Letter To The Editor: Ruban Thanks ‘All Who Supported Me’

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To the editor:

Thank you to everyone I had the pleasure of meeting along the campaign trail, and a special thank you to those who supported, voted and volunteered for me. I knew that Belmont was full of intelligent, talented, educated, dedicated people, but you surpassed my expectations. We could not have come as far as we did in such a short amount of time without that.

I embarked on this journey because I wanted to begin a dialogue about how Belmont government does business.  I am proud to say we have had that conversation, in particular, about building the new high school and Community Path; creating greater transparency for citizens to participate in town government; implementing rezoning and other vision plan recommendations, and streamlining business processes. I know that talking about these projects and bringing them to fruition are two very different things and understand Mark has a challenging job ahead of him. I want you to know that I support him in these endeavors on behalf of the town as he begins his next term as our selectman.

Thank you again to all who supported me. It was a tremendous honor to have your faith. I hope that now you will join me in helping our town government work to achieve the best Belmont for all of us.

Alexandra Ruban

Oh, Boys! Learn More About Your Son’s Development At BASEC Talk Monday

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Photo: Dr. Michael Thompson in action.

The Belmont After School Enrichment Collaborative’s Parent Lecture Series presents Dr. Michael Thompson who will speak on “It’s a Boy! Understanding your Son’s Development.” on Monday, April 11 at 7 p.m. in the Chenery Middle School auditorium.

Parents of boys often find themselves bewildered or frustrated by certain aspects of boy development: their little-boy anger, their inattentiveness in elementary school, a lack of motivation in middle school or their reluctance to talk to their parents during the high school years.

In this funny and reassuring talk, Thompson –  the supervising psychologist for the Belmont Hill School and author of nine books on the development of boys – addresses the greatest worries that parents of boys have from infancy through high school, distinguishing between what is normal boy development and those behaviors that are worrisome.  

Author To Speak on Kennedy’s ‘Hidden’ Daughter Monday at Library

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Photo: Cover of the book:”Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter” by Kate Clifford Larson.

Author Kate Clifford Larson will speak on her book “Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter” at Books and Bites on Monday, April 11 at 11 a.m. in the Assembly Room of the Belmont Public Library.

Rosemary, Joseph and Rose Kennedy’s daughter, was intellectually disabled; a secret fiercely guarded by her powerful and glamorous family. Now using major new sources – Rose Kennedy’s diaries and correspondence, school and doctors’ letters, and exclusive family interviews – Larson bring Rosemary alive, revealing both the sensitive care that Rose and Joe gave to Rosemary and then – as the family’s standing reached an apex – the often desperate and duplicitous arrangements the Kennedys made to keep her away from home as she became increasingly intractable in her early twenties. Finally, Larson illuminates Joe’s decision to have Rosemary lobotomized at 23, and the family’s complicity in keeping the secret.

Larson is the author of two critically acclaimed biographies: “Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman, Portrait of an American Hero” and “The Assassin’s Accomplice: Mary Surratt and the Plot to Kill Abraham Lincoln.”

All are welcome to attend this free program, sponsored by the Friends of the Belmont Public Library. Books will be available for purchase and signing. Refreshments will be provided. The Assembly Room is handicapped accessible.

Sold In Belmont: Townhouse Condo Gets Love From Buyer

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Photo: A townhouse condo that took off like a single-family.

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80 Maple St., Townhouse condominium (1993). Sold: $715,000.

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133 White St., Condominium (1928). Sold: $513,000. Listed at $515,000.

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

• 80 Maple St., Townhouse condominium (1993). Sold: $715,000. Listed at $639,000. Living area: 2,008 sq.-ft. 6 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths. On the market: 66 days.

• 133 White St., Condominium (1928). Sold: $513,000. Listed at $515,000. Living area: 1,431 sq.-ft. 7 rooms, 2 bedrooms, 1 baths. On the market: 87 days.

Two former two families now individuals condominiums sold last week with differing outcomes. The newly-converted condo that once was a multiple family on White Street was able to hit its list price of just more than $500,000.

While over on Maple Street, the more traditional townhouse hit the right note for one buyer resulting in a $75,000 premium over the $639,000 list price. The final sales price is a whopping $150,000 more than the town’s appraised value of $561,000 and $220,000 more than when was last sold in 2009.

