what should listen to the talking news every day at twelve noon and six pm on channel ninety six comcast ics finity and channel thirty verizon fi o's it could also be heard mondays and tuesdays at four thirty tunes just search for the belmont media podcast network now on to the talking news renovations to police d p w facilities approved by t m i joined a case valis belmont tunnel meeting members decided the fate of the public works and police departments facilities at their april thirty town meeting session with the approval of lot of culture twenty three funding for the renovations of both facilities the project will cost no more than eight point nine million in total would no debt exclusion required in the last six months the d p w belmont police department building committee came up with a ten year solution for the public works facility cost of it costing between one point two would one point four million and a permanent solution for the police station costing between six point two and seven point five million funding for the two projects which will begin immediately will come from the seven point four million dollars bond which the town will pay back annually four hundred forty thousand per year for thirty has an additional five hundred ninety thousand nine hundred is coming from the kendall fun funds from insurance settlement after the kendall school fire any additional funds to pay for furnishings and equipment could come out of the capital budget community preservation act funds will also be requested for the of the police station to fund window work a new front door and reappointing of the brick there was a standing ovation of applause following the vote as building committee members shook hands and congratulated each other along with the heads of both the police and public works department and the board of selectmen on the victory architect  architectural studio in cambridge has come up with a renovation in addition plan which keeps the buildings historic facade intact and would allow the police station to remain in its current location for the for seeable fuchsia the plan adds ten thousand square feet to the existing building with an addition over the lore level in the back of the building an elevator a sally port addition on the side of the building a new handicapped accessible entrance new locker room space for males and females new holding cells a new booking area a safe locking facility for weapons an improved interview and holding room a three bay garage pocking for an additional fifteen vehicles and a second staircase in the back of the building  existing building built in one nine hundred thirty one a very good and could last another eighty seven years go on to plan for the public works facility and at least another ten years of life by improving the billion buildings ventilation and adding modular rooms on the back of the existing building for one point two to one point four million these modulus will provide a locker rooms for male and females including showers a laundry facility a lodge multipurpose room for training or meetings a quiet risp ace and expanded break room with a kitchenette administrative space with a laboratory or the lavatory and a check in area for private contractors and now over to clare thank you we're working on diversifying staff schools belmont school leaders are pushing to hire diverse teachers by carey feltner as an african american regina king did not have any teachers that looked like her in elementary school or in high school or in college or in law school her three children each repeated the psycho they never had a teacher of color her grandson to today her great grandson is in third grade so far he has had the same experience my greatest sorrow or disappointment is that it hasn't changed within my family population in all those decades she said the belmont school  staff i mean the belmont staff race profile is as follows between two thousand and seventeen in two thousand and eighteen african american is two percent asian is two point seven percent hispanic is point six tenths of a percent white is ninety two percent multi race non hispanic is two point four percent females eighty one point four percent males eighteen point six percent full time equivalents four hundred eighty point three percent the belmont student race profiles for two thousand and seventeen to two thousand and eighteen is african american three point four percent asian nineteen point one percent hispanic four point three percent native american one tenth of a percent white sixty six point two percent native hawaiian point one tenth of a percent multi race non hispanic six point eight percent now over to max the two thousand and seventeen two thousand eight hundred school year has been a time of significant change in and greening of the cherry millet middle school cafeteria september began with a focus on behavioral change and tighter routines in the cafeteria once in place focus shifted to expanding and improving recycling and reducing waste to date charity has eliminated styrofoam trays and replaced them with the type that will compost b gun stacking trays for disposal thus reducing the total volume of trash eliminated non recyclable straws reduced waste produced production in the cafeteria by more thoughtfully diverting recyclable materials and created the trash basher program in grades fifth and sixth a volunteer student group test with monitoring and assisting with the refuse stream as chattering enters the two thousand eight hundred two thousand one thousand school year the cafeteria