Calling Card: Sophomore Ties Record For Threes as Belmont Downs Sachems

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Photo: Belmont’s Jenny Call (right) for three.

You can start calling the three-pointer Jenny Call’s “calling card.” The Belmont High School sophomore forward tied a decade old record for three-point baskets in a game with six as the Marauders returned to its winning ways (5-2) with a 64-40 victory at Winchester High, Tuesday, Jan. 11.

The two-year varsity player scored a total of 18 points Tuesday, all from beyond the arc, hitting four threes in the first quarter and her final bucket with two minutes remaining in the game. Her six equals that of Rachel Gaines back in the 2002-2003 season. 

Special Town Meeting on Minuteman, HS Building Committee Proposed for Feb. 8

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Photo: Minuteman Regional HS

Belmont officials s selected a tentative date for Town Meeting to vote to approve or reject a new regional agreement for the Minuteman Career and Technical High School.

The Board of Selectmen will discuss and vote for a Special Town Meeting on Monday, Feb. 8 at 7 p.m. in the Chenery Middle School’s auditorium at its Monday, Jan. 11 meeting.

That same night members will also decide to create a building committee to oversee a major renovation of Belmont High School. But this article comes with a big “if.” 

Along with accepting the date, Selectmen will open and close the Special Town Meeting warrant – at which time items can be put on Town Meetings agenda – during the discussion.

Town Meeting members will be asked to approve a series of fundamental changes to the existing agreement with the 15 other towns and cities in the Minuteman. 

Those alterations include the ability of members communities to withdrawal from the agreement (a number of towns with a handful of students have indicated they wished to depart the group) and requires out-of-district communities such as Watertown, Waltham and Medford which send nearly 40 percent of the new students to the school, to help pay a proportional share of capital costs of a new $144 million building.

In a last minute addition to the warrant, members will be asked to approve the creation of a Belmont High School Building Committee, which will direct the estimated $100 million renovations of the existing building and the construction of a science wing. 

The article was suggested by Pat Brusch of the Capital Budget Committee and former vice-chair of the Wellington Building Committees, who said the creation of a committee will give the group a several month head start on working with the state on the multi-year project and begin building public consensus for the project.

The town will likely vote in 2017 on a $65-$70 million debt exclusion to fund the project. 

The article’s big “if” is that its existence depends on the approval of the School District’s Statement of Interest by the Massachusetts School Building Authority which will fund close to a third of the renovation and construction costs.

The MSBA will select approximately half of the 25 projects currently on its “short” list at its Jan. 28 meeting.

Sports: Belmont Girls’ Routed by All-Star Kelly, Lexington, 62-43

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Photo: Senior guards Ani Maroyan (4) and Sofia Cellucci (33) ran a positive offensive set when they were in the game vs. Lexington. 

After taking one of the best Division 1 teams in the state (Woburn High) to the final second in its last game before falling by a single point, there were high hopes Belmont High Girls’ could take the measure of Lexington High – another Division 1 top-ten team – when they visited the Minutemen on Friday night, Jan. 8.

And the Marauders did just that … for the first quarter. Unfortunately, Belmont (4-2, 4-2) had another 24 minutes to watch Lexington (6-1, 6-0) and its Fordham-bound state all-star guard Anna Kelly toy with the Marauders as the Belmont girls were on the wrong end of a 62-43 pummeling. It wasn’t that close. 

In the first quarter, Belmont behind the hot shooting from inside and outside from sophomore point guard Carly Christofori (hitting a dozen with a three-pointer and going 3-3 from the free throw line) was applying pressure on Minuteman’s defense. Christofori was assisted by her 10th-grade colleagues starting forward Jenny Call (5 of her 10 points in the first) and Greta Propp (5 points) who came off the bench to play a strong game on both ends of the court.

Lexington kept the game close by going over Belmont’s tight perimeter defense, hitting five threes (a pair each from Kelly and fellow senior guard Eleanor Van Arsdell) as opposed to a single 2-point bucket in the quarter. 

A Christofori three-point play followed by another drive and bucket and finally a Propp put-back of an offensive rebound gave Belmont its largest lead at 20-13 with 1:25 left in the opening quarter.

That would be the Marauders’ high water mark as Belmont would be outscored and outclassed 49-23 for the rest of the game.

In the second quarter, Kelly (27 points including four threes and double digits in assists) used her quickness and court awareness to pressured Belmont’s defenders who appeared unnerved matched up against the three-year All-Scholastic guard who two years ago dropped 52 points against the Marauders, the third-highest points total by a girl in Massachusetts basketball history.

