Government

Town Councilor Announces He Will be Stepping Down, Moving Out of Watertown

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Recently re-elected Town Councilor Michael Dattoli announced Tuesday night that he will be stepping down because he and his family will be moving out of Watertown. Dattoli, a Councilor-At-Large, will be resigning effective April 30, 2018. He won reelection last November. “This a surprise to many of you, but my wife Megan and I and my family – after very careful consideration – have a very exciting opportunity,” Dattoli said during he meeting. “The timing is very unexpected but for personal reasons, and there are many of them – and they are difficult, we are relocating out of Watertown.”

Government

Watertown’s Director of Public Buildings Brings Military Background to Town & Schools

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In her previous life, Watertown’s first Director of Public Buildings, Lori Kabel, made sure that our nation’s Air Force bases worked well and now she looks to do the same for the town’s schools and municipal facilities. Kabel, who retired as a lieutenant colonel from the U.S. Air Force, worked on 10 bases across the United States as well as places around the globe, including Iraq, Germany, Korea and the U.K.

While the scenery will be different, Kabel said her work will not be totally different. “This jobs ties with military very much because I was a civil engineer with the Air Force,” Kabel said. “So, I did building maintenance as well as construction management for the bases that I was assigned to – So very similar; a small town is a like a small base.” Kabel will play a big role in the oversight of the upcoming school building projects, known as Building for the Future, which will include renovating or rebuilding the three elementary schools as well as Watertown High School.

AirBnB

Town Mulling Over How to Handle Airbnb, Other Short-Term Rentals in Watertown

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The Town of Watertown does not allow short-term rentals, such as can be found on Airbnb or one of several other similar websites, but when you look up Watertown those websites dozens or even hundreds of potential rentals pop up on the map. 

Watertown officials are trying to figure out how to handle such rentals and, whether they are banned or allowed with certain conditions, the policy will need to be enforced. Wednesday night, the Department of Community Development and Planning held the first community forum to start diving into the complex issue. Town Council President Mark Sideris said that he believes the status quo is not working. “We have an issue we need to address and we can’t say we don’t want to do anything. It is going on now,” Sideris said.

Government

Town Officials Exploring Prohibiting Self Storage in Watertown’s Zoning

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The Town Council has started the process of prohibiting self-storage facilities in Watertown’s Zoning Ordinance. The move came after the Town Council approved a zoning change relating to self-storage facilities in January. At the hearing, which reduced the parking requirements from one spot per three storage units to one for every 10,000 sq. ft of gross floor area, some Councilors and several residents questioned whether this is the kind of business Watertown wants and where it should go. The parking change amendment came from the Watertown Department of Economic Development and Planning but was first requested by the owners of 80 Elm Street – a location where plans for a self-storage facility may be brought forward.

Government

Senator Brownsberger Seeks Applicants for Summer 2018 Internships

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State Sen. Will Brownsberger’s office announced he seeks applicants for Summer 2018 internships at the State House. The part-time, unpaid internships will be available in Senator Brownsberger’s State House office to students from the 2nd Suffolk & Middlesex district. A cover letter and resume should be sent to Andrew Bettinelli, at Andrew.Bettinelli@masenate.gov, or mailed to Senator William Brownsberger, State House Room 504, Boston, MA 02133. The application deadline is Friday, March 9, 2018. Interviews will be conducted in March and applicants will be notified of their status by Friday, April 13, 2018.

Government

Rep. Jonathan Hecht Holding Office Hours Twice in February

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State Rep. Jonathan Hecht will hold office hours twice in Watertown this February. Constituents are invited to meet with Representative Hecht at the following times and locations:
Wednesday, February 21, 5:00-6:00 p.m., Watertown Free Public Library, 123 Main St., Raya Stern Trustees Room
Monday, February 26, 8:30-9:30 a.m., Watertown Town Hall, 149 Main St., 3rd Floor hallway
Anyone unable to attend these office hours can call Representative Hecht at 617-722-2140 to schedule an appointment at another time.

Government

Find Out About Improvements to Public Transit Planned for Mt. Auburn Street

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The Town of Watertown will host a public meeting on planned improvements to public transit on Mount Auburn Street, including new technology for traffic signals and piloting a bus-only lane for the 71 and 73 buses on a stretch of the street. The Department of Public Works sent out the following information:

Please join the Town of Watertown for a Mount Auburn Street project meeting to discuss bus transit planning along the corridor. We will also discuss potential technologies and amenities that could be incorporated into the project to improve bus service and reliability for the more than 5,000 daily riders. At the meeting, we will touch upon an exciting joint bus rapid transit (BRT) pilot project with the City of Cambridge and the MBTA to improve Route 71/73 service between Belmont Street and Fresh Pond Parkway. Although the pilot project will proceed independent of our Mount Auburn Street Complete Streets project, we hope to use the results and data collected from the pilot to inform our design.

Community Preservation Committee

Council Subcommittee Crafting Rules for Appointing Community Preservation Committee

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{Updated Feb. 11, 2018 at 9:50 a.m., the method for appointing the statutorily required members of the Community Preservation Committee was corrected to be by the other members of the board on which they serve.}

The process for how the at-large members of the Watertown Community Preservation Committee has been hashed out by the Town Council’s Rules & Ordinances Committee over the past year, and a final recommendation will soon be going to the full Council for consideration. Five members of the CPC are mandated by the state Community Preservation Act law, and communities can add at-large members. Watertown’s CPC will have four at-large members. The Rules & Ordinances Committee has discussed this in prior meetings, and they sent it to the full Council for an opinion on who should appoint the four members.