Playing in Belmont Could Cost More for Outside Groups under Proposal

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Photo: Harris Field in Belmont.

The good news is that Belmont has a wealth of recreation play areas and locations. With soon two pools, a hockey rink, a large field house, a Turf surface at Harris Field, parks, ballfields, soccer pitches and 22 tennis courts, Belmont has more town-owned playing spaces than any of its neighboring communities.

The bad news is that Belmont lags far behind those same nearby communities in bringing in the bucks for the privilege of using town spaces. While revenue from Belmont’s recreation facilities brought in $792,000 in fiscal 2013, next door Arlington pulled in $1.5 million during the same time frame despite not having an indoor pool (it does have pond swimming) with camps and other groups lining up to use their facilities. 

With Belmont facing limited avenues to increase overall revenue for the near future, the time has come for Belmont’s recreation areas to follow the lead of other communities and begin using its resources to pay for themselves today and in the future, according to a report from the Financial Task Force issued at the Task Force’s meeting in Town Hall on Monday, May 11.

“Now is the time for the town to change the ways we’ve done things,” said Task Force member Anne Helgen who authored the report with suggested a series of recommendations for town officials to consider. 

In her report, Helgen said while Belmont’s management of the recreational assets “ad hoc … ragged and never written down,” surrounding towns have used their resources to generate greater money through broader programming, using facilities throughout the year and all day and rent them out at a considerably higher rate.

Due to the lack of any official policy, agreements and contracts were written with groups and teams “that were not made in [the town’s] interest so private groups benefited at our expense,” said Helgen. 

In addition, while most surrounding municipalities promote recreation activities year round, Belmont generates 60 cents of every dollar it takes in annual from one season, the summer.

“It’s astonishing how much [other towns] offer,” said Helgen.

By analyzing the way other communities have set up their recreation programs, Belmont can begin turning around its underutilized assets by following their lead, said Helgen. They include:

  • Expand programing at recreation sites, such as introducing Cross-Fit, alternative sports including flag football and Ultimate Frisbee and other enrichment events like chess, Legos and art programs. 
  • Target underserved market such as pre-kindergarten and toddlers with active programs as well as the stay-at-home population and seniors.
  • Expand the hours the facilities are open. Summers, weekdays and many hours over the weekend “Harris Field is empty,” said Helgen, while the pools could attract more campers and programs if the pools’ times were managed more closely. 
  • Outsource programing such as using fitness firms to supply the demand for outdoor exercising.
  • And take advantage of the high demand in the greater Boston area for pools and turf fields to charge market rate to non-residential users. Watertown rents out nearby Victory Field for $130,000 a year to groups from Boston University and Boston College during its off-peak hours.

But “jacking up the fees” will not come at the expense of Belmont youth sports or people who live in town, said Helgen.

“No, we are not proposing to put these fees on youth leagues in town. That’s not the purpose at all,” she reiterated.

 

Those most effected by the increase in rents will be current and future non-resident users, such as camps and sports teams which the majority of participants are not Belmont residents. 

To bring these suggestions to fruition, Helgen advises Belmont to hire at approximately $100,000 a year a veteran full-time recreation director  – a position not filled in the past three years as a cost savings measure – to management and lead the turnaround. The new director will be assisted by a Field Management Committee (which is currently employed in Wayland, Wellesley, Winchester and Burlington) made up of residents, the schools, sports programs and other stakeholders whose job will be to balance the needs of all users. 

The town should consolidate the school and town assets under a single consolidated management – including the aquatics facilities – in addition to inventorying the available facilities. 

A conservative estimate by Helgen suggests the town could generate between $165,000 to $330,000 in net revenue within three years, enough to not only run the department but also to make contributions to future capital improvements. 

But just as important as developing new committees and policy approaches, according to Helgen, is changing the mind set of the town and the Recreation Department. 

“We need to adopt a new mentality,” said Helgen, having heard possible initiatives to use facilities in new ways were turned down “because they were told ‘we’re not allowed to do that’.”

