The Running For The Dogs: Create Escape Seeks OK for 5K Road Race

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Photo: Racing with dogs.

Soon it will be the humans doing the chasing.

The general manager of Crate Escape came before the Belmont Board of Selectmen Monday, July 25, to seek a tentative OK for a proposed 5K road race in October that will be for the dogs.

General Manager Nikki Condon said the idea of the doggie daycare business at 30 Brighton St. sponsoring a fundraiser to assist in financing cures for canine cancers came to the facility’s owner, Bradley Hastings after he lost his dog to the disease two years ago. 

Working with RaceWire, a Braintree-based consulting firm, the business is looking at the weekend of Oct. 22 with a hope of having 250 people and for many, their dogs, attend and donate. Condon said Belmont Police had given a tentative OK so she could show her plans to the Selectmen. 

While the board was favorable deposed to the race, the members were concerned the proposed route layout – which would start at the facility and travel north of the commuter rail tracks – included some heavy residential streets such as Broad and Chilton streets in Precinct 8.

“These are busy, populous roads” that would be impacted on a Sunday run, noted Mark Paolillo, the board’s chair.

Condon, who has been the manager for eight years, said she would return to the police for further consultation and work with Town Hall to develop a 3.1-mile course that would not severely impact the surrounding neighborhoods. 

Established in 2004, Crate Escape provides daycare, overnight boarding, van service, grooming, and training in Belmont as well as Cambridge and Charlestown.

Selectmen Discuss Dates for Minuteman Vote And A Possible Escape

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Photo: The possibility of an election and a Special Town Meeting.

With a vote in 16 communities to decide the future of the Minuteman Tech Regional High School less than two months away, the Belmont Board of Selectmen unveiled the tentative dates the town will discuss, vote and possibly severe its ties with the vocational school the town has sent its students for nearly five decades.

“This is a first step regarding coming to a conclusion of the Minuteman High School project and its financing,” David Kale, Belmont’s town administrator, told Selectmen on Monday, July 25.

In May, a Special Town Meeting voted against Minuteman’s $145 million financing plan as it was deemed too large for the limited number of students coming from district schools. 

• Monday, Sept. 12: The Belmont League of Women Voters and the town’s Warrant Committee will jointly hold an informational meeting at 7 p.m. at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St., where questions can be asked by voters to town and school officials. It could also be the date the Selectmen can make a recommendation on the plan’s passage or defeat. 

• Tuesday, Sept. 20: The district-wide vote on the project’s financing will take place between noon and 8 p.m. at Belmont’s seven polling stations. When the district-wide vote was first announced in mid-July, Minuteman officials – who are paying for the election – announced that each town would be voting at a single polling location (in Belmont at the High School’s field house) to keep expenses to approximately $11,000. 

But that plan was scuttled after both Arlington and Belmont protested the move, accusing it of an attempt to suppress voter turnout for no real cost savings.

“That was a good solution so not to cause disruptions at the high school,” which would be in session, said Kale. 

If Belmont votes against the bonding scheme, but the district-wide vote is in favor, the Selectmen will have 60 days to call and hold a Special Town Meeting to vote to withdraw from the district. 

• Monday, Sept. 26: 

“You’ll have to make some decisions depending what transpired in September,” said Kale at the first board meeting after the election. 

If the board does call for a Special Town Meeting, Town Meeting member can expect the following October dates to be put into play. 

• The week Monday, Oct. 10: The League of Women Voters will hold an informational and precinct meetings. 

• Wednesday, Oct. 19: Kale said the town has tentatively set the day for the Special Town Meeting, likely at the Chenery Middle School, as the first available date that it can be done. 

If the town votes to remove itself from the district but the other 15 voting member town refuse, Belmont will remain in the group but will not be responsible for the additional debt service, said Kale.

Currently, the town would be responsible for between $350,000 to $500,000 in annual assessments to build the new $145 million school. 

