he llo and welcome to the belmont journal your source for really local news and community updates i'm my crowley your host this week and since this is my st time back this year like to welcome you with a happy new year and i'm hoping that the holidays treated you well just a really quick reminder the elections are coming up in april but if you want to run for town office the filing deadline is february th is coming up you can get more information from the town clerk's office ago roger coleman spoke with bill laval otes chair of the high school building committee to get an update on what's happening at the high school site and what we can expect in coming months thanks for stopping over tonight out finalizing the topography and the boundaries for the project that we moved right into planning for the test geothermal wells which were installed last month if you saw the trucks go up they were new foundations but they were three test wells that allows us to understand what the subsurface geology and and the way the heat will flow through a single test well so the output of the test well we put three of them in they'll be production wells and then we'll see how many we need from the test results that come back later this month and those drills that we've seen over at the high school and those go down five hundred and five yes that's a good memory so these test wells are production well so they went in the depth that our permanent wells will go  they are permanent they're in the ground they're capped the pipes go all the way down to five hundred feet grouted and they're transferring heat we have one last one test i think that's going on this week and if people want to go down and see it i think it's of the school will be what it will need and then we'll be able to figure out how many wells will be drilled as part of this project and when we start seeing construction trailers at or around the high school we have one trailer it's being delivered this week the call to war room but allows all the meetings to take place for all the way up to now for two and a half years we've been meeting with different teams in the board selectman room but i think they would like it back it's getting the meetings are getting more numerous more crowded and this allow our contracting team and our design professionals to have a place where they will have schedules up on the walls you know it's a place where the work needs to happen on a regular basis they don't have to go back and forth to boston and will get more work out of them if they just stay in belmont so that's outside the school so it off to disturb the school and that it will be moved around from the back of the school to where the permanent construction trailer group will be which is one concord for phase one the summer let's close the door on what's going on at the physical site there is a process that is beginning to start right now with the planning board right that's that's correct so the notice went out to about hers and the formal hearing was opened last week that will probably take about four months probably about eight meetings the plan is to go through this large project systematically where we st talk about circulation and parking counts move on to the building review and then move on to the sites and the landscape and in the fields lot a lot of flexibility there but we have to give them the same input that we have been discussing for a while the past year and they will take comments from the public which is what the planning board does and make some decisions that allows that allow us to move forward in drawing completion and let me ask you about that given the process that has occurred to date the high school building committee really goes through the same planning board process that anyone else goes through they ha the process we're going through granted we're a larger project to get your hands around going to take more than a couple of meetings and we planned on about four months every other week they meet so probably but a meeting and thanks for stopping over there's much to talk about  with the final development of the parcels on the mclean hospital ok about twenty years ago that is as most people don't remember because there's twenty years ago the town meeting approved zoning new zoning by a lot for the  d they would have that in that area that would be like between palo and south pleasant street below most like to be on the ridge looking down at star market so how much more housing is this about and for units and right now it's pretty pretty pricey they're looking at people they say the demographics are people who have nd homes and they won't need a mortgage to buy a one million dollars house so we're not talking about something about the peasantry be nine percent and many people say that's just far too low for a development of this size plus you know they consider somebody who's getting one hundred and twenty five percent of mean income to be affordable does that really showed affordability something that the planning board is going to spend more time thinking about i think i think now that we have housing plan and the housing trust passed last year that's something that all departments should be looking at involving potentially moving the new high school or some portion of the new high school were not moving to high school so that you sooner or later cite or anything like that what's happened is that one of the one of the members carl haglund who has been there for a car all you know we can't move things fifty feet you know we're down to the last inch so it looks like there's going to be maybe oh i don't know if there could be a compromise maybe filling in the pond a little bit or making a boardwalk but i don't think they're going to be moving something that massive fifteen feet to the scientists and really make a difference it would cost us this entire project has already been cost it out to the penny right to the dollar to the dollar so if you want to move something like that you're talking about it and they want to start they want to start construction on this part of the building in june after to move it fifteen feet is not something that's going to be a certain thing so we're beyond that yes so so so real quickly i think you also have some information on a business or right now trying to tell me this is moving forward with a business story you can look at it on the potomac website or in the government tony and we have a link to that and it basically is asking business owners their opinions about really energizing  economy and i think that's a great idea ok sounds good well thank you so much franklin and we'll talk to you next time thank you welcome to this week and the citizen hurled the belmont's online and print news source and welcome do since last week we have another candidate running for selectman which means we have a potential race for selectman ok it's roy epstein one committee chairman he's been chairing the war committee since two thousand and seven he's been a tammy member for more than ten years he's also served on the building committee for the d p w in the police station search committees for different positions in the town he's got a lot of experience and he pulled papers and said he does plan to i mean while jessie bennett filed her nomination papers she's a town meeting members she's been on the traffic working group for the high school project and she was recently appointed to the transportation advisory committee she serves on the board of the foundation for belmont education and after school collaborative write me she's also on the burbank co president of the burbank p t a so we have a definite candidate there and we also have a definite candidate for the three year seat for school committee peter list