Watertown News (https://www.watertownmanews.com/author/cbreitro/page/995/)
All,
If you move next to vacant or underutilized industrial property you should not be surprised if the site gets redeveloped! I am NOT in favor of a one-year moratorium on the Arsenal Street redevelopment. I am in favor of reasonable refinement of the projects planned based on the Pleasant Street experience gained. Step-backs with height limitations are important. I have lived in Watertown for 25 years now.
Space is running low at Watertown’s Ridgelawn Cemetery, but there are some options for opening more space. Public Works Superintendent Gerald Mee said the cemetery has 3-5 years left before filling the currently available spaces. More space can be freed up, but it will take some work, he told the Town Council recently. “We could take some roadways out and add cemetery space,” Mee said. There is also a section near the Waltham line which has not been opened for burials, he said, but they might have some water projects in the near future, Mee said.
With a tide of development hitting Watertown, a Town Council subcommittee will discuss creating transition zones between industrial areas and residential neighborhoods. Councilor Aaron Dushku made the motion to analyze and look at creating residential transition zones at last week’s Town Council meeting. The council approved the motion and the issue will be discussed by the Economic Development and Planning subcommittee. The town is in the midst of creating a Comprehensive Plan to help shape the town in the future, but Dushku said he does not think that it has fine enough detail for things such as neighborhoods. “We [the Council] got such pushback over the last few years from Pleasant Street residents, that this has been on my mind,” Dushku said in an email.
Come share your thoughts about the draft of the Watertown Comprehensive Plan, specifically the Land Use section of the plan, on Monday, June 30. Town Councilor Tony Palomba sent out the following announcement about the meeting:
You are invited to a meeting to discuss the draft Comprehensive Plan and development in Watertown on Monday, June 30 from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM in the auditorium at the Apartments at Coolidge School, 319 Arlington Street in Watertown. Parking is available at the back of the complex. The discussion will focus on the Land Use chapter of the Comprehensive Plan, the developments pending on Arsenal Street, and the moratorium recently initiated by a citizen petition. It would be greatly appreciated if those planning to attend had read all or part of the draft Comprehensive Plan before the meeting. You can find the Plan on the Town’s website at http://www.vhb.com/watertowncompplan/.
The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department. Arrests
June 16, 9:20 p.m.: A 35-year-old Waltham man was arrested on a charge of domestic assault and battery. June 19, 12:33 p.m.: Target security spotted a woman take several items and tried to leave the store. The merchandise was worth $67.97. The 38-year-old woman from Clinton was arrested on a charge of shoplifting.
Summer is here and enrollment is now open for the Watertown Boys and Girls Club summer camp and other activities! Summer Adventure 2014 – Applications for campers ages 7-13 and Junior Camp Leaders ages 14-16 are available on the Boys and Girls Club website at: www.watertownbgc.org/programs/. This year, Summer Adventure will travel to Camp Hale in Westwood for six weeks, and Camp Chickami in Wayland for two weeks. Both camps offer swimming, hiking, archery, arts and crafts, athletics and more! We also offer Trip Week August 25–28.
After a long and detailed look at the Watertown Public Schools budget this year left Town officials with questions, an outside auditor will be hired to look at the school budget – particularly the special education portion. The rising cost of special education this year concerned Town Councilors. School officials said the district had an unusual number of new students move in with high-cost special needs, plus the town has had a spike in students who need special needs services. Part of this was due to the students who lived near the area of the shootout with the Boston Marathon Bombing suspects having emotional problems. (Read more here). After the Fiscal 2015 was approved, the Town Council voted unanimously to approve Town Manager Michael Driscoll’s request to hire a third-party auditor to examine the school budget.
Watertown’s very own Hollywood star will be moving back to the area, so look for Eliza Dushku around her hometown! Dushku told the Boston Globe that she is heading back to Watertown after breaking up with her longtime beau and former NBA player Rick Fox. (See the Globe story here)
She has purchased a condo in the area and may be going back to school, Dushku told the Globe. Know for her roles in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Dollhouse,” Dushku is filming a movie at a former psychiatric hospital in Michigan this summer (find out more here). She graduated from Watertown High School and has family in the area still, including her mother, a former Suffolk University professor, and brother Aaron, who is on the Watertown Town Council.