Managing Belmont’s Farmers’ Market [Video]

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Photo: Patrons can find Mirela at the Belmont Farmers’ Market from the first week of June to the last week in October

It’s a not-so-hot summer Thursday as Mirela strolls the Claflin Street parking lot in Belmont Center, where the Belmont Farmers Market is located and where she’s one of the Market’s two managers.

From a small town near Barcelona, Mirela has been giving her time to the Market – one part of the Belmont Food Collabrative – for nearly a decade with its mission to make healthy food part of everyone’s home, said Mirela.

“[The Belmont Farmers Market] is an important part of the community, and I feel wonderful working here,” she said.

Volunteers like Mirela and her staff provide the structure that allows the Market to offer local produce, meat and fish, baked goods, prepared meals, breads, and freshly made goods to more than 800 patrons each week.

Starting in the first week of June and ending the last week of October, Mirela sets up and takes down the stalls and tents used by the Market, makes sure the nearly two dozen vendors are happy and hydrated (with water provided by the Market), and answers a litany of questions from patrons. Mirela also works to find new vendors by visiting other farmers’ markets during the year. 

The Market also provides food assistance to shoppers, including doubling SNAP benefits up to $25 per week and participating in the state’s Farmers Market Nutrition Program, which offers coupons to WIC families and eligible seniors. In 2023, these programs added more than $59,000 to shoppers’ budgets.

Last year, the Market started its free POP Club, targeting the youngest patrons. Each week, nearly 70 kids between 5 and 12 years old are provided $3 in POP Bucks, which can be used to purchase fruit and vegetables—”No cookies!” said Mirela—to make their own healthy food choices and learn where their food comes from while making the Market a fun experience.

And this week the market is asking POP participants how the program is doing with a POP Club Survey

Purple Heart Day Includes A Day At The Underwood Pool For Serving Military

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Photo: The poster for the National Purple Heart Day Observation Ceremony in Belmont.

Belmont will be holding a National Purple Heart Day Observation Ceremony at Belmont Veterans Memorial Park at the corner of Concord Avenue and Underwood Street on Wednesday, Aug. 7 at 6:30 p.m.

The event will be co-sponsored by the Belmont Veterans Memorial Committee and VFW Post 1272.

In association with the day, the Belmont Recreation Department is providing a free day at the Underwood Pool at Concord Avenue and Cottage Street for all active duty military personnel and their immediate family, occurring on Wednesday, Aug. 7.

The Purple Heart is awarded to members of the armed forces of the U.S who are wounded by an instrument of war in the hands of the enemy and posthumously to the next of kin in the name of those who are killed in action or die of wounds received in action.

Special Town Meeting Approves Revised Traffic Plan, Sets Stage For Development of McLean Parcels

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Photo: A screen shot of the final vote

The annual Town Meeting came to an end on Wednesday, June 26, when members overwhelmingly approved a Special Town Meeting article to alter a quarter-century traffic management agreement between the town and McLean Hospital that was stalling the financing of a pair of developments on two parcels of land.

The 192-25-5 result easily passed the two-thirds margin required to modify the existing plan, dubbed the Traffic Management and Mitigation Plan (TMMP). Before the final vote, members defeated an amendment by abutters that sought to delay implementing the changes sought by McLean and supported by the town.

With the new agreement in place, developer Northland Development can proceed with construction of 150 units of residential housing in Zone 3—accessed from Olmsted Drive off of Pleasant Street—as well as create a building to house two schools run by the hospital while setting aside 60,000 square feet for a future research and development facility in Zone 4.

Presenting for the town, Town Engineer Glenn Clancy took a detailed dive into the history of the traffic plan and the proposed development in Zone 3. The TMMA was meant to address how the property’s owner and residents will comport with the traffic limitations identified in 1999, which included a sizeable 486-unit assistant living facility. Violating the volume ceiling would require fines and removing parking and access to the site, which financing firms reportedly pointed to as an impediment to the project’s funding.

Clancy noted the mitigation plan is no longer relevant for the latest residential plan for a smaller all-residential project, so “I think you can begin to understand why someone investing in a development like that would be troubled by something like this.” Roy Epstein, chair of the Select Board, told the meeting that a “no” vote on the article would kill the current residential plan and allow Northland to construct a project without improvements to affordable housing and other amenities the town had negotiated with Northland.