Mark Paolillo, Selectmen’s chair, said as part of the board’s deliberation, it will need to be informed by Belmont’s School Superintendent, John Phelan, “on alternatives for those students now attending Minuteman.”

Car Wash Comes Through As Food Pantry’s Temporary Home

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Photo: The new, temporary location on Pleasant Street.

On Monday, July 25, just days before being forced to move the Belmont Food Pantry from its current site at Belmont High School, Patricia Mihelich was still pondering where she would relocate two rooms full of canned and dry food.

“On Saturday [July 30], we don’t know where the food will be,” said Mihelich, the founder and manager of the pantry that helps more than 200 individuals and families supplement their food supply.

She was still seeking a location for temporary use to store and distribute donated food while a new space at Mount Hope Church was prepped to become its new home.

“I’m still looking,” said Mihelich.

On Tuesday, Mihelich wish came through provided by the good people at Belmont Car Wash on Trapelo Road in the heart of Waverley Square.

“Paul Tocci, from the Belmont Car Wash, has generously offered a very large garage space with a bathroom that we can use,” wrote Mihelich. “There is a parking lot but it is also right next to the Star Market parking lot where volunteers can park.”

Now on Saturday, July 30, Mihelich will not be property watching but leading the pantry’s trip to its home away from home.

“See everyone, who can come, bright and early at 8 a.m. Saturday morning. Remember to bring gloves, water and wear light clothes. If all goes well we will be done with the move and set up by noon time,” she said.

The car wash site will now be where those in need will come until around Halloween in late October. 

“We will be able to open for business on the first and third Saturdays and the fourth Sunday. I am still working out something with him regarding the Tuesdays,” she said.

Last week, Mihelich said the church at 51 Lexington St. had offered her approximately 1,600 sq.-ft. in its basement for the food pantry’s permanent new home. She will have visited the location with a contractor who will require about six weeks to “touch up” the location. 

“We had an anxious few months, but we all support you in what you’re doing,” said Mark Paolillo, Selectmen chair. 

Belmont Light Asks Residents/Consumers To Limit Power Usage Thru Tuesday

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Photo: Sunny hot days ahead.

Belmont Light and its partner, Woburn-based energy efficiency firm Sagewell, are informing customers that Monday, July 25 and Tuesday, July 26, are expected to be high electricity use days due to continued high temperatures across New England. 

And the town’s electrical utility is asking residents and customers to help it save energy and money by reducing electricity consumption on Monday and Tuesday between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Because Belmont Light is municipally-owned, all savings are passed onto ratepayers. 

Belmont Light is asking consumers to employ at least two actions to reduce the town’s peak electricity consumption including:

  • Adjust the air conditioner a few degrees warmer and turn off the AC in rooms that are not in use. Adjusting the thermostat by two or three degrees makes a big difference.
  • Don’t cook with an electric stove or oven.
  • Shift laundry and dishwasher use until after 6 p.m.
  • If you have an electric hot water heater, wait to bathe or use hot water until after 6 p.m.
  • Run pool pumps or use hot tubs before 2 p.m. or after 6 p.m.
  • Shift other electricity use to before 2 p.m. or after 6 p.m.

Every bit of electricity reduced during peak times will help Belmont mitigate rising electricity costs. If you have any questions or would like advice on how to decrease peak energy consumption, contact Sagewell’s Belmont Light Peak Reduction Program at:
support@sagewell.com or
617-963-8141.

Sold In Belmont: Condo Quintet A Nice Affordability Sound; Common Million Again

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Photo: 

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

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• 135 Slade St., Top floor condominium (1920). Sold: $649,000. Listed at $648,500. Living area: 1,777 sq.-ft. 8 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths. On the market: 74 days.

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• 267 Beech St., Unit 2, Top floor condominium (1928). Sold: $725,000. Listed at $749,000. Living area: 1,965 sq.-ft. 9 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths. On the market: 80 days.

