Photo: Delayed a day
The approaching snowstorm set to dump more than a foot of snow onto Belmont Wednesday and Thursday has forced the town’s rubbish vendor Waste Management to delay by one day the trash and recycling collection scheduled on Thursday, Dec. 17, according to the town’s Department of Public Works.
The new pick up date is on Friday, Dec. 18.
The DPW is also asking residents to please keep trash and recycling barrels clear of roadways and sidewalks until snow removal is complete.
Photo: Snow heading our way.
The first significant storm of winter will buffer Belmont with upwards of a foot of wind-driven snow starting Wednesday night, Dec. 16, and lasting until the early afternoon Thursday.
And while there had been discussions during the summer that school closures due to snowstorms were a thing of the past – every student has demonstrated they can learn in the remote phase – the Belmont Schools are preparing for the return of the snow day.
First, the forecast: The National Weather Service issued a Winter Storm Warning for Belmont and eastern Massachusetts that will go into effect from 7 p.m. Wednesday until 1 p.m. Thursday as southern New England can expect heavy snowfall with accumulations of 8 to 12 inches with some locally higher totals. The storm will be accompanied by wind gusts as high as 35 mph.
The NWS warned that travel could be “very difficult to impossible” during nighttime hours Wednesday with the hazardous conditions impacting the morning commute.
In a message released Tuesday by Belmont Superintendent John Phelan, a school cancellation notification for Thursday will be issued by Wednesday early evening. In that event, all classes, both hybrid and remote-only, would be canceled.
“Families will receive an email and “robocall” if there is a school cancellation,” said Phelan. “If you do not receive an email or call, school will open as normal.”
In addition to an email and a call, the Belmont Public School website will list weather closures. The local television and radio stations will also list cancellations. See below for some helpful links:
WBZ Radio (1030 AM) and TV (Channel 4) https://boston.cbslocal.com/closings/
WRKO Radio (680 AM) and WHDH TV (Channel 7) https://whdh.com/storm-closings-delays/
WCVB TV (Channel 5) https://www.wcvb.com/weather/closings
The BPS Website https://www.belmont.k12.ma.us/bps/Parents/School-Closing-Delayed-Opening
Photo: The future of Belmont Light’s governance will be discussed on Dec. 14.
Select Board Chair Roy Epstein said the discussion of the future of how the local electrical utility will be overseen is hardly the most alluring of topics to the general public.
But that shouldn’t prevent residents from avoiding a Zoom-based public forum hosted by the Municipal Light Board – made up of the members of the Select Board – and staff from Belmont Light to discuss and obtain public input on the governance of Belmont Light. The forum will take place on Monday, Dec. 14 at 7 p.m.
“This maybe not the sexiest subject but it’s a very important [one] and I hope people who are interested in town governance and in the Light Department in particular will attend,” said Epstein.
There has been much discussion over the past few years as to whether the current structure is configured correctly. This public forum has been set up to discuss and evaluate potential options for steering Belmont Light in the coming years.
There are a couple possibilities being discussed, including:
The Light Board is seeking all points of view so join in to discuss options and bring your own ideas and input.
To join via your computer, tablet, or smartphone: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82749875800
Join from the Zoom app by entering meeting ID: 827 4987 5800
Or call in by telephone: 1 (929) 205 6099. When prompted, enter: 827 4987 5800 #
Photo: Vaccinations are underway for COVID-19. (Wiki Commons)
With the need to provide approximately 600 million doses (two per person) of the COVID-19 vaccine in the US, it’s likely that Belmont’s health infrastructure will be part of that massive effort in 2021.
“There’s a good chance we will play a role in the local distribution [of the vaccine],” said Wesley Chin, director of Belmont’s Health Department when he spoke to the Select Board on Monday, Dec. 7.
Chin said the state has informed cities and towns the vaccination protocol will have three stages with local boards of health involved in the final phase which is be focused on jabbing the general public.
On Wednesday, Dec. 9, Gov. Charlie Baker announced that the state’s first shipment of approximately 60,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine will be delivered on Tuesday, Dec. 15 going directly to 21 hospitals across the state.
At Wednesday’s press conference, Baker announced the state’s distribution plan, saying the first phase of 300,000 doses will be distributed in mid-December through mid-February to health care workers, those employed in long term care facilities, first responders and people working in congregate care settings.
The second round of nearly two million vaccinations will take place starting in mid-February and lasting through mid-April. That supply will go to those individuals with two or more comorbidities – high risk for COVID-19 complications – a group including teachers, transit personnel, grocery and food workers and public work employees, and those over 65.
Beginning in mid-April, the vaccine will be available to the general public.
Photo: Nomination papers are ready to be picked up at Town Hall
Belmont Town Clerk Ellen Cushman announces Wednesday, Dec. 9 that nomination papers for town offices are available for those who are interested in running for office in Belmont.