Surprisingly, Belmont’s defense would hold the Minutemen to 13 points (9 from Kelly) in the quarter. What doomed the Marauders was its inability or unwillingness to take a shot at the basket. At the end of eight minutes, the Marauders could only muster an estimated ten shots at their hoop, the majority wildly off the mark. Only a mid-range jumper from ever improving Freshman center Jess Giorgio prevented Belmont from putting up a goose egg for the quarter. When halftime finally came, Belmont was looking up from a nine-point hole, 31-22. 

Belmont did come out of the break with a spark as Christofori followed up her rebound with a basket and when Call hit her second three of the night, the Marauders were within six points at 33-27.

That’s when Kelly put on a skills clinic on how to single handily beat a team into submission. Kelly ran head-on at the Belmont defense causing all sort of chaos and confusion in the Marauders end of the court. From there, Kelly would either coolly stop and hit long-distance threes or drive to the basket before dishing off pinpoint assists to teammates under the basket. Seven Minutemen scored in the quarter totaling 22 points and in less than three minutes it built its lead from seven to 20 (49-29) as a totally dispirited Belmont squad could only eek out four points from the free-throw line in the final six minutes. 

The last quarter was reserved for the role players, some who shined on the court. Senior guard Ani Maroyan (8 points) was only too happy to show off her raindrop shot from distance scoring a pair of threes and with fellow senior Sofia Cellucci ran an efficient offensive set. 

Belmont is traveling to Winchester on Tuesday, Jan. 12. 

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Sports: Boys’ Hoops Sneaks Out of Lexington with Thrilling OT Win, 76-74

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Photo: Belmont’s Matt Kerans heading to the basket in OT v. Lexington.

Wow. Talk about pulling one’s bacon out of the fire.

Thanks to two outstanding plays by a pair of role players, Belmont High Boys’ hoopsters crawled themselves out of a deep hole they helped dig and somehow got out of Dodge with a thrilling 76-74 victory over a gutsy Lexington High squad on Friday night, Jan. 8.

“Good high school game,” said Belmont’s Head Coach Adam Pritchard with a wry smile as the team recorded its seventh win against three losses. They are tied with Reading (6-1) with one loss (4-1) in the Middlesex League Liberty Division.

It’s never easy to come off the bench and contribute but luck for Belmont, two players did just that. A three-point bomb from the corner by Belmont junior Daron Hamparian (5 points) tied the game at 67 with 48 seconds in regulation and sophomore Tomas Donoyan’s (2 points) jumper for two after Lexington blocked a Paul Ramsey (12 points) shot with 30 seconds gave Belmont the lead at 69-67 – part of an 8-1 Marauders run in the final 100 seconds – before Lexington’s Jack Amsler forced overtime with his own bucket with 23.4 seconds remaining.

In OT, Belmont’s big man senior Joe Shaughnessy (3 of his 5 points in overtime) put back an offensive rebound to give the Marauders the lead by one, 73-72, then senior point guard Matt Kerans stole a pass and beat the game’s number one star, Lexington’s center Spencer Kendall, to the hoop to up the lead to 75-72. Two previous times Kerans attempted layups against the junior, Kendall (23 points, four blocks, more than a dozen rebounds) slammed the shot back at Kerans.

With Lexington down by one and with the ball, an attempt by sophomore guard Jermaine Fernandes fell into Shaughnessy’s hands to hit one of two from the charity stripe with 1.5 seconds remaining and with that Belmont got to sneak out of town with the victory. 

“We didn’t quit when a lot of teams could have, and we made a couple of key steals and a big fast break put back which was such a heady play,” said Pritchard.

“When guys run, and they don’t quit, you can make it happen,”

Not that it appeared an hour earlier that Belmont would need extra time against the winless Minutemen (0-6, 0-4). For the second straight game (a convincing victory over Woburn), Belmont came out smoking. Behind the three-point shooting of senior guard Cole Bartels (four 3s in the first quarter before finishing with 15 points) and a three, a two and a free throw from his fellow backcourt companion Kerans (24 points, who along with Ramsey scored in in the four quarters and overtime) to accompany a smothering defense led by senior center Justin Wagner (10 points) allowed Belmont to run off to a 21 point lead, 27-6, at the end of the first. 

“We had a heck of a first quarter,” said Pritchard. 

