Lacrosse Night In Belmont A Showcase For Youngsters And Varsity Alike

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Photo: The present and the future of Belmont lacrosse ready to enter the pitch at Lacrosse Night in Belmont

Despite the record 86 degrees heat, the stands at Harris Field were packed Saturday afternoon, May 14, as families, parents and players came out for a night of cheering the town’s lacrosse players.

Dozens of the youngest boys and girls in the Belmont Youth Lacrosse joined the varsity players from Belmont High School during Lacrosse Night in Belmont, the annual event promoting the game and attracting new players and the larger community to the sport.

“They’re more fans in the stands that we’ve ever seen. And it’s a testament to all the people who were involved this year,” said Belmont High Boys’ Lacrosse Head Coach Josh Streit, one of the drivers of the event which emulates Soccer Night In Belmont held each October.

The young athletes and the high school players marched out to the center of the pitch to sing the national anthem along with the Chenery Middle School chorus. At half time of both games, the youngsters got their chance to shine with a 10-minute exhibition

“It was so great to see the smiles on the kids. These partnerships with the youth and building both high school and the youth program was so important to having successful programs,” said Streit, as the youth players came off the pitch looking forward to free Moozy’s ice cream and the T-shirt toss.

Boys’ double up Arlington, 12-6, as Marauders seek a playoff fixture

Everything clicked for Belmont Boys’ Lacrosse as the Marauders doubled up Arlington, 12-6, in the early game of the Lacrosse Night In Belmont doubleheader.

While the team played the most complete game this year against North Reading and its best game was versus Burlington, the Arlington was “kind of a bigger win for us,” said Streit. “This was great because offensively we were doing the things that we preach at practice and we were running our offense all game long” which produced some of the best goals this year, he said, particularly a blast into the low corner of net from junior mid Quinn Leary at “the end of high tempo, high end offense that we’re capable of doing.”

The highlight of the match was the breakout performance from junior mid/attack Jack Murphy who as an injury replacement with a single tally this season, scored four goals and an assist. ”He was in the right place and knowing the offense and the offense looking for him because he was getting to the spot.”

After struggling to get out of the gate this season, the Boys’ have reached .500 with a dominating 17-2 performance vs Somerville only to drop a notch losing to host Lexington, 19-13, on Thursday, May 19. Belmont starts the week with a record of 7-8-0 with a MIAA Power Rating of 32nd, the final automatic playoff position in Division 1.

Girls’ at .500 after 19-13 loss to SpyPonders

The Belmont Girls’ found themselves in a physical game with the SpyPonders who had the size and heft to play that game and upending the Marauders 19-12. Despite the outcome, the team put up double digit in goals against a very good defensive team.

The Marauders got out of the box quickly to build a 2-0 lead in the first four minutes. But the physical SpyPonders benefiting from the refs decision to “let them play” muscled their way to a 7-2 lead midway in the first half before junior mid Stella Lesknik scored while falling from a push in the back. Belmont cut the lead to three with a pair of goals – courtesy sophomore mid/attack Tess DeSantis and junior mid Layne Doherty in the final 3:16 to leave the field down 9-6.

But Arlington came out strong with the first four goals in the first five minutes of the second half off of winning each of the face-off draws in the half before junior attack Mary Mullan got Belmont back on the scorer’s sheet six minutes in.

Marauders’ Head Coach Rebecca Reed said winning will come with ”winning draws and ground balls. The draw controls a lot. You win the draw you typically win the game.”

“We simply needed possession because we have a better set offense than most teams,” she said.

Belmont’s Mullan was the game’s high scorer with five goals including the Marauder’s final three goals, the last two scored with 27 seconds and a single second remaining on the clock.

“We tried to spread out our offense on cuts and try to make an open lane which is crucial so you’re not getting doubled (by defenders). It really is trying to get to the net the best way possible,” she said.

Since lacrosse night, Belmont found themselves on the wrong side in consecutive high scoring games against Lexington and the return fixture with Arlington.

Jennifer Hewitt Named Belmont’s Asst. Town Administrator/Finance Director

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Photo: Jennifer Hewitt, Belmont’s Assistant Town Administrator/Finance Director

A veteran of state and town government has been named Belmont’s assistant town administrator and new finance director, according to Town Administrator Patrice Garvin who made the announcement at the Select Board’s Monday, May 23 meeting.