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• 20 Chester Rd. Unit 1, Condominium (1917). Sold: $489,000. Listed at $460,000. Living area: 1,113 sq.-ft. 5 rooms, 2 bedrooms, 1 baths. On the market: 32 days.

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• 191 Common St., Colonial (1925). Sold: $1,550,000. Listed at $1,425,000. Living area: 2,488 sq.-ft. 10 rooms, 5 bedrooms, 3 full, 2 half baths. On the market: 53 days.

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• 90 Lewis Rd., Top floor Condominium (1923). Sold: $630,000. Listed at $599,900. Living area: 1,690 sq.-ft. 7 rooms, 4 bedrooms, 2 baths. On the market: 54 days.

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• 274 Washington St., Brick and shingle English Colonial (1930). Sold: $1,040,000. Listed at $935,000. Living area: 2,251 sq.-ft. 8 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths. On the market: 54 days.

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• 30 Marlboro St., Unit 1., Condominium (1916). Sold: $527,000. Listed at $499,000. Living area: 1,690 sq.-ft. 6 rooms, 2 bedrooms, 1 baths. On the market: 83 days.

There has been a great deal discussed – here in Belmont (through the effort of the Belmont Citizens Forum) and the State Senate – on modifying the town’s zoning bylaws to increase the number of affordable housing units in town and across the Commonwealth. One aim is to make building homes with greater density in residential neighborhoods, specifically allowing two families to be “by right” (and skipping the need for a Special Permit) in more areas of town.

This past week, five condominiums in two families were sold for between $729,000 – a big nine roomer with nearly 2,000 sq.-ft. – and $489,000, far more affordable (but barely reasonable for a couple with middle-class income) than the medium price for a single-family house that is nearly seven figures. 

And the condos have something for many: a great starter home or a place for the empty nester. It would also be a place for a small family to spend the 12 years to get through the school years. Take a look at the detail.

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267 Beech St., Unit 2

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267 Beech St., Unit 2

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267 Beech St., Unit 2

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20 Chester Rd Unit 1

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20 Chester Rd Unit 1

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20 Chester Rd Unit 1

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90 Lewis Rd.

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90 Lewis Rd.

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90 Lewis Rd.

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135 Slade St.

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135 Slade St.

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135 Slade St.

And the star of the quintet of condo is the one on Marlboro Street. A steal at $527,000 for 1,300 sq.-ft. with beautiful wood molding, modern kitchen, renovated bath (in proper white), a quirky layout and space out back. Everything to love.

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30 Marlboro St Unit 1.

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30 Marlboro St Unit 1.

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30 Marlboro St Unit 1.

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30 Marlboro St Unit 1.

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30 Marlboro St Unit 1.

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30 Marlboro St Unit 1.

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30 Marlboro St Unit 1.

It might be harder to develop these economical units in the future after Town Meeting approved a four-year moratorium (expanding on a temporary ban) prohibiting the construction of two-family houses on single families lots in the general residence zone. 

Since the moratorium will sunset in 2018, hopefully, there will not be a prejudice against building two families that are similar to these beauties. 

Common Street, as in “it’s now common to see a million house” on this road. The latest is 191 Common St., which is located near St. Joe’s and the Wellington, a building that just seven years ago barely broke $650,000. Much of that was due to a typical situation in Belmont; a long-time owner who didn’t keep up with repairs and modernizing the systems.

The new owners could see beyond the aging infrastructure and years of neglect and got to work. They threw in $105,000 into a new roof, replacing all 36 windows and all bathrooms were renovated as was the kitchen with a freaky harlequin black and white floor. They also enclosed the porch and built a new deck. They also put a few bucks to landscaping, siding and interior work.

The result: the once-threadbare home was sold for more than $1.5 million, nearly three times what they bought it.

Belmont’s Food Pantry On The Move; And It Needs Your Help July 30

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Photo: The new logo.