But before a large crowd of supporters, Lexington started to take chunks out of the lead by throwing it up beyond the arc. The Minutemen rattled in five from distance (three from Amsler) while Kendall began drawing fouls from the Belmont front line, going 6-6 from the free throw line and ending the period with 12 of Lexington’s 30-second quarter points, and cutting the lead to a manageable seven points, 43-36, at the half.

“I think we took our foot off the throttle a little bit after a great start,” said Pritchard. 

“Maybe we got too comfortable. They played well, but we got a little tired. I probably should have used some other players at the beginning of the game to save some legs. When you have quality players you don’t want to pull them off the court,” he said. 

And that weariness showed in the second half as Belmont committed fouls and turnovers that Lexington feasted on. In the third quarter, seven Minutemen players scored 17 points while Belmont could only squeeze in seven total and found themselves trailing 53-50 going into the final quarter. 

Those last eight minutes saw Belmont falling further behind 57-52 after the first two minutes only to tie it up at 59 with a two and a three from Bartels and a jumper by Ramsey. But when Lexington’s Amsler hit his fourth three, and senior Alex Lenrow put in a steal, Lexington held its biggest lead of the game, 67-61. 

That’s when Belmont’s bench bailed out the boys. 

Next up for Belmont is at 5-4 Winchester on Tuesday, Jan. 12.

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Belmont Garden Party: Girls’ Hoops to Play At TDGarden Sunday, Jan. 24

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Photo: Belmont High Girls Basketball to play the Boston TDGarden.

Along with Bill Russell and Larry Bird, you can now add the names Carly, Samari, Sarah and Irini as those who have played on the historic parquet floor of Boston Garden as the Belmont High School Girls’ Varsity Basketball team take on Chelmsford High School at the TDGarden at 10 a.m. on Sunday, January 24.

The game is part of the third annual Good Sports Invitational – the Belmont Boys’ team played in last year’s game – where sixteen high school teams will have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play on the fabled court. The mission of Boston-based Good Sports is to help lay the foundation for healthy, active lifestyles by providing athletic equipment, footwear, and apparel to disadvantaged young people nationwide.

An added bonus is that Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey – a former Harvard University basketball captain and pro-player in Europe – will be leading basketball events for Belmont and Chelmsford youth basketball players during halftime of the game. You’ll remember Healey as playing on Belmont’s Grove Street Playground basketball court in one of her political ads. 

Tickets for the game (which allows you to stay for all eight games) against the Lions are $15.  Belmont’s goal is to sell 400 tickets and have a large fan section to cheer on the Marauders. 

Tickets can be purchased in Belmont at:

  • Champions Sporting Goods, 53 Leonard Ave., Belmont Center
  • Rancatore’s Ice Cream, 36 Leonard Ave., Belmont Center
  • Country Store (the concession stand) at Belmont High School during home games: Friday, Jan. 15 and Tuesday, Jan. 19.
  • Belmont High School will also have a table set up outside the lunch room in the school day, specific days TBA.
  • Contact Marauders’ Head Coach Melissa Hart with any questions (mmhart32@gmail.com)  and who can arrange to get tickets.

High School Schedule for Day:

  • 8:30 a.m. – Wellesley vs. Needham (Girls) 
  • 10 a.m. – Belmont vs. Chelmsford (Girls) 
  • 11:30 a.m. – Andover vs Newton South (Boys) 
  • 1 p.m. – Mansfield vs Brighton (Boys) 
  • 2:30 p.m. – Bishop Hendricken vs. Cambridge Rindge & Latin (Boys)
  • 4 p.m. – St. Mary’s vs Lexington (Girls) 
  • 5:30 p.m. – Triton vs Newburyport (Boys)
  • 7 p.m. – Medford vs Arlington (Boys) 

Sports: Belmont Girls’ Nipped by Top-Ranked Woburn, 52-51

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Photo: Belmont’s Jen Call (21) looking to pass to freshman Jess Giorgio vs. Woburn.

Walking off the court after seeing her team lose for the first time this season to a top-10 (ranked 5th by ESPN Boston) Woburn High team, Belmont High Girls’ Basketball Head Coach Melissa Hart looked back and said, “I should have called a timeout. Darn.”

Hart was recalling the final sequence of the game, with the game tied at 50. Belmont’s Jenny Call had just swatted an attempted inbounds pass out-of-bounds with just under five seconds remaining in the second half.

As Belmont set up its defense, the ball went into the Tanner’s league all-star junior guard Marissa Gattuso, who dribbled to the top of the key and leaned into Belmont’s freshman Megan Tan while taking the shot as the clock ticked down to zero.

