Just Add Water: New Underwood Pool Gets Filled Friday as Opening Nears

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Photo: Anne Paulsen, president of the pool’s building committee, at the nearly completed new Underwood Pool. 

All day Friday, July 31, an armada of approximately 25 tankers trucks will be traveling to Concord Avenue at Cottage Street to deliver the one missing component required to make the recently constructed New Underwood Pool a success: Water. Lots of it.

According to Anne Paulsen, chair of the Underwood Pool Building Committee, the town can’t simply turn on a few hoses and sprinklers to fill the two pools created over the former site of the original Underwood Pool which served the town for 101 years until 2013. 

“The pools need filtered water which the town can’t provide,” said Paulsen.

For residents who remember the ground breaking on a bitterly cold day in November 2014, the transformation of the site in the past nine months is fairly remarkable, said Paulsen.

“I think this has turned out to be a marvelous project,” said said, praising her fellow committee members, the architecture, contractors and general manager. 

With a little more that a week remaining before the doors are opened to the public, the location remains an active work site, with sheet metal being shaped and nail guns firing inside the three pool buildings – two bath houses and a pump station – as final details are completed.

Outside, the slide at the kiddy pool was being assembled, the final sidewalks are being laid and landscaping continues with the planting of sod and plantings.

But Paulsen said it’s almost certain that the pool will be operational at 9 a.m. on Monday, Aug 10,   “and not a minute before.” 

The Belmont Board of Selectmen will lead the official ribbon cutting at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 8, beginning with an open house from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. 

“I think the result is one that the town can really be happy with,” said Paulsen. 

“And it’s under budget and on time,” she added. 

Beginning Aug. 10, the pool will be open from 9 a.m. to dusk. Day passes can be purchased at the pool (cash or check), or in a three-pack from the Belmont Recreation Department office at a discounted rate. Pool memberships are $150 and will get holders into both the Underwood and the Higginbottom.

Call the Belmont Recreation Department at 617-993-2760 for more information about passes and memberships.

Seeking Added Revenue, Moozy’s Expands to Breakfast Hours

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Photo: Moozy’s in Belmont. 

When it’s July and the temperatures reach 90 degrees, owning a successful ice cream store like Moozy’s at the intersection of Trapelo and Belmont is the easiest business around, said owner Dante Muzzioli. All he  has to do is open the doors and the crowds follow.

But in February, when record winter snow levels made finding his front door a challenge, Moozy’s’ business literally freezes in place.

“It’s a ghost town when the weather gets cold. It gets really rough for six months,” said Muzzioli. “It’s a nice spot and it looks beautiful but I’m still trying to recoup the money I lost over the winter.”

In an attempt to expand his revenue base, Muzzioli came before the Belmont Board of Selectmen on Monday, July 27, seeking to expand the hours on his Common Victualler license to allow the popular ice cream shop to compete in the breakfast trade.

The former long-time head coach of the Belmont High School boys ice hockey team – in May, Muzzioli was inducted into the Massachusetts State Hockey Coaches Association’s Hall of Fame – said while he has been keeping Moozy’s – located at 2 Trapelo Rd. – afloat by transferring funds from his other businesses, “it really has to stand on its own” to continue in operation over the long term. 

“It’s all about survival and that place can not survive without a change,” said Muzzioli.

Muzzioli, who runs a successful landscaping firm and other businesses, was seeking to open the store beginning at 6 a.m. during the week to compete with nearby eateries and coffee shops such as Starbucks, Aram’s Cafe and Teddy’s Kitchen, each in nearby Cushing Square. 

The breakfast trade would include coffees, bagels, pastries and plates for sit-down service, serving residents on their way to work – the store is located on an inbound stop for the bus to Harvard Square – and those seeking a weekend morning meal. 

“I think the town needs a nice high-end breakfast place,” he said. 

Yet those living in the residential neighborhoods across Trapelo Road worried that new hours would exacerbate parking issues on their streets in addition to an earlier start to commerce in the area. 

Oak Avenue’s Rita Butzer Carpenter said there would not be enough parking at the store – there is no lot parking for the store – to accommodate a high-volume coffee shop-type operation, suggesting language be included with any approval that would prevent the store from accepting a Starbucks “kiosk” selling that brand of coffee at the location. 

Carpenter’s neighbor Dr. David Alper said a 6 a.m. start would be “egregious” to the neighbors especially on the weekend. He sought a compromise in which the store would open at 7 a.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. on the weekend.