In an effort to resolve the funding impediment, the town agreed to remove the 1999 traffic limits and penalties in Zone 3 and 4 while receiving improvements to traffic signals at Olmsted and Pleasant and upgrading the signal at the intersection of McLean Drive and Mill Street through its negotiations. 

The principal critics of the revamped agreement said the town was losing an important deterrent to traffic sprawl in both Zones which would impact the surrounding neighborhoods.

Jolanta Eckert of Precinct 3, who authored the amendment, said rather than bring an article before the Town Meeting, the Select Board could simply sign a formal commitment with Northland declaring that it would not enforce the current management and mitigation plan in Zone 3, which would be sufficient to allow the necessary financing to be obtained. By retaining the TMMA, the town would hold a strong hand when McLean comes before the Planning Board with its plans in Zone 4, including a 90,000 sq.ft. She said that the educational building could house up to 2,000 students.

“[While] I strongly support the Northland Zone 3 proposal and and plan to vote to ensure its success, at the same time, I don’t want the town to unilaterally cede a key negotiating chip in the upcoming negotiations with McLean concerning Zone 4,” said Vince Stanton, precinct 2.

Yet it did not appear Eckert’s amendment had garnered support as the town and officials had countered the claims via email messages prior to Wednesday’s meeting. Belmont Counsel George Hall refuted Eckert’s claim a Select Board’s promise on not impose penalities or sanctions would meet the needs of financiers who required a change in the agreement that only the Town Meeting could impose. 

As for Zone 4, Clancy said the project will come before the Planning Board which will the final say on parking and traffic. In addition, several Town Meeting members pointed out some failings in Eckert’s argument pointing out that the Arlington School’s enrollment is currently 35 students, with the likelihood of a 2,000-student capacity “nonsensical.”

A majority of members voiced their support for the change in the agreement as it would keep the present Zone 3 housing plan which is seen as advantageous for Belmont. Rachel Heller, who is a member of the Housing Trust which led the Zone 3 negotiations for the town, said it would be hard to duplicate the concessions they received from Northland in 2019.

“Today, a 25-year-old traffic mitigation agreement created for a different development that was never built stands in the way of delivering on housing that will add revenue for Belmont affordability for residents downsizing options for seniors, and preserve Belmont’s ability to make development decisions in accordance with the state’s affordable housing law chapter 40B,” said Heller.

“We asked a lot from Northland,” said Heller, including 25 percent affordability throughout the development, the inclusion of rental units, no restrictions on household types purchasing or renting units as well as a commitment to all-electric dwellings.

“So I urge you to vote yes. Let’s give the green light to the homes that we need,” said Heller.

After nearly an hour of debate, the questioned was called and the amendment was soundly defeated. The vote on the article was a foregone conclusion.

The next Town Meeting will take place is mid-November as the town will seek to ratify Belmont’s MBTA Communities map.

McLean To Propose Schools Building, Future R&D In Zone 4 Overlay District

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Photo: The current Arlington School (Arlington School Facebook)

McLean Hospital will submit a proposal to build two buildings totaling 150,000 sq.ft. in the McLean District Zone 4 Overlay District to house an school building and research and development space.

The 11.58 acre development will be presented before the Select Board on Wednesday, June 26, and comes the day a Special Town Meeting vote to alter a traffic management and mitigation agreement the hosptial has with the town for a residential development in the district’s Zone 3.

This project would complete the build out of the 238 acres McLean set aside for development in a 1999 Memorandum of Agreement between the hosptial and Belmont.

“I have to admit I haven’t seen anything updated,” said Town Engineer Glen Clancy before a June 17 public meeting with the Select Board on changes to a traffic mitigation plan in a neighboring zone. “There may very well be something that I’m not aware of, [but] conceptually, this is pretty close.”

The proposal will see the hospital build two structures: a 90,000 sq.-ft. facility to house a relocated Arlington School, a college preparatory high school founded in 1961, and Pathways Academy, an off-site school aimed at helping students with autism spectrum disorders. In addition, a future 60,000 sq.-ft. research and development facility will join the schools, but which it has yet to attract a partner.