If successful, Helgen said the end result will be a “win-win” for the town and residents with greater and more creative programs drawing in more users, high costs to outsiders will subsidize the fix costs and there will be greater use of the town’s facilities. 

Belmont’s New Underwood Pool Set To Open August 1

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Photo: The “deep” pool of the new Underwood Pool under construction. 

Despite a last-minute financial monkey wrench that nearly stopped the project last September and this winter’s record snowfall, it appears that summer swimming is in the cards for Belmont residents as the team building the new Underwood Pool expects to have the twin pools open to the public by the first week in August. 

While anyone going by the site at the corner of Concord Avenue and Cottage Street will not mistake it for anything but a construction site, “it will definitely look like a swimming pool in August when the water pours in,” said Henry Sarkis, owner of New England Builders, the general contractor, during a recent tour of the project.

Workers in waders are directing streams of cement into wooden frames that will become the pool closest to Cottage Street while power tools and nail guns are heard inside the partially completed pool and pump houses.

While the project was pushed back due to the 100-plus inches of snow that was deposited on the site over two months from January to March, “we feel we are on schedule,” Sarkis said.

The $4.6 million construction project began in November with the demolition of he original pool which was built in 1912 and was the oldest municipal outdoor pool in the US.

After a successful debt exclusion and funding from Town Meeting earlier in 2014, the project appeared dead in the water in September when an original low bidder of the project withdrew his proposal leaving the Underwood Pool Building Committee facing a deficit of approximately $400,000.

That figure was quickly erased with a $200,000 grant from the Belmont Savings Bank Foundation and a community fundraising effort that raised more than $210,000 in small and large contributions by October.

Today, construction is in full swing. The so-called “deep” pool, which includes the diving area and lap swimming, is completed and cement is being poured this week into the shallow “kids” pool, said Sarkis.

Stainless-steel gutters will be installed by specialists from out-of-state beginning on Monday, May 11 and will take two weeks to complete the larger, deep pool nearest the Belmont Public Library. They then will return to finish the shallow pool by the end of May.

The filtration system has been delivered and is being installed to run the two pools. Sarkis said the three buildings are framed and have all the plumbing and electrical systems installed, and the grounds around the pool is being expanded with new trees soon to be planted along Concord Avenue.

According to Anne Paulsen, chairman of the Underwood Pool Building Committee, while the late date for the opening means the potential 2015 swimming season will be cut in half, the Belmont Recreation Department will be selling reduced memberships to residents so they can enjoy some time by or in the new pool.

This Week: Patriots in Town Wednesday, Charlie Brown at the Chenery, Prom Friday

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Photo: The Chenery Middle School musical, ‘You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.’

On the government side of “This Week”:

  • The Financial Task Force will met on Monday, May 11, at 8 a.m. in Belmont Town Hall to discuss future activities of the group.
  • The Belmont Board of Selectmen is holding a meeting on Monday, May 11, at 6 p.m. where they will discuss and vote on the fiscal 2016 town budget and approve the street closures on Belmont Hill during the PGA golf tourney happening next month. 
  • The Warrant Committee is meeting in the Cafeteria of Belmont High School at 7 p.m., Monday, May 11, to discuss the Town Meeting articles and any amendments. 
  • The Zoning Board of Appeals will hold a hearing Tuesday, May 12, at 7 p.m. in the Belmont Gallery of Art located in the Homer Building on whether to approve a permit to allow a Richmond Road resident to provide clarinet lessons.
  • The Belmont Conservation Commission is inviting the public to its meeting on Tuesday, May 12, at 7 p.m. in Town Hall to discuss the future of funding maintenance at Rock Meadow. The Commission will also recap that went on and the resolution to the PGA’s attempt to use the meadow for parking during a golf tournament in June.
  • The Belmont School Committee is meeting Tuesday, May 12, at 7 p.m. at the Chenery Middle School where it will go over the fiscal 2016 budget.
  • The Warrant Committee meets for the second time this week at 7 p.m., Wednesday, May 11, at the Chenery Middle School to vote on the fiscal 2016 budget.

