Selectmen OKs Fire Chief’s New Contract

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Photo: “Your Fire Chief” David Frizzell. 

It took some give and take and several executive sessions over the past five months, but on Friday, Feb. 8, the Belmont Board of Selectmen approved a new contract with the town’s longtime Fire Chief, David Frizzell. 

The town now has agreements with both of Belmont public safety heads, having signed off on a contract with Belmont Police Chief Richard McLaughlin in September. 

According to Jessica Porter, Belmont’s human resources director, the town agrees to pay Frizzell a base annual salary of $170,000 retroactive to July 1, 2018.

Over the next two years, on July 1 2019 and 2020, Frizzell will receive either a two percent cost of living adjustment or the general COLA pay increase for fire department heads, whichever is greater. There is also a performance raise as outlined in the contract. The new total amount will be the new “base pay” to calculate further adjustments.

Porter also noted that Frizzell will continue to have:

  • a take home vehicle, a taxable benefit, consistent with the police chief and others who have assigned take home vehicles,
  • various leaves as is compatible with other contracts/department heads,
  • a first responder stipend of $2,000 in year one, with a $1,000 increase each year after, and
  • the ability to sell back 56 hours (seven days) of unused vacation time to the town at the end of the year.

While McLaughlin’s contract was structured to end on Dec. 31, 2019 to conincide with his retirement date, there is nothing regarding retirement in Frizzell’s contact.

“[Frizzell] is required per the contract to give 30 days’ notice if he wishes to leave before the term of the agreement ends,” said Porter.

Belmont’s ‘Hurdle Squad’ Heads To Nationals With No Time To Spare [VIDEO]

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Photo: The Belmont “Hurdle Squad”: Joy He, Knar Krafian, Sam Lu and Sarah Firth.

Talk about hitting the mark.

Belmont High School’s “Hurdle Squad” – junior Joy He, sophomores Knar Krafian, Sam Lim and Sarah Firth – had one chance to reach the qualifying time in the unique 4×55 meter Shuttle Hurdle Relay to qualify for the 2019 New Balance Nationals Indoor in New York City in early March. 

The squad came to the Reggie Lewis Center on Sunday, Feb. 10 to compete in the apt name MSTCA “Last Chance to Qualify Meet” with one thing in mind: 34.44 seconds, the time they needed to reach to punch their tickets to the Big Apple. The girls knew they were fast having won the 4×50 yard hurdle relay at the MSTCA Indoor Division 2 Relay in 30.85 seconds.

Now a little about the event. The shuttle hurdles is hardly seen by even track fans as it takes place in relay meets. Each of four hurdlers on a team runs the opposite direction from the preceding runner. It’s a shuttle as no baton is used, when the runner crosses the line, the next takes off much like swimming relays. The event can at times be the roller derby of track with barriers flying and runners falling into other teams lanes. 

Held early in the meet, the squad was matched up against a very good Andover team. By the time Firth took off on the anchor leg, Belmont needed a power run from Belmont’s best hurdler this season. And the second year runner crossed the time slightly behind Andover. But it wasn’t the placement, it was the time. The time came up on the scoreboard. Belmont: 34.44. On the button.

The “Hurdle Squad” is heading to New York City. Enjoy the backpacks of swag.

Snow Emergency Parking Ban Starts At 8 PM Tuesday

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Photo: 

The midweek snow storm coming through Belmont has caused the town to ban public parking for Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, according to a town-issued press release.

“There will be a SNOW EMERGENCY Parking Ban on all roadways, as well as in municipal and Belmont Public School parking lots, effective at 8pm, Tuesday, Feb. 12, until further notice.”  

“All vehicles parked in violation of the ban will be towed at the owner’s expense.”

North Middlesex Regional’s Taylor Named Belmont High’s New Principal

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Photo: Isaac Taylor inspecting the new school housing North Middlesex Regional.

Isaac Taylor, whose teaching and leadership career spans an ocean and three decades, has been named the next principal of Belmont High School, according to the Belmont School District. Taylor starts his tenure on July 1.

“I have 14 years experience in raising standards, maximizing student learning and engagement and ensuring accountability,” wrote Taylor in his LinkedIn profile. “I am passionate about working to help all students and staff reach their potential, enjoy challenging themselves, and become life long learners.”

