Watertown News (https://www.watertownmanews.com/category/government/page/2/)
Charlie BreitroseWatertown residents cast their ballots at Watertown City Hall. The General City Election will be Nov. 4, 2025. Residents planning to run for elected office in Watertown in 2025 will be able to take out papers in the beginning of June, and will have to get the signatures to the City Clerk by mid-July to run in the 2025 City Election, which will take place on Nov. 4.
City Council President Mark Sideris speaks with Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll at the Climate Leader Communities event held in Watertown on May 2. (Courtesy of the DOER)
Watertown’s efforts to promote energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gases were recognized by the State on Friday. The Healey-Driscoll Administration held the celebration of the state’s first 19 certified Climate Leader Communities outside the “crown jewel” of Watertown’s green efforts: the net-zero energy high school now being constructed on Columbia Avenue. The Climate Leader Communities program encourages municipalities to lower municipal emissions, maximize the efficiency of buildings and transportation, and slash energy costs. CLC certified communities can apply for grants of up to $1.15 million for projects that reduce municipal emissions.
The Community Preservation Committee will host its annual Public Hearing on June 26, 2025. See details in the announcement from the City of Watertown, below. Don’t miss the CPA Annual Public Hearing hosted by the Community Preservation Committee (CPC). You may also join the hearing and meeting remotely via Zoom: https://watertown-ma.zoom.us/j/91525442843. Save the Date: CPA Public Hearing, Thursday, June 26, 2025, 7 p.m..
Tony Palomba seeks re-eleciton as Town Councilor At-Large. City Councilor At-Large Tony Palomba announced he will host a pair of meeting with the public. See the announcement below. Please join me at one of my Councilor Annual Meetings. Each councilor is required to hold at least one community meeting annually. This is required of our City Charter. I have chosen to hold two meetings in order to give the residents of Watertown a couple of options.
The meetings will be on Wednesday, April 30 from 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM and again on Thursday, May 1 from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM. Both meetings will take place in the Mastrangelo Room on the second floor of the Watertown Free Public Library. There is no formal agenda nor will there be a formal presentation.
The Human Rights Commission & Affordable Housing Trust are hosting an event in response to the recent West Metro Homes Consortium report which found housing discrimination present in Watertown, as well as in every other community surveyed. See the information provided by the City of Watertown. Join us at the Fair Housing in Watertown Meeting on Wednesday, April 30, 2025, from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. virtually via Zoom, at: https://watertown-ma.zoom.us/j/91712481602. (The public may also join the virtual meeting audio only by phone: 877-853-5257 or 888-475-4499 (Toll Free) and enter Webinar ID: 917 1248 1602)
Sophia Suarez-Friedman of the Wayside Multi-Service Center will talk about what she has learned helping individuals and families find housing in Watertown. Elizabeth Brusie and Cliff Cook will co-moderate and discuss steps the city can take to combat housing discrimination.
On April 22, 2025, the City Council voted to approve funding for capital projects, heard from the City Manager about the City logo, heard about the re-organization plan, set limits for revolving funds, and supported a bill on Beacon Hill about Community Media Programming. See the highlights of the meeting provided by Municipal Policy Analyst Doug Newton. City Council Newsletter
Please see below for the city council’s newsletter for its meeting on April 22, 2025. You can view the video recording of the meeting here. President’s Report
The council president informed the council and the public that four visioning sessions have been held discussing what might be needed in designing the middle school which have been very informative.
The following information was provided by the Watertown Town Democratic Committee:
It’s time to elect delegates at our Watertown caucus for the MassDems Convention! If you are a registered Democrat you are invited to our caucus. Whether you want to be a delegate or just want to vote for a delegate, this is a great way to become involved in the MassDems and have a voice in our message. You will meet other Democrats and learn about what the Democratic Town Committee is doing in our community. WHEH: SUNDAY, MAY 4, 2:00—3:30 PM
WHERE: Lucia Mastrangelo Room (2nd floor), Watertown Free Public Library, 123 Main St, Watertown, MA, 02472
The convention will be at the MassMutual Center in Springfield on September 13, 2025.
A five-unit residential building has been proposed to go at 75 Spring St. A multi-unit residential building project became the first project submitted in the new Watertown Square Area Plan zoning. Meanwhile, the City seeks consultants to assist with the redesign of the Square’s main intersection and parking lots behind CVS and the Library. The first project to be heard by the Planning Board in the new zoning is located at 75 Spring St., where a five-unit residential building is proposed to replace a vacant one-story industrial building. The project is not in the by-right area for residential buildings, said City Manager George Proakis, but is in the area in which the zoning recently changed.