Like a friend who calls in July and August, the Belmont Food Pantry wants to know:

“Can you help them move to their new home?”

The Belmont Food Pantry is on the move, and by the end of next week – if all goes to plan – the site which serves nearly 200 residents will be up and running at its new location near Waverley Square. 

After being forced to find a new place after the Belmont School Department was forced by skyrocketing enrollment to take back the two modular rooms behind Belmont High School, Mount Hope Church at 51 Lexington St. offered approximately 1,600 sq.-ft. in its basement for the food pantry’s relocation, said long-time manager Patricia Mihelich. 
The pantry’s new home has a ramp into the building, a new lift to the basement where the bathrooms are located.
But like any new home, you have to find a way to move the contents to the new place. According to Mihelich, moving day is Saturday, July 30th starting at 8 a.m. 
“As the saying goes ‘All Hands on Deck’ is needed for this day,” she said in an email to supporters.
In addition to residents with strong backs, Mihelich will need some handy persons with experience in construction.
“The preparation of the space will take some time, so we are also working on a temporary space to go to during that time.  I am working on the solution regarding this, and everything should be finalized by Monday,” she said.

Ohlin’s Friends Head Online To Help Bakery Get Back In Business

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Photo: The GoFundMe page.

When Jacqui Davis would travel to visit her sister in Watertown, there was one mandatory stop as she passed through her former hometown of Belmont.

“How could I pass up going to Ohlin’s?” said the Burlington resident who owns Virtually Here, an online business consultancy. “It’s a staple of Cushing Square.”

For Davis, the century-old bakery located in Cushing Square was where in high school she worked behind the counter and continued coming back for, what else, the shop’s specialty.

“The donuts!” she said of the pastries that have won praise for more than 20 years. “Obviously, they are the best.” 

But Davis’ trips were suddenly ended when on March 15 – the Ides of March – an early morning explosion rocked the building and the back of the shop located at 456 Common St. closing the shop to its loyal patrons.

Since then, the landlord, the insurance company, and the town have been in discussions on the future of the site.

At the beginning of this week, co-ower Marybeth Klemm updated the store’s legion of customers with a Facebook post. She noted that the insurance would only allow the rebuilding of a retail space and if the family hoped to return to the spot, they would need to equip the space for a bakery which requires special cooking equipment, a whole lot of permits and a significant number of expensive upgrades.

“Since the building was damaged- everything must now be brought up to code. Like floors with drains etc…These are all new codes. So we now must have them, but our insurance won’t cover any upgrades,” wrote MaryBeth.

“We are incredibly nervous and stressed about the unknown,” wrote Marybeth, who owns the business with her husband, Paul.  

It was Marybeth’s message that prompted Davis into action.

This was passed around the Facebook group “You know you are from Belmont… and we decided we need to help!” said Davis in her online message.

Davis created a GoFundMe appeal on Wednesday, July 20, “to make sure Ohlin’s Bakery will be around another 100 years!” Davis said she chose $50,000 even though that figure may be on the low end of what will be needed, “but that just means we will need to exceed it,” she said.

In addition to the online fundraiser, she is tapping into her large list of clients and contracts which include local Belmont businesses to help “one of their own.”

“This is not just about another business, it’s about community,” Davis said.

After one day, the fund has raised more than $9,400 from 200 contributors as of 9 a.m., Thursday, July 21. 

“I’m as passionate about this as is Belmont,” said Davis.

Minuteman Relents on Election; Belmont To Use Usual Polling Precincts

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Photo: Voting will take place in the customary locations.

In a decision affecting an all-important vote in two months time, the Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical School District will allow Belmont to use its customary polling locations for the Sept. 20 election rather than a single, centralized site to determine whether the district can go ahead with the financing of a new $145 million vocational high school. 

Belmont Town Clerk Ellen Cushman told the Belmontonian that she received word of the reversal from Minuteman Regional School District Superintendent Edward Bouquillon on Friday night, July 15.

