before turning to snow between 5 a.m and 7 a.m., Belmont and Greater Boston will be hit with up to four to eight inches of wet snow, the height of the storm will occur during the Friday morning commute with up to two inches of snow falling in an hour before tapering off around 2 p.m.

Along with the snow, north winds will gust to 30 to 35 mph on Friday, especially along and east of I-95/128 corridor.

Expect the morning commute to be slow and difficult due to snow-covered roads and poor visibility. 

As of 11 p.m., Belmont schools remain open and the town has not issued a snow emergency. 

Belmont’s SNOW EMERGENCY HOTLINE: 617-993-2698.

Belmont Light’s Outage Line: 617-993-2800.

See winter storm information from the Department of Public Works: Winter Weather Brochure

Snow Removal Bylaw:

Parade Feb. 4 for ‘Belmont Becca’ Pizzi, World Marathon Challenge Champ

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Photo: Becca Pizzi at the finish of the final race with men’s champ Dan Cartica.

In a display of strength and guts, a young single mom from Belmont who holds down two jobs and trains with purpose won one of the most challenging running events imaginable in a time that will be difficult for future runners to match.

Becca Pizzi, the life-long Belmontonian, conquered the second World Marathon Challenge in which runners race seven marathons in consecutive days on the seven continents, becoming the Women’s Champion in the early morning of Saturday, Jan. 30  in Sydney, Australia. She is the first American woman to both finish and win the race.

To celebrate Pizzi’s accomplishment and victory, a parade will be held in her honor in Belmont Center on Thursday, Feb. 4 at 3:30 p.m., sponsored by Belmont Savings Bank.

At today’s final leg on the Manly Beach course, Pizzi once again won the women’s race going away, winning in 4:08.51, only the second time in seven races that she failed to break four hours. In the seven races, Pizzi average less than four hours for each race, an amazing accomplishment as only two men races faster over the seven days. 

Pizzi joins US Marine Dan Cartica who won the men’s race averaging just more than three and a half hours per marathon. 

BREAKING: State Approves School District’s Plan to Renovate Belmont High School

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Photo: The MSBA voting to invite Belmont to begin the process to renovate Belmont High School.

A decade of applications and waiting ended at 10:44 a.m. Wednesday morning, Jan. 27 in a crowded board room at 40 Broad St. in Boston as the Massachusetts State Building Authority voted to invite the Belmont School District to begin the process that Belmont officials anticipate will result in the complete renovation of Belmont High School and the construct of a new science wing at the Concord Avenue campus.

Massachusetts Treasurer Deb Goldberg, who heads the MSBA, made the announcement before nearly 100 school administrators and staff, politicians and local elected officials, including Belmont Superintendent John Phelan, Belmont High Principal Dan Richards and Belmont School Committee Chair Laurie Slap. 

“This is great news for the town of Belmont,” said Slap after the vote. 

See a video of the Belmont delegation responding to the vote: (from left: Superintendent John Phelan, School Committee Chair Laurie Slap and Belmont High Principal Dan Richards. 

Belmont High was the only high school to be selected, joining seven elementary schools from Harvard, Lexington. Ludlow, Manchester Essex, Marlborough, Tisbury and Triton Regional districts to make the final cut.

A total of 26 building projects were vying for approval this year, including Arlington High School and the Maria Hastings Elementary School in Lexington. 

With the MSBA vote, the clock begins running as the district enters a 270-day “eligibility period” in which the district is required to complete preliminary steps including forming a school building committee, hiring a building manager and conducting a feasibility study which establishes a process for the district to be reimbursed for eligible expenses. This is the first of eight “modules” the district and town will need to complete to receive the state grant. 

(The process of creating a building committee is already underway as the special town meeting on Feb. 8 will include a vote to create a high school building committee.)

“During those 270 days, we’ll work all that information through and then meet with the community,” said Phelan.

For the Belmont delegation, the next few weeks will be educating themselves on what the state expects from the district.

“That’s what we going to find out in the next meeting, it’s the details,” said Richards.