A varsity move by Woburn’s leader that was rewarded with a generous whistle from the ref, sending Gattuso to the line for two shots with 0.9 seconds left.

The veteran hit the first and missed the second, giving Belmont no time for anything miraculous and sending the Marauders (4-1, 4-1 in the Middlesex League) to its first defeat of the season, 52-51.

“You know, it was a hard fought game. I think we had a chance [to win] with the ball but … ,” said Hart. “We could have been on the other side of the score. They just had the better chances.”

If there was a lesson of the game, it was to put away teams when you have them down. Belmont held nearly 10 point leads for the majority of the first three-quarters yet could never find the run which could have given the Marauders’ a comfortable double-digit lead.

But that’s hard to do with Gattuso who left her mark on the game with a bookend performance, scoring 16 of her game-high 18 points in the first and fourth quarters. After outscoring Belmont 6-0 in the first two minutes of the game, Gattuso was effectively held in check by Belmont’s swarming defense led by seniors co-captain guards Samari Winklaar (8 points) and Irini Nikolaidis.

For the next six minutes, Belmont outscored the reigning Middlesex League champions, 19-5, behind Belmont’s sophomore point guard Carly Christofori (team leading 13 points) who found the team’s other co-captain Sarah Stewart who scored 6 of her 8 points in the first quarter as all five starters scored to give Belmont a 19-11 lead. 

While Woburn (5-0, 5-0) trimmed the lead behind forward Mya Blazejowski (10 points) to 22-20 with two minutes remaining, a basket and free throw from Christofori and a layup at the buzzer by  senior sixth man Sara Lyons from a pinpoint pass from Tan increased Belmont’s advantage at the half to seven, 27-20. 

The Marauders appeared like it would sprint away from the Tanners at the start of the second half as Nickolaidis (10 points) hit a basket and a free throw to up the lead to 10 points as Belmont was effectively running the break. Freshman center Jess Giorgio, who was effective coming down with rebounds against the tall and physical Tanners while scoring on a nifty jumper, and Jenny Call with five third-quarter points kept the Marauders’ lead at seven the end of the third eight minutes, 43-36.

The final quarter saw the Marauders pick the worst time to go cold on the offensive side of the court while Gattuso decided to wake up. A three-pointer by Gattuso led a 6-0 Woburn run to cut the lead to one, 43-42, before Stewart hit a bucket from under the basket to up the lead to three.

But that lead was shortlived as a pair from the charity stripe from Blasejowski and a three-pointer by senior center Elle Brennan gave Woburn its first lead, 47-45, since two minutes in the game.  

Nickolaidis hit two from the line and a tough layup in traffic between Gattuso’s floater to see the match tied at 49 with 2:17 left in the game. Gattuso gave Woburn the lead, 51-49, on a layup only to have Christofori make two free throws with 1:01 remaining to give the game its final tie, 51-15. 

A good defensive stance saw Belmont get possession back with 35 seconds but Blazejowski anticipated Christofori’s pass to Call with 11-second remaining. It was then up to Gattuso to win it from the line 10.1 seconds later. 

Next up for Belmont is a trip to Lexington Friday, Jan. 7 for the penultimate match with the Minutemen and its Fordham-bound senior guard Anne Kelly, who once scored 52 points against the Marauders. But that was at Belmont.

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Sports: Belmont Boys’ Hoops Wallops Woburn, Nears League Top

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Photo: Senior Joe Shaughnessy skies during game with Woburn.

Finally, Belmont High Boys’ Basketball Head Coach Adam Pritchard was happy.

His Marauders’ – which has come off a hard holiday schedule of games – had just comprehensively beaten Middlesex League leaders Woburn High, 75-54, Tuesday, Jan. 5, as his starters and the bench contributing on both ends of the court the entire night.

“All victories are good,” said Pritchard. “I never had a bad one.” 

And this was a good one, as Belmont ups its record to 6-3 and 4-1 in the Middlesex Liberty Division, tied with Winchester and Woburn (5-2) and a half game behind 5-1 Reading.

The game – which began with senior co-captain Matt Kerans receiving a ceremonial basketball for scoring his 1,000 point this past Dec. 29 in a game vs. New Bedford – saw Belmont race off to the lead as Woburn has a bit sloppy with the ball and missed a few “bunnies” under the basket. 

