Government

Joint Town, Athenahealth Improvements to be Discussed by Town Council

By |

The public is invited to a Special Town Council Meeting to discuss a set of improvements proposed jointly by the Town and Athenahealth. The meeting will be held on Thursday, June 29 at 6 p.m. in the Council Chambers in Town Hall, 149 Main St., Watertown. The proposed work would be part of the I-Cubed program, in which a developer – in this case Athenahealth – bonds money from the state to pay for the infrastructure and teams with public entities – the Town of Watertown and the Department of Conservation and Recreation – to do the improvements. The bonds will be paid by the increased tax revenue going to the state from Athenahealth’s campus expansion and the additional jobs it will create. None of the money can be spent on Athenahealth’s property.

Election 2017

Decision Made on How to Fill Vacant School Committee Seat

By |

The School Committee will have an open seat when one of its members moves out of town, and the seat will be filled by a special election that will be on the ballot during this fall’s Town Election. 

In May, School Committee member Candace Miller announced she would be stepping down from her seat because she and her family are moving. She told her colleagues on June 5, and submitted her letter of resignation to the Town Clerk that week saying she will officially step down on Aug. 5. The decision of how the remaining 2 years and two months is made by the Town Council. Tuesday night Council President Mark Sideris recommended that a special election be called.

Government

Public Invited to Meeting About Redesigning Mt. Auburn Street

By |

Find out about the redesign of Mt. Auburn Street and give your input during a joint meeting of the Town Council’s Public Works subcommittee and the Bicycle & Pedestrian Committee. 

The meeting will be held on Monday, June 19, 2017 at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers in Town Hall, 149 Main Street, Watertown. The project got mixed reviews when it was discussed in December 2016. The Department of Public Works sent out the following information:
The Watertown Department of Public Works will provide an update focusing on options for bicycle accommodations on Mount Auburn Street. The project team will welcome public comments on the bicycle accommodations before we refine the preliminary design of the project.

Government

Hearing on Trees Set to be Removed Scheduled for June 15

By |

Watertown Tree Warden Chris Hayward announced a meeting to discuss trees that are scheduled to be removed in Watertown. 
The meeting was originally scheduled to be held on Tuesday, June 13. The hearing has been rescheduled to Thursday, June 15, 2017 at 11:30 a.m. It will be held in the 3rd Floor Meeting Room in the Administration Building located at 147 Main St. Please see the attached agenda for more information. TREE Hearing List

Location

DBH

Type of Tree

Common/Spring St. Delta

8”

Chinese elm

291 Arsenal St

6”

Honeylocust

291 Arsenal St

6”

Honeylocust

330 Arsenal St

10”

Bradford pear

330 Arsenal St

11”

Bradford pear

330 Arsenal St

9”

Bradford pear

45 Robbins Road (on Orchard St)

32”

Norway maple

4 Orchard St

23”

Norway maple

58 Robbins Rd (on Orchard St)

22”

Norway maple

Hayward said that people do not need to attend the Tree Hearing to be heard.

Amstel Heritage

New Project Proposed on Pleasant Street with 58 Residential Units and Commercial Space

By |

A community meeting will be held for a commercial and residential development proposed for a thin piece of land on Pleasant Street currently occupied by a parking lot and warehouse. 

The meeting for the project at 385 Pleasant Street will be held on Monday, June 26 at 6:30 p.m. at the Community Room in the Watertown Police Station, 552 Main St. According to the project narrative submitted by developers Amstel Heritage LLC, the project includes five new buildings on the current parking lot near the intersection of Pleasant Street and Rosedale Road, plus the existing warehouse. The site backs up onto properties along Waltham Street. In addition, a small public park will be built where Pleasant and Waltham Streets converge at Rosedale Road. The residential component includes 58 units.

Government

Discussions for Renovation of Arsenal Park to Start Soon, See One Possible Addition

By |

With all the changes coming to the Arsenal Mall, the park next door will also see some changes. Town officials will soon begin discussing how to renovate Arsenal Mall, and the changes could include the relocation of a small piece of the historic Arsenal. During a community meeting about the second phase of the Arsenal Yards project Watertown Senior Planner Gideon Schreiber said that discussions about the park will begin soon. “On June 21 there will be a meeting with an internal (town) group and abutters to discuss the process,” Schreiber said. Following that meeting, there will be public meetings to discuss changes to the park.

Arsenal Street

See MassDOT’s Recommendations for Improvements to Arsenal Street

By |

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation has released a draft of the report and recommendations for improving the Arsenal Street Corridor, and officials will host a meeting later in June to discuss the report with the public. 

The report made for MassDOT by consultants from VHB, includes improvements to vehicular, transit, bicycle, and pedestrian uses of the corridor, “with a targeted focus on enhancements to bus service along Arsenal Street and locations where the bus service ties into other crossing bus routes,” according to the MassDOT announcement. Click here to see the draft Final Report. The meeting will be held on Thursday, June 22 starting with a presentation at 6 p.m. and an open house from 7 to 8 p.m. The meeting will be in the Watertown Savings Bank Room at the Watertown Free Public Library, 123 Main St. In the draft final report, MassDOT officials write that the recommendations would require “a significant investment in potential transportation-related infrastructure.” “These projects represent an investment in total that currently far exceeds available funding as presently programmed.

Government

Board of Health Considering Making New Tobacco Rules After Hearing from WHS Students

By |

After hearing about research collected by some Watertown High School students, the Watertown Board of Health will look at possible changes to the town’s tobacco regulations. The students are Watertown Youth Coalition Peer Leaders – a program of the Wayside Multi-Service Center – and also take part in a statewide movement of youth fighting tobacco in their communities, said Dawn Graham, media and prevention specialist with Wayside. As part of the statewide anti-tobacco effort, called The 84 Movement, the students mapped where tobacco retailers are in town, and their proximity to schools, parks and places where teens hang out. “They found that there are more tobacco retailers in Watertown than there are schools, parks, and other teen hangouts combined,” Graham said. “They were concerned to see that most places teens spend time – including Watertown High School – are less than a 5 minute walk away from a retailer and that there is currently no cap on the number of retailers that can be in Watertown.”