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The project price tag, based on an updated 2008 estimation, was calculated at $79.6 million. With eight years of inflation added to the 2008 figure, the total cost is now closer to $100 million.

With a third of the eligible costs reimbursed by the MSBA, Belmont taxpayers will be responsible for $66 to $70 million of the total cost.

“This [project] has been on everyone’s minds for years and years,” said Slap. “Everyone understands the need for a renovated school so our job is to make sure that we plan this as carefully and thoughtfully as we can. We are always very respectful of taxpayer’s dollars but this is a critical project that has to be done.” 

“We are going to have lots of time to educate the community and lots of community involvement. Stay tuned, there is lots to come,” said Slap. 

Under the 2008 revision of the 2004 Belmont High School master plan:
  • Construction at the school will take place in four phases over four years so students will remain on the existing campus,
  • All construction will be within the 257,000 sq.-ft. footprint of the current building, and
  • A 34,000 sq.-ft. Science wing will be built in the parking lot adjacent the Wenner Field House and the Higginbottom Pool.

The renovation of the five-decade-old school building is critical as it is currently “structurally unsound” and “jeopardize the health and safety of the school children,” according to Belmont’s 2014 SOI submitted to the MSBA.

The new science center will add 13.5 percent more classroom and lab space to the school, with the hope of “eliminat[ing] the existing severe overcrowding” at the school. The district is predicting an additional 254 students at the high school by fiscal 2024.

BREAKING: MBTA Rejects New Belmont Commuter Rail Station, But Waverley’s Future Still Up in the Air

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Photo: The future of the Waverley Station remains up in the air. 

The MBTA has rejected plans to construct a modern commuter rail station along South Pleasant Street to replace the century-old stop in Waverley Square, State Sen. Will Brownsberger told the Belmontonian this afternoon, Friday, Jan. 22. 

“They heard the concerns from commuters and residents and have abandoned the idea,” said Brownsberger.

In a subsequent note on his web page, Brownsberger said the “MBTA was able to report today that they have concluded categorically that they will not pursue a new station located between Waverley and Belmont Center.” 

The decision comes after residents and town officials at a Nov. 16 public meeting with MBTA officials  voice considerable opposition to the plan initially presented to Belmont in September to construct a $20 million state near the North America Central School Bus depot at 1000 Pleasant St., a few hundred feet from Star Market.

The MBTA advanced the new station plan as a solution to a decision by the state’s Architectural Access Board that earlier ordered the transportation authority to improve access to the Waverley Square commuter rail station in the near future which would allow handicap citizens to take public transportation.

But today’s decision does not assure the future operation of a Waverley Square station, which is currently in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act access requirements.

With the estimated cost of a Waverley Station upgrade – which lies several dozen feet below the street grade and would require – at $35 million, and with less than 120 passengers using the station on weekdays, closing the station remains a possibility.

However, said Brownsberger, “they are still working on defining the options for Waverley station itself given the requirements of the AAB.”

“The MBTA is going over its capital budget and we will know within a month,” said Brownsberger. 

“The MBTA has been devoting considerable attention to internal conversations about how to resolve the questions created by the AAB’s ruling related to Waverley,” said Brownsberger on his web page.

Waltham Hotel Owner Proposing Boutique Inn at Pleasant and Brighton

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Photo: A rendering of the proposed Belmont Inn Suites at the corner of Pleasant and Brighton streets.

A Waltham entrepreneur has pulled permits with the Office of Community Development to renovate the former Mini-Mart Market at the corner of Pleasant and Brighton streets into a “luxury boutique hotel” similar to ones he both ran and is proposing in Waltham.

Mike Colomba is seeking to create a two-story “The Belmont Inn Suites” at 334 Pleasant St. consisting of 18 guest rooms, a cafe for guests, a fitness room, a business center and management offices on the 14,400 sq.-ft. site, according to documents at Town Hall.

Colomba is scheduled to come before the Zoning Board of Appeals on Tuesday, Feb. 2 to present the proposal. If the ZBA approves four special permits – on various setbacks and height variances – the hotel will be the first in Belmont in decades.

