to talking news we are delighted to have you with us listening to our presentation by members of the beat street center martha jonathan and marion here we will be reading local news and happenings from the community newspaper town under fire for poor water quality belmont arlington among municipalities struggling with aging infrastructure a federal report water bodies connected to the mystic river has put several towns necessarily negligent but in all cases unison about t's have been aware of the failed infrastructure for at least a decade said patrick heron deputy director of the mystic river watershed association in that ten years if i mean this is a pouty has not made meaningful progress it seems like they could be doing more the report issued by the environmental protection agency and carried out by the m y r w a gave exteriorly poor water quality grades to the wind broke and that belmont the alewife brook in belmont cambridge and millbrook in arlington according to heron the grades are based on the percentage of time the water body is in compliance with states winning and boating regulations and based on bacteria levels found in the water high rates of non compliance are predominantly from leaking sewage infrastructure that has not been addressed he said that infrastructure has been failing for decades there are very few surprises water quality in the streams and lakes has stayed consistent for the last ten years heron acknowledge the challenges municipalities face and one another pops up he said belmont's town administrator david kay said construction projects are very expensive and the town usually borrows money in yet the town's storm water system has been significant violation of the clean water act but the last three years and water quality violations also a rouse in two thousand and two thousand and seven according to the e p a the question remains are municipalities doing enough to address the enduring problem on a daily basis arlington's town engineer wayne shu a nod said the town's binns between nine hundred thousand and one point four million for a sewer system investigation planning program cayle said belmont spends three hundred thousand and eight out of it sewer enterprise fund for capital projects this is not included in construction cos this money is used to investigate and evaluate conditions and fight and project designs once a project is identified he said heron however believes the issue should be public services with limited funds have under invested in the infrastructure under our feet said karen the problem is that this infrastructure is not in the public eye instead hidden under our streets just this year belmont passed a four point five million proposition to  over ride with the majority of funds going to belmont's top ranked school system and level level one district we've already certificates could more than double under a bill pending on beacon hill state representative denise garlick democrat of needham is sponsoring a bill to establish a new secure vital registry trust fund which would pay for running and maintaining online records registry the registry which was approved through legislation in two thousand and ten will allow people to obtain digital copies of birth and death records online we don't have any money in the budget set aside for maintaining that system garlic said we've built the car but we don't have any fuel to keep it running under her bill the state would set a uniform fee for approximately twenty six dollars for obtaining birth and death records which are available in city and town clerks offices garlock said the size of the fee is open for discussion individual cities and towns currently set their own fees for birth and death certificates since two thousand and nine belmont is charged twenty dollars for each which is at the higher end in the commonwealth the average is roughly ten dollars according to thomas joyce an attorney representing the statewide town clerks association the association proposes the fee hike it's a tax in increase isn't it joyce asked rhetorically the town clerks i represent over thirty three hundred of them and over three hundred towns across the commonwealth they feel that legislators should take into consideration the fact that their constituents are going to see basically a one hundred sixty percent increase i think it is great that the public that the apartment of public health is doing improving access of health to life records but i don't support the approach that increases local fees and creates an administrative burden added state sen well brownsburg a democrat of belmont under the bill municipal governments would keep twenty dollars of every feed the remainder roughly six dollars from each transaction would be deposited into the new secure vital registry trust fund it will cost an estimated seven hundred fifty thousand dollars to run the electronic database of vital records next year without the online registry birth and death certificates can only be obtained in the city or town where a person was born or died or by mailing a request to the state registry among many potential issues joyce in belmont town clerk eleanor brian cushman said the law would put town clerks on the front lines of public criticism as be responsible for collecting fees for the commonwealth you're talking about a state service being provided that is being paid by the end user of that service directly to the clerks throughout the commonwealth joyce said marian bridge cleaning complete has lived and worked in belmont his whole life he has owned a landscaping business in the town for close to forty years own smoothies entre pella road and won three hundred games coaching the varsity hockey team at belmont so when the belmont citizens forum him to be part of a community project with the goal of cleaning up one of the more recognizable images of belmont the stone railroad bridge leading into belmont center he was more than happy to use his capabilities to help better the town the bridge was built in nineteen zero seven and has seen thousands of cars pass under and trains right over throughout its lifetime however the granite structure has been covered with more than a century's worth of dirt grime and mildew possibly never having been cleaned since its construction former selectman angelo firenze they had the idea to clean the bridge about seven years ago and asked the