Jennifer Hewitt replaces Jon Marshall who left in October 2021 to become deputy town administrator for operations in Natick.

“Thank you for the warm welcome. It was a busy day, lots to learn and looking forward to the challenge,” Hewitt said.

Hewitt comes to Belmont after six years as Lexington’s budget officer where she was responsible for collaborating with town departments to develop budgets and produce budget documents, track spending and flag areas for review and follow-up. She was the interim assistant director of finance for the Lexington schools for a little over a year before becoming the budget officer.

Before her tenure in municipal government, Hewitt spent nearly 20 years with the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services, working in fiscal policy. She finished her state career as the department’s director of purchase of service administration which oversaw $2.3 billion in human service spending.

Hewitt matriculated at Valparaiso University in Indiana where she received her BA in Political Science and French and earned a Master’s in Public Administration from UMass Boston.

Hewitt’s annual salary is $153,000.

Open/Closed In Belmont Center: CVS Opens In New Location; Bank America Closing In June [Update]

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Photo: The new location of CVS/Pharmacy next to Trinktisch

Two established businesses in Belmont Center are on the move.

CVS/Pharmacy officially opens this week – although hastily placed signs continue to say it is not open – in its new location adjacent to Trinktisch across Leonard Street from its former site. The move which was anticipated since last year leaves the former location at 60 Leonard St. vacant, adding to the number of empty storefronts in Belmont’s main business center.

Still not open.

And that number will grow when the Bank of America Financial Center at 72 Leonard St. closes the branch and the ATM for good on June 19, according to Belmont Center Business Association President Gerry Dickhaut.

“I don’t know what’s going in there, but I know the landlords are looking at possible tenants,” said Dickhaut, saying he’d prefer to see a retail store that will increase foot traffic to the center, ”like a telephone store or a shoe store.”

T Proposing New Bus Route Running From Waverley Square To Arlington Via Belmont Center

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Photo: A new proposed MBTA bus route could be up and running in Belmont one year from now

The MBTA is proposing a new bus route for Belmont – dubbed the 54 – that bisects the town from Waverley Square via Belmont Center as it heads to Arlington as part of its long-awaited Bus Network Redesign project.

With greater Boston undergoing shifts in demographics, changing employment districts, and increased traffic congestion, “the Bus Network Redesign completely reimagines the MBTA’s bus network to reflect these changes and create a better experience for current and future bus riders,” according to the website announcing the initiative on Monday, May 16.

The proposed Route 54 – which replaces parts of the existing 67, 505, 554 and 558 routes – will run from Arlington Center via Belmont and Waltham Center to the MBTA’s Green Line D Riverside Station in Newton. The bus will enter Belmont at Lexington Street, travel to Waverley Square then head up Trapelo Road onto Waverley Street. It will turn onto Common Street and travel under the commuter rail bridge into Belmont Center on Leonard Street. It will make a right on Pleasant Street and proceed to Arlington Center.

It will run on the half-hour “or better” from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week. If the demand is there, service could begin as early as 5 a.m. and as late as 1 a.m.

The changes will also include the elimination of the 74 line that runs from Belmont Center to Harvard Square via Fresh Pond. To compensate for the loss of the route, the 75 line – which also runs from Belmont Center to Harvard Square but on a more elongated path – will see more late-night and Sunday service.

The popular 73 line – which the MBTA calls one of 30 “high-frequency” bus routes in the new system – from Waverley to Harvard Square will remain unchanged. The 78 line, which travels on Blanchard Road and Brighton Street, will see trips reduced from one every 30 minutes to once an hour. And the 78 and 62 lines will no longer travel on Hinkley Way and Frontage Road while the 76 line will continue on its familiar route to Alewife.

At Monday’s announcement, Kat Benesh, the T’s Chief of Operations Strategy, Policy & Oversight, said the initial route changes from the new bus network would begin “no sooner than spring or summer 2023.”

‘Final’ Fuel Tank Virtual Meeting Set For May 19

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Photo: The current location of the fuel tanks at the Belmont DPW Yard.