This month, the ZBA narrowly denied special permits to transform the abandoned service station across Brighton Street into a Dunkin’ Donuts after hearing from neighbors who complained about possible increase traffic and noise issues.

The project will not be new construction but a “complete exterior renovation” to create a building that is “a veritable gem” in what Colomba calls an “up and coming commercial area” in Belmont.

The hotel will have 19 parking spaces and “lush” landscaping.

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The view from Pleasant Street of the proposed Belmont Inn Suites.

Brighton-based Rojas Design, Inc. created the designs. The architectural and landscape firm is owned by former Belmont Selectman Andy Rojas.

Colomba, who owns the restaurant Brelundi on Felton Street in Waltham and recently sold the Crescent Suite Hotel in the same town. He is currently proposing to build a 45-room hotel on the 200 block of Moody Street in Waltham.

A Youtube presentation by Waltham News Watch with Colomba describing Crescent Suite Hotel is below:

Colomba could not speak when reached on Tuesday, Jan. 19 but will be giving interviews on the concept later in the week.

In his permit documentation, Colomba said: “[T]he transformation (of the site) will improve the property values for the entire neighborhood.” His past hotel projects generated room, meals and sales taxes for the hosting community while noting that a lodging project “will not overload school and generates less traffic” than other uses at the location.

“My hotels are quiet and respectful” of the surrounding neighborhoods, said Colomba.

On Sunday, Pizzi Starts Her Adventure of a Lifetime … All In One Week

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Photo: Becca Pizzi with Belmont Saving’s CEO Bob Mahoney.

Just reading about Becca Pizzi’s typical day for the past year is exhausting.

The 35-year-old lifelong Belmont resident gets up before the sun comes up to run more miles in one morning than most people do in a week, gets her daughter ready for school, manages a child-care business, then heads over to run Moozy’s Ice Cream shop on Trapelo Road, be back for her daughter, goes back to complete work, before heading off for a quick hour of CrossFit or some other exhausting hardcore exercise program. Then back home for some down time with her daughter before popping off to bed.

It would not stretch one’s imagination to know the 1996 Belmont High grad is seen at the starting line of the Boston Marathon (3 hours, 25 minute PR) and other road races, running in the top ten percent of not just the women’s field but among men in the races.

But the challenge facing her in the next week is one that is more daunting than any other athletic accomplishment on her resume. It begins today, Sunday, Jan. 17 with a long-distance flight to Chile where Pizzi joins 11 men and three women traveling 32,000 miles in 70 hours and running 183 miles in a week participating in the second World Marathon Challenge.

Pizzi is attempting to be the first American woman to complete the around-the-world course. “This by far the toughest test I’ve ever put myself through,” said Pizzi at a public send-off at the Belmont Savings Bank’s headquarters in Belmont Center.

“This by far the toughest test I’ve ever put myself through,” said Pizzi at a public send-off at the Belmont Savings Bank’s headquarters in Belmont Center on Thursday, Jan. 14.

“But I’m looking forward to this test of endurance and strength and representing [Belmont],” she said

At the celebration which included ice cream (from Moozy’s, of course) and autograph posters of Pizzi, who spoke to half a dozen media outlets and a steady stream of admirers and family who came to wish her well. 

“It was just seemed like an amazing confluence of events,” said Robert Mahoney, CEO and president of Belmont Savings Bank. “We have a customer who is a mom and a neighbor who is going to run for a while, for seven days. Oh, and did I mention the seven continents and run 26 miles each day.”

“And that struck me as an extraordinary event that we should somehow celebrate and make it an even better event,” said Mahoney, presenting Pizzi a $1,000 check made out to the Belmont Food Pantry, the local anti-hunger non-profit Pizzi asked to receive the funds.

When Pizzi returns, the bank will sponsor a welcome home celebration and a student/parent lecture by Pizzi on the importance of goals and endurance. 

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On Jan. 23, 2016, Pizzi will be in Union Glacier, Antarctica, to run the first of seven marathons on consecutive days. After running with spikes on her shoes in zero degree temperatures (that’s if it’s a “nice day” said Pizzi), she’ll be on her way to:

  • Punta Arenas, Chile;
  • Miami;
  • Madrid;
  • Marrakech, Morocco;
  • Dubai, United Arab Emirates; and finally
  • Sydney.

