Town Settles With Superior Officers, Only Dispatchers Without Contract

August 25, 2016 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: Superiors officers settle, now it’s up to the dispatchers union to sign on the dotted line.

The Belmont Board of Selectmen voted Monday, Aug. 22 approving a three-year deal – from July 2014 to June 2017 – between the eight members of the Belmont Police Superior Officers Union and the town.

The agreement, negotiated by Belmont’s Human Resources Director Jessica Porter, means only the Dispatcher’s Union remain without a current contract among the town’s unions.

The contract’s highlights include:

An annual two percent cost-of-living-adjustment which is consistent with other town/union contracts.
While not random testing, the union agreed to drug and alcohol testing “based upon reasonable suspicion.”
Newly hired/promoted superior officers as of July 1, will see their health insurance contribution rate go up from 20 percent to 25 percent in exchange for a 25 cents an hour increase n hourly pay.
A “nominal” increase to established stipends will be paid to superior officers serving in special assignments which include as a prosecuting officer, community services officer in command and the department’s two detective positions.

Toll Partners With Former Owner To Lease Cushing Village’s Retail Space

August 23, 2016 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: Bill Lovett, a senior development manager at Toll’s Apartment Living, before the Board of Selectmen.

It wasn’t the one-month extension the town gave Toll Brothers to close on the municipal parking lot adjacent Trapelo Road critical to the building of the long-delayed Cushing Village project that created the big buzz at the Belmont Board of Selectmen meeting on Monday, Aug. 22.

It was who the new developer is partnering with on a significant feature of the $80 million project that was a total surprise to the nearly dozen residents who sacrificed a beautiful summer evening to attend the meeting at Belmont’s Town Hall.

Chris Starr, the Bedford resident who spent almost a decade of his life attempting to construct the three building complex before giving up and relinquishing the site to the Pennsylvania -based firm, will either control “whole or in part” the leasing of 38,000 sq.-ft. of retail space in the new development.

Revealed by the Selectmen at the meeting, the news of Starr’s return to the project that he failed to complete was a startling announcement to those in attendance.

“This just didn’t make much sense at all,” said Doug Koplow of Oak Avenue.

Bill Lovett, a senior development manager at Toll’s Apartment Living – a relatively new whole-owned subsidiary within the Horsham, Penn.-based firm – would only say the details for the company’s arrangement with Starr are in the new draft Land Development Agreement, the nuts and bolts legal document describing what will occur during the construction.

The LDA notes Starr’s involvement as taking “whole or part” of the commercial portion of the project once the space is built out and the town has provided a temporary certification of occupancy. The earliest that will take place is at least two years away.

Speculation of Starr’s return leans towards Toll’s expertise in the residential development yet having little knowledge of commercial leasing. Having spent the better part of a year attempting to land a big retail operation for his project, Starr’s contacts would be seen as valuable to Toll.

Some residents expressed a worry that Starr’s background – during his tenure he could not put together the necessary financing to build the project nor find an anchor store for the site – could lead to further troubles for the project.

“[Starr] hasn’t shown much competence when he had Cushing Village and I don’t see much changing,” said Rita Butzer Carpenter of Precinct 6.

But for Selectmen Chair Mark Paolillo – who said the board was equally “surprised” by the arrangement between the present and past owners – a new near-luxury development on three town blocks at the intersection of Common and Trapelo would be a draw for most commercial retailers.

“We have the confidence that the commercial space will be very appealing to a wide range of retailers once [Cushing Village] is built,” said Paolillo. “It will be a very beautiful place to be located, and you’ll have 115 units of people who are customers inside the building.”

Before the Starr bombshell landed, most residents were eager to hear why Toll was seeking to an extension on the deadline for the parking lot purchase and, as Lovett noted, seeking next month before the Planning Board to move the deadline for the Special Permit on Dec. 3 up by several months.

In March when Toll Brothers took tentative control of the project’s development rights from Starr, Lovitt sought and received a six-month extension, until Aug. 26, to sign the Purchase and Sale for the municipal parking lot.

Since then, the firm has been performing environmental tests and other audits as part of the company’s due diligence of the site and past agreements.

