What’s Closing Early On The 24th; What’s Open And Closed Christmas

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Photo: Well, there was a lot to cry about to Santa this year.

Merry Christmas, Belmont. While for many there is little to actually celebrate this difficult time, Dec. 25 will be a day to reflect on the past year around the dinner table before decamping to watch the latest holiday movie on the Hallmark Channel or basketball contest on whatever platform you prefer. For those who don’t celebrate the day, several fine Chinese restaurants will be open and, if you want to risk it, some great movies are premiering on the big screen on the 25th – Wonder Woman 1984, News of the World and Promising Young Woman.

And if you have a “need” to get out of the house, here are a few places around town closing early Christmas Eve and open on Christmas.

Christmas Eve early closings:

  • Star Market at 535 Trapelo Rd. closes at 6 p.m. The pharmacy closes at 5 p.m.
  • CVS: 264 Trapelo Rd. is closing at 10 p.m. (the pharmacy at 6 p.m.) and 60 Leonard St. at 9 p.m. (with the pharmacy shutting its doors at 4 p.m.)
  • Both Starbucks locations are closing at 5 p.m.
  • The Dunkin’ locations at 353 Trapelo Rd. and 52 Church St. are closing at 9 p.m. The store at 350 Pleasant St. will shut down at 7 p.m.
  • Craft Beer Cellar at 51 Leonard St. in the Center will be open ’til 7 p.m.
  • US Post Offices at 405 Concord Ave. and 492 Trapelo Rd. are closing at noon.

Christmas Day

Dunkin’

  • The Dunkin’ at 353 Trapelo Rd. has a sign on the door proclaiming “Open on Christmas.” So it will be open from 5 a.m. until 11 p.m.
  • The 52 Church St. location in Waverley Square and the operation at 350 Pleasant St. will be closed on Christmas.

Starbucks

  • The Belmont Center store at 47 Leonard St. and the “Cushing Village” location at 110 Trapelo Rd. will be closed.

CVS Pharmacy

  • The store at 264 Trapelo Rd. will be open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
  • The operation at 60 Leonard St. in Belmont Center will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Christmas.
  • The pharmacies at both locations will be closed.

Star Market

  • Belmont’s supermarket located at 535 Trapelo Rd. is closed for the day.

If you are looking to get around on the MBTA:

  • The Fitchburg/South Acton Commuter Line will operate a Sunday schedule while buses that operate in Belmont are likewise running on a Sunday schedule.

Have Yourself A Gusty Little Christmas: High Wind Watch, Possible Outages Over Holidays

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Photo: High wind watch this Christmas (Photo credit: DPA)

Santa Claus may show up later than usual Christmas Eve as ol’ St. Nick and his reindeer will be fighting against a nasty Nor’easter about to slam into Belmont and southern New England on Dec. 24 and into Christmas.

The National Weather Service issued a High Wind Watch starting Thursday after dark and lasting through Friday afternoon as a storm heads up the Atlantic coast bringing mild temperatures – highs in the mid-50s Christmas – along with winds between 20 to 30 mph with gusts reaching 60 mph.

“Damaging winds could blow down trees and power lines,” said the NWS in its press release of Dec. 23.

“Widespread power outages are possible” and “[t]ravel could be difficult, especially for high profile vehicles,” the statement read.

If the Christmas lights should go dark, call Belmont Light at 617-993-2800 to report the outage. Do not call 911 if losing power is not an emergency.

Really? Winter Has Arrived? Ugh! ‘Welcoming’ The Winter Solstice

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Photo: Winter has finally arrived.

The first day of astronomical winter in the Northern Hemisphere is marked by the winter solstice, which occurs on Monday, Dec. 21, at 5:02 a.m. EST.

The first day of meteorological winter began Dec. 1.

The winter solstice is the day with the fewest hours of sunlight in the year, making it the “shortest day” of the year, coming in at 9 hours and 4 minutes. The sun will rise at 7:11 a.m. and will set at 4:15 p.m.

