network and now on to the talking news thumbs up for the off cycle request by joanna k s of alephs the belmont community preservation committee the c p c voted unanimously on their august the th meeting in favor of accepting an off cycle application from the board of selectmen requesting four hundred thousand dollars to fund the design of phase one a of the proposed community pa th route the portion of the path which includes the underpass tunnel between alexander and concord avenues board of selectmen chairman adam dash explained the need for the off cycle request of the considered for funding by the boston metropolitan planning organization the m p o transportation improvement program dash received a letter from massey deo cheese district highway director paul stedman dated july th informing him of the project's eligibility for federal highway funding the decision to commit funding will be made by the boston him piolo and would cover the mass d o teas approval of the project's scope and work i was securing a signed contract with a design consultant for the entire design process and identifying design august th on belmont belmont state senator william brown's burgers website that's william brown's burger dot com stated this is only an eligibility determination not an allocation of funding but it's a step forward it opens the door for active collaboration between the town of belmont and mass d o t in the design of the path once design is further progressed the project can begin to actively compete for a funding commitment desh stressed the importance of keeping things moving along now as they have the state's attention for the community path project after twenty five years in the making we don't want to jeopardize the process  states a dash the selectmen will complete the application for four hundred thousand dollars to fund the design of phase one a of the community bath for review at the september thirteen c p c meeting if the application is approved it will be put on the warrant for the special town meeting of november thirteen dollars fourteen cents dash said the selectman will file another community preservation application for one million dollars to fund the design of phase one b of the community path which they hope to have on the warrant for the may town meeting steve pinkerton a member of the c p c said the request for funding the design of the community path will pretty much wipe out what the committee can give out for all the projects for fiscal year twenty nine team if we don't put the good faith forward a year from now they may not be money said floyd common member of the c p c and town treasurer referring to funding from the state for the construction and how a downturn in the economy could make it harder if the town doesn't move forward this is mission critical he stated and over to my colleague thomas  bob belmont manor hopes to expand to offer assisted living road currently it is owned as local business two l b two which does not allow three storey buildings administrator of belmont manor nursing home at thirty four agassi's avenue in belmont presented his idea for an assisted living facility located at one thousand pleasant street next to star market and behind belmont car wash serving the community for almost fifty one years through a feasibility study he learned people in belmont would like to stand belmont and seizing need to expand his brand to assisted living currently there are no other assisted living facilit es in belmont according to kargar the feasibility excuse me feasibility study showed the need in two thousand and eighteen to be for two hundred and forty two dollars additional assisted living traditional beds and one hundred and forty to memory care beds the design presented by rojas is a three storey thirty two foot high building approximately seventy five thousand square feet with thirty parking spaces and eighty dollars to eighty five dollars units the development would require an overlay district to reclassify the property under the terms of local business one will be one to allow system living as a use currently the land is owned as l b two which does not list assisted living as an acceptable use rojas said his drawings are just concepts at this time not a full set of preliminary drawings to show what could happen if the zoning changes the use would have a minimal impact on schools and traffic he said the st floor of the assisted living facility would offer services for residents such as hair and nail salons therapy rooms dining and gathering areas the nd floor would have traditional assisted living units four hundred dollars to square one hundred feet each the units would be mostly studios with a few one bedroom rooms with small kitchenettes bathrooms and closets and comment areas for congregating the rd floor would be for dementia and memory care residen with an outdoor deck and common areas according to rojas the residents on the rd floor is most likely would not go downstairs and the outdoor deck would give them access to the outdoors roo house said they would request a special  areas of waverly square and not have to cut through the star market parking lot this will be the catalyst that will redevelop waverley square other things will come that will follow suit said ross adding if develop properly system living facility could become a pedestrian connection right into waverly square in the future rojas anticipated other mixed use buildings with retail below and independent living above will follow suit planning board chairman charles clarke said that he thinks it is a very interesting proposal and added that he sees a real need for this and now over the next thanks thomas spree real estate roundup home prices rise about thirteen percent from two forty year real estate professional fred pizzey coner of century twenty one adams loan deal realty incorporated in belmont said home prices increased approximately thirteen percent from spring two thousand and seventeen to spring two thousand and eighteen people who sold this year received more for their homes in the previous year he said the median sale price for a single family home in belmont is currently one million one hundred and fifty thousand dollars according to petition mctaggart a realtor with fifteen years experience with the sales associate for coldwell banker residential brokerage in belmont make tag said inventory for spring two thousand and eighteen increased fifteen percent compared to two thousand and seventy eight p c things belmont home property values will continue to appreciate in two thousand and nineteen although maybe not as dramatically variables that will control this our supply and if interest rates increase as predicted he said bidding wars continue offers on it mctaggart listed a three bedroom two five bathroom two thousand two hundred dollars square foot belmont home in may for one point one million it had sixteen offers and sold for one million three hundred and fifty