will become even greener refuse centers are being built for the cafeteria designed to make it easy for students and staff to correctly sort waste the centers will have designated depositories for liquid pour off bottle and can recycling milk and juice carton recycling trash compost and tray stacking the trash bashers are rallying for a big splash in the fall hoping to expand to all four grades fifth through eighth over to you bob tha the wellington neighborhood eatery opens by joe medicaid as well as the wellington neighborhood eatery belmont's newest family restaurant has been busy getting ready to officially open its doors as soon as the on seventy five limit street and the windows were no longer covered many passers by had been curiously peering inside to get a look a sign on the door shares how the restaurant got its name from the wellington homestead and tavern which was located at wellington station in belmont in the eighteen hundreds a populous stopping place the travel is between boston and cockade a sign on the front window says the original wellington station was the catalyst for what would become belmont sena today we are reestablishing this neighborhood eatery offering every day a skate from the from the every day the making their first restaurant is restaurant dante and their other two locations are el sol belmont and el because salek sink in here a fax to nola both the new restaurant according to the wellington neighborhood eatery seventy five linnet street belmont is a restaurant offering in a collector american cuisine with an extensive beverage program kraft is cocktails wines from around the world and even milkshakes some are spiked the wellington will be open for dinner seven days a week seven nights a week from five to nine thirty pm sunday through thursday and five pm to ten pm friday and saturday there will be a special bob menu until midnight dinner appetizers include a calendar island mussels short rib french onion soup  deep i should say fried ipswich clams and much more burgers are on the menu including one called the wellington which is puff pastry in between two flat patties black mushrooms ducks elise braised spinach carmel ised onions entrees include maple poached salmon callie flowers steak steak tots slow roast including boss steals pipe works finback and much more the restaurant has one hundred thirty three seats and a private dining room for twenty five seated at thirty five standing they will also have a rob rob including  clams and now over to clare thank you bob all financial articles are approved by the town meeting by joanna cates of dallas segment b of the n you will belmont town meeting concluded on june four with all financial articles approved for fiscal year two thousand and nineteen including the one hundred sixteen dollars million million dollar budget one point four million in capital expenditures and the retirement board articles to increase the spousal benefit adjustment for surviving spouses of retirees and to increase the cost of living adjustment cola base for retirees the cola base is the basis for calculating a crossed of living adjustment for the town's pensions are higher base increases the amount of the adjustment according to w abstaining chairman of the warrant committee the majority of the discussion revolved around the time and board articles twenty four and twenty five which failed at last year's town meeting but were brought back this year with one slight change to article twenty five to increase the cola base for retirees from twelve thousand dollars to thirteen thousand rather than fourteen thousand dollars requested last year artic twenty four increases the spousal benefit for surviving spouses of retirees from six grand to twelve grand town treasurer and retirement board member floyd carmen presented each article highlighting the key point of fairness because the allowance for surviving spouses of school employees is twelve thousand and the cola base for teachers is thirteen thousand unfunded liability increased article twenty four passed one hundred ninety one to twenty four the estimated increase to the unfunded pension liability will be one hundred eighty seven thousand dollars equivalent to two point two percent of the current seventy five million dollars liability warrants committee member jeff louis and said it will bring a small group of three surviving spouses up to par with the rest of  spouses article twenty five past one hundred thirty four to eighty three the warring committee voted on favorable action by a vote of ten to three the board of selectmen was unanimous miss lee in favor of the article according to common the cola base has been twelve thousand dollars since nine hundred ninety eight the increase would mean twenty three dollars fifty cents per month or three hundred ninety dollars per year the estimated increase to the unfunded pension liability is eight hundred seventy three thousand dollars the estimated additional cost to the fiscal two thousand and nineteen appropriation is one hundred twenty nine thousand six hundred dollars bar merkle affluent warrant committee member and precinct two town meeting member said he wasn't changing his no vote on the article from last year we can't afford it he said telling town meeting members to look ahead a couple of years to how much it will add to the pension liability ten men million dollars by fiscal year two thousand and twenty one twelve million dollars by fiscal year two thousand and twenty five and more there and fourteen point five million dollars in two thousand and twenty