Selectmen Chair Sami Baghdady, who said that he would hate to see the town possibly loss an independent store and risk seeing a chain coffee shop take its place, voted with his two fellow members to allow the store to open at 6 a.m. during the work week and 7 a.m. on weekend.

Muzzioli said the vote will allow him to see the operation moving into the future on a more stable financial footing. 

“This will help because now we have something that isn’t weather impacted. Breakfast is everyday,” said Muzzioli.

OverNight Work Set for Commuter Rail Bridge Until Friday

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Photo: The Belmont Center Commuter Rail bridge.

Much needed gas work will require National Grid to spend the overnight for most of this week tearing up and repairing infrastructure under the Belmont Center Commuter Rail bridge.

Glenn Clancy, director of the Community Development Office, told the Belmont Board of Selectmen Monday, July 27, said the construction is part of the wider work involving long-delayed repairs and the Belmont Center Reconstruction Project.

With work required on the eastern section of the roadway (the left side as one leaves Belmont Center) under the bridge to be completed, Clancy said National Grid requested an overnight shift from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m., lasting from Tuesday, July 28 to Friday, July 31, as being the most effective and least disruptive way of completing the job.

“Unfortunately, the work needs to be done,” said Clancy.  

Foodie’s Snags Final Beer/Wine License for Belmont Center Store

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Photo: Victor Cruz, Jr. speaking before the Belmont Board of Selectmen.

Nearly nine months before it opens its doors to residents, the owner of the supermarket anchoring the renovated Macy’s space in Belmont Center is the holder of the town’s final beer and wine license as the Belmont Board of Selectmen awarded the permit to Foodie’s Market.

Victor Cruz, Jr., told the Belmontonian today’s customers anticipate well-run markets to stock beer and wine as a matter of course.

“Like I said to the selectmen, people have become accustomed to expecting it at their local market,” said Cruz, after the board voted unanimously to award the Boston-based independent chain the license. 

It was this “new reality” among its customers that brought Cruz to the Selectmen on Monday, July 27, seeking the final of the four beer and wine licenses Town Meeting approved and the legislature OK’d for retail establishments three years ago. 

“We feel its critical for us to have since other” markets also sell beer and wine including Star Market on Mt. Auburn Street and Trader Joe’s on Memorial Drive in Cambridge. 

Cruz said his family’s fourth operation – to be located in 15,000 sq.-ft. on the lower level of the renovated site of the Macy’s department store at 75 Leonard St. – will be located in the lower portion of the remodeled site. 

The beer and wine section will take up four percent of space near the customer service area in the back of the store, “so we can keep a close eye on the site.” 

He noted that he will sign a “no craft beer” agreement in the lease in which Foodie’s will not sell the same beverages currently being sold by Craft Beer Celler, the artisanal beer store down the block. 

“Our intent is not to hurt anyone, but rather drive business of the center of Belmont rather than away from it,” said Cruz, noting the Cellar’s owners, Kate Baker and Suzanne Schalow, approve of the store coming to the center. Cruz will also speak with Carolyn Kemp, co-owner of Vintages in Belmont. 

Diane Malcolmson of Pinehurst Road said it is important for town leaders and residents remember that retail owners such as Kemp “that took a chance on this town five years ago when we needed that alcohol revenue.”

“We just expect you to be a good neighbor and encourage you to speak to all the businesses” in the center, said Malcolmson.

No Deal as Selectmen Await Financing Proof From Cushing Village Developer

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Photo: An earlier version of the building that will be built at the community 

Not yet.

Despite taking out demolition permits and hiring a Needham-based firm to take down the abandoned buildings, the developer of the proposed Cushing Village multi-use complex still doesn’t hold the deed for the commuter parking lot at Williston and Trapelo roads of the $80 million project as the Belmont Board of Selectmen has yet to see a finalized financial package they can be comfortable.

“The Board is not prepared to vote on the sale of the parking lot at this time,” said Belmont Town Administrator David Kale told the Belmontonian, after the Selectmen met with Town Counsel George Hall for nearly an hour in executive session. 

Currently, a partnership of original developer Chris Starr and Urban Spaces of Cambridge are attempting to put together a financing package for the development which will bring 115 units, 38,000 sq.-ft. retail space and 235 parking spaces to three parcels at the corner of Common Street and Trapelo Road in the heart of Cushing Village. 

The price tag for the parking lot adjacent Starbucks – set six years ago when the parcel went out to bid  – is $850,000; along with fees and permits, the final price is closer to $1.3 million.