Taylor comes to Belmont High after four and a half years as principal of North Middlesex Regional, a 9-12 high school located hard on the New Hampshire border servicing the towns of Townsend, Pepperell, and Ashby.

During his stay at North Middlesex, Taylor guided the school community’s move into a new $89 million structure in the fall of 2017. He also had to contend on that opening day with a threat against the school requiring students and staff to pass through metal detectors to enter the building.

According to an article in the Nashoba Valley Voice, Taylor spent part of his childhood in the U.K., and part in Acton, Mass. After receiving his BA in Liberal Arts from the Harvard University Extension School, Taylor began is teaching career in 2001 across the Atlantic in the historic cathedral town of Canterbury in southeast England. He spent three years as an English teacher at Canterbury High School (now Canterbury Academy) while earning a teacher certification from Canterbury Christ Church University College.

Beginning in 2004, Taylor was a teacher and administrator for nine years at Simon Langton Girls’ Grammar School in Canterbury for the next nine years, five as an English and Physiology teacher and four as assistant principal. During that time, he obtained a master’s in school and education management from King’s College, London.

In the fall of 2013, Taylor enrolled at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education where he earned a Master of Education with a concentration in school leadership, while serving a principal internship at Boston Latin Academy. 

New Youth Commission Kicks Off With Ice Cream!

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Photo: It’s ice cream time for middleschoolers.

File this under making friends and influencing the sweet tooth.

The newly-reconstituted Belmont Youth Commission which held its inaugural meeting on Monday, Feb. 4 has quickly gotten out the starting blocks announcing its first event; an ice cream social for students from the Chenery Middle School on Valentines Day.

According to Marisa Melanson, Belmont’s youth coordinator said the event for 5th to 8th graders will take place on Thursday, Feb. 14, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Belmont Public Library in the Assembly Room. The free event is sponsored by the commission, Belmont Public Library, and Moozy’s.

At the library, the “kids will be able to make cards for our troops while making their ice cream sundaes,” said Melanson, who was hired as the town’s youth coordinator in November after being an environmental health intern in the Health Department. 

The renewed commission met at Town Hall to discuss its charge set by the Board of Selectmen and elect its slate of officers. Adam Dash, chair of the selectmen, said the commission was established to create programs as well as advice on behalf of the young people in town. 

David Alper, the former longtime chair and member of the Health Board who spearheaded the re-establishment of the group which he belonged to in its original form, said he would take the chair but just for six months so others can get up to speed on its mission. He noted that particular focus of the commission should be towards middle school-aged children who are unlike elementary school kids that are programmed “to an inch of their lives” and high schoolers who are much more mobile and have established their groups. 

“The earlier you get them” into creative and health programs “provides the biggest bang for the buck,” said Alper.

The commission members are:

  • David Alper, D.P.M. (Chair)
  • Gavin Farrell, M.M.
  • Zachary Gillette
  • Alyssa Gould (Secretary)
  • Victoria Lesser
  • Sue Morris
  • Robin Ohringer Ph.D., L.I.C.S.W. (Vice Chair)
  • Laura Panos, J.D.
  • Jeffrey Speller, M.D., M.B.A.

 

Title Times Two: Girls’, Boys’ Hoops Take Middlesex Liberty Crowns

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Photo: Defense has been the key to the Belmont High Girls’ league championship.

Everything was in place: a packed Wenner Field House, a celebration naming the high school’s main court after legendary boys’ head coach Paul Lyons and the opportunity Friday night for both of Belmont High School basketball teams to clinch league titles.

Girls’ Unbeaten Run Continues As Marauders Secure Crown

On Friday night, the Belmont High Girls’ Basketball team played like a number one team.

In its first game since being selected the top squad in the Boston Globe Top 20 girls’ basketball poll, the 16-0 Marauders showed its dominance against its toughest league opponent, Reading Memorial, beating the Rockets, 51-39, to win the Middlesex League Liberty Division title.

“It feels amazing,” said senior center Ella Gagnon on achieve the championship at home.

“[It’s] great [to win the title] especially on this special night for Paul Lyons,” said Belmont Head Coach Melissa Hart after the victory. “It feels good instead of having our back against the wall. We didn’t want to be in a position where we’re crawling at the end of the season trying to keep up with what we’ve done.

