The Fourth of July Week is not all about vacations and beaches. Town and Watertown School officials have a few meetings that could be important to you.
Transportation Projects
Tuesday night the Town Council’s Transportation subcommittee will discuss two major transportation proposals – the Transportation Demand Management policy and the Transportation Management Association.
Transportation Demand Management is a proposed policy to require new developments to reduce the number of people commuting alone in cars. The policy has five main components:
- Threshold for requiring a TDM
- Traffic management targets
- What does the program achieve
- Monitoring the progress after implementation
- Consequences for not meeting the targets
The issue was first discussed in April, and details will be discussed at the meeting.
Also, the Transportation Management Association, which will likely include a shuttle, will also be touched upon at the meeting. There was a major presentation at the last Transportation subcommittee meeting, which included potential shuttle bus routes to Harvard Square.
The meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 5 at 6 p.m. in the Council Chamber in Town Hall, 149 Main St.
School Enrollment Policies
On Wednesday, the School Committee’s Policy Subcommittee will meet to discuss a few policies: the district opioids policy, the enrollment policy and changing the Athletic Subcommittee to a Student Development Subcommittee.
The enrollment policy will play a big role in controlling class sizes during the 2016-17 school year. The School Committee asked Superintendent Jean Fitzgerald to freeze placements for new elementary school students over the summer. There have been proposals to close Cunniff School to new enrollment. The school is the smallest in town and had very large classes in fourth grade last year due to mid-year move ins.
The meeting will be held on July 6 at 4 p.m. in the Innovation Lab on the third floor of the Phillips Building, 30 Common St.
Following the Policy Subcommittee will be the next meeting of the Steering Committee of Master Planning Design Process. The group is working on long-term plans for upgrading schools to handle the growing number of students and provide a modern education to Watertown students. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. in the Innovation Lab.
Techies
For those interested in technology, the Town Council’s Technology subcommittee will discuss changes to the Town of Watertown’s website on Thursday, July 7 at 6:15 p.m. in the Council Chamber in Town Hall.