Scrub-a-Dub: Commuter Bridge To Undergo Cleaning Today, Wednesday

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Photo: The Belmont Center Commuter Rail bridge set for a cleaning in the next days.

One of Belmont’s iconic images will get its first cleaning in its history as the Belmont Center Commuter Rail bridge will undergo a power washing beginning Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 18.

The private initiative spurred by former Belmont Selectman Angelo Firenze and the Belmont Citizens Forum – which has been actively collecting private donations for the past several years to pay for the bridge cleaning – should be complete by Wednesday, Aug. 19, according to Town Administrator David Kale who made the announcement to the Board of Selectmen at its Monday, Aug. 17, meeting.

Well-known Belmont landscaping business, Dante Muzzioli Associates, will be performing the work. 

The washing will begin “after traffic” abates on Tuesday, and will “do as much as they can” before finishing on Wednesday. 

Kale said the private group received permission from the bridge’s owner, the MBTA, and is using volunteer donations to perform the work.

Peaking Peaches, Basil and Corn at Belmont Farmers Market

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Photo: Peaches are peaking. 

August abundance continues at the Belmont Farmers Market. There’s peaches and blueberries for breakfast. Tomatoes with basil, mozzarella and fresh bread for lunch. And corn on the cob with a green salad for dinner. Perhaps with hamburgers and sausages from the grill. All this and more is available on Market Day this week.

 
The Belmont Farmers Market is open from 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Thursdays throughout the summer until the final week of October. The market is located in the municipal parking lot at the intersection of Cross Street and Channing Road in Belmont Center.

Schedule of Events
  • 2 p.m.- 3 p.m.: Magic by Ryan Lally
  • 2 p.m.- 5 p.m.: Belmont Public “Pop-up” Library
  • 3 p.m.- 3:30 p.m.:  Yoga for Kids by Groundwork yoga + wellness
  • 4 p.m.- 4:30 p.m.: Storytime by the Library
  • 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.: Music by The Hoot Owls
Monthly and occasional vendors at the market this week are:  
Carlisle Honey, Carr’s Ciderhouse, Soluna Garden Farm.

Weekly Vendors: 
Boston Smoked Fish Co., C&C Lobsters and Fish, Dick’s Market Garden Farm, Fior D’Italia, Flats Mentor Farm, Foxboro Cheese Co., Gaouette Farm, Goodies Homemade, Hutchins Farm, Kimball Fruit Farm, Mamadou’s Artisan Bakery, Nicewicz Family Farm, Sfolia Baking Company, Stillman Quality Meats

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Special Town Meeting Petition on Belmont Center Delivered to Town Clerk

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Photo: Town Clerk Ellen Cushman counting signatures.

It appears Town Meeting members will have to forego one summer night on the shore or lounging in the back yard after a group seeking to reverse a last-second change to the Belmont Center Reconstruction Project has delivered what they believe is the necessary number of signatures to Belmont’s Town Clerk  this afternoon, Tuesday, July 7, to call a “special.”

Bonnie Friedman of Hay Road presented 302 signatures on a petition to Town Clerk Ellen Cushman who will begin certifying the names. At least 200 signatures from registered voters must be certified for the process to begin. 

Under Massachusetts General Law (MGL 39 §10), a special town meeting must take place by the 45th day after the date of petition is submitted. According to Cushman, with the petition was received by her on July 7, the latest a Special Meeting could take place would be Aug. 21.

The petition was created by Cross Street’s Paul Roberts after the Board of Selectmen made two major changes to the $2.8 million Belmont Center Reconstruction Project some time after major construction began. 

In May, the Board called a public meeting outside its regular schedule to hear from 96-year-old Lydia Ogilby of Washington Street who submitted her own petition that would protect a crop of trees in the center (which had already been chopped down) as well as keep a cut through from Moore Street to Concord Avenue adjacent Belmont Savings Bank. 

The board approved keeping the byway and adding four parallel parking spots next to the bank. The changes left a much heralded “Town Green” located in front of the bank to be reduced to an island surrounded by roadway.

The project design had taken four years to develop under the tutelage of the Traffic Advisory Committee who held a number of public meetings to discuss the project. 

Opposition to the Selectmen’s changes revolved around the vanishing “Green”, increased traffic and a view that the Board had overstepped its authority to make changes to a project which an earlier special town meeting in November 2014 approved the financing based on the finished blueprint. 

An attempt by proponents of the original design to discuss the matter before the Selectmen resulted in a shout-filled brouhaha in which a police officer was called to oversee the meeting.  The next day Roberts began seeking signatures.