While unable to go into detail on a possible agreement, the leader of the Selectmen said any sale will coincide with a financial package.

“We are going to proceed with the closing of the parking with financing in place. That’s the only prudent way we can move forward,” said Selectmen Chair Sami Baghdady, after the meeting.

Baghdady said in addition to the financing package, there is a land development agreement in which the development team must follow to the letter the 26-page special permit. Starr will also convey to town use 50 parking spaces in the underground parking garage and the creation of a parking management agreement as part of the purchase-and-sale agreement. 

“What I have been told is that those documents are not in final form,” said Baghdady. 

While the development partners have yet to have its financial “Ps and Qs” together, it has moved forward by paying for and pulling a demolition permit, hired a firm and has agreed to ground rules on behavior at the site while deconstruction is underway. 

But Kale said the taking of a permit does not indicate the development team will soon possess a building permit.

“The take out these permits at their own risk,” said Kale.

Due to a “lack of information” during the two years since the special permit was issued on July 29, 2013, the town’s Community Development Office has created a page on its website that will be the library for permits and documents related to demolition and construction. 

“As we reach these milestones, we will post all the supporting information that was required that allowed us to give us the approvals for those particular items,” said Glenn Clancy, the Community Development director. 

Belmont Health Issues Warning on Mosquitos as West Nile Virus Detected

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Photo: What to watch out for.

It’s nearing mid-summer and with the recent rainstorms that passed through the region, it’s certain that in time at all, outdoor activities will be impacted by an influx of mosquitoes. The Belmont Department of Health has issued this press release to warn residents of the danger the insect can inflict on people:

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health announced [Thursday, July 24] that West Nile virus has been detected in mosquito samples collected from Waltham, Brookline, Reading and Richmond. 

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 over the age of 50 are at higher risk for severe infection.

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

  • Avoid outdoor activities between dusk and dawn, if possible, as this is the time of greatest mosquito activity.
  • If you must be outside during that time, wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants. If you choose to apply a chemical based repellant containing DEET, follow the manufacturer’s directions carefully.  Parents should NEVER use DEET on infants; use a 10 percent or less DEET concentration on children and 30 to 35 percent or less on adults.
  • Make sure as much skin as possible is covered when children are outdoors and cover baby carriages with netting.
  • Fix all holes in screens and make sure doors and screens fit tightly.

To reduce the mosquito population around your home, eliminate all standing water that is available for mosquito breeding and follow these simple guidelines:

  • Dispose of, or regularly empty, any metal cans, plastic containers, ceramic pots and other water holding containers.
  • Pay special attention to discarded tires that may have collected on your property. Tires are a common place for mosquitoes to breed. For that reason, it is a violation of the Nuisance Regulations to leave tires stored outdoors.
  • Clean clogged roof gutters; remove leaves and debris that would prevent good drainage. This may be the single biggest source of mosquitoes in any neighborhood.
  • Turn over plastic wading pools and wheelbarrows when not in use.
  • Swimming pools should be kept properly filtered and chlorinated. They should never be allowed to remain stagnant. Mosquito “dunks” can be purchased at many hardware stores to treat pool water if you must leave your pool unattended for keep the pool cover on for a significant period of time.
  • Use landscaping to eliminate areas of standing water on your property. Reducing insect harborage is one of the goals of the Health Department’s nuisance regulations, which ask that residents remove piles of rubbish, debris, yard waste, etc. from their yards.

            If you have any questions, please call the Health Department at 617 993-2720   

Two Years Late: Cushing Village Taking First Step Towards Construction

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Photo: The municipal parking lot up for sale in Cushing Square is adjacent Starbucks.

Exactly two years to the day after the town’s Planning Board approved a special permit granting him permission to begin construction, the developer of the troubled Cushing Village complex will be before town officials early next week seeking to purchase a critical piece of town-owned property so he can finally begin construction on the long-stalled project. 

The Belmont Board of Selectmen’s Monday, July 27 meeting agenda calls on the board to initially meet in executive session before proceeding to vote whether or not to sell the municipal parking lot at Williston and Trapelo roads to a newly-formed partnership consisting of original developer, Smith Legacy Partners, and its new business associate, Cambridge-based Urban Spaces.

The price tag for the parking lot adjacent Starbucks – set two years ago – is $850,000; along with fees and permits, the final price is closer to $1.3 million. The property will house the first of three buildings making up the 186,000 square-foot retail/housing/parking development in the heart of Cushing Square.

