watch and listen to the talking news every day at twelve noon and six hundred pm on channel ninety six comcast xfinity and channel thirty verizon fios it can also be heard mondays and tuesdays at four hundred and thirty pm and wednesdays at one thousand two hundred and thirty pm on channel nine xfinity and channel twenty nine fios listen anytime on the bmc podcast network on soundcloud and itunes just search for the belmont media podcast network and now onto the talking news mission to protect preserve belmont's historic home by joanna k tzouvelis the issue preserving and protecting our community's historic resources requires substantial investment from governments and private donors the impact is that historic properties and archives of documents and objects are key to our community's identities has anyone ever wondered what the stately ornate mansions sitting on the hill across from town hall at the corner of concord avenue and pleasant street is thousands of people drive by this historic structure daily some may note a sign hanging in front of it that says belmont woman's club but still have no idea what the significance of the building is american artist winslow homer was the nephew of william flag homer who built the house at six hundred and sixty one pleasant street in belmont in one thousand eight hundred and fifty three as a summer residence winslow spent many of his summers at his uncle's house and much of his work depicts scenes of belmont people and places including his uncle's home according to belmont woman's club copresident wendy murphy if it wasn't for a group of women in one thousand nine hundred and twenty seven who pooled their funds together to purchase the one thousand eight hundred and fifty three william flag homer house the property would have been demolished by a developer who planned to tear it down and build seven lots on the land according to murphy murphy has done a lot of research on the property and found a letter dated march the seventh one thousand nine hundred and twenty seven from the belmont woman's club president belle chaffey which states the purchase price was twenty five thousand and of that businessmen of the town think we have made a good investment but more important still is the fact that the woman's club has done something for belmont in preserving an old landmark and retaining the dignity of its civic center to ensure a longterm protection of the home from demolition the belmont woman's club listed the home on the national register of historic places as part of the pleasant street historic district belmont historic district commission cochairman lauren meyer said the homer house is one of belmont's most significant historic buildings for its italianate architectural style and character and its historic association the belmont woman's club fundraisers the belmont woman's club has fundraisers throughout the year and relies heavily on its membership dues to keep up with the cost of just running the house which is twenty five to thirty thousand annually said murphy social and educational events are planned for members throughout the year the home is also available for the public to rent for private functions the community preservation act funds paid by belmont taxpayers annually are helping maintain historic properties like the one thousand eight hundred and fifty three william flag homer house in two thousand and fifteen the town meeting approved one hundred thousand of community preservation funding to be used for rehabilitating and restoring the homer house particularly restoration of the cupola and a replacement and restoration of its failed or missing elements the cupola project is almost completed and according to murphy there may be about fourteen thousand additional cpa funds that can be used to replace the chimney repair or replace the exterior molding which recently suffered water damage scrape and repaint peeling exterior trim and replace the bulkhead which is made a plywood and has deteriorated significantly over the years the next project that needs attention are the windows approximately one dozen of which need to be repaired or reglazed murphy said it would cost two thousand per window and plans to submit another application to the community preservation committee to fund this project murphy said they need at least four hundred thousand to get the house restored this would pay for repairs to the land from runoff damage and for the removal of trees and parking could be added to the right side of the driveway they would also like to purchase a handicap ramp to make the house accessible and now to my colleague clare thank you bob fire damages buildings two alarm fire breaks out in belmont center monday by joanna k tzouvelis a two alarm fire monday damaged several businesses on the corner of leonard street and alexander avenue in belmont center including bodytrio leon and company vanti nails and spa lavender wellness and massage and the law offices of karen goldenberg belmont fire chief david frizzell said the fire department got a call at approximately one hundred and forty five pm from someone at eighty four leonard street reporting there was an odor of smoke upon arrival frizzell said they discovered a fire inside the wall of vanti nail salon eighty six leonard street that fire had extended up into the walls and the roof area next to the vanti nail salon and above the nail salon he said bodytrio is located on the second floor at twenty one alexander ave leon de magistris owner of leon and company owns the building and lives on the top two floors frizzell said the majority of the damage is in the nail salon bodytrio and the de magistris residence de magistris said he was shopping at wholefoods in cambridge when he received a call from his son lieutenant darren de magistris about the fire his german shepherd lula was home when the fire broke out and was beginning to inhale the smoke but darren got her out in time de magistris will not be able to return to his home for at least two months due to the damage it was a little bit of stubborn fire it probably took about forty five minutes to an hour to make sure it was all out because we had to open up multiple walls roof structures and outside sheathing he said frizzell thinks the amount of time the businesses will need to be closed will range from a few days to as much as a month or more depending on the damage leonard street and pleasant street were temporarily closed between concord ave and leonard street to allow the crews to work mutual aid was provided by the waltham cambridge and arlington fire departments concern over damage the