Clancy said McLean will seek site plan approval to develop within Zone 4 in advance of an application to the Planning Board in July. 

According to Stephen Kidder, an attorney representing McLean, the project will be a taxable development.

If the proposal sounds familiar, the hospital presented a nearly identical plan before a joint meeting of the Select and Planning boards in March 2020, within weeks of regular activity being shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The original plan has yet to receive a formal vote by town officials.

The current four-year delay was due to the hospital’s determination to move forward with the school project using philanthropic funding, which was time-consuming.”McLean is now at a point where it can go forward.”

According to Kidder, while the hospital has been interested in finding a developer for the R&D for the past two decades, despite a single inquiry in 2008, “there’s essentially been no further interest articulated.”

After 20 years of frustration attracting a research and development partner for the site, the hospital decided in 2020 to “establish a child and adolescent program on the site to deal with the incredible rise in mental health issues that are faced by children and adolescents these days,” said Hitter, a partner at Hemenway & Barnes.

Kidder noted that the town will tax both facilities as commercial property due to existing agreements between the town and the hospital.

“It’s clear any development on zones three and four is a taxable development. So even though the use would be an otherwise charitable use, and under Massachusetts state law would qualify for a tax exemption, this would be a fully taxable use because that’s the agreement that the claim made with the tenant,” said Kidder.

With the announcement made during a meeting to review changes to a traffic plan affecting Zone 3, Kidder noted, “The primary generator of traffic under this proposal for Zone 4 is the Arlington School. And that’s traffic that is already coming to the area.” With the transfer of the schools to their new site, traffic that currently takes Mill Street “will be shifted to Pleasant Street … but it is not new traffic being generated in the area.”

Why Wait? Underwood Pool Opening One Day Early On Wednesday, June 19

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Photo: Early opening for the Underwood Pool

The children are out of school for the summer, and a heatwave has descended on Belmont. Why wait to open the Underwood Pool? So, the town’s Recreation Department has decided to start the 2024 summer pool season one day early on Wednesday, June 19.

The pool, located at the corner of Concord Avenue and Cottage Street, will be open from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. on the last day of Spring.

The June 19th opening is being sponsored by Belmont Youth Activities and D.A.R.E.

What’s Open/Closed Memorial Day 2024: Trash/Recycling Collection Delayed A Day

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Photo: Memorial Day at the Belmont Cemetery

Memorial Day is a national holiday in the United States which honors and mourns the military personnel who have died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. The holiday this year is observed on Monday, May 27.

Belmont will commemorate the day with the annual Memorial Day Ceremony and Parade starting at the Grove Street Cemetery, 121 Grove St., at 11 a.m. A parade will conclude at the Veterans Memorial at Clay Pit Pond off of Concord Avenue. Games, music and food trucks will be waiting for you!

What’s Closed:

  • Belmont Town offices, temporary library locations and Belmont Light are closed. They will reopen to the public on Tuesday, May 28.
  • US Postal Service offices and regular deliveries.
  • Banks; although branches will be open in some supermarkets.

MBTA: Buses and subways on a Sunday schedule, while the commuter rail is on a weekend schedule. Go to www.mbta.com for details.

Trash and recycling collection: There will be no collection Monday; trash and recycling will be delayed ONE DAY this holiday week.

What’s Opened:

  • Retail stores.
  • Coffee shops: Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts are serving coffee all day.
  • Supermarkets.
  • Convenience and drug stores (CVS/Pharmacy) open regular hours.
  • Establishments that sell beer and wine are also allowed to be open.

Opening Night Of 2024 Town Meeting: Cleanup Of Bylaws Foretells Major Zoning Changes; Members Show Restaurants Parking Love

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Photo: Belmont Town Meeting, 2024

One member described the opening night of the 2024 edition of Belmont’s annual Town Meeting on Monday, April 29, as “a bit of a snooze.” 

That observation was pretty close as the three articles were like reading the small print on the back of a life insurance statement: important, no doubt, but unlikely to raise passions as articles have done in previous years.