The nearly quarter-century old townhouse does provide three bedrooms and approximately 2,000 square feet, although the interior appears to have all the hallmarks of a townhouse; open floor plan, narrow room on the ground floor – note how tiny the living room is (is it more a living “space” with the small divider separating the entry way/front door), an updated but smallish kitchen area, and not so spectacular room details.

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But with the medium price of single-family homes reaching the high six figures, buyers are willing to put down extra for a condo that resembles a traditional residential structure even if it does share a common wall with its neighbor. Take a look at the newly-constructed townhouse that sold last month on Trapelo. Despite being located across the street from the Fire Department headquarters, next to the VFW, a funeral parlor, a popular park and fronting a busy state highway, it sold for a million dollars. 

Join Becca Sunday in the Pizzi Family Fun Run

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Join World Marathon Champion Becca Pizzi for the first ever Becca Pizzi Family Fun Run organized by the Belmont Boosters and sponsored by Belmont Savings Bank.

The Becca Pizzi Family Fun Run is a new race in Belmont celebrating Pizzi being the World Marathon Challenge Champion. The 5K race will also act as a special send-off celebration for Becca Pizzi and all Boston Marathon Runners.

The course will begin and end at the Belmont High School track. Registration and bib pick-up begins at 7:30 a.m., with the 5k beginning at 9 a.m., with the 1-mile kid’s race starting at 9:05 a.m.

The race will also include a 1-mile run for kids around the Belmont High School track.

T-shirts will be available to the first 200 5K registrants.

Proceeds will benefit the Becca Pizzi Scholarship Fund and Belmont Boosters.

Stick around after the race for awards and fun activities.

Registration:

Register here on Racewire.com. Registration fee is $25 for 5K runners and $10 for kids running in the 1-mile race (ages 12 and under).

Belmont Gallery’s Opening Reception for ‘Family Ties/Memory’ Friday, April 8, 7-9

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Photo: Painting by Stephanie Stigliano.

The Belmont Gallery of Art will be holding an opening reception for the exhibit “Family Ties/Memory” tonight, Friday, April 8, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Gallery located on the third floor of the Homer Building in the Town Hall complex, 19 Moore St. in Belmont Center. 
The show runs from April 3 to May 8.
Family Ties/Memory” exhibit is inspired by author Anita Diamant’s “The Boston Girl,” this year’s selection for the One Book One Belmont town-wide read.
Diamant’s best-selling novel tells the story of 85-year-old Addie Baum, recounting her life growing up in Boston’s neighborhoods in the early 20th century. The novel touches on several themes with memory, family,  and family relationships central to the story. It was left up to each of the “Family Ties/Memory” exhibit’s approximately 30 participating artists to interpret the theme of family and memory.
Artists in the show include Kathy Lobo, Christiane Corcelle, Janis Wisneiwski, Iris Chandler, Ruth Segaloff, Susan Tornheim, Ottavio Forte, Pamela Goody, Dilla Tingley, Susan Jones, Lisa Gibalerio, Joanna Dunn, Hellen Lee, Kwan Kew Lai, Cara Fitzgibbon, Teddi Wise, Chris Carter-Husk, Sharon Whitham, Anastasia O’Melveny, Helen Morse, Nicole Bernstein, Judi Babcock, John Williams, Erika Hartwieg and Theresa Monaco, Stephanie Stigliano, Darisse Paquette, Anne Katzeff, Richard Hill, Kay Hudgins and Louise Halstead.
Regular gallery hours are Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m. to  4 p.m.; and Sunday, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Visitors are also welcome to visit other weekdays after 10 a.m.

High School Building Committee Picks Leader, Debt Vote Likely in 2018

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Photo: William Lovallo (right), the newly-elected chair of the High School Building Committee, speaking with BHSBC member Bob McLaughlin.

When the Wellington Elementary School opened on Sept. 25, 2011, Sarah Lovallo cut the ceremonial ribbon for the kindergarteners entering the school for the first time. 

Lovallo, who is in fourth grade at the Wellington, is eight years from graduating from Belmont High School, which may seem like time enough for her to cut the ribbon for a new high school.

But her father, Willam Lovallo, who was selected as chair of the newly-created Belmont High School Building Committee on Monday, April 4 at the first meeting of the committee held at the Chenery Middle School, doesn’t think Sarah will have a second cut at the ribbon.

“This is beginning to look like it will be closer to ten years before the construction is completed,” said Lovallo, who was the unanimous selection of the 15 member committee.