All candidates must be registered voters of Belmont.
In addition to many town-wide offices, 12 representative Town Meeting Members are elected for three-year terms from each of the eight precincts. This year, there are also some partial-term openings for Town Meeting; vacancies are created by Members moving or resigning.
Stop by the Town Clerk’s office to pick up nomination papers; have your neighbors and friends, who are voters, sign your nomination papers and submit the signed forms to the Town Clerk by the deadline, Feb. 16, 2021, at 5 p.m.
The Town Hall is still closed to the public so we’ve set aside specific times for candidates to pick up and return nomination papers, no appointment necessary:
Upon arrival at Town Hall, a quick call to 617-993-2603 will bring a staff member out to start the process.
Here’s the list of offices that will be filled by the April 6, annual Town Election as of Dec. 9:
Town Meeting Members for Each of the Eight Precincts, Vote for 12, 3 years.
Partial-Term Town Meeting Members to Fill Vacancies
The 12 Town Meeting Members from each of the eight voting precincts are elected each year to three-year terms, a limited number of additional partial-term seats are available as well.
The Town Clerk’s web pages contain quite a bit of information to help make a decision to seek office at www.belmont-ma.gov select Town Clerk, then select Running for Elected Office and Campaigning or feel free to call us at 617-993-2603, or email at townclerk@belmont-ma.gov
To be nominated for Town-wide office
Signatures of at least 50 registered voters of Belmont are required on the nomination papers. The Town Clerk must certify these signatures so we always suggest obtaining about 20 percent more just to be safe.
To be nominated for Town Meeting
Signatures of at least 25 registered voters of your precinct are required on the nomination papers. The Town Clerk must certify these signatures so we always suggest obtaining about 20 percent more just to be safe. Some current Town Meeting Members will be asking the voters for re-election but all twelve seats are available in each precinct, plus any partial term seats.
Running for re-election to Town Meeting:
Current Town Meeting Members whose term of office expires in 2021 have already been mailed a letter asking if the person will seek re-election. The deadline for returning the signed response letter to the Town Clerk is Jan. 26 at 4 p.m.
Impact of COVID-19: During 2020, Belmont’s Town Meetings and meetings of boards, commissions, and committees have been held via remote access using video conferencing technology. In the case of the Town Meeting, we also deploy our secure electronic voting system. All signatures on nomination papers for local elections must be original, no electronic signatures are permitted. Candidates will need to consider different ways to obtain the necessary signatures; the Town Clerk’s website offers some suggestions.
Annual Town Meeting takes place in the spring and typically lasts for six evenings, (customarily Monday and Wednesday) in early May and early June for another two to four evenings. Town Meeting makes all of the decisions about the Town’s budgets and local Bylaws. Belmont’s government is a Representative Town Meeting, which means that only Town Meeting Members can debate and vote at Town Meeting, unlike the Open Town Meeting form of government. Video of past Town Meetings is available for viewing on www.Belmontmedia.org .
Questions can be directed to townclerk@belmont-ma.gov or 617-993-2603
Photo: Belmont Public Library,
In response to the rising COVID-19 numbers in Massachusetts, and Gov. Charlie Baker’s request for increased safety measures, the staff of the Belmont Public Library has determined starting this week, the library will be moving to a new service model which will reduce the amount of physical contact between staff and patrons.
“We wish things were going in the other direction, but the reality is that what we care about most is the safety of you all, and of our library staff,” said Peter Struzziero, Belmont Public Library director, in an email.
Beginning on Wednesday, Dec. 9th, out of an abundance of caution the library will be taking steps to move towards a more contact free model.
On the lower level, the staff will serve children’s patrons out the window of the Children’s Room, just off the parking lot and to the right of the main door.
On the main floor, the library will have all materials available for pickup in the vestibule area. Patrons will be allowed to pickup materials and museum passes on hold, which will be left under their name.
The library is asking that patrons call a few minutes ahead of their arrival time and their materials will be prepared and left for you under your name in the vestibule.
Pickup hours remain as follows:
Available virtually: The library will continue to offer its digital library from the comfort of a patron’s home. Reference librarians will be available via live chat, email, and phone to help residents with reference questions during pickup hours. The library will continue to issue museum passes for those institutions that are open.
In the coming days, the library will work to begin a new service allowing patrons the ability to securely email personal documents for printing and pickup, please keep an eye on the library’s website for this announcement.
“We do not plan to change our hours at this time, we simply will be serving patrons out the window for children’s materials, and in the vestibule for circulation/reference. We will continue to waive library fines for the time being, so if you need any extra day or two with that book, please know that you will not be charged,” said Struzziero.
