welcome to talking news we had to and i did have you with us this evening to our presentation by members of the beach street center martha jonathan and mary and we will be reading local news and happenings from the con community newspaper jonathan unrepaired gas leaks identified by caitlin kelleher there are ninety known and unrepaired natural gas leaks in belmont the oldest dating back to one nine hundred ninety six across the state there are twenty five thousand leaks in the natural gas lines and officials estimate that two thousand require repairs one legislation to fix the problem of gas leaks was an act and in twenty four teen leaks were classified by priority and then provided in march to the department of public utilities leaks occur in the older distribution system stated danielle williamson a senior media specialist for national grid they can also develop through third party damages or naturally by changing weather depending on the leak classification repairs are fixed immediately or actively monitored until a repair is going to be made state law requires gas companies to be responsible for reviewing the conditions of the mains and repairing any problems so local departments can simply monitor the gas companies and respond to prevent emergencies yes we always respond to reported gas leaks or owners of gas with a gas meter we can tell what the level of gas is present said belmont fire i'll when we get on scene we provide the gas company with an update according to freeze out and twenty fourteen calls regarding gas leaks made up eighty five of the two thousand seven hundred sixty four of the department received all their towns are dealing with similar numbers as of the middle of the month the lexington fire department has responded to sixty six reports of gas odors an increase of twenty fourteen and twenty thirteen gas calls both reports of inside and outside orders represent about two percent of the department's approximately three thousand five hundred calls lexington firefighters responded to seventy five calls in twenty fourteen and sixty six in two thousand and thirteen arlington fire department responded to fifty nine odors of gas this year but all five of arlington's hundred fifty four leaks are level three gas companies classify leaks in one of three levels with grade one being an immediate threat and likely to explode and grade three not requiring repairs but simply monitoring a lot of them are repeat ones a lot are not serious at all said the arlington fire chief robert jefferson for zelo added he has not seen any major incidents from gas leaks in his time with the belmont fire department marian old outlet overheats by brand berkowitz sparks flew at belmont public library recently after a staff member attempted to put laminate or machine into one of the libraries electrical outlets for a minute or so on scene feared fire might ignite a disastrous affair for any building let alone one full of paper although the fire department alleviated the situation the incident has except accentuated the condition at the fifty year old library building the board of library trustees has been trying to revamp since the turn of the century we are really willing to do whatever the community would like said library director peters the arrow who has held the post since march according to strozier arrow spurred by a forty five thousand dollar appropriation from the capital budget committee at town meeting in june the library staff has begun efforts on a feasibility study to figure out the best solution for belmont arrow said a committee is working to create a long range plan for the library which detail services and programming the library will offer to the community following the long range plan str expects the feasibility study to commence at the end of twenty fifteen to seek input from the community and look at three different options but the building a renovation on the interior an addition with renovation or a completely new building like other buildings in town it's an old building with old infrastructure said kathleen chair of the b l t a prudent plan to examine needs and options for the community the feasibility study however may be the easiest part longtime capital budget committee member patricia berish berish detailed the library's numerous attempts over the last fifteen years to update the building after an initial study in two thousand they didn't go too far according to brush a more thorough study was commissioned roughly ten years ago brush said it looked at building needs when a renovation could look like with an addition and even considered flipping the site of a new library with the location of the current underwood pool around this time brush said the town applied and surprisingly received a state grant for the pool shortly after unfortunately the grant conflicted with the rebuilding of wellington school and the town could not fund the project brush said in the last attempt around two thousand and nine bresh said the town considered moving the police station into the current library building and renovating the inside if this occurred the library might have gone to where the high school soccer field is but no alternative for the soccer field could be found some of the issues that there were other capital needs in town that were more needy said brush naming the wellington school and the beach street senior center the library most definitely needs to be refreshed and updated however the library situation may be in familiar waters the town will know if the massachusetts school building authority approves a new high school project in december which would require a large proposition two and a half debt exclusion in the coming years additionally the library will likely have to compete with other capital projects in the pipeline including a new police station a new public works facility and possibly a new ice skating rink martha after harsh winter premiums set to has homeowner's insurance premiums are set to rise in the coming months local insurance agents preaching higher deductibles and better preparation heading into a winter the farmer's almanac has labeled snowy and bitter cold from massachusetts our first and foremost answer to rising premiums has always been high deductibles said john asked and president of the concord insurance group in belmont i strongly believe in them for two reasons they are good for your pocket book and they show good faith to your insurance company because it shows you are willing to take on more of the risk by taking out a deductible homeowner agrees to pay for a portion of the expense should their home get them in just in return the insurance company will typically lower the annual premium because their customer has more of a stake in preventing damage