Watertown News (https://www.watertownmanews.com/category/government/page/288/)
State Rep. Jonathan Hecht will be available to hear from Watertown residents during two upcoming office hour sessions. Hecht will hold office hours on Monday, Dec. 8 from 5-6 p.m. in the Raya Stern room in the Watertown Free Public Library. Constituents are invited to meet with Rep. Hecht to discuss pending legislation or any other issue of concern to them. On Wednesday, Dec.
The Town Council wants to make sure that the MBTA has not forgotten about the transportation problems and needs in Watertown.
In May, transportation advocates and elected officials invited MBTA General Manager Beverly Scott to town. She came to tour the town and speak with residents about the problems with the 71 and 73 buses, as well as other services – such as the 70 and 57 buses. (Read about her visit here). She talked about ways to make improvements in the short and long term. Along with improvements to the heavily used routes to Harvard Square – the 71 and 73 buses – a group of elected officials, business owners and advocate groups requested a study of improvements to the 70/70A line that operates along Arsenal Street – an area expected to have multiple new large development projects.
A small piece of former railroad property is up for sale and wanted by town officials and a nearby property owner alike. Recently, the town was informed that the pieces of land, which sits next to the end of Phillips Street, was being sold by Pan American Co. The town has the second right of refusal after the state, and the Town Council debated whether to put in their statement if interest in the land. Assistant Town Manager Steve Magoon said the town would like to purchase the land and may use it as part of a bicycle and pedestrian path. Right now the land is used by the Webster Trust, which owns the property that includes the Extra Innings baseball facility and other businesses including Imai, Keller, Moore Architects.
The Planning Board heard from plenty of concerned residents about plans to transform the corner of Mt. Auburn and Arlington streets into a CVS/Pharmacy. The proposed store and parking lot would replace the gas station at the corner, the Elk’s Club and a small office building in Coolidge Square. The project would include a 13,000 square foot store – slightly larger than the one in Watertown Square – and would have an entrance on the corner and another in the back parking lot. It would add landscaping along Arlington Street and in the parking lot.
For the past year, people who need help heating their home, finding an affordable place to live or getting some extra food have someone to turn to – Danielle DeMoss. DeMoss has served as Watertown’s Social Services Resource Specialist. The position was approved by the Town Council last year, and has been funded by a town charitable fund and local non-profit groups. Since late October 2013, DeMoss has helped 315 residents and received more than 1,200 phone calls asking for assistance. She works with more than 30 town departments, community organizations and churches.
To the Editor,
On November 4th the voters of Massachusetts said no to “Taxation Without Representation” by voting Yes on Question 1. We repealed the legislation that raised the gasoline tax atomically every year without any further debate or vote of the legislature. In so doing the Commonwealth’s voters restored representative democracy, in it’s birthplace and cradle. The vast majority of credit for this effort belongs to Watertown’s own Steve Aylward. He conceived this ballot initiative.
Watertown backed Martha Coakley for governor opposed adding new bottle deposits and opposed separating the gas tax from inflation in an election that saw more than half the voters turn out. The voter turnout in Watertown was 52.31 percent – with 11,698 ballots cast. That was close to the number in the last governor’s election in 2010 when 12,019 people voted. The presidential election in 2012 had 16,200 voters. Town Clerk John Flynn said the turnout was healthy.
Three Town Council subcommittees met last week to shore up the details of the town’s request to the State Legislature for more liquor licenses, but by the end of the meeting Councilors had not made a decision. At a previous meeting, the members of the Rules & Ordinances, Economic Development & Planning, and Public Safety subcommittees, discussed asking for 15 new licenses. Five would go to approved projects or existing locations. The other 10 would be divvied up among different areas of town. Last week, however, the group was not sure how to handle the forthcoming requests for liquor licenses from the Arsenal Project (formerly Arsenal Mall) for new restaurants.