• Belmont resident and poet Nancy Esposito will discuss and read from her 2013 book Lamentation with June Bug, Monday, at 11 a.m., Monday, May 11, in the Assembly Room of the Belmont Public Library. Her work has appeared in numerous magazines such as The Nation, Southwest Review, American Poetry Review, Threepenny Review, and the Harvard Business Review, as well as in anthologies.  She has taught writing and literature at Harvard, Tufts, and Bentley universities. All are welcome to attend this free program.  Refreshments will be provided. Books will be available for purchase and signing.

• The 7th-8th Grade Book Club will meet on Monday, May 11, at 7 p.m. in the Young Adult Room o the Belmont Public Library to discuss Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Saenz, choose June’s book, and enjoy some snacks.

• Tuesday is story time at both of Belmont libraries. 

  • Pre-School Story Time at the Benton Library, Belmont’s independent and volunteer run library, at 10:30 a.m. Stories and crafts for children age 3 to 5. Parents or caregivers must attend. Siblings may attend with adults. Registration is not required. The Benton Library is located at the intersection of Oakley and Old Middlesex. 
  • The Belmont Public Library on Concord Avenue will be holding two sessions of Story Time for 2’s and 3’s, at 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. 

• Registration for Smart 911, Belmont’s new enhanced emergency call system in which residents can supply dispatchers with information on their medications and medical conditions, will take place at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St, from 11 a.m. to noon on Tuesday, May 5.

• The Chenery Middle School Chamber Orchestra will visit the Beech Street Center on Tuesday, May 12, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Under the direction of Margot Reavey, the orchestra will perform a concert of classical and popular music, including “Russian Sailor’s Dance,” Vivaldi’s Concerto Grosso “Alla Ristica,” and a Beatles medley. This accomplished 25 member group rehearses once a week after school.

• Dr. Lincoln Greenhill, a senior research fellow in the Department of Astronomy at Harvard University, as well as a radio astronomer with the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, will give a talk on “The Dark Age of the Universe,” on Tuesday, May 12, at 7 p.m. in the Belmont Public Library’s Assembly Room. He will describe his work with The Large Aperture Experiment to Detect the Dark Ages (LEDA), which investigates the origins of the earliest stars and the speculation in cosmology about the formation of massive black holes in the first billion years of the cosmos.

• Annual concert of The Apollo Club, the oldest men’s chorus in the United States, will perform on Tuesday, May 12, at 7:30 p.m. in the Beech Street Center. It will present arrangements of folk songs, and anthems from the British Isles, African-American spirituals, a medley from the “Music Man,” and selections by William Billings.

• Super Bowl Champions New England Patriots Celebrity Basketball Team takes on the Belmont Boosters “All-Stars” in a benefit basketball game against business owners, faculty and Belmont Residents on Wednesday May 13, at  6:30 p.m. in the Wenner Field House. Attendees will have autograph and photo-opportunities, as well as a chance to win an autographed football. Net proceeds will benefit the Boosters! For information and tickets please call 617-904-7542. Any questions please check out website .

• The Belmont Police will be holding a public meeting on Thursday, May 14, at 7 p.m. at the Belmont Hill School Athletic Center, Wadsworth Room, to discuss road closings and other traffic issues related to the PGA golf tournament in early June.

• Belmont Against Racism will hold its monthly meeting in the Belmont Public Library’s Flett Room on Thursday, May 14, between 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

• The Chenery Middle School Drama Group presents its annual musical, You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, on Thursday through Saturday, May 14 – 16 at 7 p.m. at the school’s auditorium. Tickets are $10 for adults in advance/$12 at the door, students $8. Get your tickets online here.

• State Sen. Will Brownsberger will be holding office hours at 10 a.m. on Friday, May 15, at the Beech Street Center. 

• Well-loved local musician Liz Buchanan performs original songs and traditional favorites on Friday, May 15, from 10:30 a.m. the the Belmont Public Library’s Flett Room. 

