Town Seeking Volunteers to Serve on Victory Field Renovation Committee

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After a two-year hiatus, the town will begin looking at renovating the track and tennis courts side of Victory Field, and Council President Mark Sideris seeks community members to serve on the committee. 

There will be nine members of the Ad Hoc Committee on Victory Field Renovations, including five people appointed to represent different parts of the community.

The one stipulation the committee must abide by is that the renovation will include a natural grass area inside the track, not artificial turf, because that was the biggest area of concern, said Sideris at Tuesday’s Town Council meeting.

Three members of the general public will be selected, including one direct abutter of the field, Sideris said. The two others will represent field users, but are not related to school athletics or youth sports, he added.

Additionally, there will also be one member representing Watertown youth sports groups who will be selected by the Council President. Another member of the Watertown Public Schools Athletics, and will be chosen by the Chairman of the School Committee, John Portz.

“This member could be an athlete, a member of the school administration or a member of the School Committee,” Sideris said.

The the other four members of the Victory Field Committee will be:

  • District C Town Councilor Vincent Piccirilli, who will serve as chair
  • Chair of the Committee on Human Services, Councilor Tony Palomba
  • Director of Recreation Peter Centola
  • Director of Community Development and Planning Steve Magoon, or his designee

A committee was to have formed in 2014, but the effort never got started. Those who applied must apply again, Sideris said.

Those interested in becoming a member of the committee should submit a letter or email of interest to the Town Council President stating why he or she should be appointed and what relevant area they would represent.

Sideris said: “I am looking to set up this committee as soon as possible so I am requesting submissions of letters of interest to be sent to me through the council clerk (mpronovost@watertown-ma.gov) by July 29, 2016.”

The mailing address is: Council Clerk, 149 Main St., Watertown, MA 02472.

2 thoughts on “Town Seeking Volunteers to Serve on Victory Field Renovation Committee

  1. I hope that Elodia Thomas, who led the earlier neighborhood group and organized participation in the preliminary conversation will be named to the committee. She happens to be an abutter, but spoke for many neighbors and users who want real community input into renovations. A strong process of community participation will lead to a strong assessment of user (and neighbor) needs, consideration of new ideas, a better project design, and more community buy-in. We are grateful that the message to maintain natural grass in the track infield is a basic part of the new discussion.

  2. Thank you for your endorsement Barbara. That truly means a lot to me. I have applied to serve on the committee. No matter what happens, I will continue to advocate for strong, inclusive, consistent community input across all age and interest groups, share information regarding ideas and concerns, and try to respond to all questions as they come up or find someone who can. Let’s all work together: reach out to each other, brainstorm, evaluate, have fun. Let’s strive for a field/park design that welcomes the entire community – our tots, our kids, our school and community sports groups, our families, our seniors – simply anyone who loves to walk/run the track, play tennis, enjoy a pick-up game, and/or have a place to sit and connect with neighbors. And when Victory Field Phase 2 is done, let’s throw a town-wide party and celebrate the field that belongs to everyone .

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