It wasn’t suppose to be this difficult: replacing a pair of ancient underground tanks at the Public Works yard which funding had already been allocated to build. But two years after Town Meeting first breached the subject, Belmont officials will bring the future of the pair of 35-year-old 6,000 fuel tanks back to the public one final time before the issue returns to Town Meeting in a few weeks.

The meeting will be held over ZOOM and by phone on Thursday, May 19 at 7 p.m. Connecting to the meeting via ZOOM or by phone can be found here.

After a $533,000 request from the Capital Budget Committee was approved in 2020, a $500,000 supplemental appropriation championed by the Capital Budget Committee and the Select Board was narrowly defeated by the 2021 Town Meeting after three residents – which received the support of a fledging austerity organization – brought a citizen petition article to the legislative body.

Since then, the town has been conducting a detailed analysis to answer questions about the project which included a three-month trial study over the winter on the effectiveness of off-site fueling of town-owned vehicles at neighborhood service stations.

The results of the analysis will likely be incorporated in Article 19 – which is currently a placeholder – which will come before Town Meeting in the first week of June.

NH Man Arrested For Belmont High School Bomb Threat

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Photo: Belmont High School

A 39-year-old New Hampshire man was taken into custody on Thursday, May 12, for making a bomb threat that forced the closure of Belmont High School the day before, according to a press release from Belmont Police Chief James MacIsaac.

Acting on information provided by Belmont Police detectives, members of the U.S. Marshall Fugitive and the Massachusetts State Police Fugitive task forces arrested without incident the unnamed resident of Ossipee, NH at a Holiday Inn in Peabody. He will face charges for making a false bomb threat and could face additional federal charges as well. The suspect’s connection to Belmont, if any, is unclear.

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2022 Belmont Town Meeting, Second/Third Nights Of Segment A: A New Capital Budget Committee Approved

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Photo: Belmont Town Meeting approved the work of a special commission to change the Massachusetts state flag and seal (above) (credit: Commonwealth of Massachusetts)

The final two nights of Segment A of Belmont’s 2022 annual Town Meeting saw the creation of a new committee to oversee town and school capital projects, allow a group of dispatchers to retire under the plan they started with, and gave a thumbs up to updating the state flag.

The new Comprehensive Capital Budget Committee

Here was the opportunity for Town Meeting to merge the two existing committees overseeing the town’s capital process – the well established Capital Budget Committee and the two-year-old Long Term Capital Planning Committee – into an all encompassing oversight group of capital projects to be dubbed the Comprehensive Capital Budget Committee.

According to the article’s sponsor Chris Doyle, chair of the Long Term Capital Planning Committee, the new group will revise and expand the town’s capital budgeting and planning process. It will continue the work of the Capital Budget Committee which comes to Town Meeting with an annual appropriations list of projects or items requested by town departments – from fire trucks to roof repairs and everything in-between – with a new requirement to present to Town Meeting detailed one, five and 30 year plans that will evaluate major projects and financing options. The one year plan would be the annual appropriations which is voted on by Town Meeting while the five and 30 year plans will be recommendations by the CCPC provided to the annual meeting.

While there was no real opposition to the creation of the new committee – it has been under discussion and presented to the public for the past several months without much criticism – the article still came before Town Meeting with three amendments which Town Moderator Mike Widmer said was the most he’s seen at any one article in all his time as moderator. Two amendments were clearly ”housekeeping” alterations which were happily accepted by Doyle.

The third amendment from Bob McGaw, Precinct 1, sought to include language on how the three plans would be structured, by “endeavor[ing] to utilize generally accepted financial analysis tools and models in its evaluation and comparison of capital projects.” While the amendment’s suggestion on using “generally accepted” analysis models appeared to be innocuous enough, it could also be open to interpretation that troubled many as demonstrated by every board and committee reporting on it recommending “unfavorable action.”

While opponents to the McGaw amendment were OK with deep dives on the finances of capital projects – Ann Marie Mahoney, Precinct 1 and chair of the CBC, said what McGaw is seeking “is already happening” with her committee including analyzing purchasing vs. leasing and calculating life expectancy of renovation or reconstruction projects – they believed the phrasing was far too vague.