if one homeowner's house does not get damaged he or she will likely earn that the dr pulled back after a few years through and you a premium savings after winter that more than two billion in losses in the north east have handed in said he expects premiums on homeowners insurance to rise eight to nine percent in the near future matt cohen vice president of cowen miles insurance in belmont expects premiums to increase by four to nine percent around of simba first according to cohen premium inch creases in recent years have typically been two to three percent there are going to be larger increases because of the number of claims from the past years cohen said affan did in also attribute the rise to large cat testifies like the forest fires in northern california even though the fires are far away when the national insurance for has to cover something of that magnitude everyone is going to be affected he said during the winter cohen said his for him was handling five to ten claims per week whereas the year before they were only seeing about one claim per week i have and said for an entire month last winter all we did was cla but both agree homeowners should thoroughly prepare for the upcoming winter considering the amount of claims they received relating to ice dams last winter we are telling our customers to prevent ice dams get a roof raise after the first snow storm gets the roof clean stay on top of it keep the gutters clean come fall said cohen af and lynn said his company's policies are very clear that customers must do everything they can to maintain further damage after an accident including shoveling snow clearing pathways and providing adequate access jonathan flu vaccines available for residents influenza vaccines will be available to belmont residents five years and older at two upcoming community flu clinics on a first come first served basis the first clinic is set for ten am to noon october seventeenth in the community room of generate middle school ninety five washington street injectable flu vaccine or flu shot will be available for those five years or older the interim nasal influenza vaccine or flu mist will be available for ages five through a dean who are healthy and not pregnant the second clinic is set for six to eight pm october twenty first in the temple beth auditorium to conquer  the flu shot will be available for those five years or older there will be a limited amount of influenza vaccine available as an injection or by intro nasal mist or nasal spray the clinics will be facilitated as a collaboration among the belmont health department the belmont public schools and the belmont community emergency response team the c d c recommends that all people six months and older receive the flu vaccine vaccination is the single most effective way to protect yourself and your loved ones from flu especially if you or someone you care about has a chronic health condition like asthma says angela braun health director although insurance is not required to get vaccinated at the clinic residents are asked to bring their health insurance cards as the town can be reimbursed for administering vaccine no cost to the resident marion d p w gearing berkowitz with summer officially more than a week removed the department of public works has turned its attention to the upcoming winter following a year that experienced more than one hundred inches of snow and an estimated one billion dollars in wage and profit losses statewide nothing changes year to year no matter what size the winter was the prior year s w director j market we make sure everything is running properly and safely according to marcotte the town has thirty seven pieces of equipment in total twenty seven of which deal with the department thoroughly checks the machines and makes sure drivers can safely mouth the plows market said after another part of winter excuse another part of winter preparation is obtaining necessary materials such as salt mart cuts at the town is in a group of eight different communities including arlington new and brookline which coordinates all purchases to get bulk deal soft is a major contributor to the budget and we try to be as effective as possible not to over salt within the realm of safety first said market in fiscal year two thousand and fifteen the town out located six hundred five thousand dollars to snow ice removal and total spending ended up over one point three million due to record breaking snowfall all things considered mark said the town did well to limit the shortfall compared to what some other towns and to spend martha community gym celebrates ten years by lucia are no bernsen over the past decade the belmont gallery of art has hosted more than sixty shows hundreds of artists and thousands of visitors for residents who have not discovered this community jim visiting the gallery during its tenth anniversary show from september twenty four to october thirty would be an ideal time on october sixteenth from six to nine pm the belmont gallery located the handicapped accessible third floor of the home or municipal building formerly town hall and next will celebrate its tenth anniversary by hosting a gala reception with over fifty artists a win reception and live jazz music the belmont gallery opened in july two thousand and five created through the collaborative efforts of the belmont cultural coun including residents len rogers rebecca riches richard hill jennifer smith and others who felt the fire that destroyed the kendall center for the arts on the street benefit both artists and the community the belmont gallery exhibits two and three dimensional artwork including graphics paintings photographs fabric art collages and sculptors exhibits change about every eight weeks a gallery community manages the space and exhibits curatorial committee consisting of community residents including professional artist educators and view z m curators from diverse backgrounds and interests review of submissions information about applying to exhibit at the belmont gallery can be found at the website belmont gallery dark orc the belmont gallery has collaborated with local organizations such as the belmont garden club belmont media center beach street center and with students and teachers  co director and belmont resident the becca richards credits nan rogers for setting the foundation for the gallery she set the bar high and we would not be here without her she wanted a professional level gallery and work tirelessly for six years richard said once people get up here they are surprised by the large thirteen hundred square foot light filled space said richards one of her many roles at the belmont gallery is community outreach she and the other committee members and promoting local and regional  ts through