welcome to talking news we're delighted to have you with us listening to our presentation by members of the beach street center marian jonathan and irene we will be reading from local news and happenings from the community newspaper more delays on cushing village project by bramber acquits more than two months after the planning board granted a one year special permit extension it appears developer chris starr and his firm smith legacy partners are even farther away than before from breaking ground on the planned three building one hundred sixty three eight hundred and thirty three eight hundred eighty three square foot cushing village development star told the planning board tuesday night he might mean anywhere from sixty days to an additional four months to close on the deed of the municipal at willesden enter palo rhodes the site of one of the developments buildings this step must be completed for demolition to begin its star also told board members that he would be replacing one of his two main lenders cornerstone home lending for another national lender mitchell's development i wish i had better news trust me said star i am really appreciative of the patients from the town and the opportunity to work these issues out the announcements come after star missed deadlines for lot beginning demolition and obtaining a building permit the deadlines were conditions of the special permit extension as planning board member rafi men cheeky and noted cornerstone had invested roughly fourteen million dollars in the development well mitchell's only plans to invest eight million but star said he was happy to have mitchell's on board and believe the process would be smoother saying it had been difficult to get cornerstone and his other lender to play nicely in the sandbox starr said he would close any money shortfall with internal funds from his family or building partner urban spaces if necessary starr also confirmed he is on the cusp of signing an anchor tenant which would fulfill his lenders pretty leasing requirements he has not yet disclosed the specific names of his two other signed tenants but said one is a five thousand square foot restaurant and the other is a major national tenant star admitted that his previous ng requirements grew from two to three tenants just last month but did not disclose if that had been a new condition for michel i am surprised with the strip of land you don't in the entitlement of development that your senior lender the construction lender was asking for leases to be signed for commercial tenants said planning board member charles clarke star didn't really have an answer i don't know what to say to that he said when we're told to jump we don't ask questions we just ask how high the planning board chairwoman liz allison said the amount of extra time star requesting could run past the purchase and sale agreement for the municipal lot which is the selectmen it's responsibility ellison said planning board members in the selectmen would meet in an executive session feb twenty two to discuss these matters jonathan here and to continue for a new hotel vibe around berkowitz residents will have to wait another month to find out of a new hotel is coming to belmont board of appeals the z b a members voted february first to continue a public hearing on a special permit for us proposed eighteen year old hotel a three thirty four pleasant street siting in sufficient time to evaluate all of the documents submitted by applicant michael colombo we got this quite late and i am not prepared margaret said z b a german eric smith because this is a potentially significant project because members of the public have appeared we will allow the applicant to make an opening presentation it is an informational hearing but we will not continue with public comments a large crowd it appeared for the public hearing generate twelfth record of z b a member nick newsy z b a did not receive the full hotel application until january twenty second even though it was supposed to come much earlier in the month columbus proposed hotel which he plans to call development would be built on approximately twelve thousand square feet with nineteen parking spots it would have a second floor of the existing building and include an elevator in order to comply with access laws for people with disabilities and include a cafe a fitness room of the xna center and management office space former selectman and the row house architectural firm ross design completed design work for the project the concept is a boutique hotel it's a very low impact you said ross the traffic report will show it it's less impactful than the permitted convenience store  also said the hotel would increase open space in the area and generate property tax revenue for the town without increasing in rome and in the school system board members said if possible they would like feedback from restaurant review committee and board of health to question the company or person responsible for the proposed hotel's traffic study the hearing will resume at the next z b meeting march seventh marion tr on common street sidewalk experts say signs make it difficult for pedestrians and people with disabilities by bram berkowitz the seventeen million dollar to pella road carter project is supposed to be a new chapter for many roads and sidewalks in belmont quelling the long standing traffic congestion while creating better flow for all modes of transportation but nearing completion transportation and disability experts say two traffic signs installed on common streets new sidewalks last fall impede the flow of pedestrians and are a greater challenge to pass for those with disabilities charged with choosing the location of the traffic signs the two signs are situated on the sidewalk one off to the right and one to the left and take up a sizable chunk of the path with