“This sentence is completely unworkable,” said Claus Becker, Precinct 5, as ”there is no list of ‘generally accepted financial analysis’ tool in the context of local governance.” Becker said if a resident doesn’t accept the work a committee or board has produced, it is their “civic duty” to do their own analysis and present it to the public for comment.

The McGaw amendment was set aside by Town Meeting and the article was approved by a wide margin, 244-8-3.

Retirement Classification of Certain Employees

Precinct 7’s Michael McNamara put it succinctly when he renamed the measure on the Retirement Classification of Certain Employees brought before Town Meeting as the “keeping them from being stiffed” article.

Tom Gibson, chair of the Belmont Retirement Board and the sponsor of the article, reported that the article came as a result of the latest three year audit by the Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission – which regulates, oversee and guides the operation state’s public pension systems – which determined that Belmont’s dispatchers are misclassified in terms of their pension benefits. While they are placed in group 2 – which includes employees whose major duties are the care and custodial duties involving prisoners – the auditors said they should be group 1, which are for clerical, administrative, management and technical employees. That change would have an impact on the calculation of an employee’s retirement allowance which will eventual the final benefit.

Gibson said the PERAC-directed change would impact just eight Belmont employees and all future employees. Under the new group designation, the eight would be required to work more years to receive the amount they were expecting under the existing plan. The article would grandfather those under the existing Group 2 classification with all new employees be slotted into Group 1.

As both Gibson and Select Board Chair Mark Paolillo noted, voting yes on the article was to a measure of fairness for the eight dispatchers. While the majority of speakers supported the article, some who said they were fine with the measure were miffed that the Retirement or Select Board didn’t have an analysis of the ”added” cost of keeping the dispatchers in Group 2 available to members.

After a bit back and forth with members, Gibson revealed that there would be a $159,423 increase to keep the dispatchers where they are.

Fairness passes: 247-6-5

Changing the State Flag and Seal (non-binding)

This article was fairly self explanatory: Citizen petition sponsor Joseph Barnard, Precinct 3, hoped that the town would approve a resolution to support a special commission as it goes about the mission of changing the Massachusetts state flag and seal. Barnard said this is not a new issue, that indigenous people have been saying for generations that the flag and seal were ”offensive and harmful” and a yes vote ”is to uplift and amplify an indigenous led campaign for change.” Go here for more information.

Not much in terms of debate as nearly all speakers were enthusiastic in backing the measure, although one member did ask for the data that would support the contention that ”a large majority of native Americans find the current state flag offensive.” Barnard admitted he didn’t have a poll or survey to call on but said he believed the indigenous leaders who backed the commission would know what their constituents thinking on the matter. It passed 222-12-19.

Town Meeting Returns In June

Segment B of Town Meeting which articles involving the town and school budgets will be voted, will commence on Wednesday, June 1 at 6:30 a.m., likely via Zoom and on local cable access.

Board Of Health Recommends June Town Meeting Segment Stays Virtual

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Photo: The new Belmont High School auditorium where Town Meeting will likely not take place in 2022

The Belmont Board of Health is recommending the second segment of the 2022 Town Meeting remain virtual, according to a discussion at the board’s monthly meeting on Monday, May 9.

The recommendation now goes before the Select Board for a final decision.

The Town’s Health Director Wesley Chin said he meet recently with Town Moderator Mike Widmer and Town Clerk Ellen Cushman to determine if is possible for the town’s legislative body to meet safely for the three scheduled nights in June when Town Meeting will review and vote on budget articles.

Chin noted to the board that Covid cases have surged in the past month with the CDC placing Middlesex County in its ”high” category for infection.

With the infection risk elevated and best practices for holding an indoor meeting includes people spaced six-foot apart from each other, Widmer and Cushman said the two locations large enough to hold approximately 300 Town Meeting members and staff – the new Belmont High School and the Chenery Middle School auditoriums – are unable to provide the needed separation.

Board member Donna David said she was informed that a possible hybrid option – on site participation with a virtual option or using both auditoriums – was not as an option as the town’s Information Technology department told her a tech solution doesn’t exist at this time to make such a plan work.