Senior shooting guard Cole Bartels led the charge offensively with 8 points in the first quarter including one of his long-range threes (he ended with a game-high 20 points) to give Belmont an 18-14 lead a the end of eight minutes. The Marauders would push the lead to double digits (38-27) at the half by out battling the Tanners under the basket and pushing up

The Marauders would press the lead to double digits (38-27) at the half by out battling the Tanners under the basket and pushing up the court with the ball. While junior Paul Ramsey (9 points) powered along the baseline for his 5 points (a three from the corner) in the quarter, senior tall forward Joe Shaughnessy (9 points) took advantage of Belmont’s height advantage to score a pair of put-backs for his five in the second, while reliable and versatile sixth-man junior Dylan Ferdinand scored 7 points in the game.

The second half saw Belmont put the gas on the pedal to score 19 – 8 coming from Kerans, who ended the night with 14, who drained a pair of threes and two free throws – in the third while holding the Tanners to almost half that. 

The fourth quarter was the time for the bench to shine as eight players scored in the final eight minutes including senior Damian Bitsikas (2 points), junior Daron Hamparian (2 points), sophomore Tomas Donoyan (5 points), junior Ben Jones (2 points), senior Lowell Haska (2 points) and senior Yvrantzi Desravines (1 point).

Pritchard said Belmont’s cause was helped by the absence of Woburn all-star guard Brandon Mascat from the starting lineup.

But Pritchard praised the team that played great defense, started to run and had some offensive put backs. 

“I like to think we are improving; that’s our ultimate goal,” he said.

Next for Belmont is a game Friday, Jan. 8, at winless Lexington. The game starts at 5 p.m.

The Big Wait: How Schools, Treasurer Prepare for State’s Decision on “New” High School

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Photo: Belmont High School.

The decision by the state to place the $100 million renovation and new construction project for a “new’ Belmont High School was greeted with cheers by school officials while one town official has taken out his green eyeshade and sharpened his pencil to determine how the town’s property owners will pay for the project “without going bankrupt.” 

“[This is] [g]reat news from the MSBA!” said Laurie Slap, chair of the Belmont School Committee, on the Dec. 22 announcement by the Massachusetts School Building Authority that Belmont’s statement of interest made the final review for state funding.

Belmont joins 25 other new construction, renovation and repair projects from around the state that the MSBA staff recommended forward in the process to the MSBA Board for approval.

Roughly half of the “finalists” will be selected later this month by the authority to advance to being funded by the state.

“This is great news for … Belmont as it represents a unique opportunity for our community as we have submitted an application for this project, annually, for over ten years,” said Belmont District Superintendent John Phelan.

“Although this is not a final decision, it is very good to know that our proposal is moving forward in the process,” he said.

“Like many other communities, we will now await the final decision of the MSBA Board that will be rendered on Jan. 27,” he said.

Until that decision is rendered, the School Committee “will have to wait patiently” on the sidelines, said Slap. But her group and the Superintendent’s office is “ready to start moving all forward as soon as we hear a positive decision from the Board!” she said.

If the project is approved, “the School Committee will work with … Phelan, Belmont High School Principal [Dan] Richards, the Board of Selectmen and the Belmont community to reexamine the needs at the high school and follow the MSBA process for feasibility and design studies, etc.,” said Slap.

Phelan noted that he had “notified faculty and staff as well as … parents and guardians. Additionally, I spoke with  Town Administrator David Kale, who will communicate this information to the Board of Selectman and Town Department Heads.

“The MSBA process is one that is very prescriptive and as the process evolves we will use their guidance to prepare and educate ourselves as to the ensuing phases,” Phelan noted. Those will include working closely with MSBA officials on costs and needs of the district. 

While the school committee and district are excited, the town’s chief financial manager has been going over the numbers on the cost of securing a new school. 

“As Town Treasurer and a 45 year Belmont taxpayer I have thought through the financing as not to bankrupt individual family property taxpayers,” said Floyd Carman who has been in his position for more than a decade.

“I assumed the MSBA will cover 30 percent of the cost of a new Belmont High School. That leaves $70 million for Belmont taxpayers to pay for a debt exclusion vote,” he said. 

Carman has come up with a preliminary plan that will spread out the project’s financing “pain” over a decade, recommending borrowing three times within a ten-year Capital Plan:

  • 2019: $30 million.
  • 2021: $20 million.
  • 2023: $20 million.
While many residents have been focusing on the future of Belmont High School, Carman said that people “can’t forget Minuteman Technical High School, which looks like an agreement with member towns, is close to an agreement.” And that agreement, which includes a new building for the Lexington-based vocational center, will come at a cost to Belmont.
 
