Watertown News (https://www.watertownmanews.com/category/government/page/254/)
To the Editor:
The Inauguration of Town Officials January 4 at the Arsenal Center for the Arts was a joyous occasion. I saw a lot of smiling people that evening, on stage and in the audience. Congratulations to all. The good people of the City called the Town of Watertown elected a fine bunch of people to steer our community forward. Four years ago I recited the oath of office for the last time as a Library Trustee.
Among the key areas of focus for the Town Council in the new term will be improving Watertown’s schools, deal with the development boom and seek to improve transportation, Town Council President Mark Sideris announced at Monday’s inauguration ceremony. Sideris, the Town Council (Michael Dattoli, Aaron Dushku, Susan Falkoff, Lisa Feltner, Angeline Kounelis, Anthony Palomba, Vincent Piccirilli and Kenneth Woodland) and the elected or re-elected School Committee members (Eileen Hsu-Balzer, Kendra Medville Foley and Candace Miller) and Library Trustees (Sheppard Ferguson, Penelope Peoples and Timothy Tracy) were sworn in at the event held at the Arsenal Center for the Arts’ Charles Mosesian Theater. Development has been the top issue in town, particularly in the areas east of Watertown Square along Arsenal Street. Two major apartment projects have been approved along Arsenal Street and a new hotel is going up near the malls. Zoning for two areas that could change the town significantly continue to subjects of hot discussion: the Regional Mixed Use District (RMUD) in the area of the two malls in town, and the redevelopment of the Arsenal on the Charles.
The proposal to change the zoning for the area around the malls on Arsenal Street has sparked much concern and many questions, and both the town and citizen group Sustainable Watertown will host meetings to discuss the proposed Regional Mixed Use District (RMUD). During Monday night’s Watertown Inauguration Ceremony, Town Council President Mark Sideris announced a pair of meetings about the RMUD hosted by the town and to be held at the Arsenal Project. Both meetings will be held on Saturdays from 10 a.m.-1 p.m., the first will be on Jan. 9 and the second on Jan. 16.
During her time on the Town Council, which ended with the New Year, Cecilia Lenk got involved in some of the biggest issues, such as the town’s finances, but she also liked to tackle some of the less glamorous areas such as roads, sidewalks and sewers.
Lenk joined the Council six years ago, when the District B seat opened up. Her most prominent role prior to that was serving on the Building Committee for the expansion of the Watertown Free Public Library. “Jon Hecht was leaving the seat (to become a state representative) and a number of people encouraged me to run,” Lenk said. “It was something I was interested in doing and it seemed like the right time.” She thought some of her expertise would be useful on the Council, particularly in the area of financial and the environment.
You are cordially invited to a Campaign Kickoff Celebration to support the re-election of: Steve Aylward State Committeeman Massachusetts Republican Party Second Suffolk and Middlesex District. The event will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2016, from 5-7 p.m. at Patou Restaurant, 69 Leonard St. in Belmont. Steve was also the Campaign Chair for the successful 2014 Ballot Question 1 “Tank the Gas Tax,” which repealed the automatic increases in the Gas Tax.
A mainstay on the Watertown Town Council, Steve Corbett, had his final meeting in December after a decade in town government. His focuses have been economic development, the disabled and he served on the building committee for the new Police Station, but Corbett said he did not come in with any particular ax to grind. “I never really tried to look for attention. I was one of nine. You really can do nothing by yourself.
Athenahealth will hold the second community meeting about its Campus Master Plan on Thursday, Jan. 14. and the presentation of the latest plans has been released. The meeting will be held on the athenahealth campus, 321 Arenal St., in the Blakeway Auditorium inside Building 311 at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 14. Use garage and enter through the main South entrance in the middle of Building 311.
Watertown’s elected officials will be sworn in at an inauguration ceremony to take place at the Arsenal Center for the Arts. The ceremony will be held in the Charles Mosesian Theater, 321 Arsenal St., in the Arsenal on the Charles Complex on Monday, Jan. 4 at 7 p.m.
Those elected to the Town Council, School Committee and Library Board of Trustees will be sworn in that night. A reception will follow.