Promotions and Pinnings: Belmont Fire Celebrates Those Moving Up And Joining The Department [Photos]

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Photo: Mila and Brooke Elefteriadis helps pin the badge on newly promoted Ace Elefteriadis at the Belmont Fire ceremony.

Just as Lt. Michael Dayton was being sworn in as a Lieutenant in the Belmont Fire Department by Town Clerk Ellen Cushman, a very loud alarm sounded and many of his fellow firefighters scrambled to a Rescue vehicle and fire engine to rush off to a call.

”You knew this was going to happen,” said Belmont Fire Chief David DeStefano after the oath was given to Dayton during what the chief called a “very special day for the department.

Belmont firefighters (left, background) leaving the promotion and pinning celebration to answer a call.

The bay of the Belmont Fire Headquarters on Trapelo Road was filled with family, friends, colleagues, town officials and children galore as the department acknowledged the promotion of four officers and three new firefighters to Belmont Fire’s roll.

Cushman issued the oath for the promotions and had the new officers sign the town’s new “Big Book” for town officials to acknowledge their pledge to the town coming after children and parents helped place their new badges onto their uniforms.

For the newbies, their mothers had to honor of ”pinning” their badges on their sons.

”This opportunity to get together and acknowledge the achievements” of those being promoted “is a rare occasion for the department and to bring aboard these three brand new firefighters and to have them participate in one of their first events with us makes this occasion even more special,” said DeStefano at the ceremony.

Those promoted include:

  • Asst. Chief Andrew Tobio – appointed 2003
  • Capt. Robert Wollner – appointed 2005
  • Lt. Ace Elefteriadis – appointed 2003
  • Lt. Michael Dayton – appointed 2011

Tobio, Eleftriadis and Dayton are Belmont High School alumni while Wollner is a US Navy veteran.

The newly hired Belmont firefighters are:

  • FFOP Peter Donovan
  • FFOP John Conaty
  • FFOP Matthew McCabe

First Night Of 2022 Town Meeting Saw ‘Meat And Potatoes’ Articles Win Approval

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Photo: Mike Widmer at the start of the meeting.

Virtual presentations, virtual line of people at the microphone, virtual voting: Welcome to Belmont’s third annual ZOOM Town Meeting as members came together, once again, in front of laptops and smart phones to conducted the business of town governance on Monday, May 2.

And despite a few technical hiccups – unintended raised hands, unmuted background noise and one or two false starts in remarks and presentations – the night went smoothly taking a tidy three-and-a-half hours to wrap up by 10 p.m. in the first of an expected three nights under Segment A which covers the meeting’s non-budgetary articles.

While the meeting would have the feel of a video conference, it didn’t mean the members would miss out on the traditional moments that precedes each annual assembly: a video flag raising and the Pledge of Allegiance by the Boys and Girls Scouts, an invocation from Dane Helsing of Beacon Community Church along with the acknowledgement of those long-serving members who did not seek or was not reelected – Sue Pew served for 45 years!

And the Town Meeting oath given by Town Clerk Ellen Cushman – “the bestist and nicest Town Clerk” as one of the Boy Scouts attested to – to 50 new members (a record of sorts according to Moderator Mike Widmer) acknowledging their pledge via their wireless voting devices.

During his talk to members on procedure and process, Widmer reminded the first night attendees to not allow discussions to get the better of their emotions

“It’s critical to keep our discourse civil and respectful,” said Widmer. “It is a healthy thing to have a healthy debate. Passion is fine, but let’s keep it civil.”

There was a lot of meat and potato articles on the menu on the first night. After sweeping aside the routine housekeeping articles, the articles

Demolition Delay

The 2017 bylaw established the town’s demolition delay regulations to provide up to a one year reprieve in pulling down 181 significant buildings listed by the town, said Lisa Harrington, chair of the Historic District Commission, in her presentation to the meeting.

The original bylaw has a “sunset” provision that will take effect at the end of 2022. The article would make the bylaw permanent via some minor language changes. The bylaw change will also deleted the appeals provision as the new provision does not add properties to the list. Just how effective the law has been, said Harrington, is that none of the the 181 significant buildings have not been taken down in the past five years.