the belmont gallery to be rewarding it's truly a labor of love she said richard hill co director curator and twenty one year belmont resident is a retired attorney who grew up in a home where his mother was an artist and every room of the home had a project my upbringing was a sort of apprenticeship said although he loved art he followed his father's direction to practice law after a thirty year career he retired fifteen years ago and began to paint more seriously hill prefers to have viewers of his art converse about the creative process and images in the canvas rather than painting a more blatant landscape or abstract hill had  show the belmont gallery and said he fell in love with the place he echoed richard's saying the kendall center for the arts had been an anchor for artists and rodgers efforts created a new anchor according to hill the challenge for the g eight is community exposure as many belmont residents do not know it is there approximately seventy to eighty percent of visitors come from out of town and city and signatures both at the building and around town would help build awareness the belmont gallery is not just for belmont artists but a destination for local and regional and international exhibits it's added it features local regional and international works jonathan get tickets for the twenty fifteen fashion show the belmont woman's club twenty fifteen fashion show is scheduled for three to seven pm october twenty fifth at oakley country club four hundred ten belmont street watertown club's annual gala event this year will showcase the latest fashions for women men and children from lord and taylor all their features will include a seated dinner ruffles and a special dance demonstration by instructors from belmont's fred astaire dance studio advance tickets are recommended last year's fashion show was such a huge success we expect this year's event should be a sellout said marilyn papazian event chair papazian commands the community spirit that is helping this event come together especially the out of business sponsors of the show and the belmont celebrity models who will walk the runway for the benefit of belmont's eight hundred fifty three home or house all of the clubs fund raising supports the preservation of this local and national treasure amazin said marian belmont to set up a little free libraries the belmont public library is setting up a little free library on the walkway in front of town hall for fifty five concord avenue the rules for the little free library are simple visitors may take a book from the box and keep it they do not need to check it out or return the book it's a gift from the library more little free libraries are currently on order the next will be installed outside of the beach street center and another in in the front lawn of a local resident books will be supplied for free by the friends of the belmont public library but citizens should feel free to add titles to the library for others to enjoy belmont residents interested in having a little free library in their neighborhood or local business may contact peter spruce the arrow at the belmont public library martha c l a to host family halloween party the belmont council on the ageing and the watertown family net or will sponsor an international halloween celebration four pm october twenty seventh at the beach st center t sixty six beach st families with preschool aged children and younger are invited to an autumn program where seeing news will read them seasonal stories while listening to the music of or in rosenthal simple crafts snacks and surprises will be provided costumes are welcome but not required jonathan this old house r belmont home by joanna casella sumus since early april the renovation of one particular belmont home a thirty two hundred square foot queen and victorian shingle shingle style built in eight hundred ninety five has most likely piqued the interest of many passers by unlike other run of ations around town this one had television cameras and a recognizable television host and master builder take over the property in addition to several carpenters contractors and subcontractors the cost of the project is not being disclosed but the owners said the biggest benefit of having this old house do the renovation is that there is a definite time line and they know they are getting a builder they have the highest respect for tom silva silva brothers construction who has been with the show since it began more than thirty years ago the most important thing is we're getting absolutely top notch quality i don't think there's anything better everyone is good at their jobs said murat when the renovation is complete and in early november the owners will have a new front porch mud room addition three and a half new bathrooms a new kitchen master suite with a walk in closet and clawfoot tub new entrance to their front foyer new paneling a new fireplace in the living room new insulation a new waterline refurbished windows new paint throughout a new basement stairway a new laundry closet new support beams throughout and a treehouse in their backyard which they helped build with the help of this old house host kevin o'connor however the goal of the honors was to keep everything else his original historic as possible which is why a lot of the decor features and moldings if they are not original are salvaged or recreated to look original such as the paneling two of the fireplace mantle and a stained glass window extra perks for belmont viewers will include an episode featuring belmont historic district commission cochairman and belmont historical society honorary board member joe cornish supervising preservation services manager for historic knowingly cornish gives this old house master carpenter norm abraham a tour of other victorian style homes in belmont and revisits a belmont home which has also this old house project in one thousand nine hundred ninety three cornish explains how the town began to develop after the train station was built marion come together for a day of service the seventh annual belmont service day is set for eight thirty am to one pm october twelfth at st joseph one thirty common street the end you will town wide event will include conservation projects and a food drive individuals and families will select a project at the start of the dame they com complete the project during the morning then share a meal of pizzas and rank the tories ice cream service projects available door to door food drive for the belmont food pantry conservation land maintenance at rock meadow clay pit pond cleanup and improvements conservation projects at lone tree hill the former mclean property martha thank you for joining us for this episode after talking news please join us next week