The Homer Road resident’s professional background as a vice president at the Boston-based civil engineering firm LeMessurier Consultants along with being a veteran of the town’s Permanent Building Committee and building committees including the fire houses, Beech Street Center, and the Wellington will bring “that remarkable knowledge” to the post, said Patricia Brusch, who led the inaugural meeting. 

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Pat Brusch (center) at the inaugural meeting of the Belmont High Building Committee.

Brusch, who has been involved with constructing municipal and school buildings in Belmont for three decades, gave the committee a brief outline of what could be the next ten years of planning, financing and construction of a new high school.

With an expected infusion of $1.75 million from the proceeds of the sale of town-owned property on Woodfall Road – which will need to be approved by a majority vote at a Special Town Meeting on May 4 which will be a part of the annual Town Meeting – the committee will use the funds to:

  • create a feasibility study that will include environmental testing and assessment,
  • the hiring of a project manager and
  • Schematic designs for a new or renovate the high school. 

After the feasibility study, the committee in partnership with the Massachusetts School Building Authority will need to decide between one of four options for the building.

  1. Keep the present building and commit to repairing problem areas.
  2. Renovate the building “within the walls.”
  3. Renovate and construction of an addition.
  4. Build a new high school building at a nearby location.

After one of the four options is selected, the process moves to the schematic design stage. Once that is completed, then the town will need to come up with a budget which will come from a debt exclusion.

Brusch said a quick calculation using past examples such as the Wellington, the most likely date for a vote by town residents will occur two years from now during Town Election 2018, with an outside possibility of the fall of 2017 “if everything goes smoothly but that rarely [happens].” 

Brusch also noted state law prohibits the Building Committee from advocating or showing support for the debt vote.

“Citizens will be asked to form” an independent committee “which is not a problem in this town,” said Brusch, whose last piece of advice to the group is “stay within your budget!”

“The first reason is credibility,” said Brusch, as the cost of the construction “will be a huge nut for the town to crack” which will be easier to do if the committee can demonstrate that a new high school “is not a Christmas tree with everything below.” 

Both Brusch and Town Administrator David Kale emphasized that any final dollar figure and project timeline will be set only after the schematic designs are complete. But Brusch did say the long advertised amount of $100 million was used by town departments as “a placeholder” with a more realistic figure about 50 percent higher. 

Police: Allegation of Anti-Freeze Placed at PQ Park Proven Untrue

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The Belmont Police has closed their investigation of allegations a person was spreading automotive anti-freeze in Pequosette Park off Maple Street after the person who witnesses reported was making the warning recanted what he told the residents.

In a press release released Thursday, April 7, Belmont Police Assistant Chief James MacIsaac said the police department received information on April 4 from two residents who told police they were informed that a person had “spread antifreeze” in the park.

“The Belmont Police investigated the allegations and on April 4, 2016, police spoke to the person who had reportedly witnessed the incident,” said MacIsaac.

“That person told police he had not seen anything.  This person further stated that he believed there was no antifreeze spread at the park and that the park was safe for dogs,” reported MacIsaac.

During its investigation, BPD could not find any evidence that antifreeze was placed in Pequossete Park. 

“Pending any forthcoming information, the Belmont Police consider this investigation closed,” said MacIsaac.

ZBA Denies Developer Vote To Build ‘Boutique’ Hotel on Pleasant and Brighton

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Photo: The Zoning Board of Appeals voting to deny vote on hotel proposal.

For the second time this year, the Belmont Zoning Board of Appeals denied special permits which would have allowed the construction of a multimillion-dollar development on two lots at the intersection of Pleasant Street and Brighton Avenue.

This latest denial occurred Monday night, April 4, for the renovation of the two-building, two-story structure at 334 Pleasant St. – the former Mini Mart convenience store and offices – into a boutique hotel consisting of 19 guest rooms, a cafe for guests, a fitness room, a business center and offices on the 14,400 sq.-ft. site. 

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The ZBA Monday voted 3-2 not to even bring the five permits sought by Waltham developer Michael Columba before the board for discussion. Chair Eric Smith said the board did not have the authority to move the waivers forward since the town’s zoning bylaws don’t explicitly mention “hotels.” as an acceptable application.

“There is nothing in the bylaws that says a hotel can go anywhere in Belmont because there is no reference to a hotel use so how can we even hear arguments for the special permits,” said Smith.