During the debate, Jason Katola, Precinct 3, opposed the article for some of the same reasons members did five years ago; there is no compensation to the homeowner due to any delay and that it prevents the most productive use (a new structure on the site) of the land. Steve Pinkerton, chair of the Planning Board and Precinct 7, kept his statement brief and to the point: the new bylaw language will not be an impediment to development in town. Vince Stanton, Precinct 3, said that if the bylaw had been on the books at the turn of the century, four historic and architecturally important buildings – the Waverley Square Congregational Church and the Thomas Clark House, as examples – that he described as “real treasures” would have had at least partial protection. Not all that controversial, the article passed easily, 221-31-1.

Membership of Town Committees

Town Clerk Cushman told the meeting that many Belmontians believe that serving on boards, commissions and committees is a vital part of government and that it’s currently reserved for residents with some limited exceptions. But, surprisingly, there is only one reason that a member can be removed from said bodies: missing three consecutive meetings.

The bylaw change proposed by Cushman would create three reasons to remove a member; missing three consecutive meetings, non-compliance with the mandatory on-line state ethics training and they are no longer a Belmont resident. And it was surprising to discover that 18 volunteers are currently out of sequence with the ethic education requirement and 2 are no longer residents.

During the debate, Town Counsel George Hall said that town has no way of running off a volunteer who breaks the state’s ethnic laws – that’s up to the state – but can remove them if they don’t take the biannual test.

Meeting members had no problem with the bylaw change, passing it by a 247-1 margin.

Stormwater management and erosion control

Article 6 amends the town’s storm water management and erosion control bylaw of 2013 so that it aligns with the MS4 permit, which is issued by the US Environment Protection Agency authorizing discharges from Belmont’s storm sewer system into ”the waters of the United States.”

“We have provisions that require sewer and stormwater service connections to comply with certain regulations,” Glen Clancy, the town’s engineer and director of the Office of management. ”There are requirements that have to be in the bylaw in order for us to be in compliance with the MS4 permit so the proposal is to add wording to clarify definitions” said Clancy such as what the total maximum daily load requirement.

The article received overwhelming support from the residents who count, those who promote clean water and best practices for storm water management.

“We are lucky to have someone line Glen Clancy who was willing to put in the time to try to figure out how to conform the … bylaw to all the inconsistent and conflicting requirements of EPA and state DEP,” said Bob McGaw, precinct 1. And Clancy pitched a rare shut out with the amendment with a 254-0-3 vote of Town Meeting.

Oakmont Lane

The town has a new public road when the once private Oakmont Lane was accepted by Town Meeting by a 165-61-17 margin. Unlike previous articles to accept a private way such as Carleton Circle, the cul-de-sac was built by the developer of the four residential homes which he purchased in 2015 from the town for a little over a million dollars. As part of the purchase and sale, the road would be brought before Town Meeting by the developer rather than the residents. The debate hinged on doing right by the new residents and accepting the road or let the developer continue to control the road and work it out between him and the homeowners on repairs and snow removal.

Retail Liquor Licenses

It may come as some surprise to newcomers that up until 2007, Belmont was strickly a teetotaling kind of town. For nearly 150 years, the Town of Homes was in the grip of our Victorian and Prohibition-era forefathers as liquor sales was strictly verboten. You’d have to hope the trolley to Cambridge to have wine with your dinner.

But by 2022, Belmont is more than willing to top off the number of alcohol and beer and wine licenses as high as they can. But only up to a point. The Select Board’s Adam Dash reported the article was a simple one: to go from two all-alcohol retail licenses to four and to increase the number of beer and wine licenses from four to six with an eye to increasing businesses and retail shopping. Why four and six licenses when an earlier version of the article called for seven beer and wine permits? Dash said it was pointed out that 4 and 7 total 11 and that additional license would have triggered a state law that requires the town to increase the number of marijuana retail sale licenses to three from the current two.

Dash noted that the fee for the licenses will remain steady: an annual all-alcohol license is $4,000 while beer and wine are $2,500 annually.

Town Meeting took no time in approving the article, 223-18-2, to bring in the booze.

Town meeting will return on Wednesday, May 4 with articles 10 and 3