Government

Town Council Gets a Pay Raise, Councilors Say it Matches Their Work Load

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The Town Council will get a significant raise starting in 2018 after members approved an increase at Tuesday’s meeting. Pay for Councilors will rise from $5,000 to $7,500 and the Council President will received $10,500 (including a stipend for serving on the School Committee) up from $6,500. The Council did not technically give itself a raise, said Council Vice President Vincent Piccirilli, because the raise does not start until the next Town Council takes office. Therefore current councilors must be reelected to get the increase. The Council has not had a pay raise since 1999.

Government

Watertown Police Get New Contract, Will Carry Anti-Overdose Meds

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The Watertown Police patrolman’s union recently agreed to a new contract with the town, and last week it was approved by the state’s Joint Labor-Management Committee. 

Tuesday night, Town Manager Michael Driscoll announced the approval of the agreement, which covers Fiscal Years 2014-16. It will give patrol officers a 2.5 percent raise for each of those years. Driscoll noted this is the same increase given to other town unions. Other additions to the contract include all officers having to wear body armor when they are in the field, they must carry the anti-overdose drug Narcan and Epi-pens for people having allergic reactions. With the epidemic of opioids and heroin in Watertown, the fact that patrol officers will now carry Narcan pleased Councilor Aaron Dushku.

Environment

Find Out About Green Infrastructure, and How It Keeps the Charles River Clean

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Come learn about how to making greener streets will help keep the Charles River cleaner during a workshop hosted by the Watertown Department of Public Works and the Stormwater Advisory Committee. The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, June 21 at Town Hall, in the Council Chambers. When it rains, the runoff from Watertown driveways and streets goes into the stormwater system, which ends up draining into the Charles River – untreated, said Watertown Public Works Superintendent Gerald Mee. “We need to educate people, if you drop your dog waste in the storm drain it goes to the river,” Mee said. Another major concern that might not occur to residents is grass clippings, which have chemicals – including phosphorous – which is a major pollutant of the Charles River.

Government

LETTER: Resident Critical of Council for Passing Single-Use Bag Ban

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Editor

On June 7, 2016 the Town of Watertown’s Town Council (Council) voted to enact, “AN ORDINANCE FOR A SINGLE­USE PLASTIC BAG REDUCTION” (Ordinance) thus eliminating one more personal choice for Watertown residents at the behest of a minority of people and their agenda. The Ordinance’ position is overly broad and flawed. It puts town based retailers at a distinct competitive disadvantage while inconveniencing everyone who patronizes them. Worse, in its current inflexible iteration it is punitive, where it not only fines our local retailers for non­-compliance, but can make town employees ordinance enforcement officials at the whim of the Town Manager. What is striking is that while the Council knew the Ordinance’ inherent flaws, Council moved to pass it anyway.

Government

Middle School Window Replacement Approved by Town Council

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Watertown Middle School

Hundreds of windows that leak, let in breezes and do not connect well to the building will be replaced at Watertown Middle School in a project jointly paid for by the town and the state. 

Tuesday night, the Town Council approved the town borrowing $3.08 million, of which 48.47 percent will be reimbursed by the Massachusetts School Building Authority. The price of the project grew from about $300,000 to over $3 million after the state’s project manager, Gale Associates, examined the school and found that 207 windows, instead of just a few dozen, needed replacing. Some windows let in water, others have gaps that let in the cold in the winter and some are permanently closed, said Siva Sivalogan, of exPERTcon Inc., who will serve as owner’s project manger on behalf of the Watertown Public Schools. “(The middle school) is solidly built, unfortunately the windows are not in good shape, to the extent that they are not compliant (with state standards),” Sivalogan said. Sivalogan showed photos of windows that show they are not well connected to the building.

Government

Night Construction on Belmont Street Starts Next Week

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The Town of Belmont, through its contractor, Newport Construction, will be paving Belmont Street between Cushing Square and the Cambridge line, beginning Monday, June 13 and continuing up to June 20, weather permitting. 

Work will begin at Cushing Square and proceed to the Cambridge line.  Work hours will be between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m.  Expect road closures and detours during this process.  We appreciate your cooperation.

Environment

Ban of Single-Use Plastic Bags in Watertown Approved by Council

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Businesses in Watertown will no longer be able to give customers single-use plastic bags when the ordinance approved by the Town Council takes effect next year. 

Tuesday night, the Council deliberated for more than an hour on details of the legislation, called the Bring Your Own Bag Ordinance, before passing it 8-0. Councilor Ken Woodland voted “present.” The ban will go into effect on July 1, 2017. Businesses will be able to sell paper bags for a small charge to customers or offer reusable bags for sale. A single-use bag is considered one less than 4 mils (thousands of an inch) in thickness. Those businesses violating the ban can be fined $100 for the first offense, $200 for the second and $300 for the third more more offense.

Government

Forum Will Educate Public About Transportation & Traffic Issues in Town

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A local group wants to give residents a voice in how transportation and traffic in Watertown looks in the future, and will hold a forum to educate residents about transportation planning. Traffic and public transportation have become big issues in Watertown, and will be even more vital as developments go up on Arsenal and Pleasant streets. So, the Watertown Public Transit Task Force, the Town Council and the Watertown Community Development and Planning Department will organize a forum on Thursday, June 16 at 6:30 p.m. at the Watertown Free Public Library. The event is free and open to the all residents, employees and business owners in Watertown. The goal of the forum is to increase the shared knowledge about what modern transportation planning can do in municipalities like Watertown to improve local transportation and ease traffic congestion.