he's a newcomer he's lived in belmont for eighteen years he has two young sons age five and one and he has a very strong financial background which is why he says he would be a good addition to the school committee that's something that could be very helpful right so i think you also have some updates for us on the d p w and the police building projects yes i do know they are moving forward the mining board just approved the police station addition it's going be a three story eight thousand square feet addition that's going to give the police station another fifty years or more of life so so ver and they really need the space yes and the d p w s also getting in addition to how but that will give it about ten years of life but it's also much needed they all made it make things safer and just better for all the employees that work so hard and that work for the d p w may be done before we enter that's when or they're hoping they're going to go out to bid march st they're hoping to start both construction projects in june they want to finish the d p w by the end of this year and the police station you know probably take probably next summer summer of two thousand and twenty and they're going to be moving into the town hall out of auditorium temporarily yes and they'll be a little trailer for the dispatch people out front temporarily during the construction so they all have to get out of the building just just for safety reasons ok so there's also been work taking place on the community preservation committee on projects to be funded by the community preservation funs funds there have been approved to go to town meetings six of them and those are the st one is the police station facade they want to put it they asked for seven one hundred and ninety thousand dollars to update town meeting approves seven hundred thousand dollars they'll get a brand new playground updated pickle ball and basketball courts over there and lastly town hall slate roof from fair three buildings need their roofs repaired because they  that they maybe may or may not be approving or waiting to see on them which are right well thank you so much and of course we are waiting to see what happens next week the belmont journals jane peters is doing re middle school during their after school program the kids in the class interview a trash basher who spends her lunch time helping the community the story was reported and filmed by the kids basically volunteers their lunch time to help the environment by helping people put trash in the right bins and to stack trays how does being a trash  as a trash fasher police stand to at a certain station in front of trash cans and for cycling bin and whenever someone comes out to throw out their lunch we direct them to the correct bin and have them back their trades it does mean volunteering your entire line and recess you don't get to go to recess but it's only one day a week so yeah it's not like you have to miss recess every single day and it really does help the environment because if it was all piled into one big would be more trash one to landfills and stuff and that's bad for the environment so  by recycling better we help the environment by also stacking the trees and having less me  wanted to be a trash back at st i thought it would be fun to have my own little corner to sit with my friend at lunch but now i really know that it helps the environment and so yeah yes i did want to be a trash basher but now i really know kind of what it means to be a trash better helping kids become a trash basher if they wanted to know if you're really interested see mr williams on the yellow te and now it's time for sports the belmont high school varsity basketball teams are doing great this year the girls remain undefeated and the boys conceded only one game so far the boys team captain danny or damien reached an important milestone recently his one thousand points and we have some video of that incredible moment in  the spy ponders but any hope that far reaching the career high mark would have to wait for the end of the match up let's celebrate a little but let's get back into the game said the senior guardian captain as his team mates walked of for the half by the finish the armenian put up twenty seven points as belmont prevailed seventy seven to fifty four in a relatively dominant team performance after the game and before the celebrate salvatore take was presented for his accomplishments yemini and thank his teammates over the past four years who set me up for plays allow me to score it's a team sport and i could have done it without thirteen other guys they're all special it's been a special year for me said the belmont with said the bentley bound all purpose card having set the team's single game scoring record with forty six earlier in the season it means a lot to get these records and have an individual banner there all were goals of mine when i started but we've got bigger things to accomplish along the way danny armenian scoring twenty eight points twenty five in the nd the st time for the community calendar with jane peters jane has all of the updates this week for us on what's happening and what's keynote speaker this year is dr emmett price professor of worship church and culture dean of the chapel and founding executive director of the institute for the study of the black christian experience at gordon kwan well theological seminary proceeds of the event support the medco support fund for programs and events that bring our boston and don't want students and families together musical be performed by cherry students and leave the cap tickets can be found on event bright or purchased at the door teens can join local writer bobby atar zero for a five session class on creative writing starting on thursday from seven to eight hundred and thirty all skill levels are welcome to join no previous writing experience is required registration for this workshop is required to sign up on the library's website calling all high school musicians vocalists dancers poets and performers of all kinds belmont idol auditions are next week and be just as little theater from three to five pm link to sign up can be found on the b h just news website or by contacting misc are sheena join powers faculty and guests as they narrate popular children's book an assay in the mosque covered rock with original music singing and dancing this free performance takes place at the library on saturday at ten and eleven am and powers music schools stein chamber music festival takes place on saturday at five hundred and thirty and seven hundred and thirty at all saints church the festival includes music of all genres performed by musicians of all ages and abilities from beginning students to amateurs and professionals visit powers website for more information about the festival join belmont books in the book launch for feature patrice garvin town administrator as guest speaker reflecting on her major accomplishments during her st year in belmont and looking ahead to twenty one thousand major projects please consider bringing nonperishable food or care products when you attend for the food pantry learn more on the league's website and that's all for this week if you like your event featured in belmont journal's community calendar please on your event info to jane at belmont media dot org we end our show with a programming update for your belmont media center channel's be sure to watch also if you'd like to get involved in the program or you if you have any news or community updates please contact our producer frederick regal oh at fred at belmont media dot org and if you're thinking about getting involved just keep in mind that we have a lot of fun making this program happen that's all for now and i hope to see you next time