Around Town

Mass. Gov. Bans Gatherings, Over 25, Makes Restaurants Take-Out Only & Closes All Schools

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Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker announced some sweeping steps to try to control the outbreak of Coronavirus in Massachusetts Sunday evening, including limiting the size of gatherings, allowing restaurants only to serve take out meals and closing all the schools in the state. During the press conference he said there are no plans currently to have residents shelter in place to stop the spread of COVID-19. He did stress that people should only gather in small groups, according to a report on WCVB Channel 5. “These gatherings include all community, civic, public, leisure, faith-based events, sporting events with spectators, concerts, conventions and any similar event or activity that brings together 25 or more people in single room or a single space at the same time. This includes venues like fitness centers, private clubs and theaters,” Baker said.

Around Town

Watertown’s Winter Parking Ban Lifted Early

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The winter parking ban in Watertown has been lifted a few weeks early, due to the mild weather. At Tuesday’s Town Council Meeting, Town Council President Mark Sideris requested that Town officials consider lifting the on-street parking ban due to run through the end of March because of the warm weather, which was forecast to continue. On Friday, Watertown Police Chief Michael Lawn announced the suspension of enforcement of the parking ban. He released the following statement:

Police Chief Michael Lawn would like to inform you that Watertown will lift enforcement of the all night parking ban effective Saturday, March 14, 2020. The Department of Public Works, Police Department and Fire Department would like to remind motorists that keeping the streets clear allows for road repairs, street cleaning and easy access for public safety vehicles.

Coronavirus

Town Closing Library, Senior Center, Rec Dept Until Late March in Response to Coronavirus

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In an effort to stop the spread of the Coronavirus, the Watertown Library, the Senior Center will be closed and all Recreation Department activities will be cancelled, Town Manager Michael Driscoll announced Friday afternoon. Town Hall will remain open. Driscoll spoke at a special School Committee meeting held Friday afternoon. This follows Thursday’s announcement that the Watertown Public Schools will be closed through March 27. While the Senior Center will be closed from Friday, March 13 to the end of March for activities and exercise programs, some senior services will continue.

Athletic Fields

Council Debates How Strong Lights at Filippello Field Should Shine, Who Controls Them

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Filippello Park’s two athletic fields, picnic area, playground and more draw lots of visitors. The Town Council heard about the proposed project to add lights to one athletic field at Filippello Park and to replace them on another field, and they debated whether they should have the capability to shine stronger for higher level of competition. Currently, there are lights at the softball field, near the Grove Street side of the East End park, but the soccer field near Arlington Street have no illumination. The plan presented by contractors CDM Smith called for putting new lights up on both fields, with the ones on the Grove Street softball field stronger than those for the Arlington Street Field. At a future meeting, the Town Council will be asked to consider a $900,000 loan order to cover most of the $1.3 million projected cost of the lighting project, which also includes replacing the scoreboard and backstop at the Grove Street Field.

Ed Markey

U.S. Rep. Clark Attends Watertown Dems Event, Delegates to Support Sen. Markey

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Congresswoman Katherine Clark appeared at the Watertown Democratic Town Committee Caucus at Hosmer School on Sarturday. The following information was provided by the Watertown Democratic Town Committee:

On Saturday, March 7, 2020, Watertown Democrats held a caucus, electing delegates to the Massachusetts Democratic Party’s May 2020 nominating convention in Lowell. Congresswoman Katherine Clark kicked off the event, telling the 150 assembled Democrats about her efforts to hold the Trump administration accountable. The caucus was organized by the Watertown Democratic Town Committee. “In 2020, Democrats are energized and ready. We will expand and strengthen our grassroots infrastructure to defeat Donald Trump and elect a Democratic House and Senate this November,” said Committee Chair Steve Owens.

Around Town

Watertown Officials Start Preparing to Respond to Coronavirus

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A hand sanitizer dispenser has been placed outside the Town Council Chamber as one of the responses to the Coronavirus in Massachusetts. While there are no cases of the Coronavirus in Watertown, the Town’s Emergency Team met Tuesday to discuss ways to respond to the Coronavirus in Watertown. The town has already begun posting information about ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19 (the Coronavirus) in town buildings, and a liquid hand sanitizer dispenser and a sign saying “Keep Calm and Wash Your Hands” were placed outside the Town Council Chamber before Tuesday’s meeting. At Tuesday’s Town Council meeting, Town Manager Michael Driscoll read statements from Director of Public Health Larry Ramdin and Fire Chief Bob Quinn. Ramdin stressed there are no cases of COVID-19 in Watertown, but added that on Tuesday, Gov. Baker declared a state of emergency in Massachusetts due to the Coronavirus.

Government

Residents Can Take Survey on Town’s Priorities for Spending & Preparedness

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The Town of Watertown put out a survey called Resilient Watertown, in which people can rank their priorities for how the town should be addressing issues such as the infrastructure, transportation and preparation for extreme weather. The online survey asks people to rank their priorities, where they would like to have the town spend money and how well they think various services are being handled in Watertown (such as transportation, bike and pedestrian safety and public infrastructure). The survey also has information about how to sign up for programs to alert residents in emergencies, or for information put out by the town. These include the WatertownAlert App and the Notify Me program on the Town’s Website. Click here to take the survey: https://resilientwatertown.metroquest.com/

Around Town

Proposal for Filippello Park Lights to be Heard at Town Council Meeting

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Filippello Park’s two athletic fields, picnic area, playground and more draw lots of visitors. The proposal to put lights on both playing fields at Filippello Park will be presented to the Town Council on Tuesday night. The presentation will be made at the Council meeting, which begins at 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday, March 10. The vote on approving the funding for the project will be made at a future meeting, said Town Council President Mark Sideris. The proposal calls for replacing the existing lights on the Grove Street Field with LED lights on seven poles, and installing LED lights on four poles on the Arlington Street Field.