Under the current agreement that Town Meeting Members will vote on in early February, the “potential debt service cost for Belmont will be $400,000 to $500,000 annually for 30 years,” said Carman.

 

Support BHS Science Team at Somerville’s Flatbread Co. Tuesday, Jan. 5

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Photo: The website of the Belmont Science team.

Belmont High Schools teams don’t just show prowess on the sports fields and music venues but also the lab.

Belmont High’s Science team is ranked second out of 19 schools in the West Suburban Science League. And this year’s squad has an excellent shot to qualifying for the Massachusetts State Science Olympiad.

But what the team needs right now is a little help getting there. A big problem is collecting money since each club at the high school receives a small amount each year from the school district. And most of the money goes to travel costs. If the team can’t afford to go to the competitions, the students can’t qualify for the state or national tournament.

While the sports teams have the Belmont Boosters and musicians are supported by Parents of Music Students, there is no related group for budding scientists. 

On Tuesday, Jan. 5, residents and students can show their support for the Belmont High Science Team by eating pizza, do some candlepin bowling, and winning awesome raffle prizes!

Flatbread Company in Somerville will donate about 20 percent of their proceeds from pizza sales between 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Tuesday to the club. The team will also be selling baked goods and raffle tickets at the door, with prizes including $20-$50 gift cards and products from Starbucks, Comella’s, Bolocco, Ben and Jerry’s, the Harvard Co-op, Origins, Marcou Jewelers and more.

So join the team for a night of fun, food, and fundraising!

Being Green Assists Belmont With Energy Savings at High and Middle schools

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Photo: Chenery Middle School.

Most residents know a significant amount of educational energy is produced by teachers, staff, and students at Belmont High and Chenery Middle schools. 

What citizens may not realize is that the schools are also the greatest user of conventional energy in Belmont, consuming 50 percent of all power used in town buildings. 

Any opportunity to reduce or conserve power there could go a long way to reducing the town’s carbon footprint and save taxpayers money, according to Gerald Boyle, Belmont’s director of facilities. 

Thanks to a “green” energy grant that accompanied being designated by the state as a Green Community, Belmont’s heaviest users of energy will soon be retrofitted and installed with energy control systems with the aim of containing costs at both facilities by using electricity more efficiently. 

The $151,000 grant will pay for the bulk of the $174,000 price tag – after energy credits, the town’s contribution is $11,000 – to install the systems, said Boyle before the Belmont Board of Selectmen on Monday, Dec. 28, at Town Hall. 

“We look at the best use of our money, and we view this as collecting from low-hanging fruit,” said Boyle.

The new computerized systems will allow for greater control of the schools’ environments – cooling and heating could be operated and scheduled from the Facilities Department’s office in the Homer Building. It can also produce reports and data highlighting how specific systems components such as pumps, fans, and motors, are working and if repairs are needed, said Boyle.

According to Boyle and David Kale, town administrator, the payback will be immediate. Boyle predicts annual savings of approximately $17,000 at each school with total repayment within four and a half years.

Selectman Mark Paolillo questioned if placing the system in the High School was worth the cost as the building could be renovated beginning in the next five years. (Editor’s note: Last week the Massachusetts School Building Authority selected Belmont High in the final review round before it decides on which projects it will fund in late January 2016.)

Boyle said the systems can be incorporated into a newly-renovated building “so it will not be ripped out” when the renovation takes place.

The grant was part of the package Belmont received after being named one of the state’s Green Communities last December, which encourages energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions and promote the town’s clean energy goals.

Belmont will also be eligible to apply for future grants – up to $250,000 each year –to fund local renewable power and energy saving projects.

Belmont became eligible to become a “green community” after meeting five criteria including:

  • committing to renewable energy-friendly zoning,
  • expedited permitting,
  • programs to reduce energy use by 20 percent within five years,
  • the purchase of fuel-efficient municipal vehicles, and
  • Creating an energy efficiency requirement – known as the “stretch” code – for new commercial/industrial construction, as well as residential construction of more than 3,000 sq.-ft. The Belmont Town Meeting adopted this code in May 2011.

As part of the application process, an energy audit by Marlborough-based Guardian Energy of all town buildings to review the lighting, water use, and windows was completed to create an energy reduction plan. Town conducted a detailed analysis of municipal buildings and the costs associated with meeting the Green Communities goals. 

Funded by a regional cap-and-trade program, more than $30 million have been paid out to cities and towns since 2010.