But Hart doesn’t want her to team to ease up between the victory and the start of the MIAA tournament in two weeks.

“We still have two tough leagues left [against Arlington and Woburn] and we want to learn a lot a try to be better over the next week as we have Cathedral next week,” Hart said.

The clash with defending Div. 4 state champions Cathedral High School of Boston in the Comcast Dvinci Energy Basketball Tournament on Saturday, Feb. 16 in Woburn is starting to look like a match between the top two ranked teams in the Globe’s poll. 

On Friday’s tussle, Belmont came out firing from downtown as its league MVP candidate Megan Tan (14 points), frosh phenom Nina Minicozzi (8 points) and sophomore Maiya Bergdorf hit from beyond the three-point arc to give the Marauders a 9-6 lead. Senior center Jess Giorgio (8 points) put back the second of two offense rebounds followed by Bergdorf’s second 3 and a steal leading to a spinning layup by Giorgio saw Belmont end the opening quarter up 19-8.

“They definitely generate a lot of offense,” said Hart. “For [Tan], a lot of it comes from her defense.”

While the offense was hitting on all cylinders, it was the Marauders pressing defense is the fuel that runs the show. Despite averaging 57 points a game, Reading could not find its comfort zone with Belmont’s stifling 2-3 half court zone that had height in the middle – six players at 5’10” or taller topped off with Giorgio at 6’2″ – and a dogged crew of guards with fast hands looking for the steal or interception. For all of the Rockets power, Reading was held to miser-like six points in the second quarter as Belmont’s lead grew to 25-14.

While attempting just one shot in the game, Gagnon was a force under the basket, hauling in approximately 17 rebounds, each grabbed in heavy traffic. During a series under the Rockets’ hoop in the second quarter, Gagnon snagged four consecutive offensive rebounds in a matter of seconds.

“I just have fun with it. Defense is my thing. I just think like ‘I’m going to get this, this is mine and I go right for it’,” said Gagnon who will be playing soccer at Middlebury College next year.

“Amazing effort. Amazing, amazing. She was like a one-girl show,” said Hart of her first-off-the-bench forward.

“We do emphaize the importance of offensive rebounds because you get more chances, it’s as simple as that,” said Hart.

In the third quarter Belmont got four points each from Tan, Giorgio, Minicozzi and Bergdorf, leading to a final quarter which Bergdorf, who ended the night with 18 points, burying two open 3s. 

“I just thought to myself, I don’t have to prove myself, I just have to play my game,” said Bergdorf, who was high scorer against Reading in both games. 

“It’s a team game so I’m not going to be selfish, but, of course, if I have a shot, I’m going to take it.”

Marauders’ gets pushed late but sprints to the league title

With less than two minutes to play in the first half, already up 35-21, Belmont Boys’ Basketball put on a run over 15 seconds that all but put its game against Reading on ice, Friday on the newly named Coach Lyons Court at Belmont High. 

With the Rockets seeking to cut the advantage to under 10 before the half, senior center Danny Seraderian (16 points) came cruising to the basket and hit a cutting layup to bump the score up to 37-21. Racing down court, Seraderian outjumped two Reading forwards to drag down the rebound and swing it to sophomore Preston Jackson-Stephens (with a string of stellar games off the bench, with 11) on the go. Just to the left of the key, Jackson-Stephens feinted to the left, than powered to the basket leaving his defender hoping he didn’t break his ankles as the forward cruised in for the two. Time out Reading. 

Give credit to Reading for putting up, behind a barrage of 3s, a spirited third and fourth quarters cutting a 20-plus lead to only 10, 61-51, with 4:30 remaining in the game. 

But the comeback faded on Belmont’s next three possessions as Belmont’s other Danny, a Boston Globe All-Scholastic Division 1 player of the year candidate Danny Yardemian (30 points to lead all scorers) took control, hitting one of two from the line, scoring two with his reliable drive to the hoop before Seraderian stole the ball and drove all the way for a layup to lead Belmont on a 10-2 run to seal the 71-53 win.

The win saw the Marauders’ record now at 17-1, and ranked 8th in the Boston Globe’s Top 20 poll.