The petition reads: 

We, the undersigned registered voters of the Town of Belmont, Massachusetts, request that the Board of Selectmen of the Town of Belmont place an article on the Warrant for a Special Town Meeting to read:

“In proceeding with the Belmont Center restoration project, as approved and funded by Town Meeting on November 17, 2014, shall the Board of Selectmen and other Town officials be directed to adhere to the plan represented in the Belmont Center Improvements design documents put out to bid by the Town in January 2015, said documents based on the conceptual plan presented to Town Meeting in the November 2014 Special Town Meeting. These documents shall be used in place of the Board of Selectmen’s revised Belmont Center restoration conceptual plan, adopted unilaterally at a meeting held on May 28, 2015.”

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Letter to the Editor: Selectmen Fail to Honor Center Reconstruction Process

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Photo: Belmont Center. 

(Note: This letter was originally sent to the Belmont Board of Selectmen.)

I am disturbed and outraged to learn that Belmont Center Reconstruction Plan A was overturned at the last minute for Plan B, decreasing the size of the green space and surrounding it with traffic, just because of a small group of opponents. This group did not show up or speak out at all the many public meetings over several years.

The [Board of Selectmen] meeting on May 28th was just advertised as a discussion of beautification and conflicted with several other important town meetings that evening such as The annual
meeting of the League of Women Voters, and the forum on Criminal Justice with our State Sen. Will Brownsberger and our State Rep. Dave Rogers (I managed to attend both of these). Regardless, one meeting should not have tossed out years of planning and substituted an alternative plan without proper notice and comment period.

Over the last several years, I attended many meetings and was generally pleased with the majority of the details for Reconstruction of Belmont Center. But I was even more pleased with the process. Lots of comments were taken into consideration, and the resulting plan, Plan A, was a really good compromise of all the important features that everyone wanted. I am particularly in favor of the large, pedestrian-friendly, green space which Belmont Center has always sorely missed.

This last minute change from a plan that was already approved and supported by the larger community is completely inappropriate and does not represent the Belmont community as a whole. Town Meeting approved money in the fall for the Reconstruction with the plan that included much more green space; not a small island of token green space that is hard to utilize, similar to the current island of poorly utilized greenery.

If a change is to be made at this point, a public process must be offered once again; no last minute substitutions to appease one small vocal minority. If this is not done correctly, the whole process is tainted and will be very difficult for the Selectmen to gain the confidence and monetary support of the town again.

Bonnie Friedman
Town Meeting Member
Precinct 3

New Belmont Center Parking Pricing Plan Begins May 1

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Photo: The new commuter parking spaces along Royal Road.

Postponed three months due to the record snow fall, a new parking pricing scheme for Belmont Center’s parking lot and along a street popular with commuters begins Friday, May 1. 

The plan includes the new fee structure for residents and shoppers using the municipal parking lot on Claflin Street and an attempt to monetize the vast number of commuters who have parked on Belmont streets for nothing, or close to it, for decades.

At Belmont Center’s main parking lot, the daily rate is being upped from $3 to $5. Shoppers will now pay a buck an hour to park there. 

In addition to the hourly and daily fees jumps in Belmont Center, the town created 10 weekday parking spots along Royal Road adjacent to the MBTA’s Belmont commuter rail station in addition to spaces in the Claflin St. lot reserved for commuter pass holders.

Those monthly passes are going for $90 a pop, an increase of $30.

Many Belmont businesses owners were critical of the blueprint when it was approved in December, noting the hardship for many part-time employees. The Belmont Center Business Association suggested cutting the increases to employees and shoppers while pushing more of the costs onto commuters.

Belmont officials noted the new rates were approved by the town’s parking advisory group, and were vital to allow the parking system to pay its own way. 

Belmont Town Treasurer Floyd Carman, said rates have been kept steady since January 2009 while the demand for parking spots is outstripping supply.

“Belmont parking is at a premium. We are not like other towns that either has the space for big lots or a lot of industry that can subsidize parking,” said Carman. “Belmont does not have that luxury; We have a limited number of parking spaces. That’s the facts.”

Belmont Center Reconstruction Begins This Week

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Photo: The sign of the times.

The large electric sign along Concord Avenue near Belmont High School proclaims: “Belmont Center Const,” “Seek Alt. Routes” and “Expect Delays.” 

The warning is the first tangible sign of the beginning of the $2.8 million Belmont Center Reconstruction Project starting this week with prep work for the actual construction to be led by Watertown’s Charles Construction.

This week, April 27, will see the installation of construction signage at various location around the center as well as putting down Digsafe markings, said Glenn Clancy, the director of the Office of Community Service. In addition, reflective and protective devices will also be installed.