“The best way to describe it as ‘eat, sleep, run, fly, repeat’,” she said.

You can follow Pizzi’s trek around the world by going to the Belmont Savings Bank web page.

Daughter of Susan and Fred Pizzi (the long-time owner of Lawndale Realty that recently merged with Century 21) heard of the challenge just over a year ago before the inaugural race took place. 

“The moment I heard about it, I knew I wanted to do this, I had to do this,” said Pizzi. 

The first concern was finding sponsors to foot the $39,000 entry fee that includes all air flights, lodging, supplies and a support staff to help the runners. Her three major sponsors are the Lyon-Waush Auto Group, Dr. Cool and Ultima Replenisher while LuluLemon and Swift Socks are apparel suppliers. 

But this is no cake walk even for someone as physically strong as Pizzi. Even the event’s website warned participants of “marathon fatigue, jet lag, and sleep deprivation as the event progress.” In addition, there will be changeable environments from brutally cold in Antarctica to the desert heat of Dubai. 

Pizzi has been putting herself through the extended training regiment “because I know I’m going to be running on tired legs and I just have to get used to it.” She is aiming to finish each marathon in approximately 3 hours and 50 minutes.

Pizzi said she’ll have the company of the three women competitors, who all happen to be mothers. The other women have an advantage in the event’s first race as each has participated and two have won marathons held on Antarctica or the North Pole.

The worst part? Being away from her daughter, who she will Skype each day. 

So why put yourself through all this? 

“I’m doing this to inspire the world that you can do anything that you put your mind to,” she said.

Smokey Flue Fire in Former Fire Station Halts Traffic Through Center [VIDEO]

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Photo: Fire at il Casale in Belmont Center.

A smokey fire in an exhaust flue sent Belmont and Arlington fire departments to the building housing upscale il Casale restaurant, clogging Belmont Center with fire equipment during Thursday evening rush hour, Jan. 7. 

Firefighters were seen on the building’s roof searching for flames inbetween walls and the ceiling. 

According to il Casale’s General Manager Joanne Hastings, the fire was discovered by staff in one of the exhaust hoods in the restaurant’s kitchen at 4:10 p.m. There were no customers in the restaurant located at 50 Leonard St.

None of the dozen or so employees were injured, many who relocated to Starbucks across the street. 

“There will have to be some repair work, obviously, more to repair the water damage. So we will be closed for a couple of days,” said Hastings, who has been with the eatery for the past seven months. 

The structure, which consists of two buildings and once was the town’s main fire station built in the 19th century, is owned by Brian Burke. Above the restaurant, which opened in 2009, is the popular Every Body Pilates studio.

“Its a little ironic that it happened in the original fire station,” said one witness. 

The second building in the rear of the restaurant consists of ten individual offices, including two executive offices. 

Traffic was diverted from Leonard Street for more than two hours.

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Cushing Village Sets Latest Deadline While Similar Watertown Project Set to Open

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Photo: Similiar in many ways to Cushing The Residence Inn by Marriott nearing completion in Watertown.

The developer of the long-troubled Cushing Village project – the 164,000 sq.-ft. three-building development approved in July 2013 – told the Planning Board Tuesday night, Jan. 5 that he is really, really close to getting all his ducks lined up to begin construction on the $63 million project.

Next month.

Hopefully.

Now 30 months behind the initial timeline provided by Chris Starr, head of the development team Smith Legacy Partners, the latest “update” – requested by the Planning Board after Starr’s team missed a “drop dead milestone” of Dec. 18 to purchase the town’s municipal parking lot for $850,000 to begin construction of the first of the three buildings – has Starr asking the town to “stand still” until the board’s next scheduled meeting on Feb. 2 when his team “hopes to inform the board of a loan closing at that meeting.”

In a letter to the board – which was received a few hours before Monday night’s meeting, Jan. 5 – Starr painted yet another rosy picture of the development’s status, similar in tone and optimism made to the town in August 2013, September 2014, and in May, August and December of last year.