The vote to sell the property marks the two year anniversary when Smith Legacy’s Chris Starr was granted the 25-page special permit from the Planning Board at the culmination of an 18-month design review phase on the project made up of 115 residential units, 38,000 sq.-ft. of retail space and 235 parking spaces. 

At the time, Starr proclaimed an accelerated project schedule. Starr told media outlets construction on the first building – located on the parking lot – would be open for retail businesses and resident housing by the late fall/early winter of 2014. The entire project would be completed by mid-summer 2016, said Starr.

But it soon became apparent Starr was unable to find a financial source willing to back him due to his lack of experience building large-scaled projects. In March 2014, Starr struck a deal with the town to extend the closing on the parking lot by a month for a $20,000 fee. The fee increased to $30,000 a month after a year.

By Sept, 2014, Starr hired a Boston realty firm, Boston Realty Advisors, to unearth a partner or sell his stake in the development. The campaign went international with large ads on a leading Asian real estate website.

In the end, a young development firm, Urban Spaces, joined with Starr. It remains unclear the partnership arrangement between the two, including whether there is a majority stakeholder or arrangements for future management of Cushing Village. 

And it does not appear the partnership has been damaged with the arrest of Urban Spaces’ CEO and founder, Paul Ognibene, who was arraigned last week on one count of sexual conduct for fee after he was arrested by Cambridge Police in a sex sting.

Impact on Cushing Village Unclear After Financial Partner’s Arrest

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Photo: Paul Ognibene (right, obscured) (courtesy WCVB-TV).

Cushing Village has possibly suffered another setback with the arrest Tuesday of the Cambridge developer seen as the financial “White Knight” who in April appeared to rescue the 167,000 square-foot multi-use project floundering for nearly two years after it was approved by the town in July 2013. 

Paul Ognibene, 43, of Cohasset was arraigned in Cambridge District Court on Friday, July 17, on one count of sexual conduct for fee after he was arrested by Cambridge Police in a sex sting that took place in the food court of the CambridgeSide Galleria mall.

Screen Shot 2015-07-17 at 8.56.01 PM

Cushing Village development partner Paul Ognibene, 43, of Cohasset, during his arraignment in Cambridge District Court on Friday, July 17, 2015. (courtesy WCVB-TV)

Cambridge Police allege Ognibene, the owner and principal of Cambridge-based Urban Spaces, placed a job description on Craigslist job soliciting an office assistant that an investigation by the police’s special investigation unit determined to be a “false job which is actually soliciting girls for sex.”

Ognibene, who resigned as chair of the Cohasset School Committee on Friday as a result of this arrest, pled not guilty and was released on personal recognizance. His attorney released a statement saying Ognibene “was sorry” for what had occurred.

See a chronicle of Ognibene’s arrest here, here, here and here. 

It is unknown at this time if Ognibene’s arrest could impact any financial arrangements he has made with lenders concerning Cushing Village. It is not unusual for business agreements to be altered or pulled due to adverse publicity. This month, Macy’s parent company ended its business partnership with New York developer Donald Trump after the Republican presidential candidate made sweeping allegations concerning Mexicans who entered the US illegally across the US/Mexican border.

On April 27, Cushing Village’s developer Smith Legacy Partners said Urban Spaces had become its “development partner” in constructing the three-building complex comprising 115 apartments, approximately 36,000 square feet of retail/commercial space and a garage complex with 230 parking spaces. 

Urban Spaces’ “development expertise will help to ensure that the vision we have for the Cushing Village project becomes a reality,” said Chris Starr, the managing partner of Smith Legacy Partners which is located in Acton.

The press release noted that Urban Spaces “acquires, develops and manages high-end residential properties in close proximity to urban centers.”

The April announcement appeared to be a turning point for the troubled development which been paying the town $20,000 a month since March 2014 in a series of  30-day extensions for the closing date of the purchase and sale agreement for the municipal parking lot. The development’s financial issues have been well chronicled from missing repeated ground breaking dates to hiring a high-powered real estate firm to find an equity partner.

An email to Starr’s PR representative has not been answered.

Rabies in Pair of Animals Has Health Department Issue Warning

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Photo: Fox.

The Belmont Health Department has issued a warning to residents of an outbreak of rabies after a second non-domesticated animal tested positive for the illness in the past month.