Lovett said the company’s reviews “just took a bit longer than anticipated.” The delay forced Toll to push back the start of its negotiations with “a retail component” (i.e., Starbucks), said Lovitt.

“We needed to dot the ‘Is’ and cross the ‘Ts’ before moving forward,” said Lovett.

While the added month may, as Selectman Jim Williams noted, be standard fare for a project of this size and past difficulties, one selectman was less than pleased.

“I feel let down by you,” Selectman Sami Baghdady told Lovett, who said that many residents saw Toll as the “white knight” when it rescued the project in March.

“There are many frustrated people as you can tell,” Baghdady said of those in the audience, wondering what assurances does the town have that Toll will not come back in the third week in September “asking for more time?”

Lovett said the company has spent “thousands of dollars” in preconstruction costs and is eager to add Cushing Village to its portfolio of projects including a completed apartment complex in Westborough and one soon to be under construction in Natick.

While saying Toll Brothers “will not find [another extension] here” should it come back in a month with the similar request, Paolillo said the added time “is our last best chance” at guiding the project towards construction.

“There is not option B,” he said as the extension was approved.

Cushing Village’s New Owner Seeking Added Concessions From Town

August 19, 2016 By Franklin B. Tucker 2 Comments

Photo: The current state of the location of Cushing Village.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

That 19th-century French saying has a ring of truth to it when the discussion turns to the long-stalled Cushing Village residential/retail/parking development as it appears the new owners are seeking their own set of concessions from the town.

Approved for construction in July 2013, the project suffered through two-and-a-half years of delays and missed opportunities under the former ownership of lead developer Smith Legacy Partners.

So there was hope in the community when national housing firm Toll Brothers purchased the development rights in March of this year that a change at the top would allow the $80 million project – 115 units of housing, 38,000 sq.-ft. of stores and approximately 200 parking spaces – to move quickly to the construction stage.

In fact, representative of the Pennsylvia company said then it would not seek changes to the project which would warrant restarting the process, expressing confidence it would make the Aug. 26 deadline for the firm to sign a purchase and sale agreement with the town to buy a key town-owned land parcel, the municipal parking lot adjacent to Trapelo Road and Starbucks for $1 million, that would allow building to commence.

For the town, Toll Brothers’ commitment to the site would stop the “endless loop of uncertainty” hampering work from commencing, said Selectman Sami Baghdady in March.

But what was said in the Spring appears to have fallen to the wayside in mid Summer. According to documents from the Board of Selectmen, Toll Brothers representatives will come before the Board at its Monday, Aug. 22 meeting seeking a new extension to the P&S deadline taking place four days later.

In addition, the firm will request amendments to the Land Development Agreement – which for commercial property is a development plan that typically includes the time frame for completing the project, the property description, design sketches, and other details.

The details of the changes and why they are being sought by Toll Brothers have not been publically flushed out – both the town and Toll are not speaking on the matter – as both sides appear ready to present their arguments on Monday.

Earlier this month, the board and the town appeared ready to sign all necessary paperwork on the 22nd, with current board chair Mark Paolillo saying that “both sides want this to go through.”

West Nile Virus Detected In Belmont; State Advise Residents Take Precautions

August 19, 2016 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: Beware this guy.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health announced Thursday, Aug. 18 that West Nile virus has been detected in three mosquitos recently collected from sites in Belmont.

WNV is most commonly transmitted to humans by the bite of a mosquito infected with the virus. While WNV can infect people of all ages, people older than 50 are at higher risk for severe infection.

The majority of people, up to 80 percent, who are infected with WNV will have no symptoms.

A smaller number of people who become infected (less than 20 percent) will have symptoms such as fever, headache, body aches, nausea, vomiting, and sometimes swollen lymph glands. They may also develop a skin rash on the chest, stomach and back.

Less than one percent of people infected with WNV will develop severe illness, including encephalitis or meningitis. The symptoms of severe illness can include high fever, headache, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, vision loss, numbness and paralysis. Persons older than 50 years of age have a higher risk of developing severe illness.