owners of the vanti nails and spa and lavender wellness massage were not at the scene there were no known injuries i'm really grateful no one was there it's monday and all of us usually have not a lot going on mondays said donna ognibene owner of bodytrio i think it's unusual that most of us were not in the building having to evacuate clients and get them to safety bodytrio has been in its belmont central location for ten years dr vatche seraderian of the seraderian dental group located on the second floor eighty four leonard street said someone in his office called the fire department when they noticed smoke coming out of the electrical outlets in their office as he and his staff left he said they saw smoke coming out of the hvac vents that served the nail salon next door now here's max thank you clare the impact of a debt exclusion by joanna k tzouvelis town treasurer floyd carmen has had many inquiries about the debt exclusion for the belmont high school building committee's proposed grade seven to twelve high school building project from taxpayers who want to know how it will affect their pocket books last week he prepared a financing plan to help give people an idea of the financing and the excuse me cumulative real estate tax impact and shared it with the citizen herald on november 6th belmont voters will be asked to approve a debt exclusion of two hundred and ninety five million to help fund the grade seven through twelve high school project the massachusetts school building authority msba will reimburse the town for eighty million of the eligible costs the net to the taxpayer is two hundred and fifteen million town treasurer floyd carmen gives estimates of the annual cost of the new high school to taxpayers at one hundred and eighty one per one hundred thousand of a home's assessed value the borrowing will be done in phases over five years and the real estate tax impact would occur in the year of the financing carmen says if the debt exclusion passes he would borrow eighty five million at an interest rate of four for thirty years in march two thousand and nineteen this would add six hundred and seventy four to the annual real estate tax bill for the average single family home in belmont assessed at one million three thousand seven hundred and fifty in two thousand and twenty carmen said he would borrow another eighty five million at forty five for thirty years this would add one thousand three hundred and ninety to the homeowner's annual real estate tax bill for a home assessed at one million three thousand seven hundred and fifty in march two thousand and twenty four he would borrow plus or minus forty five million at five for twenty eight years the amount depends on the reimbursement the town receives from the msba for eligible costs this would bring the total to one thousand eight hundred and ten added to the homeowner's real estate tax bill for a single family home assessed at one million three thousand seven hundred and fifty the homeowner would be paying this additional amount annually until two thousand and forty eight all of these figures are estimates and assumes the high school budget the project is on budget and will get reimbursed for all the eligible msba costs carmen also believes there will be a need for a town operating override in two thousand and twenty one and possibly another one in two thousand and twenty five which includes the operating cost of the new school growing school population and other town capital project needs on top of the debt exclusion we'll have to have another infusion because this is a brand new facility the growth isn't going to stop because if you build it they will come if you increase your capacity there will be more students coming into the system that's just the nature of the beast he said carmen said he doesn't know what the additional costs will be to operate the new grade seven to twelve building if the debt exclusion is approved and the building is constructed he estimates it will cost an additional one to two million per year for the additional staff you're looking at a debt exclusion in november taxpayers will start feeling that in their two thousand and twenty real estate tax bills we will be able to stave off an operating override for a year or so but there will be one in two thousand and twenty one for four to five million he said carmen believes the rising real estate taxes won't end with the operating override in two thousand and twenty one if it passes he said there most likely will be a need for a second operating override in two thousand and twenty five carmen said all future financial decisions need approval by the board of selectmen carmen says if the town increases its parking spaces for commuters it would help stretch out some of the need for operating overrides he said commuters would pay one hundred and fifty a month for a parking space if there was a garage built in belmont perhaps at the current site of the municipal light building on concord ave when it is no longer needed by belmont light the new parking meters in belmont center have generated additional revenue for the town but monthly passes for commuters would generate more revenue said carmen currently there are only ten monthly commuter passes available in belmont center for people who take the mbta commuter rail carmen said there aren't more available because the claflin street lot parking is reserved for shoppers in belmont center over to you bob thanks max belmont light to celebrate public power week belmont light will join more than two thousand other public power utilities to celebrate the benefits of hometown communityowned and operated electric utilities during during public power week on october 7th through the 14th this year marks the 32nd annual public power week sponsored by the american public power association to celebrate the benefits of public power belmont light representatives will be at the belmont farmer's market on october 11th and will sponsor an icecream social at one hundred and fifteen pm on october 12th at the belmont senior center at two hundred and sixty six beach street there are more than two thousand communityowned electric utilities in the us and in five us territories serving over forty nine million people and more than twenty eight million business customers some of america's largest cities including los angeles that would be los angeles san antonio seattle and orlando operate publiclyowned electric utilities public power week provides utilities like belmont light the opportunity to remind taxpayers that local residents make an important decision about their public power