• The Belmont High School Senior/Junior Prom takes place Friday, May 15. A public promenade of the students will take place at the Belmont High School auditorium beginning at 4 p.m.

Belmont Man Held in Cambridge Stabbing That Left Victim in Serious Condition

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Photo: The Plough and Star in Cambridge.

Cambridge Police arrest a Belmont man early Saturday morning, May 9, after he allegedly stabbed a man in the stomach during a fight late Friday night at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and Hancock Street near the The Plough and Stars pub in Central Square, according to multiple news outlets.

Frank Fraumeni, 65, of White Street, was arrested by Cambridge Police after stopping his car on Harvard Street near where the incident occurred. He was identified as the assaliant by eyewitnesses to the fracas. 

Officers were alerted of a fight at approximately 11:15 p.m., Friday, May 8. They arrived to find the unnamed victim on the ground bleeding. He was taken to an area hospital with a serious wound. 

Fraumeni is charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and assault with intent to murder, according to police sources. It is unknown when Fraumeni will be arraigned. 

In Historic Victory, Unbeaten Belmont Girls’ Track Defeats Lexington

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Photo: (from left) Anoush Krafian (16.1 seconds), Rachel Berets (16.8) and Sammy Kelts (17.2) sweep the 100m high hurdles in a duel meet with Lexington. 

Usually, a duel track meet between strong teams come down to the final two events; the 100 and 400 meter relays. 

That wasn’t necessary on Thursday, May 7, when the undefeated Lexington High School Girls’ Track squad visited unbeaten Belmont High School at Harris Field. When Belmont’s junior Meredith Hughes strode across the finish line to win the two-mile (12 minutes, 11.5 seconds), the Marauders piled up an insurmountable point lead so to clinch the historic victory over the Minutemen without having to pass the baton around the track.

The 70-66 victory was the first by Belmont over Lexington in nearly 15 years, and brings the 5-0 Marauders to within a whisper of winning the Middlesex League title, said Belmont Head Coach Melissa Glotzbecker, with a meet with Winchester remaining on the schedule. 

“Overall, all of our girls showed up, they were setting personal bests in a lot of different events. The came in with a positive attitude and ready to run hard and fight for the win,” said Glotzbecker. The victory outdoors comes just three months after Lexington crushed Belmont inside, 62-24. 

The meet was close with Lexington in the lead by four points, 29-25 (the first three finishers score in a meet with first receiving 5 points, second, 3 points, and third, 1 point) when Belmont made its move midway through the meet.

The comeback started with freshman standout Anoush Krafian breaking the school’s outdoor long-jump record by just over three inches with a leap of 17 feet, 5 1/2 inches. Earlier, Krafian just missed clearing 5 foot, 3 inches in the high jump, still winning with a height of 5’1″, with Sammy Kelts finishing second with a leap of 4’9″. 

In the triple jump, Kelts (33 feet, 8 inches) and Marley Williams (33 feet, 6 1/2 inches) out jumped Lexington’s Div. 1 standout senior Cathryn Pryor by 2 1/2 and 1 inch to take first and second and grab eight points to the Minuteman’s one. 

Finally, in the 100 meters hurdles, Belmont swept the top three places as Krafian (16.1 seconds), Rachel Berets (16.8) and Kelts (17.2) led the way to nine points to give Belmont a 47-34 lead. 

“Our hurdle group is hard working. They fight for every single last step that they can get. And you saw that at the finish line when [Kelts] went for the lean just so she could get that last [scoring] place,” said Glotzbecker

The hurdles have become a speciality for the Marauders as Claudia Tenner (69.3 seconds) and Kayla Magno (69.6) went one-two in the 400 meter hurdles, giving Belmont 17 out of a total of 18 points in the two events.

The Marauders protected the lead by placing either first or second in the remaining events. Williams won both in the 100 and 200 meter dashes with Megan Alper finishing third in the  200; Meghan MacAulay and Danielle Kelly finished second and third in the 4oo meters, and Julia Delhome gutted out a 2:32.1 800 meters to finish in second. After the Hughes ran the second mile by herself to the victory, Belmont had secured the win.