On the week of May 4, the center will be surveyed and plans laid out. Large construction work will begin by the start of June. 

It’s expected the reconstruction – which includes the roadway, sidewalks, curbing, signage and lighting – will be completed by November. 

Notices of the construction schedule have been hand delivered to businesses and residents this past Friday. 

It’s Official: Town Day Set for Saturday, May 16 in Belmont Center

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Photo: Town Day in Belmont.

Town Day will take place on Saturday, May 16 in Belmont Center after the Belmont Board of Selectmen gave the annual event its blessing at its meeting on Tuesday, April 21. 

Hosted by the Belmont Center Business Association and sponsored by Belmont Savings Bank, kiddy rides, a petting zone sponsored by the Belmont Lions Club, food, and tables manned by organizations and businesses will be located along Leonard Street.

Any group, business or individual seeking to rent a table at Town Day can do so until May 1 at the BCBA web site.

The morning and afternoon event takes place the day after Belmont High School celebrates its prom. 

Former Macy’s Site On Schedule for Spring/Summer 2016 Re-Opening

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Kevin Foley is a man on a mission; telling Belmont the former Macy’s site in Belmont Center will return from its current mothball state and will be filled with tenants.

But not in 2015.

The manager of Locatelli Properties who oversees the significant stake the company has in Belmont’s commercial hub, Foley came before Belmont’s Board of Selectmen last week to reiterate what he told the Belmontonian in October: the historic building which opened in 1941 to house a Filene’s Department Store and then Macy’s (Macy’s closed in January 2013) will soon be transformed  inside and out to attract at least four and up to eight commercial tenants.

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“We are all excited about the future of the [site],” Foley told the board.

“My goal is to renovate the building and bring back the details,” he said, pointing to plans to re-establish large windows  along Leonard Street that were boarded up in the 1980s, as well as add architectural details to the facade.

“We are essentially bringing back … more store fronts to the street,” Foley told the board.

As he told a public meeting on Oct. 30, Foley said there will be “no substantive” exterior alterations to the building other than the creation of a vestibule on the parking side of the building to assist people entering the top and lower floors of the complex.

Locatelli has received the go-ahead from the Zoning Board of Appeals to move forward on the plans.

When asked about possible tenants – there will be nearly 50,000 square feet of retail space in the new structure – Foley remained mum, only saying “that everyone is asking me the same question.”

Foley does not rule out either national, regional or independent retailers or a restaurant becoming tenants. He has time to ponder which business will be coming to Belmont Center.

“Right now, I’m hoping spring or summer 2016 to open,” he said.

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Come Christmas Caroling in Belmont Saturday, Dec. 13 at 4 PM

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Celebrate the final 12 days before Christmas – how appropriate! – with an old-fashioned afternoon of Christmas caroling in Belmont Center.
For the third-year running, families and anyone who likes to sing (with no actual vocal skill required) are invited to come to the town’s Christmas tree next to Bellmont Cafe and the BankAmerica branch office this Saturday, Dec. 13 at 4 p.m. (weather date: Sunday, Dec. 14 at 4 p.m.) for an hour of singing familiar songs. There is the good chance passersby will be corralled to join the singing.
The weather Saturday is for a slight chance of snow showers before 11 a.m. with the chance of precipitation at 20 percent. The high will be 39.
“This is for anyone and families with small kids who want a holiday activity with almost no planning or effort required,” says organizer Amanda Retting.
Retting observed that the caroling is a good kickoff for anyone going on the Parents of Music Student’s Holly Jolly Trolley Holiday Lights Ride leaving from Belmont Savings Bank around that time.
The caroling will have the same format as previous years: everyone gather around tree, bring your own illumination (sunset will be at 4:12 p.m.) and print out your own lyrics. Children are invited to run around in circles around the tree instead of singing if that’s more festive to them.
This year, the Belmontonian will be bringing hot chocolate and decaffeinated coffee (it is 4 p.m.) to the event.
Any questions? Email amanda@moger.org
Below is the song list from previous years. Its likely that only the first two verses will be sung: The website for lyrics is http://www.carolingcorner.com/
1. Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer

2. Joy to the World

3. Deck the Halls

4. Jingle Bells

5. We Three Kings of Orient Are (Star of Wonder)

6. 12 Days of Christmas

7. Feliz Navidad

8. Frosty the Snowman

9. Little Drummer Boy

10. O Come, All Ye Faithful

11. Santa Claus is Coming to Town

12. Silent Night

13. We wish you a Merry Christmas

Time/energy/enthusiasm permitting:

14. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen

15. White Christmas

16. Hark the Herald Angles Sing

17. Silverbells