The board dismissed the claim by Robert Levy, an attorney with Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott representing Columba, that the zoning bylaw’s parking requirements – which does briefly refers to a “hotel” – suggests the development’s “impacts” were similar to retail and service uses that are allowed at the site with a special permit.

“In my view, the mention of a hotel in the parking requirements was simply an error made at the time the bylaw was approved,” said Smith.

Not all the members held the same view as Smith as Associate Member John McManus said he “hates to see all these opportunities get squandered.”

While “disappoint,” Waltham developer Michael Columba said he was “OK” with the decision.

“I’ve always said that if the town did not want [a hotel], I have to put the building to good use with whatever tenants I can get,” Columba said, which will likely include a convenience store, garage and offices which are deemed “as of right” under the zoning bylaw and does not require town approval.

“I have to move on this project in a few months,” said Columba, who purchased the site in September 2015 for $1.9 million. 

Monday’s decision follows the rejection on Jan. 11 of a proposed 3,500 sq.-ft. Dunkin’ Donut franchise and retail space across Brighton from Columba’s property. The landowners and franchise, the Leo family who operates nearly 20 donut shops in Massachusetts and Florida, has suggested appealing the 3-2 vote denying them permits to renovate a former gas station and garage it purchased for $1 million in 2014. 

These latest board decisions have led some residents to complain that the ZBA is contributing to what many views as a negative business climate in Belmont, where the needs of commerce are pushed aside for those of residential housing.

Board members rejected the notion it is feeding the perception of an anti-business bias in town, saying it only follows what the Town Meeting – the legislative branch of town governance – has approved.

“In my view, we are trying to apply the bylaws which have been determined by Town Meeting what should be allowed and … if it turns out, in our opinion, it’s not, we are following [Town Meeting’s] edicts,” said Smith.

“This board definitely does not have an anti-business motivation,” said member Nicholas Iannuzzi, noting the ZBA approved “a ton of businesses along South Pleasant Street using the same bylaws which are on the books today.”

“But if something doesn’t fit within the zoning bylaws, then we don’t have much choice,” said Iannuzzi.

Changes to zoning laws would start at the Planning Board who would create a new bylaw before presenting it before Town Meeting for a vote. A current example is the rewriting of zoning language placing limits on the height and mass of new residential construction in the neighborhoods surrounding Grove Street playground.

But even if Town Meeting introduces hotel use under the bylaw, Columba is not interested in a do-over.

“No, I am not coming back for a hotel. That’s done. It’s no longer an option,” he said 

Hotel Proposal Hopes Third Time the Charm Before Zoning Board of Appeal

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Photo: A rendering of the proposed Belmont Inn Suites at the corner of Pleasant and Brighton streets.

“Some conjurers say that number three is the magic number,” wrote Charles Dickens and Waltham developer Michael Columba hopes his third time before the Zoning Board of Appeals is a magical one as he one again presents his proposal to build a small hotel at the base of Belmont Hill.

It’s expected the Board will take a vote tonight, Monday, April 4, on Columba’s attempt to secure five special permits which will allow the construction of a 19-unit “European-style boutique hotel” at the corner of Brighton Avenue and Pleasant Street at the location of the now vacant Mini-Mart convenience store.

And there is every reason to think that the hotel has a better than average chance to pass board muster as the five members have asked Columba and his architect, former Belmont Selectman Andy Rojas, twice to return with greater detail and data on what are standard technical issues – sound levels of air conditioning, lighting, trash collection – that a commercial real estate development is required to present. 

If there is one issue that could derail Columba’s plans to bring to Belmont the first hotel in more than century it would come from ZBA Chair Eric Smith’s quiry on  just how a hotel fits within the town’s bylaws. As there is no mention of hotels in the table of uses in the zoning documents, “the closest … is apartments which are a prohibited use in [this zoning district],” Smith said at the previous meeting in March and February.

In March, Columba’s team made the connection the zoning bylaw’s parking requirements – which does briefly refers to hotel use – suggests a hotel would be similar to a daycare center or a catering business, retail and service uses that are allowed at the site with a special permit.

The project would involve renovating the two-building, two-story structure at 334 Pleasant St. to open a boutique hotel consisting of 19 guest rooms, a cafe for guests, a fitness room, a business center and management offices on the 14,400 sq.-ft. site. 

Columba, who is head of a construction company that specializes in building airport control towers and other aviation infrastructure, built his first hotel, the Crescent Suite Hotel in Waltham and is preparing to construct a multi-level hotel on the foot of the Charles River on Moody Street.