Who’s Number 1? Belmont! Girls’ Hoops Top Globe’s Top 20 Poll

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Photo: Belmont’s Maiya Bergdorf  (41) in action against Winchester. (David Flanagan photo)

Belmont High School Girls’ Basketball Head Coach Melissa Hart hadn’t heard the news until late Wednesday, Feb. 6.

“Oh really? I did not see that,” she wrote after being informed that her team was on top of the Boston Globe Top 20 Girls Basketball poll, ranked number 1 after the two teams that had been above them for weeks on end, Bridgewater Raynham and Cathedral, lost for the first time in the previous week.

Not that being number 1 is that unusual for an undefeated team, 15-0, whose tightest margin of victory was a 10 point victory over a tough Reading squad.

(Coincidentally, Belmont’s first opponents as number 1 is against Reading which comes into Wenner Field House on Friday, Feb. 8 with a 12-3 record and only two games behind the Marauders in the race for the Middlesex Liberty title.) 

But for Hart, the rankings are fairly subjective and should be taken with a grain of salt. 

“My reaction is you are as good as your last game,” she said, noting that the Globe pollsters probably “didn’t realize we were down by 1 [point] at halftime vs. Burlington.” (Her team did come back to win by 21, 55-34). 

It’s been an impressive season for the Marauders, a team which Hart can put 12 players out on the floor without any drop in skills or intensity. And it’s on the defensive side which anchors the Marauders’ game as its half-court pressure has strangled most rivals attack, limiting challengers to a meager 33 points per game. Hart has the luxury to put out a crew of tall, physical players – led by seniors Jess Giorgio, Ella Gagnon and Jane Mahon – that controls the boards.

Offensively, it’s been four-year varsity guard Megan Tan leading a collection of underclass athletes with tall sophomore Maiya Bergdorf who connects from long-range or driving to the basket and a pair of freshmen guards, Nina Minicozzi and Bridgette Martin, who lead the attack. 

Off the bench are sophomores Kiki Chirstofori, Emma McDevitt, Abigail Morin along with senior Alexandra Keefe, Breah Healey and junior Katie Reynolds. 

As of Thursday, Hart’s attention was on the coming clash with Reading who is led by its league MVP candidate senior Haley Lightbody who was not up to her usual dominating play when Belmont won 54-44 in January.

“This is a big game for both teams, but definitely a bit do or die for them” to catch Belmont in the race for the league championship, said Hart.

Belmont’s First ‘Fix It Clinic’ Help Residents With Phone, Electronics Repairs

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Photo: Repairs being made at a recent Fix-It Clinic event at Jamaica Plain. (Courtesy Paul Roberts)

By Paul F. Roberts

On Saturday, Feb. 9, Belmont will join a growing list of towns in Massachusetts and around the country hosting repair clinics to help residents and other community members extend the use of electronics, home appliances and even furniture and clothing.

Belmont’s first Fix-It Clinic will run from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Belmont Public Library on Concord Avenue. Repair coaches will be available to share their time, tools and expertise to help residents diagnose, troubleshoot and repair all manner of non-functioning items.

“Sustainable Belmont is pleased to collaborate with Belmont Public Library to bring the first in a series of Fix-It Clinics to Belmont,” said Terese Hammerle, the chair of Sustainable Belmont. “Not only do you save money, but we keep stuff from becoming trash.  Waste not; want not. It’s still true!”

The Fix-it Clinic is a family event, Hammerle said. “Curious people of all ages are welcome.”

Repair coaches will bring their tools and know-how to help residents
 repair smart phones, home electronics and appliances - even clothing

Residents can bring small appliances to be repaired, clothing and textiles to be altered or mended, small furniture, wooden items, and anything else in need of fixing, said Hammerle. Walk-ins are welcome, but residents are strongly encouraged to register their item beforehand so that repair coaches know what to expect. An online form is available for registering repair items at https://goo.gl/K3Vkmc

“If you can carry it into the library, our expert fixers will coach you in assessment and repair of your item,” Hammerle said.

Director Peter Struzziero said the library “is proud to partner with Sustainable Belmont to offer this program for patrons of all ages. This is a great opportunity to partner with citizens and offer this service. We hope it’s just the beginning of other tech programming still being developed!”

Fix-it clinics are part of a grassroots repair movement that is gaining traction in both the US and Europe. With electronic waste the fastest growing waste stream globally, advocates say repair clinics are a way to extend the life of electronics.