nine the year the unfunded pension liability is to be paid off he expressed his concern about future needs such as a new pump truck for the fire station and the belmont high school project now he has max thanks claire belmont's foods market closed on may thirty first by joanna cates savalas foods market at eighty seven leonard street in belmont center of officially opened its doors last may after extensive renovation to the twelve thousand square foot lower level of the former macy's site which stood vacant for more than four years before foodies opened one year later owner victor leon jr announced its closing may thirty first i and written sign hung on the door may thirty first which read thank you for your support over the past year it's been a pleasure serving you alongside a printed sign that said food is closed thank you for your patronage it's hard to believe we weren't able to generate the business we wanted to he said this is a big blow for our company this was the fourth location for the small supermarket chain leon junior's father victor leon sr started the company in one nine hundred ninety eight with its first of the south end in two thousand and seven leon opened a second location in duxbury currently the biggest store in the company in two thousand and thirteen foodies in south boston opened recently customers may have noticed many shelves beginning to look bare some refrigerator cases closed fewer baked goods and no seafood leon jr said the company made the decision to close the belmont store a couple of weeks ago because they weren't getting the volume of customers they needed the move came despite efforts earlier this year to get the stores core group of customers back to the store more often and to get new people who may not have tried the store to come in the store had also sought town permission to a cafe style seating area inside inside for customers to eat where they could eat the store's prepared food it has since withdrawn its application leon said a number of  factors may have been contributing to the low sales including a perception that their prices were a lot higher than competitors and difficulties with the parking on leonard street he also said the fact that the store was located below street level may have turned people off leon jr said they made the decision to take the lower level space because they didn't need as much square footage as the upper level and the rent was lower if location and space are the main issue then it will be difficult for another grocer to come  in he said leon jr also said multiple price comparisons done by a third party show their prices were at at that the same level or below those at the star market in belmont we feel we were competitively priced our larger competitors have the resources to advertise a low price image in a much bigger way which i feel probably led to assumptions of us being higher priced he said although there was a two hour parking  lot in the back where the main entrance to foodies was located leon jr said people who people who preferred to park on leonard street may have been deterred by the meters or lack of spaces in addition he said it's possible the all alcohol license issued by the belmont board of selectmen to star market may have been a contributing factor to their low sales leon jr said the volume of sales was too low for the operating size of the store he wishes the company could have shrunk the size of the store but it was difficult to backtrack and change the footprint due to the location of utilities profit margins are razor thin in the grocery business he said because they and because they weren't able to get the customer count needed to operate in the size of the space they were unable to break even even if the rent was reduced to nothing he said they would still wouldn't be able to keep their doors open leon jr said the customers they had were happy and surprised more people weren't coming in he said they did a lot of research on the site before making the decision to locate there and never expected to be closing one year after opening none of the projections came in anywhere close to where they were supposed to be we feel terrible said leon jr over to you bob thank you max assistant town administrator resigned i join a case of ol us the belmont high school building committee announced on june the seventh that assistant town administrative phyllis marshall is no longer serving as treasurer because she is no longer with the town of belmont jessica poor turd director of human resources confirmed marshall resigned her l day was may thirty first in an e mail to or co worker's marshall wrote it has been a privilege and a pleasure serving with all of you over the last for we is i am proud of the work we have accomplished together and i consider myself lucky to have gotten to know you and become friendly was so many great people here take a little time off to enjoy some nice weather with my husband and family before embarking on a new experience y to be decided porter said town administrative patrice garvan will be looking at the staffing of her department to determine if marshall will be replaced the position has not been posted at this time marshall who lives in canton began her position as belmont's assistant town administrator january the sixth two thousand and fourteen prior to coming to belmont she was the treasurer collector for the town of watertown and all and over to my colleague claire thank you bob senior housing proposal to face opposition philmont country club plans to sell land in lexington near the belmont