Looking on the bright side, days begin to again grow longer until the summer solstice, the first day of summer and the longest day of the year.

The downside? The coldest days of the year are still to come, occurring between mid-December and late January.

Belmont’s Snow Emergency Parking Ban Ends At 10 PM Thursday; Sidewalks Cleared By 8 PM Friday

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Photo: Start diggin’

Belmont’s snow emergency parking ban will end effective at 10 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 17, according to an email from the Department of Public Works.

Sidewalks Need To Be Cleared By 8 p.m. Friday

The Office of Community Development is reminding residents that Belmont’s residential snow removal bylaw requires sidewalks along residential property to be cleared of snow and ice by the day after a storm ends. With regards to today’s storm, snow and ice should be cleared or treated from sidewalks to a width of at least 36 inches by tomorrow night, Friday, Dec. 18. 

“We appreciate your attention to this very important public safety matter. Please refer to the town’s web site for further information regarding winter weather and the town’s snow removal bylaw,” said the OCD news release

If you have any questions, contact the Belmont Office of Community Development at 617-993-2650 during normal business hours.

No Big Surprise: Snow Storm Closes Belmont Schools Thursday; Townwide Parking Ban Starts At Midnight

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Photo: Remote snow day

No big surprise here: There will be no school for all students on Thursday, Dec. 17, as a result of the winter storm.

“This means that there will be no remote learning and no in-person learning tomorrow and our buildings will be closed,” read a press release from Belmont Superintendent John Phelan.

Parking ban for Thursday

Due to the foot of snow expected from the storm, a SNOW EMERGENCY PARKING BAN has been declared for all roadways and municipal and Belmont Public School parking lots.

The ban goes into effect at midnight, Dec. 17, and will last until further notice, according to Michael Santoro, assistant director of the Department of Public Works.

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

Snow Storm Delays Thursday Trash/Recycling Pickup to Friday

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Photo: Delayed a day

The approaching snowstorm set to dump more than a foot of snow onto Belmont Wednesday and Thursday has forced the town’s rubbish vendor Waste Management to delay by one day the trash and recycling collection scheduled on Thursday, Dec. 17, according to the town’s Department of Public Works.

The new pick up date is on Friday, Dec. 18.

The DPW is also asking residents to please keep trash and recycling barrels clear of roadways and sidewalks until snow removal is complete.

With A Foot Forecast On Thursday, Belmont Schools Ready For Return Of Snow Days

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Photo: Snow heading our way.

The first significant storm of winter will buffer Belmont with upwards of a foot of wind-driven snow starting Wednesday night, Dec. 16, and lasting until the early afternoon Thursday.

And while there had been discussions during the summer that school closures due to snowstorms were a thing of the past – every student has demonstrated they can learn in the remote phase – the Belmont Schools are preparing for the return of the snow day.

First, the forecast: The National Weather Service issued a Winter Storm Warning for Belmont and eastern Massachusetts that will go into effect from 7 p.m. Wednesday until 1 p.m. Thursday as southern New England can expect heavy snowfall with accumulations of 8 to 12 inches with some locally higher totals. The storm will be accompanied by wind gusts as high as 35 mph.

The NWS warned that travel could be “very difficult to impossible” during nighttime hours Wednesday with the hazardous conditions impacting the morning commute.

In a message released Tuesday by Belmont Superintendent John Phelan, a school cancellation notification for Thursday will be issued by Wednesday early evening. In that event, all classes, both hybrid and remote-only, would be canceled.

“Families will receive an email and “robocall” if there is a school cancellation,” said Phelan. “If you do not receive an email or call, school will open as normal.”