Reading the correspondence’s highlights, Board Chair Liz Allison said that while the team didn’t come close to meeting its earlier promises for Dec. 18, “the Cushing Village Development team has achieved significant lender-based milestones and is committed to proceed(ing) expeditiously with a loan closing in the month of January.”

Starr attempted to reassure the board that the project’s major lenders – including lead bank Wells Fargo – are still involved in closing the deal for the municipal lot, telling the board member they can contact the banks to validate his effort to purchase the lot.

Starr also noted that real estate veteran Rod Loring, who has three decades of experience in the residential and commercial sides, has been added to the day-to-day leadership team to work closely with Starr.

It is unknown if this move was an internal change or one suggested by the lenders and other potential partners.

Starr concluded by revealing that the biggest impediment to the closing, a lease modification with a “national” company to join the project, was difficult to do during the holidays.

While Starr would not say whether the firm was a retail operation or a parking lot management firm, he expects to sign up the company “shortly.”

Starr concluded by stating how he wants to work closely with the board as he “remains committed to Cushing Village. The development team is … confident that significant progress will be made over the next month.” He also is requesting an “internal” working group be established with the board – whose meetings will not be advertised to the public – and a weekly “call” to update the town of any progress to these new goals.

While saying the lost Dec. 18 deadline was a “disappointment,” Allison said attempting to close a land deal during the holiday season was, in hindsight, difficult to accomplish.

Yet members were not in such a forgiving mood. While encouraged to hear the developer wants to increase communications with the board and the staff in the Office of Community Development, “action will speak louder than words,” said Raffi Manjikian.

“I’m disappointed that it took until … we arrived at this meeting to see this letter,” said Barbara Fiacco.

“They took a significant amount of time and made a number of promises when they were here asking for an extension. I found that a little frustrating. The residents deserve more transparency,” she said.

The board’s irritation with the continuous delays in the Belmont project since one needs only to look to neighboring Watertown to witness a development that is fast on its way of cutting the opening-day ribbon.

The Residence Inn by Marriott on Arsenal Street across from the Arsenal Mall is similar in design and function to Cushing Village. The six-story extended-stay hotel has 150 rooms with kitchen area and work space, 115 underground parking spaces and first-floor retail space.

The significant difference with Cushing Village is that the Residence Inn is nearing completion. Despite receiving the OK from Watertown to commence development in late 2014, the project – developed by the experienced team at Boylston Properties – is expected to open to the public in the late spring/summer, generating tax revenue and hotel fees to Watertown.

State Places $100 Million Belmont High Renovation in Final Funding Review

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Photo: Belmont High School

Ten consecutive times the state agency created to assist Massachusetts communities in financing new school projects rejected the Belmont School District’s request to renovate the increasingly threadbare high school building on Concord Avenue.

That dubious streak may finally come to an end in 2016 as the Massachusetts School Building Authority selected the nearly $100 million renovation of the 45-year-old Belmont High School and the construction of a new science wing as one of 26 projects across the state the authority has chosen for a final funding review.

“This is great news for the town of Belmont as it represents a unique opportunity for our community as we have submitted an application for this project annually for over ten years,” said Belmont District Superintendent John Phelan. 

This year, nearly 100 Statement of Interests from nearly the same number of school districts were submitted to the MSBA, Authority spokesperson Matt Donovan told the Belmontonian two weeks ago. 

The Authority will make its decision on which projects it will approve for eventually financing at its monthly meeting on Jan. 27, 2016. Last year, the MSBA selected 16 projects from a group of 28. 

If picked, Belmont will enter a 270-day “eligibility period” in which the district and town will shape the building plan to meet state requirements.
 
Joining Belmont in the final group include neighboring Arlington which is seeking to renovate its 101-year-old high school, and Framingham’s Fuller Middle School. (Arlington has been requesting funding for only two years)

While being passed over by the MSBA for a decade, it did not come as a complete surprise that Belmont’s “time” for a final review was close at hand. In October 2014, a team of architects and engineers associated with the School Building Authority conducted a “senior study” of the 45-year-old brick and concrete structure, asking a lot of questions of school and town officials while poking around the building. 