thousand with no contingencies in the heat of the spring market it was not uncommon to hear of ten or more offers on one property now we are seeing more like four offers at a competitive bidding situation this is also impacted by season the market temperately slows down in the summer i expect the fall will pick up when we where we left off in the spring said mcteague belmont has the consistent benefit of being close to the city and receiving high school ratings according to m both of which are extremely desirable to buyers and have kept our values strong she said empty nesters moving out of town pizzey said he's seen many older residents moving out of belmont not just because of higher taxes but because they no longer need as much space and are looking for one level living many do to either small or single range style housing homes or condominiums in towns like waltham watertown were burlington or on cape cod he said said he had heard many senior citizens voiced concerns about rising costs and not having accessible affordable alternative living options and belmont many residents who have lived in belmont for years are sitting on large sums of equity in their home and would sell if they could find a local solution she said desirable neighborhoods pizzey said the most popular area of belmont is off of common street from belmont center to cushing square especially cedar fair mont hillcrest rhodes this area has great walkability to most schools shops playgrounds and public transportation also the presidential estates area and pace of park area are desirable again due to walk ability said pizzey adding belmont hill is also desirable but does require parents to show for more why a home doesn't so according to pete see occasionally a home a come on the market at a higher price level of the market would bear and may need a price adjustment to sell also sometimes a home on a busy street or a home in major disrepair take me take longer to sell higher and homes near or above the three billion dollars price area do also take longer to sell and there are fewer buyers in that price range  program looks at all aspects of beer by joanna k as of alice craft beer cellar in belmont center now as an event space on the lower level of eighty five dollars leonard street in belmont sena below the wellington neighborhood eatery diedrich and belmont books kohler suzanne shack low and kate baker so they using the new twenty eight seat space for the society of master beer s their company's beer education platform the society of master beer is intended to look at and treat beer on an educational level and platform similar to the way that wine solemnly years program works this is the st of its kind program in the area which fills the gaping hole in beer education it speaks a lot to how to serve beer how to treat beer how to store a beer what be appears well with barbecue ribs on the th of july will want to melon and fed a salad she said the beer c r s program has four levels apprentice certified advanced and master you don't sell real estate without having your real estate credentials and or a license to do so you should not be selling a dealing in below without the proper credentials said jack low night training socials open to anyone every week with shaq low leading the class students look at three of four be a styles they compare the beers talk about the ingredients of romo flavor and then shaq low helps put disciplines haun hone their vocabulary we do writing exercises where they describe beers and help with the analogy and aroma and flavor descriptions she said the beers  styles change every week if someone shows up every monday over two and a half months they could have tasted seventy percent of the beers available in terms of styles on the market said jack low on most thursdays tasting says other upcoming events will include a malt sensory program with a malt stir from western massachusetts father isaac and the monks from spencer brewery will also be coming to talk about shackle recently received their beer judge certification results from their tasting exam and will be judging at the great american be a festival in two thousand and nineteen once this gets out and people learn how invaluable this can be that that it's in the boston area these seats are going to be a prime spots each week said shack low to sign up for the event will learn more visit craft beer seller dot com forward slash beer c h craft beer seller opened its st store in belmont on november th two thousand and ten since then it has become a franchise with thirty additional stores nationwide according to shaq low belmont is the busiest toll it's been an interesting run in business not everything is pretty and rosy sometimes tough decisions after me made but we are all bob building a better budget model by angela foma one of town administrator patrice garvin's st major accomplishments in her role for the town was to sign a community compa agreement with the commonwealth of massachusetts on january twenty nine the community compact is a voluntary mutual agreement entered into between the baker police do administration and individual cities and towns of the commonwealth the compact all sorts of q lakes the commitments the commonwealth will make on behalf of all communities including helping the community attain their chosen best practice a total of thirty thousand dollars from the state program is being used for comprehensive planning and long term financial planning by the collins center affiliated with the john w mccormick graduate school of policy and global studies at u mass boston at a joint meeting with the selectmen warrant committee and school committee on july thirty the centers consultants stephen cirilo and anthony to resee presented the results of their study which will provide a financial planning tool for belmont as it invests in a number of costly expenditures including the new middle school high school project according to cirilo one of the critical issues facing belmont is a structural budget deficit the town uses nonrecurring revenue such as free cash and the general stabilization fund to help finance recurring expenditures such as the town's operating budget in other words the town is using one time money to support ongoing service cirilo said this is a privilege problem in many municipalities and the practice unsustainable in the long term there is no reliable method to predict free cash and in two years the general stabilization fund will run dry if the matter is not resolved by then the town risks the need for a budget override advised it's slowly phasing out free cash as a support for the operating budget the massachusetts department of revenue also suggests limiting its use to paying one time expenditures funding capital projects or replenishing other reserves in this spirit cirillo proposed allocating free cash to the general stabilization fund and using it instead for liquidity or in an emergency according to cirilo