However, for those leading the reformation of the town’s Zoning Bylaws, this first night was not a series of housekeeping tasks in copy editing and revamping the town’s zoning code. Rather, Monday was akin to a musical overture, hinting at major themes and motifs that future assemblies of the town’s legislative body will take on for the next decade.

Select Board, Town Administration, Town Moderator and Town Clerks

“This meeting is critically important because Town Meeting has to be part of the process of change,” said Select Board’s Elizabeth Dionne, who initiated and is leading the overhaul of the code. “And we do it through these incremental changes while we prepare to do the big overhaul,” said Dionne, who declared Belmont’s current zoning bylaws “a hot mess.” 

“It’s going to take many, many votes over the next several Town Meetings to get ourselves into the place where we have thriving commercial districts and places where everybody can [prosper],” said Rachel Heller, Precinct 3, who was co-chair of the MBTA Communities Task Force, which recently handed its recommendations to the Planning Board that will come before a Special Town Meeting for a vote in November.

The Meeting

After a dower presentation from Mark Haley of the Municipal Rink Building Committee and the presentation of the results of a poll on adopting hybrid participation for future Town Meetings, the meeting proceeded to essentially two articles, number 5 and 6, that allowed a scrubbing of portions of the zoning code. 

Members were asked to accept changes to the bylaws to clarify language, change word placement for better readability, and correct ” scrivener errors in citations.” It wasn’t surprising that the Planning Board’s Jeffrey Birenbaum sarcastically noted that the articles were to be “very exciting” for members. 

While seemingly voting for members was fairly routine, Bob McGaw, Precinct 1, who has taken the unofficial role of the Town Meeting’s copy editor, presented amendments to correct the articles’ words and phrasing.

“Tedious wording, so bare with me,” said McGaw, to laughter. However, his work is important as he amends the articles to clarify and remove future unattended consequences that could be costly, such as repairing confusing language or even possible litigation.

Bob McGaw, Precinct 1

“I just want to make [the article] clear in its intent,” said McGaw. “People have to know that we are making laws. This isn’t voting for flowers on Mother’s Day. It’s important.”

Each article passed by a margin of better than 225 votes of nearly 240 cast.

Parking Love

The final article of the evening likely brought most members to the High School auditorium, which would grant restaurants – both current and whoever is coming down the road – a more significant number of seating by allowing the eateries to count four times the number of parking spaces in the licensing process.

The article reduces restaurant parking requirements from one space per two-person seating capacity to one space per four-person seating capacity. Restaurants can use current or planned on-site parking, on-street parking within 1,000 feet of the restaurant, and potential leased off-street spaces. Even If a combination of these three sources does not add to the new required number, the applicant may seek relief via a special permit application with the Zoning Board of Appeal.

The restaurant article has been discussed for the past year. According to Dionne, it is the “low-hanging fruit” that the Town Meeting could pass to begin changing the anti-business perception of the town’s zoning code. 

An amendment by Jack Weis (Precinct 2) sought to decrease the yardage from 1,000 to 600 feet, which the restaurant could claim for the parking requirements. Weis said one or more eateries could claim the same spaces in their applications, which has the potential of having too many vehicles for the same spots, leading to possible overparking and spillover onto side streets.

“Let’s walk before we run,” said Weis.

But Town Meeting would not slowwalk the bylaw changes being proposed.

“I say we run as fast as we can given how important it is to attract more businesses and to become more restaurant friendly,” said Mark Kagan, Precinct 8.

The article passed 217-12-0.

For Angus Abercrombie (Precinct 8), who was one of the article’s chief campaigners, the margin of the vote “shows what we are looking at in terms of the level of support and level of understanding in this body of just how dire the situation is right now.”

“Many communities see parking requirements reform as radical. What I see is radical is asking our residents to choose between an almost a 10 percent year-over-year tax increase, or millions of dollars in lost services,” he said.

“To know that we’re going to have to ask that question again in just a few years if we aren’t able to turn around our ship on business development. Frankly, this isn’t radical policy. The radical question is the one we settled on April 2,” said Abercrombie, noting the passing of a $8.4 million Prop. 2 1/2 override.

“I think there was a huge mandate. Not just to this level of parking reform but beyond these levels of zoning reforms. And that’s what I’m looking forward to,” he said

With the successful passage of the restaurant parking, Town Meeting will next take up zoning changes to making Belmont a hotel friendly community.