“We need to take on our throwaway culture, and turn it on its head – and the first step is empower repair,” said Arlington resident Nathan Proctor, director of U.S. PIRG’s Right to Repair efforts. “Community repair helps us build a culture of repair that challenges the idea that everything is disposable and they make it fun.

Residents who have questions about the Fix-it clinic can email: fix-it@sustainablebelmont.net.

Paul Roberts is a Town Meeting Member from Precinct 8.

With HQ Under Renovation, Belmont Police Is Seeking A Temporary Home

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Photo: The current Belmont Police Headquarters

Got an extra room you can spare? How about a spacious backyard that’s available to rent?

Than call the Belmont Police because the force will need a place to crash beginning this summer as its nearly 90-year-old headquarters undergoes a comprehensive renovation.

That’s the latest from the police brass and the building committee overseeing the expansion and modernization of both the police headquarters on Concord Avenue and the Department of Public Works facilities off C Street as they came before the Belmont Board of Selectmen for an update on the projects on Monday, Feb. 4.

And while the groups have been in talks with several groups in town to find an acceptable interim site, Anne Marie Mahoney, chair of the DPW/BPD Building Committee, said “we are not ready to articulate our list” of possible stopgap locations, although later in the presentation, Town Hall was mentioned as a “possible” replacement site.

According to Mahoney, bids for both projects will go out in March with construction beginning in June. She also noted while estimates call for a 10 month construction schedule, “if you ever [renovated] a kitchen … you know what takes 10 months can quickly become a year to 15 months.”

Mahoney told the board the original plan to keep the 55 member department – of which 48 are sworn officers – in the structure at the corner of Concord and Pleasant Street was deemed “not a good idea” by all parties due to safety concerns of police personnel working in a construction area and the acknowledgement that renovating an empty building would allow a quicker and more extensive restoration.

The question now facing the police and town is where the force will be relocated. Police Chief Richard McLaughlin said operational and organizational analysis performed by assistant Chief James MacIsaac placed safety, parking, accessibility and public access high on the list of requirements for a temporary site, all the while doing so with the minimum of disruption while not taking up space.

One unit already knows where its going and it’s not far. Communications, which includes the 9-1-1 operations, will be housed in a trailer in the front of headquarters since all its equipment will remain in the building. 

McLaughlin told the board the biggest potential headache is how to deal with 25 “marked” police vehicles that will need to be parked close to the temporary headquarters.

“Where do they go?” he said. There are also issues with security for officers and civilian employees, those arrested, processed and detained (“our visitors”) and storage of evidence and paperwork.

“Every issue around town revolves around parking,” quipped Mahoney.

The committee and police will be back before the board in two weeks with more definitive plans.

The Bradford Update: Starbucks Back In Cushing Sq. In May, First Units For Sale This Year

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Photo: The plans for the Bradford currently under construction.

Expect the return of $4 cappuccinos as the Starbucks returns to Cushing Square this spring, according to a press release dated Feb. 1 from Otto Weiss, project manager of The Bradford for Toll Brothers Apartment Living.

Weiss’ update on the construction of the largest commercial/housing development in Belmont focused on the progress made on the three structures being built in the heart of Cushing Square. 

Winslow (built on the former municipal parking lot on Trapelo and Williston roads)

Work on the interior and exterior finishes of the Winslow is underway in anticipation of the building being completed in May. The contractor has started work on the Starbucks space and expect to have the coffee shop open in May as well. Sidewalks and outdoor areas around the Winslow will be completed as will the vehicle access between the Pomona and Winslow. 

Hyland (located at Belmont and Common streets)

At the Hyland, the framing of the residential floors has begun and construction will soon start on the roofing and exterior work with the anticipate that the Hyland will be complete later in 2019. 

Pomona (at Common Street and Trapelo Road)

Work continues on the structural steel and wood framing of the Pomona which will have 35,000 sq.-ft. of commercial space. The contractor is concurrently working on the area between the Pomona and Hyland and anticipate finishing the segment in the coming months. The Pomona will be the last of the building to be completed and will be finished in early 2020. 

For residents that have inquiries on leasing information, Weiss said Toll Brothers is not quite ready to start the process “but we will send out information when the time comes.”