A fox captured by Belmont Animal Control Officer John Maguranis on Monday, July 13 and a skunk on June 21 were infected by the very serious viral disease found in animals that can spread from an infected animal to a person.

Rabies is disperse through the saliva of an animal and can be transmitted from a bite, or when the animal’s saliva comes in contact with a person’s mouth, eyes or an open sore, according to the Health Department. 

The department and Belmont Police Department are urging residents to protect their families and pets by taking the following steps: 

  • Make sure your dogs and cats (including inside only cats), are up to date on their rabies vaccinations. 
  • Keep your children, loved ones, and pets from approaching, touching, or feeding wild or stray animals. 
  • Garbage should be contained in garbage cans that are closed and secured to avoid attracting wildlife. 
  • Do not feed or water your pets outdoors. Empty bowls will attract wild and stray animals. 
  • Do not let your cats and dogs roam freely. 
  • Keep your chimney capped and repair holes in attics, cellars, garages and porches to help keep wild animals like bats and raccoons out of your home. 
  • Report any animal that behaves oddly, looks sick, injured or orphaned to the Animal Control Officer or the Health Department at: Belmont Animal Control 617-993-2724. Belmont Health Department 617-993-2720. 
  • If the Animal Control Officer or Heath Department cannot be reached, notify the Belmont Police at 617-484-1212. 

If a bite or other significant exposure to rabies does occur, quick action can prevent progression to rabies disease.

• If a person has been bitten or scratched by an unfamiliar animal or an animal suspected of having rabies, immediately wash the wound thoroughly with soap and water and then seek medical attention. If you find a bite or wound on your dog or cat that cannot be explained, take your animal to a veterinarian. 

Belmont Selectmen OK Special Town Meeting Date

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Photo: Belmont Center reconstruction underway.

It’s official: the Belmont Board of Selectmen approved a Special Town Meeting for Thursday, Aug. 6, location to be determined (although strong hints have been dropped that it will likely be held in the air conditioned comfort of the Chenery Middle School.)

The votes, held at an early morning meeting at Town Hall on Thursday, July 16, was a foregone conclusion as the petitioners submitted more than 200 certified signatures from registered voters.

“We had no choice but to certify the warrant,” said Mark Paolillo, who along with Chair Sami Baghdady, voted to open and close the warrant, and to approve the language of the motion.

(Selectman Jim Williams is currently on vacation and could not cast a vote).

“It’s unfortunate that we as a community should be celebrating the revitalization of Belmont Center … it just seems that this is now an issue that has divided our town,” said Paolillo. 

The article calls for the selectmen to reverse its vote on May 28 approving significant changes to the design of the Belmont Center Reconstruction Project, the $2.8 million plan to improve traffic flow and upgrade the town’s main business district.

While construction on the site had begun, the Selectmen voted unanimously to approve changes submitted in a separate citizen’s petition by Lydia Ogilby of Washington Street who called for trees to be protected (they had been removed weeks before) and to restore parking and a cut through from Concord Avenue from Moore Street adjacent to the Belmont Savings Bank. 

The petitioners who called the Special Town Meeting said the Selectmen’s overstep its authority since the town’s legislative body approved a financial plan for the project at another Special Town Meeting last November with the original design blueprint – which included removing angled parking and the bypass which creating a larger town “Green” at the location. 

According to Town Clerk Ellen Cushman, under the town’s bylaws, amendments to the motion can be submitted to her office at least three business days before the Special meeting, which will be Monday, Aug. 3, at 4 p.m. 

A quorum of 101 Town Meeting members will need to show up for the up or down majority vote to take place. The vote is non-binding as Town Counsel George Hall considers the motion as “instructional,” in which Town Meeting is giving their opinion to the Selectmen, said Cushman.   

While voting to approve the meeting, Paolillo said “it is really unfortunate that [a Special Town Meeting] is taking place. It’s just a waste of money” – the Aug. 6 gathering will cost the town $5,000 – and it was a shame that a compromise plan could not have been agreed to by all sides of the issue.

But Baghdady noted that the May 28 vote itself was a compromise in which the board voted to approve design changes to assist elderly residents and ease traffic congestion.

“How do you compromise a compromise?” said Baghdady. 

Paolillo said the one point that bothers him is the process question, “but as far as changing the plan, I’m not accommodating that.” 

Baghdady said notice of the May 28 meeting was sent to Town Meeting members and the public via social media and email. 

“What more process could we have done?” he said.

Next week, the board will discuss and then vote whether to seek “favorable action” on the article.