As always, there are a few precautions people can do to help to protect themselves and their families:

Avoid Mosquito Bites

Be Aware of Peak Mosquito Hours: The hours from dusk to dawn are peak biting times for many mosquitoes. Consider rescheduling outdoor activities that occur during evening or early morning. Otherwise, take extra care to use repellent and protective clothing.
Clothing Can Help reduce mosquito bites. Although it may be difficult to do when it’s hot, wearing long-sleeves, long pants and socks when outdoors will help keep mosquitoes away from your skin.
Apply Insect Repellent when you go outdoors. Use a repellent with DEET (N, N-diethyl-m-toluamide), permethrin, picaridin (KBR 3023), IR3535 or oil of lemon eucalyptus [p-methane 3, 8-diol (PMD)] according to the instructions on the product label. DEET products should not be used on infants under two months of age and should be used in concentrations of 30 percent or less on older children. Oil of lemon eucalyptus should not be used on children under three years of age. Permethrin products are intended for use on items such as clothing, shoes, bed nets and camping gear and should not be applied to skin.

Mosquito-Proof Your Home

Drain Standing Water: Mosquitoes lay their eggs in standing water. Limit the number of places around your home for mosquitoes to breed by either draining or getting rid of items that hold water. Check rain gutters and drains. Make sure rain barrels are covered or screened. Empty any unused flowerpots and wading pools, and change water in birdbaths frequently.
Install or Repair Screens: Some mosquitoes like to come indoors. Keep them outside by having tightly-fitting screens on all of your windows and doors.

Information about WNV and reports of WNV activity in Massachusetts during 2016 can be found on the MDPH website.

Belmont Center Paving Starts: Friday Morning, Aug. 19

August 19, 2016 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: Paving Belmont Center starts … now!

It’s been delayed for about a year but beginning this morning, Friday, Aug. 19; Belmont Center will undergo the paving of its main and secondary roadways, a major part of the $2.8 million reconstruction of the town’s major business hub.

Watertown’s Charles Contracting will begin the final paving on Friday, Aug. 19, in the morning, focusing on side streets away from Leonard Street. The morning commute through the center will experience “minor delays” only, according to town officials.

Starting Monday night, Aug. 22, the remainder of Belmont Center including Leonard Street will be paved. Weather permitting, work is expected to occur between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. on Aug. 22, 23, 24, and be completed by Thursday, Aug. 25.

Belmont Center businesses will be open and accessible during their regular hours.

Access to driveways in the work area may be restricted, so residents should park away from the project limits if you will need access to your vehicle overnight.

If residents have any questions, contact Belmont’s Resident Engineer Robert Bosselman at 617-993-2657.

Friday, Aug. 19, Is Final Day To Register For Sept. 8 Primary

August 17, 2016 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: Town Clerk’s Office.

The Town Clerk’s Office reminds Belmont residents have until Friday, Aug. 19, to register to vote if they want to participate in the Massachusetts Primary on Thursday, Sept. 8.

Aug. 19 is also the deadline for registered voters who wish to change their party enrollment either to another party or to “unenrolled,” which is commonly referred to as “independent.” This should not be confused with the United Independent Party (UIP); a party that will have ballots available but with no candidates printed on them. Voters registered in UIP will NOT be eligible to take a Democratic, Republican, or Green-Rainbow ballot.

To be eligible for a different party’s ballot, the voter must switch to another party or to “unenrolled” status by 8 p.m. on Aug. 19. Unenrolled voters or voters enrolled in political designations can ask for any party ballot on Primary Day, but someone registered in a party can only vote on that party’s ballot. A Democrat cannot take a Republican ballot, and a Republican cannot take a Democratic ballot.

The Town Clerk’s office at Town Hall will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 19 for voters who wish to change their party registration status or for persons wishing to register for the first time.

Persons who are United States Citizens, residents of Massachusetts, and who will be at least 18 years old on or before Sept. 8 are eligible to register to vote. Those meeting these qualifications who have a Massachusetts Driver’s License can submit their registration online. Those registering by mail should have their form hand-canceled by the Post Office to ensure it is postmarked before the deadline. Newly registered voters will receive confirmation letters from the Town Clerk.

You may verify your voter registration and/or your voting location here.