“Hotels are a fabulous business opportunity. They provide room tax, meals, and alcohol tax, plus the underlying value is high. So it’s a quadruple win for us. Not to mention the fact that people want it so their families can stay here,” said Dionne, who predicts a hotel article will come before the 2025 annual Town Meeting.

Belmont’s Shea Places 15th In Under20 World XC Championships; Top American For Consecutive Years [Video]

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Photo: Belmont’s Ellie Shea finishing 15th at the Under20 World Cross Country Championships held in Belgrade on March 30, the first American to finish the race. (Photo credit: CITIUS MAG)

After a quiet seven months since winning races in the Under20s at the US National and Pan American Games, Belmont’s Ellie Shea put her stamp on the international cross country scene for the second time, finishing 15th at the World Athletics Cross Country Under 20 Championships held March 30 in Belgrade, Serbia.

The 18-year-old Belmont Middle and High School senior was the first American athlete across the finish line held under bright, sunny skies in Belgrade’s Friendship Park, repeating as the top American at the world championships. Last year in Australia, Shea finished 10th to lead the US to its first ever podium finish in the championships, earning a team bronze medal.

”I just wanted to make the most of it and just really be competitive,” said Shea after the race during an interview with LetsRun.com

Wearing her trademark white framed cobalt sunglasses – which has its own on Google search page – Shea settled into the back of the large pack of front runners in the first of three laps, running the 2.1 kilometers in 6 minutes, 49 seconds. Notably, Shea was one of the few participants who hurdled the hay bale barriers to shave a few seconds on each loop.

The lead group, comprised of Ethiopians, Kenyans, and Ugandans, showed their quality in distance races as they pulled away during the second lap with Shea and fellow American Allie Zealand – teammates on last year’s U20 team – running in 16th and 17th, behind the UK’s Innes Fitzgerald who pulled away by seven seconds over the Americans with one lap remaining.

In the final loop, Shea returned to the top class runner she was last year, as she sped away from Zealand, catching and dispatching Fitzgerald before nearly nipping a pair of Ugandans and a Kenyan who were fading fast down the home stretch.

Shea finished in 20:50, completing the final lap and the home stretch (2.2K) in 7:29, finishing outside the top 12 by seven seconds. The race was won by 15-year-old Marta Alemiayo crossing the line in 19:29, leading a dominate Ethiopian team performance to sweep the first three places.

Zealand would overtake Fitzgerald to finish 16th in 21.08. The US team of Shea, Zealand, Mary Dalton (28th), Zariel Macchiato (29th), Jolena Quarzo (41st), and Maddie Gardiner (49th) would take 4th place in the team event with 88 points, edging out the UK (90) and Japan (98).

The BHS Performing Arts Company Will Be Staging ‘Something Rotten’ This Week

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Photo: The poster of this year’s musical “Something Rotten”

The tale of how the world’s very first musical was staged, the Belmont High School Performing Arts Company presents its Spring Musical “Something Rotten” this week in the Belmont Middle and High School Main Theater.

Showtimes are:

  • Thursday, March 14 at 7 p.m.
  • Friday, March 15 at 7 p.m.
  • Saturday, March 16 at 2 p.m. (matinee) and 7 p.m. 

Ticketing for the shows is online, and advance purchase of tickets is strongly encouraged, as the Main Theater has limited seating capacity. Tickets can be purchased at bhs-pac.org

It’s 1595, and brothers Nick and Nigel Bottom are desperate to write a hit play but find themselves stuck in the shadow of William Shakespeare, the Renaissance rock star known as “The Bard.” When a soothsayer foretells that the future of theater involves singing, dancing, and acting – all at the same time – Nick and Nigel set out to write the world’s very first musical. Amidst the scandalous excitement of opening night, the Bottom brothers realize that reaching the top means being true to their own self.

The book is by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell. Music and lyrics by Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick, who also conceived the work.

TICKETS:
ADULTS: $15 in advance / $18 at the door
STUDENTS/CHILDREN: $10
BHS STUDENTS: $5 Thursday and Saturday Matinee, $10 Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m.

