Development

LETTER: Neighbors Have Requests for Proposed Athenahealth Project

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Re: AthenaHealth LLC and Arsenal on the Charles

We appreciate the Town Council’s delay on the vote for AthenaHealth’s proposal for changes to the AODD. We are assuming they have realized, like we have, that we need more details from them in order to make an informed decision. Any changes to the AODD should be considered with the future in mind: how will these changes affect Watertown’s ability to control what happens on that property while AthenaHealth owns it, as well as after they have gone. We hope AthenaHealth stays for the long term and works with the town in good faith, but businesses come and go, so we shouldn’t give away our rights to some determination on that property. To this end, we are asking the Town Council and relevant town departments to do the following:

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Police/Fire

Watertown Schools, Police, Fire to Discuss School Safety on Wednesday

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Find out about how the Watertown first responders would deal with an emergency at a school during the School Safety Parents Night. The Watertown Public Schools will host the event on Wednesday, Oct. 2 from 7 to 9 p.m. at Watertown Middle School. The panel that evening will include Superintendent Jean Fitzgerald; Jason Del Potro – WMS Assistant Principal and Chair of the district’s Critical Incident Team; Barbara Gortych, K-12 Coordinator of Guidance and Assessment; Watertown Police Lt. Daniel Unsworth; Watertown Police Sgt. George Demos and Watertown School Resource Officer Kerry Kelley.

Police/Fire

Watertown Police Bust Two for Allegedly Stealing a Car

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Watertown Police located a car reported stolen and arrested two women. Police received a report to be on the look out for a black Audi stolen from Boston. “An officer parked on Main and Church streets observed a black Audi on Church Street heading toward Main,” said Watertown Police Lt. Michael Lawn. The officer stopped the car and talked to the two women inside. “Both women refused to answer any questions about the motor vehicle,” Lawn said.

Development

East Watertown CVS Project on Next Planning Board Agenda

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The CVS/Pharmacy proposed to go at the corner of Mt. Auburn and Arlington streets is on the agenda for the Oct. 8 Planning Board meeting. Developers, Coolidge Square II LLC,  held a community meeting in August where many residents worried about the amount of traffic coming in and out of the new store. Others did not like the reconfiguration of the parking lot that would serve not only the CVS but also other businesses on the block such as the Mt.

Government

LETTERS: Two Write In Support of the Victory Field Phase 2 Project

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Watertown Recreation Director Peter Centola shared a couple of letters supporting the proposed renovation of the track area of Victory Field:

The Watertown High School Athletic Program has benefited greatly from the Victory Field Renovation Project. It has been two years since we first took the field on Thanksgiving Day versus Belmont. We have received many days of playability that we would never have had on the grass field at Victory. We have had very few cancellations due to poor weather. The number of athletes that use the field can be seen on a daily basis.

Elections

Find Out How Faire on the Square Goers Voted on the State Ballot Questions

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The Watertown Democratic Town Committee ran a straw poll at Saturday’s Faire on the Square to see people’s opinion on the four state ballot questions. The majority of respondents also supported the repeal of the Massachusetts Gaming Act and opposed the repeal of the state’s gas tax, said Steve Owen, chairman of the Watertown Democratic Town Committee. Participants were asked to vote “yes” or “no” on the four questions which will appear on this November’s ballot. Of 165 Faire-goers who participated, 69 percent indicated they would vote “No” on Question 1, which would repeal the state’s recently enacted gas tax.  Respondents overwhelmingly supported Question 2, the expanded bottle bill, with 77 percent voting “Yes” to a measure that would add a 5 cent deposit to water and juice containers.  Question 3, which would repeal the state’s 2011 Gaming Act, was supported by 66 percent of those polled. Question 4, which would guarantee earned sick time for all Massachusetts workers, was supported by a record 92 percent of respondents, according to the WDTC’s press release. “This is the sixth year we’ve done a straw poll at the Faire on the Square,” Owens said, “and we’ve never before had anything poll as high as the earned sick time ballot question.”

The poll is not a scientific one, but Owens said the winners of the Committee’s straw poll have gone on to win in Watertown four out of the previous five years.

Around Town

Faire on the Square Draws Big Crowd on Summer-Like Day

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Thousands turned out for the 15th annual Faire on the Square on a hot and sunny day in Watertown. 

Music, dancing groups and clowns and kept the attendees entertained on Saturday. Hungry patrons could choose from a wide variety of stands or from a fleet of food trucks. Community groups, businesses and non-profit organizations had plenty of free balloons, garb and more. Many beat the heat in the shade of the trees around the park next to Town Hall. Did you make it to the Faire?