services said general manager chris roy that's because public power utilities are consumerowned and operated and provide reliable responsive notforprofit electric service we're accountable to the people we serve and are committed to serving rate payers keeping rates low and contributing to the economic developments and sustainability of the community belmont light employees are committed to providing reliable safe power and service to all of our rate payers and have been doing that since one thousand eight hundred and ninety eight roy said we're proud that belmont light has been part of the community for one hundred and twenty years and we plan to provide the same level of quality reliable electric service to our community for many years to come in addition to public power week customers of public power utilities have access to programs and services not usually available to customers of private electric utilities including conservation services appliance rebates and other energy saving incentives and now over to clare thank you bob meet the new parttime belmont high school assistant principal by joanna k tzouvelis belmont high school special education teacher michael bruno has a new role this year as the parttime assistant principal at belmont high school the belmont citizen herald recently asked bruno some questions to help readers get to know them and him a little better here are the responses he sent via email what are you looking forward to most about your new parttime role as assistant principal at bhs as i work with students families and staff this year i most look forward to learning from the experiences the members of these groups bring to the bhs community i strive to be a thoughtful listener and remain open to various perspectives in order to use new knowledge to make wellinformed decisions that will have a positive impact on the already incredible culture at belmont high what do you think your greatest challenges will be i'm quickly learning that there are many components of this new position that pull focus away from the student at the end of the day we're all here for the students and i hope to be able to stay focused on them as the first priority i'll be moving from a caseload of twenty five students as a special educator to being responsible for over four hundred 9th and 12th graders developing systems to ensure i remain responsive to these students and their families will be challenging work thankfully our highly qualified administrative team and exceptional staff will provide support while i work through this learning curve the building project will continue moving forward this year part of the attraction of this position was the opportunity to be involved in the many important decisions that will need to be made about the physical space of bhs and the vision dash instructional models moving forward this work will not be easy but thoughtful decisions made at this point in the process will have a positive impact on the school experience we want for our students for many years what do you think is important for parents and students to know about you i've been with the belmont public schools for fourteen years in a variety of roles including wrestling coach tutor middleschool teacher bea membership chairperson high school teacher lead special education teacher and now assistant principal through these jobs i've experienced the belmont community from several different perspectives and know this will help me as an assistant principal now here's max thanks clare committee answers building questions grade seven to twelve building proposal explained by joanna k tzouvelis as the vote for the debt exclusion to fund the proposed grade seven to twelve high school building is less than six weeks away the belmont citizen herald thought it would be helpful for readers to get answers to some questions which may not be available on the building committee's website here are the answers to six questions provided by the belmont high school building committee which were sent via email to the citizen herald how much is a building of this size going to cost and operate and will the town be able to afford the operating costs of such a building the school department budget has increased over the last few years to support increases in enrollment we will continue to increase budgets as we grow higher staffing levels are needed with or without a new building facilities and utilities costs are still estimates at this time this building will cost much less to heat and cool and power per square foot than any other belmont building how will students be safe in a building of this size and scope the belmont public schools have established a climate of safety there are rules in place and professional staff who work to ensure students safety each day what is another example of a grade seven to twelve that would be comparable to what is being proposed in belmont it could be anywhere in the country does a school this size exist anywhere else billerica duxbury scituate and many other regional schools please see the photo of spreadsheet at the current msba projects how will students in the lower grades in the new building be kept separate from the students in the higher grades will the middle school configuration be seventh and eighth and high schools still be ninth through 12th how is the building being designed to keep the upper and lower grade separate with lower grades on the belmont seven to twelve school campus careful work will be done to ensure adequate separation between the younger and older students some strategies may be employed to achieve this that include physical separation of classroom wings adjusting school schedules such that older and younger students arrive and depart at different times and carefully controlling the flow of students through communal areas additionally there are many exciting educational opportunities that exist when seventh and eighth grades are included on a high school campus the opportunities for thoughtful educational connections between grades could include mentoring programs and other crossgrade learning opportunities as well as access to shared robotics labs makerspaces and other educational areas after the fourth grade is moved to chenery what will be done with the extra space at the four elementary schools at this time it is anticipated the classrooms will be used for their primary purpose due to overcrowding alternative spaces are currently being used as classrooms ensuring that students are situated in spaces meant to be classrooms is a priority with the fourth grade moved out of the elementary schools available