forum if they would raise the funds for the project which would be of no cost to the town the group's president grant monaghan said they love to do that type of work and were thrilled to be a part of it as the first part of the group's mission statement is to preserve and protect buildings objects open space and districts in the town of belmont that have historical architectural environmental our general cultural significance the efforts of angelo have really helped this become a reality most iole said it ever since then grant has driven the bus on this bear of a job the funds ended up taking at least five years together but with the help of the belmont center business association and the belmont savings bank among other large donors and the various smaller contributions by residents the group eventually reached its monetary goal estimated to be around thirty five thousand dollars the alliance  his machines and manpower from his landscaping business but also for his willingness to take part in town projects giving back to the community is an important part of my life and this town has always been good to me only what i really want from this project is to get the bridge cleaned up so it can be something we are proud of as a town he agreed to take on a now seven year venture it cost the  did not help speed things out according to monaghan as he said it was difficult to get its bureaucracy to focus on something it didn't otherwise have a need to focus on eventually the alliance learned that they needed to submit a specific application to clean the structure as well as extra insurance for the project police details and special permits for working there at night despite the absence of trains going by at that a need for barbecued food in belmont so as soon as he has the space at two eighty nine school street became available last october she made her move her intention was to open in january twenty fifth deem like there was a delay with her mentally due to a special good in the kitchen and the bad winter the target opening date was changed to may six however the restaurant still could not open because there was an unexpected fire on april eighteenth at jimmy's food mart another tenant in the same building the fire caused smoke damage to the restaurant destroyed some of the restaurant inventory stored in the basement and caused the gas line to the building to be  connected june twenty ninth and set her opening date for us that did lie eight two and a half months later than see originally hoped it was very frustrating calling and calling and no one would turn in my call said sasser at in reference to national grid who she discovered did not request a permit from the town to reconnect the gas line which is what caused the delay in the connection and her restaurant opening the vest john's head chief is or has been a nun though antonio bandit which is where the tony and the restaurant names comes quincy jonathan talk of new stations begins by bram berkowitz for those are go to work early in belmont the chaotic days that begin on the platforms of the waverly square and belmont center commuter r stations could be numbered after speaking with massachusetts bay transportation authority officials state senator william brown's byrd democrat belmont wrote in a blog post earlier this month but the  choose to close both of belmont's current commuter rail stations and construct a new station somewhere on pleasant street a rendering of dan by the citizen herald shows a new station could be targeted near one thousand pleasant street the potential project is largely because the current stations failed to comply with the american disabilities act recently m b t a management drew  attention that the state architectural access board the a b has ordered the m b t a a to improve access to the waverly square commuter rail station wrote brownsburg the a b s determined that recent improvements to waverley station trigger an obligation to make the station accessible under state disability access last doctors can remain inaccessible indefinitely but if an owner improves a public facility substantially then they need to make it accessible brownsburg are said it would cost thirty five million dollars to make the waverley station accessible roughly the same cost to build an entirely new accessible station it's a major construction effort including work to design and build multiple elevators and a full high level train platform m b t a spokesman joe pesaturo said brown's burger said the project would not require any expenditure from belmont at the end and that the m b a t i has the final say on the matter the m b t is respectful of the legislature and respectful local citizens he said it's hard to imagine the m b t a taking property from the town in an unfriendly way although disability access is at the core of the issue brows of murder suggested that the m b t has always shown interest in the project because reducing stations could potentially accelerate  and service in the fitchburg line which is among the oldest and slowest in the state additionally the waverley and belmont center stations have been poor ridership rates in recent years marion upcoming recycling and paper shredding event belmont residents will have the chance to recycle textiles bulky rigid plastics styrofoam electronics and shred paper from now on am to one p our tobar twenty fourth at the town yard thirty seven c street participants are asked to note that the listed recyclables the only items that will be accepted residence should follow the recycling instructions for each type of item textiles textiles must be dry and clean includes clothing linens footwear purses belts and stuffed animals items can be ripped and stained and acceptable items include carpets rugs oil rags mattresses and wet are mildewed items bulky rigid plastics these are best defined by formed or molded plastic that maintains that shape when empty and unsupported and are too large to fit in your recycling bin examples are trash barrels laundry baskets toys crates pet carriers and want furniture an acceptable include p v c pipe final fencing motor oil containers shopping bags grocery bags stretch film garden hoses and pesticide or herbicide containers expanded polystyrene foam this item is commonly known by its brand name styrofoam and can be recycled but not curbside any foam that has the recycling symbol six in the triangle