“Belmont requested that for the district-wide Minuteman election that voters were able to vote at our usual seven locations, eight precincts … and they were kind enough to allow that to occur,” said Cushman to a question on whether Minuteman had responded to her request and a letter in support from the Belmont Board of Selectmen. 

Belmont’s Selectmen were highly critical of the earlier single location decision, saying it was a deliberate attempt by Minuteman – which under state law is allowed to call for a district-wide vote if it could not convince the 16 communities Town Meetings to move forward on the $100 million bonding plan – to stifle the vote in Belmont, the only of the district municipalities whose Town Meeting members voted down the financing plan at a Special Town Meeting earlier this year. 

If the district vote passes the bonding issue, Belmont ratepayers could find themselves paying an additional maximum of $500,000 annually in capital costs in addition to the tuition to allow the roughly 30 Belmont students to attend the school in Lexington. 

The selectmen joined Cushman in hailing the change. 

“I’m thrilled to hear that [Minuteman] has allowed at least Belmont to vote in our regular precincts,” said Mark Paolillo, the board’s chair. 

“I think they heard the concerns of the Town Clerk and [the board’s] letter … because we do expect a relatively high voter turnout,” said Sami Baghdady, vice chair of the board. 

“There is nothing more discouraging to the democratic process than heavy traffic, waiting in lines and with only one polling station, it would have a big dampening effect,” he said.

While many town officials believe voter turnout of registered voters in the other 15 district communities will be in the low teens and even single digits, Cushman expects upwards of 30 percent coming out to vote. 

“The way I looked at it, it wasn’t because I supported a point of view, I just want broad representation to vote either way on this,” said Paolillo.

Earlier this month, Minuteman’s recommendation was to use only one location for a vote, which Cushman said would place a hardship on Belmont voters by causing confusion on where to place their ballot not only on Sept. 20 but in state and national elections before and after the financing polling. 

Cushman said the only location in Belmont that could accommodate up to 6,000 voters would be the Wenner Field House on the Belmont High School campus off Concord Avenue. 

With the need for added transportation, police coverage and mailings to voters, Cushman noted the total cost to the town to use one location would eventually cost Minuteman – which is paying for the election – about the same amount, about $16,000, as using the seven sites. 

With the reversal on Minuteman’s part, Belmont voters will head to their familiar polling locations on Tuesday, Sept. 20, but with one distinct difference. 

“Polls will be open from noon until 8 p.m.; we will not open at our usual 7 a.m. start,” said Cushman.

Sold In Belmont: Mansions (And A Simple Ranch) Required Millions To Buy

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Photo: A. 

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

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• 52 Grant Ave., Unit 2, Townhouse (2007). Sold: $800,000. Listed at $730,000. Living area: 1,955 sq.-ft. 5 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 2 full, 2 half baths. On the market: 100 days.

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• 635 Concord Ave., Colonial-ish (2005). Sold: $1,958,000. Listed at $2,100,000. Living area: 5,205 sq.-ft. 10 rooms, 4 bedrooms, 4.5 baths. On the market: 96 days.

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• 38 Audubon Ln., I have no idea (2012). Sold: $2,980,000. Listed at $3,150,000. Living area: 5,112 sq.-ft. 10 rooms, 5 bedrooms, 6.5 baths. On the market: 96 days.

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• 28 Brettwood Rd., Ranch (1953). Sold: $1,012,000. Listed at $1,295,000. Living area: 2,686 sq.-ft. 10 rooms, 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths. On the market: 89 days.

You remember the lyrics of the 70’s television show, “The Jeffersons.” 

“Well we’re movin’ on up,
To the east side.
To a deluxe apartment in the sky.

And that’s what one Belmont couple is doing, swinging the sale of their house for one that’s on the better side of the town.

First, they had to sell the first house … for nearly $3 million.