For more information, feel free to contact the Belmont Town Clerk’s Office or at 617-993-2600.

Belmont Officers, Town Agree to Contract … And Prepares For Another

August 9, 2016 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: Police Headquarters.

It took a while, but the town and the union representing the cops on the beat have OK’d a new agreement in which Belmont officers receive a wage increase with some concessions – including limited drug testing – on their part.

And in a few months, the two sides will be right back at the bargaining table for another three-year contract.

The Belmont Board of Selectmen voted Monday, Aug. 8 to approve a three-year deal – from July 2014 to June 2017 – between the 31 member Belmont Police Patrolmen’s Organization and the town.

“We’re very happy with the agreement and [the union’s] negotiating team which settled on a very reasonable settlement,” said Belmont Human Resources Director Jessica Porter.

The contract’s highlights include:

An annual two percent cost-of-living-adjustment which is consistent with other town/union contracts.
While not random testing, the union agreed to drug and alcohol testing “based upon reasonable suspicion.”
Newly hired officers as of July 1, will see their health insurance contribution rate go up from 20 percent to 25 percent in exchange for a 25 cents an hour increase n hourly pay.
The stipend for officers who have associates/bachelors/masters degrees in criminal justice is increased to $5,000/$9,500/$11,000 as long as the officers complete their degrees within three-and-a-half years for graduating from the Police Academy.
The 12 patrolmen who have reached Master Patrolman status – based on ten years of experience, training, and performance appraisal – will see their differential from the base salary increase from 2 percent to 2.4 percent.

Just after the agreement was signed, Porter said she’d begin the next set of contract negotiations for a three-year agreement soon as this new contract expires this coming June 30. Porter is hopeful the new “new” contract will take less time to negotiate and settle.

“It should be a little smoother for a new contract as we have recently discussed everything that will be on the table,” said Porter.

Night Time Is The Right Time: Center’s Final Paving Starts Monday, Aug. 22

August 8, 2016 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: Laying down a new roadway.

With the big bumps and potholes in and around Belmont Center smoothed out last week and the final sidewalks being laid near the commuter rail bridge, the Board of Selectmen voted Monday, Aug. 8, to OK the final layer of asphalt to be applied to Leonard Street and adjacent roadways as the $2.8 million Belmont Center Rehabilitation Project nears its completion.

But unlike the recent milling and smoothing of the streets which caused morning and evening commuters to endure detours and endless lines of traffic for nearly a week, this street restoration will be performed under the moon rather than the sun.

The selectmen voted to allow Charles Contracting of Watertown to do major paving between 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. beginning Monday, Aug. 22 and running through Thursday, Aug. 25. As with the repair of Belmont Street and Trapelo Road by the state in the past year, the paving schedule will occur overnight so not to disrupt Center businesses (with the exception of restaurants and other eateries) or clog the main way for commuters through the town’s retail center, according to David Kale, Belmont’s town administrator.

Neighborhoods and business in the Belmont Center area will be leafleted and a “reverse 911” call will be made to notify residents when the work takes place.

Kale said the same prohibitions on lights, radios, loud noise and idling equipment and vehicles the town placed on work on Belmont and Trapelo will be in effect.

Once the paving is completed, the new roadway will undergo the marking of lane lines, parking spaces and crosswalks beginning on Monday, Aug. 29 with that work also being done during the overnight. That work should take approximately a day less than the paving, said Kale.

Cushing Village Deal With Town ‘Close’ As Deadline Looms

August 8, 2016 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: Cushing Village.

Will the final chapter of the saga known as Cushing Village be written tonight?

Or will the Belmont Board of Selectmen and national developer Toll Brothers go down to the last few days before striking a deal on the cusp of a late August deadline?

Answering the question will occur at the Selectmen meeting on Monday afternoon, Aug. 8, as the three-member board, will discuss and possibly vote on a series of amendments to the joint development agreement and other documents concerning the $80 million three-building project in the heart of Cushing Square.

As of this weekend, a final deal between town and developer is “close,” according to one Belmont selectman.

But, said Selectman Chair Mark Paolillo on Sunday, “I don’t know if it will be done by [Monday’s meeting.]”