with p s underneath it will be accepted if it is clean and has no tape label or cardboard attached packing peanuts are now accepted but must be bagged separately from other foam other recyclables e p a s items include foam egg cartons white insulation board rinsed cups rinsed meat and prod to stray as and coolers electronics there will be a fee for some items that must be paid by check anything with a plug excluding large appliances air conditioners refrigerators of any size gas yard and power equipment excepted items small appliances wires cables power tools light fixtures hard drives keyboards printers copiers stereos speakers  scanners i pods computer gaming console and cellphones computer monitors t v and laptops can be recycled for a fifteen dollars fee paper shredding limited to five boxes and want to documents are shredded onsite voluntary cash donations are accepted to benefit the belmont food pantry for this service usable eyeglasses the belmont lion's club will collect usable i class as far it's recycled for site program bucks hard and soft cover books and audio books movies music game and belmont business owner adele donnegan thirty three lived in england for ten years and enjoyed the british tradition of afternoon tea and scums when she and her husband jeff started a family she was looking for a business she could do from home and decided to put her influence from men than to work by founding a catering service for tea parties since starting her business vintage tea and cake three years ago donna going to has grown from a one woman operation in her home to a nine hundred square foot  storefront belmont street in belmont with two part time employees walking into her store is like walking into an upscale t sat alone in england including she lves of delicate colorful fine bone china tea cups tea pots and dessert plates lining the walls tea cup well paper and even  european style textile flaw this is to vintage t and kate well it so be greeted by the fragrances of fresh baits guns such as blueberry or  them and poppy as well as and fresh brewed tea and coffee that bell noncitizen herald recently had the opportunity to learn more from donnegan about her business parties evoke elegance of a time zone gone by but with that temporary twists jonathan taxis seek even playing field by berkowitz dressed in a black suit sandro matthew sat for selectman aug seventeenth anxiously awaiting a decision on his pending taxi license matthew initially hoped his license would have been approved two months earlier when he first approached the board but because the town's bylaws requires driver to howe's their vehicles in belmont matthew who lives in brookline had to go out and sign a one year lease to park as vehicle in town which he says will cost three thousand dollars before this matthew had to purchase a business or to figure out from the town of brookline because that is where he will conduct his business affairs from and his company name is different than his own after an approximately half hour conversation the selectmen granted matthew his license matthews journey as a representative of barriers mr polities place upon taxi drivers that do not apply to ride sharing companies like  municipalities could be doing a lot more they should be saying that over you're a dispatch service and if anybody is going to put a car on the road they need to work or fill it with you said donna blith shaw who sits on boston mayor marty walsh as taxi advisory committee and is also representative of the boston taxi drivers union the taxi industry is not going to survive recently selectman passed a six month taxi licenses so that they could look at the current taxi regulations which were enacted that cade's ago the board indicated they will look at the number of licenses given out and how much each license would cost however any limit on taxi licenses is not likely to address and other ride sharing drivers doing business in belmont according to carly way will hand over spokesman although time varies a person can become a driver in a matter of days once their driver they can operate at any time in any town in the state regardless of for they reside she said at a previous meeting that blith show attended she said it is close to having roughly ten thousand partner drivers operating operating in the metropolitan boston area since ride sharing companies launched in boston in two thousand and twelve the taxi industry has long blamed companies like which connect people looking for rides with their partner drivers through various apps for performance struggles belmont taxi the biggest and up until recently the only taxi company in town has been hit hard owner louis too shallow set  a slick them cyclons meeting in june that business is off twenty five to thirty percent between a combination of higher operating costs and an unregulated services like oberg at the meeting selectman approve the company's first rate increase in eight years one regulated ride sharing companies have been a hot topic in the state and the massachusetts legislature is introduced a bill that require drivers from companies like car up to a one million dollar liability insurance and undergo background checks through massachusetts criminal offender record information cori system among a number of other permitting measures ride sharing companies have come out in support for the bill maher him belmont gallery of art exhibit celebrates ten year anniversary the belmont gallery of art located in the homer municipal building nineteen more street belmont well preset its ten year anniversary exhibit from september twenty fourth to october thirtieth the exhibit will celebrate the gallery's first ten years as well as the artists who have been a part of the gallery a special rich reception and dinner will be held a job or fifteen for more information belmont gallery dot org martha  belmont media center at ten years of service that belmont media center will celebrate its tenth year of service at six fifteen pm are over twenty ninth at the c well also look back at b a m c on the air and peek into the future marian ryan director attorney for middlesex county will be the keynote speaker at the event it's open to the public and a ten dollar donation will be accepted seating is limited to r s v p s patt at belmont media org thank you for joining us for this episode talking news please join us next week