Gah!

One thing you can say about the house at 38 Audubon Ln. (it’s a cul du sac off Concord Avenue at Mill Street) is the work of the five-year-old house is outstanding, or what the town assessing department calls “superlative” with the rare grade of A++. That should not come to a surprise since the builder/owner, John Eurdolian, is a master contractor. Just think if you were a sub on the job and had a client who knows how to hang a door better than you?

Eurdolian bought a bit of land on Audubon for $700,000 in 2010 then spent nearly $745,000 to construct the building he just sold, re-cooping his cost two-fold.

While there is no way to describe the eclectic exterior design – modern jumbled? – it’s new and big, and that’s what some rich people demand, especially those buyers who come from overseas. So it took less than 100 days to sell and at nearly half-a-million dollars over its assessed value. 

Now, the Eurdolian’s won’t be living in the Hotel Tria in Fresh Pond‎ waiting to move into their new house. In fact, they’ll be movin’ on up Belmont Hill on, oh so proper, Marsh Street. 

And similar to his former house, Eurdolian built a grand new house on Marsh, buying a fading old Colonial in 2014 that had suffered water damage. He put down $900,000 for the house, then quickly knocked it down and spent $854,000 to make a grand statement – 7,429 sq.-ft., 14 rooms, 5 beds, 5 full and 2 half baths – on a street with plenty of those. Its value today? $2,129,000. And how much do you think this would sell for? Plenty. 

Belmont Center Roadways Repaved Starting Tuesday, July 19

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Photo: Leonard Street to be paved.

Finally!

After more than a year of construction on the infrastructure and sidewalks in Belmont Center, the long-anticipated paving of Leonard Street and connecting streets will begin Tuesday, July 19 and hopefully be completed by Thursday, July 21.

Beginning Tuesday, Watertown’s Charles Contracting – the project’s general contractor – will begin milling (the process of removing at least part of the surface of a paved area the roadway surface) within the Belmont Center project limits. The hours of construction will take place between 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

There will be no parking along the affected streets while construction is underway. Belmont Center businesses will remain open with parking available in the Claflin Street Parking Lot behind Leonard Street during construction.

The paving work is one of the final segments of the $2.8 million Belmont Center Reconstruction Plan, a project whose genesis began with a report from the transportation advisory firm the BSC Group in 2010.

When the funding for the project was approved by a Special Town Meeting in Nov. 2014, it was anticipated the project would be completed by Oct. 30, 2015. 

The schedule of roads to be milled, 

Tuesday, July 19:

  • Mill the roadway surface on Channing Road (during the morning) and Moore Street (afternoon). 
  • One travel lane in one direction will be provided at all times during the milling operations. The other direction of travel will be detoured. The travel and detoured lanes will be determined based on where the milling operation is occurring.
  • There will be no parking between the hours of 6 a.m. and 5 p.m. on both sides of Channing Road, from Leonard Street to Farm Road, and Moore Street, from Pleasant Street to Leonard Street.

Wednesday July 20, and Thursday July 21:

  • Mill the roadway surface on Concord Avenue (next to the US Post Office and near the Lions Club Building) and continuing under the bridge onto Leonard Street extending to Pleasant Street.
  • There will be no parking between the hours of 6 a.m. and 5 p.m. on both sides of Concord Avenue, from the Post Office to the Lions Club Building, and both sides of Leonard Street, from under the bridge to Pleasant Street. Please note: Individual parking spaces along Concord Avenue and Leonard Street will be made available as soon as possible after the milling operation has cleared an area.
  • Two lanes of traffic will be accommodated on Concord Avenue. One travel lane providing one direction of travel will be provided at all times on Leonard Street. The other direction of travel will be detoured. The travel and detoured lanes will be determined based on where the milling operation is occurring. 

For any questions or concerns about the project please contact Robert Bosselman, resident engineer in the Office of Community Development, at 617-993-2665.