The effort to create a new public park in Watertown received a boost on Tuesday when the City Council approved nearly $1 million to go toward the cost of improvements to the Walker Pond site.
The $990,000 will come from Community Preservation Act funds, raised from a surcharge on Watertown property taxes. The proposal was recommended by the Community Preservation Committee.
In 2022, the City of Watertown purchased the pond site, which used to be owned by Raytheon. City Manager George Proakis said money will help turn the site into public open space
“The Walker Pond project has been a key project to expand open space in Watertown,” Proakis said. “With the leadership of the Council, we were able to purchase this this parcel and preserve it for open space at a key moment in time.”
Marissa Mayo, chair of the Community Preservation Committee, described the plan for the property.
“It’s a beautiful natural space that we hope to really preserve in its current state, but enhanced with walkways, boardwalks, some recreational areas, but really just keep it as it is for the community,” Mayo said. “But in addition, we’re looking at woodland management and additional tree plantings and arbor care.”
Proakis added that while most of the new park would be for passive recreation, a children’s play areas and some for activities are planned.
The money would pay for a landscape architect to:
- Complete design development
- Produce construction drawings
- Prepare cost estimates
- Perform environmental services
- Subcontract a licensed site professional (LSP)
- Carry out conservation and wetland permitting
- Conduct bid services
- Perform community outreach and coordination and abutters and City stakeholders
Councilor John Gannon said he would often visit Walker Pond when he was growing up, and he remembers when Raytheon put a fence around it to stop the public from accessing it.
“So I’m truly glad that we’re going to be putting this right thing as a drill back into public use and wonderful public use,” Gannon said.
He asked what the timeline would be for construction of the new park. Michelle Moon, the City’s Open Space Senior Planner, said, “We anticipate that this will be about nine to 12 months, probably closer to the 12-month side. Once we hire the landscape architect to work on this design, and then we go back and apply for more funding, get approval, and then hire the contractor.”
The goal is to start construction in the fall of 2027, Moon said, so it would be finished in 2028.
Walker Pond would be Watertown’s first new park in decades, said Council Vice President Vincent Piccirilli. The process has been a long one.
“I remember February of 2016 going on a snowy tour around Walker Pond, saying, ‘If the CPA passes, which was on the ballot in November 2016, we could buy this land and turn it into a Watertown’s first new park since Arsenal Park in the ’80s,'” Piccirilli said. “And that seems like such a long time ago, 10 years ago, but here we are, getting close to the second step before the construction to make this happen, and it’s very, very exciting to be able to actually see a community come up with a vision and stick with it and do all the steps to make it happen.”
Councilor Emily Izzo, whose district includes Walker Pond, said the public is looking forward to a new park.
“I remember about a year ago, the first public meeting took place when it was about 100 degrees, and we did a tour around the pond before (the meeting),” Izzo said. “So, I’m excited. I know a lot of people in the community are excited to have this as an open, green, recreational space.”
The design came out of Phase 1 the Walker Pond project. Proakis said the City hired a landscape architecture team that held a number of community meetings before creating the preliminary design.
The money would cover about one-tenth of the total cost of the project. The CPC appropriated $738,750 from its Open Space Outdoor Recreation Reserve and $251,250 from the undesignated budget reserve.
The estimated cost of Phase 2 is between $8 million and $10 million, Mayo said. Proakis said the project has been added to the City’s Capital Improvement Program but with the funding source to be determined.
Moon said she will be applying for grants to cover some of the cost of Phase 2.
The Community Preservation Committee added conditions on the approval of the money.
“Due to the significant cost of this second phase, the CPC did impose the following conditions for funding: to reach out to a wide array of firms to ensure the architecture team selection process factors include design quality into their selection,” Mayo said. “Additionally, the grantee shall report to the CPC periodically throughout the design process and update the CPC and non-CPA funding sources when they’re available.”
The deadline for securing the funds for Phase 2 of Walker Pond is Dec. 31, 2026. Councilor Tony Palomba asked what would happen if the funds could not be raised by the deadline.
Mayo described Walker Pond Phase 2 as “evergreen.”
“If there was a prolonged wait to get funding, there would be a cost increase. But other than that, the plans and design would be transferable regardless of the year,” Mayo said.
The project cost includes a 10% contingency fund. City Council President Mark Sideris said that other City projects, including the construction of the new Watertown High School, had contingencies of 4% to 5%, and he is concerned that the Walker Pond Project had one double that percentage.
Moon said she based the project’s contingency figure on other park projects worked on by the City, and it accounts for inflation and delays. She also spoke with landscape architects who recommended a 10% contingency.
The City Council unanimously approved using $990,000 of Community Preservation Act funds on Walker Pond Phase 2.