In addition to an email and a call, the Belmont Public School website will list weather closures. The local television and radio stations will also list cancellations. See below for some helpful links:

WBZ Radio (1030 AM) and TV (Channel 4) https://boston.cbslocal.com/closings/

WRKO Radio (680 AM) and WHDH TV (Channel 7) https://whdh.com/storm-closings-delays/

WCVB TV (Channel 5) https://www.wcvb.com/weather/closings 

The BPS Website https://www.belmont.k12.ma.us/bps/Parents/School-Closing-Delayed-Opening

With COVID Cases Rising, Belmont Town Buildings Will Be Closed Through Jan. 3 If Not Longer

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Photo: Belmont Town Hall

Due to the rising number of positive COVID-19 cases in Massachusetts, all Belmont town buildings with the exception of the Police Headquarters will be closed to the public effective Monday, Dec. 14.

The closure will last into the New Year until Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021, and may be extended.

The Belmont Public Library will continue to serve patrons outside of the building as well as virtually.

In an email to residents, town officials said “the town will continue to provide the same high level of service that our residents and businesses have come to expect.”

A directory of the Town Departments can be found online at https://www.belmont-ma.gov/departments and the phone numbers of all offices have been posted on the doors of the Town Hall and Homer Municipal Building.

Belmont’s FY’22 Property Tax Rate Jumps To $11.55 per $1,000 Driven By New School Borrowing

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Photo: The second $100 million borrowing for the new Middle and High School has driven the property tax rate higher.

Belmont taxpayers will see their property tax rate increase by four bits and a nickel as the Board of Assessors recommended a rate for fiscal year 2022 during its annual presentation before the Select Board on Thursday morning, Dec. 10.

“This [coming fiscal] year the tax rate will be going up 55 cents … from $11 to $11.55,” Reardon told the board. According to the assessors, the impact on a residential property valued at $1,285,000 – what the average single family house in Belmont is worth – will be $706. The annual tax bill for that average house comes out to $14,842.

While property values calculated by the assessors cooled off from the past years of double digit increases – this year single families are up 3 percent (as opposed to 18 percent last year), condos 5 percent, two and three families increased by 4 percent and commercial property was flat – the biggest impact on property taxes is the second phase of borrowing for the Middle and High School project. The new $100 million borrowing added 56 cents to the tax bill, said Reardon.

As in past years, the assessors recommended and the selectmen agreed to a single tax classification and no real estate exemptions. Reardon said Belmont does not have anywhere near the amount of commercial and industrial space (at must be least a minimum of 30 percent, said Reardon) to creating separate tax rates for residential and commercial properties. Belmont’s commercial base is approximately four percent of the total real estate inventory.

As for exemptions, the administrative costs to run such a program would be prohibitive for a revenue neutral imitative. And as with the split rate, the majority of taxpayers would see little in reductions or increases in their tax bill.

The Board of Assessors will officially set the fiscal year ‘22 property tax rate on Friday, Dec. 11.

‘Not Sexy’ But Important: Public Meeting On Future Of Belmont Light Governance Dec. 14

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Photo: The future of Belmont Light’s governance will be discussed on Dec. 14.

Select Board Chair Roy Epstein said the discussion of the future of how the local electrical utility will be overseen is hardly the most alluring of topics to the general public.

But that shouldn’t prevent residents from avoiding a Zoom-based public forum hosted by the Municipal Light Board – made up of the members of the Select Board – and staff from Belmont Light to discuss and obtain public input on the governance of Belmont Light. The forum will take place on Monday, Dec. 14 at 7 p.m.

“This maybe not the sexiest subject but it’s a very important [one] and I hope people who are interested in town governance and in the Light Department in particular will attend,” said Epstein.

There has been much discussion over the past few years as to whether the current structure is configured correctly. This public forum has been set up to discuss and evaluate potential options for steering Belmont Light in the coming years.

There are a couple possibilities being discussed, including:

  • an independent elected board,
  • an independent appointed board, and
  • a hybrid elected/appointed board.

The Light Board is seeking all points of view so join in to discuss options and bring your own ideas and input.

To join via your computer, tablet, or smartphone: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82749875800

Join from the Zoom app by entering meeting ID: 827 4987 5800

Or call in by telephone: 1 (929) 205 6099. When prompted, enter: 827 4987 5800 #