Government

See How Much Watertown Water, Sewer Rates Could Rise Next Year

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The Town Council will decide the water and sewer rates for next year at its June 24 meeting, and they are proposed to rise. The proposed water rates would raise rates by 3.7 to 3.8 percent, depending on how much water is used. Service charges for meters will also rise 3.7 to 3.8 percent. Sewer rates will also rise, but not as steeply – between 2.8 and 2.9 percent. The one thing that will not be rising will be the fire charge.

Police/Fire

Police Log: Man Stole Cash from Co-Worker; Man Pulled off Bus, Arrested

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The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department. Arrests

June 9, 1:16 p.m.: Detectives spotted a man they knew to have a warrant out for his arrest getting on a bus on Arsenal Street. They stopped the bus and removed the man. The 31-year-old man from Watertown was arrested on a warrant from Charlestown District Court for a drug violation. June 9, 1:20 p.m.: Police arrested a 26-year-old Watertown man was arrested on domestic assault and battery charges.

Government

House Approves Rep. Lawn’s Bill to Extend Time to File Suits for Child Sex Abuse

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The Massachusetts House of Representatives voted to approve a bill sponsored by Watertown State Rep. John Lawn that will extend the statute of limitations for victims of child sexual assault to bring civil suits against abusers. The House vote was unanimous on Wednesday. Victims of child sex abuse now have an additional 35 years to file a civil claims against their abusers. They will now be able to do so until the age of 53. The statute of limitations has been three years.

Development

Residents Start Movement to Have a Moratorium on Development on Arsenal Street

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In the wake of the Planning Board’s decision to allow a seven-story garage to be built at the Arsenal on the Charles, a effort has started to put in a moratorium to halt large buildings going up, such as the garage. The Arsenal Street Corridor effort is lead by resident Marcia Ciro, who lives on a small side street of North Beacon Street, very close to the Arsenal complex. She said the town has already had large developments along Pleasant Street that have been unpopular with neighbors. In the flyer she handed out at the Watertown Comprehensive Plan meeting she wrote:
“The Chair of the Planning Board [John Hawes Jr.] state that the 79 ft. for the Arsenal seemed reasonable given they already approved 79 ft.

Around Town

Watertown Youth Coalition Hands Out Community Spirit Awards

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The Watertown Youth Coalition celebrated work done by a number of people this year by presenting them with “Community Spirit Awards.” On June 16, the awards were handed out to recognize people for going above and beyond to support youth and families in Watertown. Each year, the Watertown Youth Coalition (WYC), part of Wayside Multi-Service Center, asks the community to nominate people who:

Serve as a positive influence or mentor to a Coalition member or to others in the community
Have the courage to address challenging issues that affect youth and the community
Actively take steps to improve the Watertown community (in big and small ways)

This year, awards were presented to:

Dean Celesia, Kate Coyne, Patrick Dawson, Danielle DeMoss, Alice Elbakian, Judy Fallows, Mana Farhani, Pedro Figueroa, Michelle Foun, Raymond Fox, Friends of Watertown Music, Adrine Harutyunyan, Kelly Horan, Diane Murphy, Sabrina Nebiye, Meghan O’Connell, Tony Palomba, Elisa Portz, Watertown Education Foundation, Ashlee Wisniewsk and Elizabeth Wissler. The Watertown Youth Coalition thanked these awardees and the people that nominated them. “Watertown is a wonderful community with so many caring adults looking out for the interest of the youth living here!”

Charity

Watertown Middle School Seeks Help in Effort to Win National Contest

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Watertown Middle School’s project to fix up an old home economics kitchen has been selected as a semifinalist in a national competition and now organizers need help from businesses and people in the community. The school entered the Ultimate Neighborhood Give Back Challenge, in which projects from around the country compete to be selected to win a $50,000 prize to help make the project a reality. The money would be used to buy new appliances, counters and more to fix up an unused home economics kitchen. The updated kitchen would be used in the Integrated Life Skills program, which teaches students with special needs to be self-sufficient by focusing on personal responsibility, independence and appropriate interactions. One part of the program is learning to cook.

Schools

School Committee to Discuss Raising Athletic Fees

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The Watertown High School athletics budget could be well in the negative next year, so the School Committee will discuss increasing the athletic fee on June 25. The athletics budget for the middle and high schools combined is over $890,000, but the shortfall could be in the $100,000s. The School Committee will discuss athletic fees at the meeting on Wednesday, June 25 at 7 p.m. in the Watertown High School Lecture Hall. The agenda also includes reviews of the Fiscal 2104 and 2015 budgets, and a discussion of having the school budget reviewed by an independent auditor. To see the whole agenda, click here.

Development

LETTER: Group Concerned About Future of Arsenal Street After Planning Board Vote

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TO: Michael J. Driscoll, Town Manager; Steven Magoon, Director of Community Development and Planning; Honorable Town Council; Planning Board, and Zoning Board of Appeals
FROM: Concerned Citizens Group, Inc.
DATE: 6/18/14
It is disheartening to hear the recommendation on 6/11 for current Cresset-Hanover-WS plans to move forward to Zoning Board of Appeals for consideration. After many public discussions about “learning from Pleasant St” and not wanting homogeneous, long corridors, canyonization, and projects disconnected from the surrounding contexts, etc , in addition to all the good work put into drafting a new Comprehensive Plan, we are in disbelief. Concerned Citizens Group “CCG” continues our appeal for a coordinated effort between developers/owners, Planning/Zoning, and the neighbors. As you are aware, as part of our ongoing appeal to Town, we completed a vision statement for our neighborhood four years ago (see attached). By following a similar process modeled by Athena-Boylston Properties efforts on the Arsenal Overlay Development District, an overlay for the Watertown Square end of Arsenal St corridor could also be accomplished in short order.