this will ultimately help shore up liqui and protect the town's bond rating cirilo also noted and i knew used capacity and local receipts that might alleviate some of the budget stress he emphasized that these alone will not resolve the deficit but it is a good place to start and to resee also provided a model to help forecast revenue expenditure this model includes two features a gap analysis that a phase the difference between revenues and expenditures on both an annual and cumulative basis and  analysis which illustrates the impact of changing a single variable in the budget such as the percentage of collective bargaining or health care the current forecast is for fiscal years two thousand and twenty to two thousand and twenty four each year belmont will designate someone from the community the task of updating the forecast to the next year's five year forecast the goal is to create a substantial budget and avoid future overrides after their presentation select chairman adam down opened the meeting up to questions and comments more epstein chairman of the warrant committee emphasized the need to look at the model as a tool and not necessarily as an end all and be all quote i think this model is the most sophisticated effort i have seen so far to get our overall budget structure where it can be analyzed i wouldn't interpret what we have seen tonight as a recommendation i think this is an illustration of a tool that requires further refine said epstein selectman vice chairman mark how little also stressed the importance of addressing the structural budget deficit quote we have to start making decisions over the next couple years in terms of what we are going to do we are facing this no matter what we could run the numbers twenty five different ways and we know we have a structural deficit in the level funded budget and now back to max thanks thomas keeping music alive at age ninety five by joel samuels belmont musical legend will lead his swing orchestra in his final th fund raising concert sponsored by the friends of the belmont council on aging at seven pm on september th at the beach street center and sixty six beach street belmont proceeds will benefit programs and services at the belmont council on aging beach street center who is this lifelong musician and trumpet player born in one thousand and twenty three whose career spans from and thirty s big bands to today its alitalia of course in sitting down with al i discovered a veritable history of what a talent a trumpet player could accomplish in nearly a century at an early age al was handed a bugle at st anthony school in boston liked what he could do with that and moved on to the trumpet premix selling in his high school band he took private lessons with the principal trumpet player for the waterville shows at the r k o theater on washington street downtown that contact got him into the orchestra when they enlarged the band from nine to fifteen he filled in during the shows and gained experience in learning hundreds of tunes what keys they were in and how to improvise else far that father was a barber and musician who taught him ear training and how to sight read music with this talent he was able to fill in during the late one thousand nine hundred and thirty s in boston whenever traveling bands such as benny goodman the dorsey brothers and glenn miller needed a substitute trumpet from time to time he went on the road in the late one thousand nine hundred and thirty s with the bob chester orchestra of harry james orchestra and joined the jerry wald orchestra at the paramount theater in new york at age twenty one he traveled around the country playing the liberace show the haymes and margaret whitley at the at the theater for three or four weeks at a time he became very friendly with the three stooges and play poker with the between shows he often played five shows a day and was never sure which acts would be on the same bill during world war two he recalled going to the paramount theater in new york city every noon time to get another set of music stands and do a war bond drive show in times square a big stars such as bob hope or milton berle who was in new york at the time would come down to do a few minute show all we did was play play play tiring of the road he returned to boston and played in society orchestras such as ruby newman  harry marshall and he started his own six piece band and discovered a great sixteen year old keyboard player named chick korea they played at the mayfair club a show club in arlington on arlington street and the latin quarter private big shows he played the big rally at the boston garden in one thousand nine hundred and sixty when john f kennedy ran for president he remembered the excitement when the future president came into the hall smoking his cigar and waving to everybody since then he's played behind bill bojangles bill robertson frank sinatra steven tyler and aerosmith in the early one thousand nine hundred and seventy s al was elected vice president of the boston music musician's union out stated that one of the greatest moments of my career was should be appreciated by area residents of all ages tickets are ten dollars at the door thanks for the memories now over to you thanks max belmont porch fest seeking volunteer belmont porch fest the free town wide front porch and backyard music festival slated for september th is currently seeking volunteers full week of and day of responsibilities these responsibilities rehabilitative these responsibilities helping with deliveries and signage in advance of the event and serving as community ambassadors on september th community ambassadors can be either on foot or on bike for a two hour time block keeping an eye on activities at porch fest venue's and making sure people are being mindful of safety guidelines volunteers support will also be needed on september th for the grand finale one town sowed a lodge gathering at grove street puck from five to seven pm to help with set up cleanup and crowd management all volunteers will receive a porch fest t shirt for information and to register as a porch fest volunteer visit t t p colon forward slash forward slash belmont port fest what motive is what motivated you to be involved barbara stated i have read about porch fests in other towns but never actually made it to one i do love the idea though and when i heard that someone had started and i just had to help how do you think this will impact belmont music and i bring people together it will be a beautiful day for belmont and might make might just make people discover that those neighbors they they only ever say hello to a rush lee more interesting than they thought it will be by people for people of all generations and it will bring him and bring with my colleagues thomas and max we thank you for listening to the talking news and hope you have enjoyed the show we were return next week for another edition of local news happenings around belmont