each sign poles approximately three feet apart the signs are in compliance with disability access laws which such state sidewalks must have an unobstructed path of travel of at least thirty six inches clear excluding the curb stones i believe they don't violate the american with disabilities act but they certainly violate the spirit of it said aaron jeff day a transportation planner who lives on belmont street it's frustrating for me to see this new project that is supposed to be improving my area actually making things worse in an email scan had stated the signs were installed to alert drivers of the correct lane use for traffic traveling northbound on common street at the intersection of capella road prior to their installation drivers had been using the lanes incorrectly she stated however just a said the signs new location is now harder to pass for a person who is blind or in a wheelchair he also said the sign makes shoveling in the area difficult brendan kiran e of walk boston an organization that promotes walking for transportation and recreation says the signs are a classic example of prioritizing vehicles over pedestrians if there is any sort of snow there is no way someone can get through he said if we were thinking about making sure of this to pella road project helps out the whole corridor we need to make sure we're making plans for other modes of transportation people want to walk to work and to other activities raymond last year founder of disabilit associate sits l o l c in belmont and a member of the state's architectural access board a regulatory agency that ensures public facilities are excessive all agreed to sign could be better in general signposts especially road signs for vehicular traffic are most correctly positioned on the road side of a sidewalk where vehicles have an unobstructed view of them with adequate unimpeded wheelchair clearance on the inside part of the sidewalk for a path of travel that is forty eight inches but no less than thirty six inches he stated in an email like most access regulations these provisions make walking more comfortable for everyone but especially for pedestrians pushing baby carriages or strollers  said it is not feasible to reduce the travel lanes to make room for the signs off the sidewalk but said improvements might be made in the future irene situation room at dunkin donuts a report from c n n's the situation room but belmont has one of its own weather and health permitting a community group of approximately one hundred men who have lived or worked in belmont all or most of their lives have met at dunkin donuts entre pellow road or waverly square from five to fifteen plus years whether fact or fiction there is no shortage of comments as they share more than coffee a sampling of the men includes retired or semi retired police officers firefighters tradesmen and more a recent topic of conversation was the new england patriots decision to kick off to start over time against the new york jets all agreed that in overtime the patriots should have elected to receive we are all monday morning quarterbacks said retired belmont firefighter bobby of the area at the desk and donuts in waverl square james skip the clue rolo who was in charge of the recreation department for fifty years visits regularly a hockey player for years bigley rolo was honored for his service to the town when the concord ave hockey rink was named after him others in this group include gate keepers pat cypriano and tommy courtney we solve all the town's problems that courtney leading together starts and makes our day we grew up together and have seen all the changes i was one of ten i remember gas being ten cents a gallon and i was making one dollar a day working the farms said i am a blessed man to have been able to send my four kids to college and see how they stay together i couldn't be any prouder of them and my seven grandchildren jonathan the real work begins now  with the massachusetts school building authorities decision last week to move belmont high school into the state's capital pipeline now the real work begins on february tenth the town will formally out of eligibility p together to refine the project then must proceed to develop project team conduct a feasibility study submit schematic designs determine project scope and budget for the last three phases a compass same design the bidding process construction and completion patricia brush a member of the town's capital budget committee said the m s b a process is new from belmont because the last school building in town the forty million dollars wiling to elementary school had gone through a feasibility study before the m s b was created in two thousand and four and was therefore grandfathered in each step of the  process is very prescribe said brush also chairwoman of the town's permanent building committee the town will first form of building committee and do data collection brush said the building committee is selected by town moderator michel wimmer and consists of residents and officials each with his own and her his it and her own area of expertise brush said the committee would likely include some people from the permanent building committee a member from the committee possibly a resident that lives close proximity to the school possibly be a h s parent and then residents with experience in development construction the law and finance the s will not be known until m s b a module five officials have previously estimated the cost one hundred million dollars which is far more than any past capital project and  quoting to town treasurer floyd carmen this makes the future of other needed capital projects in town such as the police station library a new d p w station uncertain given this opportunity to jazz project has to take immediate priority if we pass on the m s b is gratton approval it could be many