Government

Town Council Discussing Budget at Series of Upcoming Meetings

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Watertown Town Hall

The Town Council will hold three meetings over a the space of a week and will be voting on the Fiscal Year 2021 budget by the end of June. In a normal year, the Council would hold several meetings to hear from each Town department about the details of their budget. With the budget process delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the process will be shortened. Town Manager Michael Driscoll presented the budget to the Council on June 8, several weeks after it was originally scheduled to be submitted. The Town is projected to lose $4 million in revenues due to the economic impact of the Coronavirus (mostly from State Aid and local meals and hotel taxes).

Business

Watertown Restaurants Can Apply for Temporary Outdoor Seating as Part of COVID-19 Reopening

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Temporary outdoor seating will be allowed for Watertown restaurants as part of the COVID-19 reopening, with certain regulations including keeping seating at least six feet apart. As a way to allow Watertown restaurants to offer more seating as the reopen during COVID-19, the Town Manager announced that owners and managers can apply for temporary outdoor seating. Town Manager Michael Driscoll sent out the application on Thursday afternoon. The tables must remain at least six feet apart when diners are seated, and the take out area must be at least six feet from where seats are located. A five-foot path must be maintained on the sidewalk outside the restaurant to make them ADA handicap accessible.

Building for the Future

First in the State: Council Funds Building Two Net Zero Energy Schools; No Override

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The latest rendering of the new Cunniff Elementary School, with the solar array in the parking lot. The Town Council, Watertown School officials, designers and green energy advocates celebrated the completion of what looked like a pipe dream just a few years ago: building two schools that will create enough electricity to cover their energy needs, and pay for it without raising property taxes. Architect Scott Dunlap from Ai3 congratulated the Town for building the first Net Zero school in Massachusetts. The schools will also make other history. “They will be the first Net Zero elementary schools in New England,” Dunlap said.

Around Town

Second Vigil for Black Lives Draws Crowd, Some Controversy; Council Pres. Makes Statement on Issue

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Protesters at the Vigil for Black Lives in Watertown Square on Tuesday hold signs and wave at passing cars. A few hundred people came out. For the second week in a row, hundreds showed up in Watertown Square to remember George Floyd and protest against racial inequity. Tuesday’s event included a march to the Square, and also chalk drawings which became the focus of some disagreements. Also Tuesday, Town Council President Mark Sideris read a statement during the Town Council meeting supporting the protest, but adding that he did not support efforts to defund or cut funding to the Watertown Police Department.

CARES Act

UPDATED: No Layoffs in Watertown Budget Despite Projected Revenue Loss of $4 Million

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Watertown’s Town Hall. (This story was updated on June 15 at 9:06 am and corrected the number of ALS ambulances funded in the FY21 budget.)

No layoffs — that was the first highlight given by Town Manager Michael Driscoll when he presented the Fiscal Year 2021 budget on Tuesday night. This comes despite the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic — projected to cause a drop of more than $4 million in revenues for the Town government. The total budget would be $152.44 million, which is $2.5 million (1.69 percent) more than the FY2020 revised budget. The increase from FY2019 to 2020 was $5 million.

Government

Watertown Courts, Other Rec Facilities Remain Closed Despite Start of Phase 2

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The basketball courts at Casey Park are among the facilities that remain closed in Watertown even with the beginning of Phase 2 of the Governor’s reopening plan. Recreation Director Peter Centola had to turn away some disappointed people hoping to make use of Watertown’s basketball courts and other facilities that are allowed to open under Phase 2 of the Governor’s reopening plan. While Monday was the first day that many recreation facilities were allowed to reopen, Centola said that the ultimate decision lies with Town officials. “Courts, dog park, the spray park, all things said we were closed continue to be closed until you hear differently from the Town of Watertown,” Centola said. Centola said he has not heard when the other facilities will reopen.

Environment

Fixing Sinking Areas Part of Renovation Plans at Arsenal Park

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A drawing of the proposed renovation of Arsenal Park. This shows the 25 percent design plan, which the Conservation Commission approved in 2019. The areas of sinking are in the upper left corner, near the playground, the oval driveway and the pathways connecting them. Town officials set a goal of completing the renovations of Arsenal Park by the end of 2021, and part of the work that will be done will be to fix the sinking area of the park near the playground, driveway and parking lot. On June 3, the Conservation Commission saw a timeline that, if accomplished, would enable to project to be planned, bid and constructed by the end of the construction season in 2021.

Government

Town Manager Presenting Budget Monday, Council Voting on School Project Funding Tuesday

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The Town Council will consider approving the funds to build the new Hosmer and Cunniff elementary schools Tuesday night. Here is a rendering of what the new Hosmer will look like. The Watertown Town Council will have back-to-back meetings this week, beginning with the presentation of next year’s Town Budget on Monday, and then councilors will hear a presentation about and are expected to vote on the funding for the construction of the new Hosmer and Cunniff elementary schools. Budget Presentation

Town Manager Michael Driscoll will present the Fiscal Year 2021 Town Budget Monday at a special Town Council meeting that will begin at 6 p.m.

The budget had been scheduled to be presented in April, but was delayed due to the uncertainty of some of the Town’s revenue due to the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The budget meeting will be conducted online, and the public watch and participate in a number of ways:

Join the virtual meeting online at: https://watertown-ma.zoom.us/j/91777824276Join in audio-only mode on the phone — 877 853 5257 (TollFree) or 888 475 4499 (Toll Free) and enter Webinar ID: 917 7782 4276#Watch the meeting on WCATV (Watertown Cable AccessTelevision) on the air at Comcast Channel 99 or RCN Channel 13, and online at https://wcatv.org/government-channel/

Council Discusses School Projects

The $103.45 million in funding for to construct new schools at Cunniff and Hosmer elementary schools will be the main agenda item at Tuesday’s Town Council meeting.