classroom space will be utilized to provide differentiated educational space for programming computer art et cetera available space will also be used to support special education ell programming and afterschool programs over to you bob thank you max belmont votes to limit the number of marijuana retailers by joanna k tzouvelis the overall results of the special town election on september 25th were six thousand three hundred and thirty four for limiting the number of adultuse recreational marijuana retailers to two which is twenty of the number of licenses issued for retail sale of alcoholic beverages not to be drunk on the premises where sold and three thousand six hundred and sixty six against limiting the number of adultuse recreational marijuana establishments voter turnout was one thousand eight hundred and twenty two with three thousand one hundred and sixty nine out of seventeen thousand three hundred and ninety two registered voters braving the rain to have their voices heard opponents of limiting the number of marijuana retailers only one in precinct four by just one vote one hundred and twenty two to one hundred and twenty three the other seven precincts voted two to one in favor of eliminating the number of marijuana retailers and now on to clare thank you bob campaign against debt exclusion formed by joanna k tzouvelis safe schools neighborhood a campaign to ensure safe routes to the new belmont high school building filed its form for campaign financing with the town clerk's office on september 20th at three hundred and fifty nine pm two goden street residents are listed as the chairmen debra talanian and amy tananbaum tananbaum however resigned from her position as treasurer of the campaign on september twenty four the specific issues listed by the committee are current site design for new high school does not adequately address issues of safety for students walking biking being dropped off or for vehicular traffic in an email to the citizen herald tananbaum wrote she included her name on the paperwork due to the high frustration with the current situation while the leaders of the school building committee and other town committees have spent an extraordinary amount of time hearing suggestions from many stakeholders in the neighborhoods they have not committed to any actions that will ensure that the four schools neighborhood the area between belmont high wellington burbank and chenery is safe for walkers and bikers wrote tananbaum she stated that concerned neighbors have written letters to committee members and the newspaper i attended scores of meetings and provided ideas proven in other towns they have listened respectfully but taken no action whatsoever i have since spoken with town leaders who indicate that they are committed to implementing some of these ideas and thus have requested that my name be removed at this time i would like to become an unconditional supporter of the new school building project and could do so as soon as town leaders share a set of commitments in writing she said now here's max thank you clare if bhs project moves forward alternate pool needed by joanna k tzouvelis if the debt exclusion to fund the new grade seven to twelve high school building in belmont passes on november 6th and the construction project moves forward the higginbottom pool will be out of commission for about two years from the spring of two thousand and nineteen to the spring of two thousand and twenty one while the roof is removed and a new level is added onto the building when parents of swimmers at the belmont high school swim teams who participate in the belmont dolphins recreation program and the belmont aquatics team that's heard this news they immediately became concerned where would the students practice and have meets while the higginbottom pool is out of commission according to june howell recreation department office manager approximately four hundred and fifty swimmers who use the pool through the recreation and bats program will be affected she said the recreation department uses the pool every week night throughout most of the school year either for dolphin prepractice public swimming or both on saturdays it is used for swimming lessons including a sport special programs organized for recreation time clinics and public swimming and on sundays for public swim howell said she has been actively seeking an alternate pool to be used for belmont's recreation programs i have called dozens of schools clubs and communities to see if there are hours available but i've had no success to date i will continue to reach out to any place i can see that has a suitable size pool she said in an email to the citizen herald if howell is unable to find an alternate pool space she said the recreation department's aquatics program will have to be suspended until the new high school is built at the september 17th selectmen meeting town administrator patrice garvin said she is committed to helping the recreation department find an alternate pool athletic director jim davis has assured them that he will find another pool for students to practice this could potentially mean early morning practice times possibly at five hundred am at an offsite location as of press time davis has not found an alternative pool temporary pool option bill lovallo chairman of the belmont high school building committee said the design and construction team explored a temporary pool option however the cost would be two to three million and back to you bob thanks max belmont high school building project video released belmont high school building committee recently announced the release of a belmont media center production belmont high school today the video includes firsthand accounts from belmont high school teachers and administrators about the impact of deteriorating building conditions overcrowding and facultyrelated limitations on students and teachers the belmont media center and video producer lucas tragos did a fantastic job of depicting the building conditions at belmont high school and detailing the belmont high school building project process said bill lovallo chairman of the building committee we are incredibly grateful for the time and resources belmont media center under the leadership of jeff hansel has put into this video and we are pleased that the belmont community will have the opportunity to view the project story through such an effective medium along with my colleagues clare and max we thank you for listening to the talking news and hope you've enjoyed the show we will return next week for another edition of local news happenings around belmont