Watertown News (https://www.watertownmanews.com/category/government/page/88/)
Watertown’s COVID-19 cases continued to drop this week, but the Town saw three more COVID-19 deaths. The fatalities, reported by the Watertown Health Department in the Town Manager’s weekly COVID-19 message, were the first for the Town since the first week of 2021. Watertown had 133 cases reported over the previous 14 days in the Mass. Department of Public Health report of Feb. 11, 2021.
Town officials gave a big “shout out” to the members of the Watertown Health Department for all the work they have done during the pandemic, including the recent free COVID-19 testing and vaccinations. This week, the first members of the general public, age 75 and older, got the vaccine from the Health Department, and Town Manager Michael Driscoll said more vaccinations will be done next week. The Town will also continue to offer free COVID-19 testing through the end of February. Town Council President Mark Sideris took time during Tuesday’s Town Council meeting to thank the Health Department. “I wanted to give a shout out to our Health Department, which has gone above and beyond for just about a year to make this community as safe as possible during the pandemic,” Sideris said.
The landing page for the Town of Watertown’s cell phone app. Website upgrades, building social media presence and high-tech billboards are some of the ways which the Town of Watertown is trying to reach residents. Complaints about the ease of accessing information about local government has come from residents and elected officials alike. The website has been a particular focus of the dissatisfaction. The Town of Watertown added personnel specifically to work on technology issues, hiring Chief Information Officer Chris McClure in the fall, and the Town will soon be hiring another person focused on social media and the website.
An illustration of the plans for the former Mount Auburn Club at 99 Coolidge Ave. A community meeting will be held Monday about the project. One of the first steps in the making of the Watertown school budget will be presented Monday night, a community meeting will be held about the redevelopment of the Mount Auburn Club site, and the Planning Board will discuss two major projects. Watertown Public Schools administrators will present the Fiscal Year 2022 level services budget at Monday’s School Committee meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. That budget shows how much it would cost to preserve the district’s current staffing and programs, with no additions or cuts. It is typically the first major step in the school budget process.
A Watertown Department of Public Works snow plow. Watertown’s Superintendent of Public Works Gregory St. Louis announced a snow emergency for Sunday’s snow storm. The Watertown DPW sent out the following announcement:
The Superintendent of Public Works is declaring a Snow Emergency effective 12:00 Noon, Sunday, February 07, 2021. Watertown is expecting approximately 6-8 inches of snow with additional storms forecasted for later this week.
The Charter Review Committee wants to hear from the public, and has posted an online poll about several issues that have come up during the group’s meetings. Questions include whether the length of Town Councilor terms should be extended, should the Town add a public information officer position, and should the town start a 311 service for a “one-stop” number that residents can call with their questions and concerns. Also, should the Town Council’s compensation be reviewed, should the Town Manager and Council President be required to hold at least two meetings a year where residents can come to get their issues addressed, and should the Town Council be able to hire an analyst to help Councilors with their work. The final question is: “Do you think a mayor-city council would be more responsive than our current government of Town Council and Strong Town Manager?” See the poll by clicking here.
Watertown Town Hall
This week’s Charter Review Committee meeting covered a range of topics, from a vision for Watertown to how the charter could be changed to make the government more accountable and responsive to the public, and even the debate of keeping the Town Manger type of government or changing to a mayor. At times the discussion became heated, both between committee members and even members of the public participating in the virtual meeting. The biggest question before the group of 15 (nine Town Councilors and six members of the public) will be taken up directly in upcoming meetings. Town Council President Mark Sideris said the merits of mayor and strong manager forms of government will be on the agenda of the next meeting, and future ones. Tuesday’s agenda called for reviewing the panel discussions with at the two previous meetings with elected officials from other cities and towns.
A Bluebike station in Watertown Square was paid for by a state grant. Watertown received a grant from the Mass. Department of Transportation to build a Bluebike station in Watertown Square and make other road and sidewalk improvements. The $280,218 grant was part of the third round of the Baker-Polito Administration’s Shared Winter Streets and Spaces program. The bike share station is next to the entrance to the Charles River Path in Watertown Square.