Letters

Community Preservation Act

LETTER: Now is the Time to All Pitch in to Preserve, Improve Watertown

By Guest Writer | November 2, 2016

To the Editor:

It’s time for Watertown to recognize that we need to do more to create affordable housing, educate our kids for the present and future, maintain and improve our public parks and other recreational spaces, and preserve the heritage of old Watertown that’s getting destroyed. The pressures on us from commercial development and economic forces much bigger than our town or state make it necessary for us all to pitch in to keep Watertown an attractive place for young and old, families and individuals. The Town administration has done an exceptional job at keeping our tax rate well below the state average, but that discipline has come at a major cost. As a community we haven’t had the wherewithal to deal with the changes washing over us. We can’t afford to dream about how cities and towns ought to be funded while ignoring the realities of how the system now works and how to make the most of it.

Community Preservation Act

LETTER: CPA Could Bring New Life to Old Buildings in Poor Shape

By Guest Writer | November 2, 2016

In addition to some anti-CPA letters, the October 28 edition of the TAB also contained the glossy supplement Lens which included the article “Renovation and Innovation.” The piece showed how Bridgewater has restored and updated several historic buildings in ways that now save the town money, energy, and staff time as well as preserving examples of their history — a project partially funded by their CPA. Creative solutions like that are what we at the Historical Society of Watertown have suggested when talking about Orchard House and the Schick House (houses we do not own and over which we have no control). They represent the type of buildings that could be restored and converted to use as office space for some small business or organization. The Schick House could even become a bed and breakfast. Using CPA funds for that sort of project, besides preserving historic architecture, would create useful space for small businesses that generate taxes and provide jobs.

Community Preservation Act

LETTER: Group of Residents Support CPA and Improving Schools

By Guest Writer | November 1, 2016

To the editor:

“Say Yes to the CPA”

We are longtime Watertown residents with young children destined for our fine schools, and we are excited to be voting Yes on Question 5. As people who are deeply devoted to our town, we believe that the Community Preservation Act will bring innumerable benefits to us all. When we decided to raise our families here, we did so for two reasons: First, we were inspired by the commitment of Watertown Strong Schools and other advocates to making our schools great. Second – and just as important – we love the community here. Raising four young children between our two families, we enjoy using Watertown’s parks, attending concerts in Saltonstall Park, strolling along the River, and watching the construction vehicles building up our town.

Community Preservation Act

LETTER: Parent Believes the Town Needs to Focus on Rebuilding the Schools

By Guest Writer | November 1, 2016

To the Editor,

As a parent who has been deeply involved over the past few years in efforts to improve the quality of the schools in Watertown, I am writing to express my opposition at this time to Ballot Question #5 on the Community Preservation Act (CPA). While I believe that affordable housing, historic preservation, and open spaces and recreation are all positive things for our community, our priority in the next year or two needs to be focused on the decisions we will make as a community on how to finance the renovation, expansion and updating of all the school buildings in Watertown. We are facing what I would call a “generational investment” in our public schools to ensure that our children have facilities to support high-quality 21 st Century education over the next 20-30 years. Previous generations of Watertown residents have demonstrated their commitment to high quality public education by paying for the construction and renovation of our educational facilities, and we have reached the moment when it is our turn to show our commitment – both in sustaining the investments that have been made in the past and in ensuring that current and future residents of Watertown will have excellent public education for their children for the next several decades. Those who are advocating in favor of the CPA are making the case that CPA funding in its mandated areas will enable the town to shift budget lines from those areas s into other areas, including the schools.