Select Board Sends $8.4M Override To Voters With A Compact In Tow

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Photo: The Select Board voting to present a $8.4 million override to voters at the town’s annual Election in April

After Belmont’s Select Board voted unanimously on Tuesday morning, Jan. 30 to place an $8.4 million override on the ballot at the annual Town Election, Board Chair Roy Epstein believed their decision will be seen by the town’s voters as the necessary course to take.

“We’re relying basically on our experiences what might work,” said Epstein after the vote. “Some people have indicated they would like it to be smaller [amount]. Others said they would like it to be larger. So I’m hoping that means we landed at the right place.”

After nearly six months of meetings, public events, and the decision to pegging how much the “ask” of residents came down to two competing figures: a $7.5 million override that would protect the current level of full-time positions in the town and schools, and $8.4 million, which will allow the town and schools to invest in specific area. In the end, the Select Board settled on what they consider is necessary to carry the town over the next three years.

“We appreciate the concerns that some residents have expressed to me,” said Mark Paolillo, who will be retiring from the board at the April election. “But I think [the override] is absolutely needed in order for us to continue to serve the residents and provide services that they expect.”

“This is not an irresponsible number,” said Elizabeth Dionne to the half dozen residents attending the Town Hall meeting. “It is a painful number.”

According to Jennifer Hewitt, the town’s financial director and assistant town administrator, with the town committed to the override, the town and school district can now release their fiscal year 2025 budgets, on Friday, Feb. 2. The Select Board, School and Warrant Committee will meet Thursday, Feb. 8 at 7 p.m. at Town Hall for the fourth Budget Summit at which time the fiscal ’25 budget will be presented.

The expected override is by no means a surprise, as the town has been struggling for more than a decade with a structural budget deficit created by ever-increasing expenses and a difficulty to raise sufficient revenue with annual property tax increases capped at 2 1/2 percent. Add to that, the board has inherited a number of costly such as a large and growing pension fund liability.

With a $6 million cliff facing the town in fiscal ’25, even a “level” budget that seeks to keep personnel and services at the previous year’s proportions would require a significant increase in funding.

While the funds will fill the budget deficit in the next three years, the board views the largest override in Belmont’s history in terms of an investment that in the long run will benefit both the town and schools. Epstein noted “a potential for restructuring certain activities to free up monies to deploy them more effectively.” Case in point: School Superintendent Jill Geiser plans to use the extra funding to lay a foundation with added Special Education staffing and planning with the goal to reduce the number of students being placed “out-of-district” for their schooling, which Dionne said is the greatest financial burdens facing future school budgets.

Agreeing to the larger override amount “is the starting point of making that investment with potential long-term benefits,” said Warrant Committee Chair Geoff Lubien.

“That’s why I believe the $8.4 million is necessary to make that even a possibility,” said Epstein.

The alternative to the override would be cataclysmic to all municipal and educational functions in Belmont. A forecasting exercise on the impact of a “no” vote would force painful cuts in staffing and programs in public safety, public works, library and all other town services while the schools would see significant reduction in staff as students will be without extra curriculum activities, the elimination of popular classes and higher students-to-teacher ratios.

“It’s really easy to destroy institutions, it’s very difficult to rebuild,” said Dionne. “If we don’t have a successful override, we will lose a cadre of talent we cannot replace easily. It will cost us far more to rebuild and to maintain.”

Acknowledging the large “ask” of residents, the Select Board will attempt to placate voters anxiety voting for the override by “hammering out” what is being called a compact with the community. Under this informal agreement, the board, school committee and other town entities will work together to implement policies – such as revamping zoning bylaws to facilitate business creation – and initiatives to manage expenses in an attempt to “bend the curve” of ever rising costs all the while look for ways to maximize revenues.

“What we [as a town] have to be … is faster, better, smarter,” said Dionne.

Under the compact, the Select Board will commit funds to specific public concerns. One discussed Tuesday is appropriating override dollars to repair and replace the town’s threadbare and increasingly unsafe sidewalks, which have been a lament among residents for nearly two decades.

The compact will also “force us to be more fiscally disciplined” using one-time funds such as free cash and from out-of-town sources such as government grants, according to Lubien.