Photo: Rendering of the Belmont Youth Hockey’s proposal to the town for a new rink.
To the editor:
On Nov. 10, the Belmontonian reported that eight months after receiving a single proposal for the development of a new skating facility, the town of Belmont determined the proposal was not economically feasible. While certainly convenient to blame the bidder, it was not true; the proposal submitted by Belmont Youth Hockey Association to develop a new facility was professionally vetted and fully financially feasible.
The deeper story is that the town issued a Request for Proposal that was never feasible. The RFP asked for more square footage of programming than currently exists in the designated development space west of Harris Field. In an area that currently houses the White Field House, one rink (the Skip), a soccer field, a softball field and facility parking – the town’s RFP asked for all of these to be maintained and improved while adding an additional half rink, baseball field, shot put and discus area and 90 additional parking spaces required by the new high school.
Once the review committee realized they needed more space to meet their own RFP requirements, the town made the decision to pass on the opportunity to adjust their expectations to make the project feasible. The town lacked the political will to address the need for incremental parking for the high school in an alternate location.
The decision by the Select Board to pass on the only proposal caps nearly 10 years of effort by Belmont Youth Hockey to address a critical issue: the town continues to operate a facility that is structurally and mechanically unsound. By passing, the town has eliminated any potential for a public/private partnership. Belmont is no longer a credible partner. The town wasted the time, resources, and diligent efforts of a consortium of financial, construction, design, operating firms, and individual volunteers all collaborating to solve a pressing safety and viability concern.
The positive news is that the path forward is now clear. By failing the RFP process, the town must move forward on its own. It’s time to allocate and approve the approximately $15-$20 million needed to rebuild the Skip and the White Field House and to do so as part of an integrated plan to develop the space west of Harris Field so that the pending development of the field space is not squandered. Continuing to deny the lack of structural integrity of a complex that services several thousand kids and adults each year is not a responsible option.
Bob Mulroy
Belmont Youth Hockey
Photo: Santa can come with social action holiday gifts to give.
The Social Action Holiday Gift Fair has been an annual tradition of the First Church in Belmont, Unitarian Universalist for many years. This year it looks very different, but the opportunity remains the same: You can do holiday shopping and benefit others at the same time.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kg6886gKTPxwqfPQ-i5FM4JQERfDlakL6ESvf9XHI8I/edit
This year, given the economic devastation wrought by the pandemic, choosing to do your holiday shopping this way is more important than ever. Buy gifts for everyone on your list by choosing from an array of products featuring the work of both local and international artisans and craft makers. All proceeds from your purchases will benefit the participating organizations.
Photo: A hybrid schedule at Belmont schools
It’s hybrid week at the Belmont Public Schools as the entire student population will be either returning to or begin for the first time hybrid in-person learning schedules.
In an email to the community from John Phelan, superintendent for Belmont schools, grades K-8 will resume their hybrid schedule on Monday, Dec. 7, while “we are happy to report Belmont High School students, grades 9 to 12 will start -person hybrid on Thursday, Dec. 10.”
The schedule for the Belmont High School hybrid schedule can be found here.
Phelan noted that principals from each of the six public schools will have sent out a communication to parents of children with more details on returning to the classroom.
“We appreciate the patience of our students, parents, faculty, and staff in pivoting to remote learning after the Thanksgiving holiday weekend,” said Phelan.
“We feel these proactive measures help keep the school community safe and give us a chance to assess and ‘reset’ the buildings for a healthy return to hybrid in-person learning,” he said.
Phelan said the district’s goal is to proactively and strategically pivot the instructional model for elementary, middle, and high schools when needed during the current pandemic environment while trying to limit disruptions to teaching and learning.
Photo: COVID-19 update.
As the United States experiences the most significant surge of COVID-19 cases since the coronavirus was first identified in February, Belmont has seen a similar increase in the number of positive cases over the past 14 days as of Dec. 3, according to the state’s Department of Public Health.
Sixty-three residents were diagnosed over the past two weeks as a total of 427 Belmontians has been infected by the virus since February, which comes to a biweekly rate of 14.6 infections per 100,000 population, both indicators increasing over the past two week period.
Over the fortnight, 3,703 residents were tested with 63 positive cases, a rate of 1.7 per 100,000 population.
There are now 97 communities considered at the highest risk for transmitting the new coronavirus in Massachusetts, according to the latest weekly community-level data on the pandemic, an increase of 16
The jump in the number of cases resulted in the town re-entering the state’s designated “yellow” range indicating a moderate risk of being infected. Belmont had been in the “green” range for more than a month, having spent a week in the yellow range earlier this fall.
For communities with populations of between 10,000 and 50,000, a yellow designation has an average of more than 10 cases per 100,000 or a positive test rate of more than 5 percent.