in arlington borders by diane mcglothlin two visions for town life could soon face off in lexington one sees larger buildings as a solution for senior housing while the other wants to preserve a traditional suburban lifestyle in two thousand and fourteen lexington produced a housing production plan that identified a need for more senior housing a proposed development in lexington southern section would increase housing options for seniors but nearby residents have joined together to try to stop the project citing concerns about rodents traffic and an unwanted trend toward urbanization the proposed development would include both independent and assisted living on land didn't lexington owned by the belmont country club in an interview ted t'ai managing partner for the developer national development said he had not heard major concerns from the community about the project the developer has held several community meetings including one on may third and accept public comments about the project through an online site but neighbors have formed a group called hall to the belmont country club apartment complex rick cronin who lives on briggs road told the likes in ten minute man that the group has started to make plans for opposing the development what is the project belmont country club plans to sell land in lexington near the belmont end alington borders a large apartment complex previously proposed for the site was rejected in june two thousand and seventeen a different developer newton based national development met with the board of selectmen and the planning board so as to suggest a smaller project for the land the new proposal calls for two buildings across from each other on watertown street south of route two one facility called bridges at lexington would offer forty eight units of memory care assisted living the one in one half story building would be near golden avenue in lexington across the street a larger complex waterstones at lexington would offer seniors both independent and assisted living including amenities such as dining in housekeeping the proposal calls for forty assisted living am one hundred sixteen independent living units some qualifying as affordable housing the building would have no immediate lexington arbiters on the north side of route two nearby streets include briggs road crescent road great rock road and green lane because both buildings would house seniors the project would have a minimal effect on town services  need for senior housing the two thousand and fourteen housing production plan identified the need to develop housing types that appeal to seniors including smaller accessible households tare said he had heard that adding senior housing in lexington was a trial priority several residents who commented online about the project cited a need for more senior housing but cronin said he would prefer to see lexington help seniors remain in their current homes by reducing property taxes instead of developing large complexes while lexington's housing plan including the goal of allowing senior is to age in place it also stated that many do not want to remain in larger less accessible homes traffic concerns cronan and dabashi nandy who lives on green lane near the proposed both cited increased traffic as another concern with the project traffic in navigation apps already send drivers to the neighborhood cronan said especially as an alternative for getting to route one twenty eight residents of the assisted living facility will not have cars but cronin expects many other residents would drive ties said some residents would have cabs and visit is in employees would drive to the building as well the water stone building will provide transportation services for residents now here's max thank you claire belmont hill roll call protect animals bill age four five six five house voted hundred forty seven to zero and approved a bill to protect the health and safety of animals provisions include requiring that animal abuse be reported by employees of the department of children and families the department of  of fairs and the disabled persons protection commission in the course of their work increasing prison terms and fines for abuse of an animal prohibiting anyone from having sex with an animal prohibiting the drought ing of animals repealing  current requirement that animals involved in the illegal animal fighting automatically be killed and instead creating other options for these animals prohibiting insurance companies from refusing insurance coverage and housing authorities from refusing to rent to a potential renter based on a specific breed and requiring property owners and landlords to check property for abandoned animals within three days following a foreclosure or end of tenancy supporters of the bill is long overdue and will protect many animals from injury abuse and death protecting the welfare of animals is imbedded in our values as a commonwealth said house ways and means chair jeff sanchez democrat boston animal welfare reflects the broader public safety concerns at the center of many conversations today current research conducted by northeastern university and the m s p c a shows compelling evidence for the link between animal abuse and violence toward humans the study found a person who committed animal abuse is five times more likely to commit violence against people and now back to you bob along with my colleagues claire we thank you for listening to the talking news and hope you've enjoyed the show we're return next week for another edition of local news happening around bel