Environment

Watertown’s Tree Warden Receives Statewide Recognition

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Watertown’s Tree Warden received statewide recognition for his work. 

Chris Hayward, who serves as tree warden as well as the Conservation/Preservation Agent, received the 2017 Seth H. Swift Tree Warden of the Year from the Massachusetts Tree Wardens and Foresters Association. The Tree Warden of the Year Award recognizes a tree warden who exhibits leadership, dedication, and a commitment to the profession. The annual award is named in honor of longtime member and past president Seth “Swifty” Swift, who passed away January 1, 2004. Hayward, who has worked for the town for nearly 12 years, said he was honored to receive the award, which he noted is not given every year. “I was surprised,” Hayward said.

Government

LETTER: Why Watertown Should Not be a Sanctuary City

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I would like to take this opportunity to pass along my thoughts regarding the possibility of making Watertown a sanctuary city. As a lifelong resident of Watertown, I find this suggestion very troubling, totally illegal, and totally unnecessary. I am proud to be a second generation of Italian immigrants who came to make a better life in Watertown. My grandfather came to America in 1909, and the first thing he did was apply for my grandmother to come to this country legally. She was able to join him in 1913, legally, and they began living their dream.

Government

Watertown Man’s Petition Seeks to End Town’s Winter Parking Ban

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A Watertown man has started an online petition seeking to end, or at least alter, the town’s winter parking ban. 

Baylor Bennett put the petition on Change.org asking the Town Council and officials in charge of parking to end the ban that lasts from after Thanksgiving to the end of March. “No matter what the weather conditions there is no overnight street parking in the City of Watertown from late November to the first of April. This rule forces property owners and landlords to accommodate all vehicles on their property for four months out of the year,” Bennett wrote in the petition. He argues that bigger communities of Cambridge and Somerville do not have a permanent ban, and only ban people from parking on one side of the street during snow storms.

In the past, Watertown Public Works officials argued the ban is needed to make sure snow and ice can be removed from Watertown’s streets to allow fire trucks and other emergency vehicles to get through. Residents who do not have off-street parking must park in municipal lots, or find some other place to park during the winter months.

Ease Connect

Financial Commitments Made to Start Watertown TMA, More Needed for Shuttle

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The cost of getting the Watertown TMA (Transportation Management Association) up and running will be more than $150,000, but the shuttle would be an additional cost. Allison Simmons of Ease Connect, showed the members of the Ad Hoc Committee on Transportation the cost estimates Tuesday night, which include about $26,000 in upfront costs (incorporation, legal fees, creating a website and marketing), $100,000 in salary for the program manager, benefits, and the cost of running the office, and another $5,000 for ongoing marketing – a total of $158,000. All those costs, and the assessments, would go toward the creation and running of a TMA, but not for the cost of setting up and running a shuttle. The developments required to contribute to the TMA will also be required to help support the shuttle, however, Simmons added that the members of the TMA would only have to pay for the shuttle if it serves their development or complex. While it is agreed that Watertown residents will be able to ride the shuttles, what remains up in the air is whether they will have to pay to ride.

Government

LETTER: Council Would Overstep its Authority by Making the Town a Sanctuary City

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Open Letter to Honorable Watertown Town Council President and Councilors,

I’m writing to weigh in, as a Watertown Citizen, Taxpayer, and Voter on any possible measure that would declare Watertown a Sanctuary City or in anyway and or any measure that uses the Watertown Town Council as a partisan vehicle to make statements about Federal Immigration Policy. The Town Council is elected to govern Watertown. That being the case, its role is limited to municipal issues. While Public Safety and the actions of our Police Department fall within the purview of the Council’s authority, anything remotely connected for Federal Immigration Law or National Security is far beyond the scope of the Council’s Authority. Further passing proclamations, resolutions, or ordinances that make political statements, in order to appease partisan special interest groups, is nothing short of an abhorrent abuse of the Town Council’s time and the Town’s resources.

Government

State Sen. Brownsberger Hosting Discussion on Criminal Justice Reform

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On Saturday, March 11, Senator Will Brownsberger will cohost a discussion on criminal justice reform in Massachusetts with State Representative Dave Rogers and Belmont Police Chief Richard McLaughlin. The discussion will feature an overview of the broad agenda for criminal justice reform in the 2017-2018 legislative session, as legislators seek community feedback on the agenda and other criminal justice reform priorities. WHEN: Saturday, March 11 from 1-2:30 p.m.

WHERE: Belmont Town Hall Auditorium, 455 Concord Avenue, Belmont

Government

Developers Will Pay More for Shuttle, TMA When They Move Forward

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The $30,000 pledged by developers toward Watertown’s Transportation Management Association is just the start of the funding, said Assistant Town Manger Steve Magoon. A report of the Town Council’s Ad Hoc Committee on Transportation in February said that the owners of large commercial and residential projects had committed $30,000 towards the TMA. Magoon said this money will help establish the TMA, and once it gets going the members will pay more. “A big part of the work establishing a TMA is front loaded,” Magoon said. “It’s hard to get payments when there is not an organization yet.”

Environment

Removal of Trees in Watertown by Cambridge Has Been Halted

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The removal of trees in Watertown by the City of Cambridge has been stopped, and more assessment will be done before any others are removed. Cutting of trees along the Linear Path behind Town Hall and between Whites and Waverley avenues has drawn strong condemnation from many Watertown residents. The trees sit on top of land owned by the City of Cambridge, and which is above a pipe that supplies water to Cambridge. Town Council President Mark Sideris announced the halt of tree removals at Tuesday’s Town Council meeting. “Believe me, the Town, Town Administration and Town Council are very disappointed with the (City of Cambridge’s) actions and the method of communication with the Town,” Sideris said.