more years before our high school project is given favorable m s b consideration again stated  in an email to all the high school is a long term project that will take many years to complete i nevertheless hope we can continue to address the town's other capital needs her mom said and while it could take three to five years to get the school up and running he already has a decent idea about the fund how the financing will work he said a project like this could get six to eight beds and the borrowing for a debt exclusion would likely be broken up into three phases potentially spanning thirty years carmen said planning the financial correctly is critical because actual construction of b h s would overlap with the construction of the minutemen regional high school or a new arlington high school marian remembering the town historian richard b betts passes away at eighty eight by joanna name betsy is familiar to many belmont residents it's not only the name of a belmont street and part of the name of the belmont masonry business it's the name of belle of a belmont man who became a celebrity for his wealth of historical knowledge about the town he grew up in richard b bets born on august seventeenth nine hundred twenty seven son of the late mr and mrs charles  passed away peacefully on january thirtieth betts was officially dubbed town historian by the selectmen in one thousand nine hundred eighty four he will not only be remembered for this position but also as the author of many books about belmont's history his years of service to the town engineering department as an employee for more than forty four years and as the town engineer from one thousand nine hundred seventy three to nine hundred eighty seven a long time town meeting member from one thousand nine hundred eighty seven to twenty twelve planning board member for twelve years and its chairman for six years past president and board member of the belmont historical society and editor of its quarterly newsletter original chairman of the belmont historical commission and member and volunteer for the all saints church in belmont irene two thousand and sixteen town census and license pets every household in belmont has been mailed a census form to confirm who lives at each address in addition the data returns from the census help to make accurate voting lists voters who do not return the census by june first are by law made inactive and must show it down to fit cation with their address when they go to vote funny enough being made in active is entirely the result of returning the census not whether you vote included in the census mailing is a pet license application for use by owners of dogs and cats licensing for two thousand and sixteen is currently underway and must be completed by march fifteenth to avoid increased fees and fifty dollars violations jonathan also up on begun to help pay equity as twenty zero zero seven the senate thirty seven approved and sent to the house a bill that would strengthen the bay state's pay equity law by closing the wage gap between men and women doing the same job the measure requires that women be paid equal pay for comparable work establishes pay transparency for hits screening of perspective employees based on salary history requires fairness and hiring practices and increases fines for violations supporters said it is far past time to approve this istar bill and noted women comprise fifty percent of the workforce yet make only eighty cents for every dollar earned by men they argue that if the proposed law is not approved the gender wage gap in massachusetts will not close on its own until twenty fifty eight lobster's asked for sixty nine the senate thirty six to none approved and sent to the house a bill that would eliminate some of the age old instructor restrictions on the processing and sale of lobster in massachusetts currently the state allows only the sale of live cooked and canned lobsters the bill or permit the processing of unfrozen lobsters the importation of frozen shell on lobster parts and tails and the retail of previously frozen raw in shell ta supporter said the bill would allow more lobsters currently harvested and purchased here to be prepared for market in the bay state rather than in canada where the processing is currently done they argue this will help the economy create jobs and help lobsterman processors local restaurants and food stores marian beacon hill rural college bobcat's an gun control house twenty one fifty another proposal the public safety and homeland security committees agenda was a measure prohibiting any city town or county from passing any gun control laws stop civil commitment of women house thirty nine fifty six governor baker signed into law a bill prohibiting the civil commitment of women facing substance abuse disorders to m framingham and instead providing addiction treatment services at shattuck and state hospitals make more disabled vets eligible for housing house thirty five forty seven the committee on veterans and federal affairs held a hearing on a bill that would make more disabled veterans eligible for public housing eligibility for public housing is based on income and there are limitations to the amount of income an applicant can have in order to qualify many disabled veterans are disqualified because their disability compensation exceeds the maximum income allowed current law allows local housing authorities to exempt a disabled veterans compensation over one thousand nine hundred dollars when calculating the income the bill would require the authorities to do so supporters said it is unfair that many disabled veterans are disqualified they noted these veterans were injured in the line of duty protecting the nation and should be eligible for public housing irene thank you for joining us for this episode of trucking news please join us next week