“We still haven’t gotten the [joint development] documents back [from Toll Brothers],” he said.

With a deadline of Aug. 26 for both sides to agree to a purchase and sale of the municipal parking lot adjacent to Trapelo Road, time is running short in finding consensus on a final agreement between the town and Toll.

“It really is one minor but important issue that needs to be resolved,” said Paolillo, who would not reveal what is the sticking point other than said it has to do with finances. .

Paolillo said the board is “holding firm” that there will be no significant changes to the joint development agreement between the town and developer.

The Horsham, Penn.-based company did not return calls for comment.

Toll Brothers purchased the parking lot’s development rights and two adjacent land parcels from the original owner, Smith Legacy Partners, on March 14. Since 2009, Smith Legacy shepherd the project through the permitting process and appeared ready to begin construction on the structure with 115 condominiums, 230 parking spaces and nearly 40,000 sq.-ft of shops in 2013 but could never secure the financing necessary to start construction.

Belmont’s selectmen voted unanimously on March 22 to approve a one-time only extension of the purchase and sale agreement to Aug. 26 for the sale of the municipal parking lot at the corner of Williston and Trapelo roads. As part of the deal, Toll agreed to pay the town $1 million for the parking lot and an additional $150,000 in fees to complete the transfer.

In March, Bill Lovett, senior development manager at Toll’s Apartment Living subsidiary, said the extension would allow the firm to do its due diligence of the property before committing to developing the site.

Lovett told the board it is taking the project “as is” with no plans to ask for changes to the massing and basic design that the Planning Board took 18 months to create in July 2013.

In the little more than four months since the extension, a deal once described by the former owner’s attorney who dubbed the agreement “complicated.”

While it appears the selectmen and Toll Brothers are willing to take the negotiations to the board’s Aug. 22 meeting – only four days from the self-imposed deadline – Paolillo said: “both sides want this to go through.”

“I know that [Belmont Town Counsel] George [Hall] is going through the documents which may mean we’ll have something to agree to in principal on Monday,” said Paolillo.

“I really think we are going to be fine,” he said.

Moving Day: Food Pantry Finds Temp Home on Pleasant Street [Video]

August 2, 2016 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: The move.

When the “Burbank Brownies” of Girl Scout Troop 69200 arrived at the Belmont Food Pantry behind Belmont High School on Saturday morning, July 30, Patty Mihelich beamed.

The founder and manager of the pantry welcomed them to join nearly 50 residents in helping to transport the pantry’s entire contents – two rooms filled with food, appliances, miscellaneous material and even the six-foot high shelves – from the location next to the commuter rail tracks to one across from the Star Market parking lot on south Pleasant Street.

“I told you they would come,” said Mihelich, proud of the quick response of friends, long-time volunteers or just from residents who heard that the pantry needed a hand.

The move from its home for the past four years was necessitated by the school district’s need to find classroom space for the exploding student enrollment coming to Belmont High School.

And just five days earlier, Mihelich was still waiting for a place that could accept them on a temporary basis while a more permanent location at Mt. Hope Church on Lexington Street is being retro-fitted to accept the pantry which serves more than 200 families in Belmont.

“I was about to rent a ‘pod’ and throw everything inside,” said Mihelich about a movable storage unit.

But just five days before the move was scheduled, Paul Tocci of Belmont Car Wash made a spare garage/repair space at 1010 Pleasant available to the organization.

“He really came through as did so many people like the Board of Selectmen and these volunteers,” she said as she drove a U-Haul between the locations transporting the large shelving.

For Debbie Eisenberg and her son, Chenery eighth grader Nate Fox, “it was nice to lend a hand. We are a small town, and this is what people do.”

With the help of students such as Lilah Isenberg, Del Bonnin and Grace Kane (who learned they could lug large tubs of food while securing cereal boxes under their arms), the old location was stripped bare after 80 minutes after arriving at 8 a.m.

While there were a few false starts at Pleasant Street – the re-stacking of food and cans after some cross wires – the pantry officially was ready to resume helping families in need.

“And just think, we get to do this all over again in just a few weeks,” said Mihelich.