“We have a hard working group, they are unified as a team which is great,” said Glotzbecker. 

Letter Carriers to Collect Food Donations for Belmont Food Pantry Saturday

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Photo: Reilly Lubien and Patty Mihelich at the Belmont Food Pantry.

This past winter, Unity Avenue’s Reilly Lubien was worried that some fellow Belmont residents might “not have supplies; you know, they might be unhydrated.” 

So the Wellington Elementary kindergartener set out to collect money, first, from her parents and close relatives, then took to her mom’s Facebook page to announce her intent. Knowing that residents rely upon the Belmont Food Pantry for their weekly food, Reilly chose this vital town resource to take her collection in late March. The pantry’s director, Patty Mihelich, said the funds will be used to help the nearly 150 families who sign up each week for the basics. 

This Saturday, May 9, fellow Belmont residents can join Reilly to help keep the pantry’s shelves filled by leaving food donations by their mail box or at the front door to be collected by US Postal Service letter carriers and brought to the Food Pantry as part of the NALC Stamp Out Hunger National Food Drive — the largest one-day food drive in the nation.

“It is only second to Belmont Serves [in October] in terms of number of contributions that comes to the pantry,” said Mihelich.

The letter carriers remind everyone to place bags of donations by the mailbox/front door on Friday evening and it will be picked up on Saturday.

Belmont Mother’s Day Flower Sale Begins Friday Afternoon

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Photo: Mother’s Day flowers on sale this weekend. 

The Friends of Belmont Softball will be hosting their annual Mother’s Day Flower Sale at the Belmont Lions Club at the foot of the MBTA Commuter Rail station just off Common Street in Belmont Center.

Come by to purchase some beautiful flowers and support the Belmont High School varsity and junior varsity teams.

The flowers will be on sale starting today, 

  • Friday, May 9 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., 
  • Saturday, May 10 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and 
  • Sunday, May 11, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

This Weekend: Ragtime Women on Saturday, Rummage Sale at First Church

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Photo: Deborrah Wyndham.

• Pianist Deborrah Wyndham’s program, “Ragtime Women,” concludes the Belmont Public Library’s Music on Saturday series at 3 p.m., Saturday, May 9 in the Assembly Room. Wyndham plays ragtime rarities of women ragtime composers, sharing the interesting history of the women ragtime composers who contributed to its legacy with hundreds of published rags. Wyndham performs regularly throughout the U.S. Check out her website. Music on Saturday is free to all thanks to the sponsorship of the Friends of the Belmont Public Library. 


 Deborrah Wyndham “The Brittwood Rag” by Eubie Blake

• The First Church in Belmont, Unitarian, 404 Concord Ave., will be holding its 73rd annual Rummage Sale on Saturday, May 9. from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Proceeds go directly to the Stained-glass Window Fund, and the Partner Church and Social Action Committees.

• Powers Music School’s Suzuki group classes will perform on Saturday, May 9, at 3:30 p.m., at All Saints’ Church, 17 Clark St.

• First Church of Christ, Scientist, Belmont, 199 Common St., will host José de Dios Mata who gives a public lecture entitled “Divine Love: The Answer to Universal Health,” on Saturday, May 9 at 2 p.m. Mata will explore the Biblical basis of God as divine Love, whose law Christ Jesus taught and practiced in his healing and teaching ministry. For further information, call 617-484-3963 or visit www.christiansciencebelmont.com. Free parking and child care will be provided.

• The Belmont Dramatic Club will ring-up the curtain for its spring production; “Prelude to a Kiss,” this weekend, Friday May 8 and Saturday, May 9, both at 8 p.m. Performances take place the historic Belmont Town Hall auditorium. The production of  the 1988 play by Craig Lucas is directed by Russell Greene. Tickets will be sold at the box office one hour before the show. Cost: $20. For information, go to the club’s website. Additional shows will take place on Friday and Saturday, May 15 and 16; and at 3 p.m. on Sunday, May 17.