Proposed projects that receive a “senior study” are seen as having a high level of being recommended to “move forward with an invitation” of being in the final group. 

If current trends continue, Belmont should be reimbursed by the MSBA for approximately a third of the total construction costs. 

The renovation price tag based on an updated 2008 estimation of the 2004 masterplan which would include using a single general contractor over four years was $79.6 million. With eight years of inflation added to the 2008 figure, the total cost is now close to $100 million.

With a third coming from the MSBA, the total cost to Belmont taxpayers is likely to be in the $66 to $70 million range.

A MSBA-financed project similar to Belmont is taking place in Winchester where a new high school that includes three new buildings is currently one-third finished. The $131.9 million project received 34 percent state reimbursement, requiring Winchester to pass a $90 million debt exclusion. 

Under the 2004 Belmont High School master plan revised in 2008:
  • Construction at the school will take place in four phases over four years so students will remain on the existing campus,
  • All construction will be held within the current 257,000 sq.-ft. footprint of the current building, and 
  • A 34,000 sq.ft. modern science wing will be built in the proximity of the parking lot adjacent the Wenner Field House and the Higginbottom Pool.

The renovation of the five-decade-old school building is critical as it is currently “structurally unsound” and “jeopardize the health and safety of the school children,” according to Belmont’s 2014 SOI submitted to the MSBA.

With the building of a science center, which will add 13.5 percent more classroom and lab space to the school, “it will eliminate the existing severe overcrowding” at the school. The district is also predicting an additional 254 students at the high school by fiscal 2024. 

The SOI notes that Belmont High School is in danger of losing its regional accreditation due to the “negative impact on students … to achieve a 21st Century learning experience” in a building where critical infrastructure are now “beyond its normal life span.” This year, more than a million dollars was directed to rebuild the school’s fire alarm system which is so dated there is a lack of parts to repair the mechanism. 

This year, more than a million dollars was directed to rebuild the school’s fire alarm system which is so dated there is a lack of parts to repair the mechanism. Without the change, the Belmont Fire Department warned the building could be closed for safety. 

 

Graham Resigns from School Committee; Three Seats Up in April Town Election

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Photo: Laurie Graham at the Friends of Belmont Education Spelling Bee in Nov. 2015. 

Long-time Belmont School Committee member Laurie Graham has resigned after serving nearly eight years on the board, three of those as chair leading the committee during some of the most financially challenging times in recent history. 

Graham’s resignation, announced at last week’s school committee meeting, is effective Jan. 20, 2016.

“I hope that I have added in some measure to a more cordial and respectful working relationship with other committees but one that is not only less tense but which also produces positive results and outcomes for our students,” Graham told the Belmontonian. 

Her departure will likely result in three seats being filled at the 2016 Town Election on Tuesday, April 5. While traditionally, the seat of someone who resigns is occupied by a nominee selected by a joint meeting of the School Committee and Board of Selectmen, with the resignation coming within four months of Town Election, it is likely the two bodies will allow the one-year position to be picked by the voters. 

The other two seats are three-year appointments currently held by incumbents Laurie Slap, the current committee chair, and Elyse Shuster. Both have told the Belmontonian they would wait until the New Year before announcing if they will run for re-election. 

Graham, who won three town-wide elections starting in 2008 while, topped the school committee ticket in 2014 with 3,640 votes.

For the past six years, Graham worked out of her home as a contractor with a group of independent publishers reps and that has given her the flexibility to attend day-time sub-committee meetings as well as participate as a school committee liaison or appointed to other committees in town for both day and evening meetings.

That changed when she started a new job, as an office manager in a tax office, in downtown Boston. It has become clear to me that with a commute, no real time to attend meetings back in Belmont as well as the busy time coming these next few months that it made sense for me to step down now and not wait until the upcoming April election. 

“It has become clear to me that with a commute, no real time to attend meetings back in Belmont as well as the busy time coming these next few months that it made sense for me to step down now and not wait until the upcoming April election,” she said.