Sold in Belmont: From Stately to Stark, Spring Market Finally Blooms

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Photo: 252 Common St. Belmont.

A weekly recap of residential properties sold in the past seven-plus days in the “Town of Homes.”

• 33 Evergreen Way. Brick and frame Colonial (1967). Sold: $1,260,000. Listed at $1,199,000. Living area: 3,337 sq.-ft. 9 rooms, 5 bedrooms, 3-full, 2-partial baths. On the market: 88 days.

• 21 Garfield Rd. Colonial (1937). Sold: $1,320,000. Listed at $1,195,000. Living area: 2,506 sq.-ft. 8 rooms, 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths. On the market: 53 days.

• 53 Upland Rd. Bungalow (1920). Sold: $600,000. Listed at $569,000. Living area: 1,475 sq.-ft. 6 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 1 baths. On the market: 46 days.

• 692 Pleasant St. An antique single-family in the Italianate style (1851). Sold: $895,000. Listed at $895,000. Living area: 3,188 sq.-ft. 12 rooms, 6 bedrooms, 4.5 baths. On the market: 99 days.

• 2 Meadows Lane. Townhouse condominium (2011). Sold: $1,261,243. Listed at $1,274,748. Living area: 2,780 sq.-ft. 8 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths. On the market: 117 days.

• 252 Common St. “Stately” Brick Colonial (1937). Sold: $929,000. Listed at $1,039,000. Living area: 2,634 sq.-ft. 10 rooms, 5 bedrooms, 2.5 baths. On the market: 321 days.

• 30 Harding Ave. First-floor condominium (1925). Sold: $438,500. Listed at $400,000. Living area: 1,165 sq.-ft. 5 rooms, 2 bedrooms, 1 baths. On the market: 49 days.

• 11 Thayer Rd. Condominium (1958). Sold: $229,900. Listed at $229,900. Living area: 650 sq.-ft. 4 rooms, 1 bedrooms, 1 baths. On the market: 55 days.

• 15 Thayer Rd. Condominium (1958). Sold: $210,000. Listed at $230,000. Living area: 612 sq.-ft. 4 rooms, 1 bedrooms, 1 baths. On the market: 83 days.

After weeks of a handful of properties changing hands, real estate salespeople and Realtors are cheering as potential buyers are getting off the fence and deciding to put their money where they want to live.

Of the nine residential properties that turned over last week, there were a couple of high-end Belmont Hill colonials – a beautiful 1930-era residence and a heavy, brick faux-Colonial with an out-of-place four-column overhang (awful) – in which each sold above its listed price. 

On the other end of the income spectrum, three very affordable properties were sold, including one, a 600 square-foot essential (a bedroom, a kitchen, a bath and a living room) on Thayer Road in Waverley Square that went for slightly more than $200,000. 

The real surprise is a house that actually is “stately” as described in the sales copy. Located between  Hillcrest Road and Long Avenue (Realtors: Please stop calling this area Walnut Hill. I never heard anyone call the streets between Common and Goden from Orchard to Washington by that moniker.), this is a real beauty: Oak floors, lots of French doors, a restful enclosed patio, a curved interior staircase(!), an OK kitchen, a bricked driveway and a built-out attic. So how did this solid house fail to sell when it came on a supply-scarse market? Take a look how the list price just fall away like a Red Sox outfielder:

Original List Price: June, 2014: $1,039,000

July, 2014: $979,000

August 2014: $949,000

October 2014: $929,000.

Sales price: $929,000

After falling nearly $100,000 in four months, the owner draw the line in the sand and had to wait half-a-year before a buyer came by. If this property was on “the Hill,” it’s likely the Colonial would be kept more of its value. But being on a busy road and the “bigness” of the house could have put doubt in the minds of potential buyers. 

A final note: a wonder old house on Pleasant Street sold this week, an 1850s antebellum house that once was the home of a son of the Little Brown Publishing founder. Yet would you be surprised if this treasure, but cramped, structure will soon see a “demolition” permit on the front door? It’s on a third of an acre of land in a desirable section of town. We’ll see.