Elections

LETTER: Watertown Resident, Doctor Endorses Warren Tolman for AG

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To the Editor:I am a physician trained in pediatrics, a father of a young son and a concerned resident of Watertown. I am writing to urge your readers to support Warren Tolman for attorney general because he supports common-sense gun reform. The recent untimely death of James Brady, killed many years later by an assassin’s bullet, makes the subject of gun reform more poignant than ever.According to the CDC, between 1999 and 2010, 4,698 children aged 1-14 senselessly died by gunfire, and another 7,500 children are hospitalized each year for the same reason.Warren knows that a solution to many of these deaths and injuries is literally at our fingertips. Technology currently exists that would allow fingerprint readers to unlock the firing mechanism of guns. If such a system were mandated, no child would ever be able to have an accident with a smart gun that did not belong to him or her.

Development

LETTER: Welcoming SMART Development in Watertown

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First off, I would like to say that no one I have spoken to about a moratorium is anti-development. I do not feel that this is a black and white issue; on the contrary, I feel this is an exciting opportunity for the town—if done well. Whether it’s a moratorium, or hiring a dedicated consultant to help us get the Comprehensive Plan in place, we need to do something fast before it’s too late. Let’s face it: developers need a strong incentive to do the best for the town. Unless we have a good vision, codified into our laws, we negotiate with all developers from a position of weakness and rely on their mercy for our requests.

Letters

LETTER: Concerned Citizens Group’s Mission

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The Concerned Citizens Group submitted the following information about the organization’s mission:
Concerned Citizens Group, Inc. “Neighbors in the Know”
Mission Statement
Our Neighborhood Association was established in 1971. Its goals are:

To keep its members aware of current events in, and pertaining to, the Town of Watertown, MA. To inform, educate, and advise them as to how these events affect our neighborhood. To actively pursue the securing of wise legislation and decisions from Town bodies insofar as our neighborhood is concerned. To keep elected officials, Town employees, and the residents of Watertown aware of issues considered being in our best interests.

Development

LETTER: Town Officials Out of Sync With Constituents on Development

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To the Editor:

I write in response to Councilor Piccirilli’s recent statements in which he warns that the moratorium on development in the Arsenal Corridor could impact town and school budgets. Indeed the Councillor is one of many who plan on funding new priorities with revenues generated by new development. On its face, this appears to be a good strategy, but it is not a justification to rush ahead and make bad concessions that will affect generations to come. The town has already suffered a good deal of bad real estate development. I support the moratorium, but only with reservations.

Development

LETTER: Resident Opposes Moratorium on Arsenal Street Developments

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All,

If you move next to vacant or underutilized industrial property you should not be surprised if the site gets redeveloped! I am NOT in favor of a one-year moratorium on the Arsenal Street redevelopment. I am in favor of reasonable refinement of the projects planned based on the Pleasant Street experience gained. Step-backs with height limitations are important. I have lived in Watertown for 25 years now.

Development

LETTER: Group Concerned About Future of Arsenal Street After Planning Board Vote

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TO: Michael J. Driscoll, Town Manager; Steven Magoon, Director of Community Development and Planning; Honorable Town Council; Planning Board, and Zoning Board of Appeals
FROM: Concerned Citizens Group, Inc.
DATE: 6/18/14
It is disheartening to hear the recommendation on 6/11 for current Cresset-Hanover-WS plans to move forward to Zoning Board of Appeals for consideration. After many public discussions about “learning from Pleasant St” and not wanting homogeneous, long corridors, canyonization, and projects disconnected from the surrounding contexts, etc , in addition to all the good work put into drafting a new Comprehensive Plan, we are in disbelief. Concerned Citizens Group “CCG” continues our appeal for a coordinated effort between developers/owners, Planning/Zoning, and the neighbors. As you are aware, as part of our ongoing appeal to Town, we completed a vision statement for our neighborhood four years ago (see attached). By following a similar process modeled by Athena-Boylston Properties efforts on the Arsenal Overlay Development District, an overlay for the Watertown Square end of Arsenal St corridor could also be accomplished in short order.

Letters

LETTER: Resident Asks for Moratorium on New Big Projects on Arsenal Street

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Dear Director of Planning, Town Council members, Chairman of the Planning Commission and Zoning Officer,

I would like to urge you as a group to give serious consideration to imposing a temporary moratorium on large new projects on the Arsenal corridor while a master plan is developed and zoning is re-written, in order that all development be thoughtfully evaluated in this critical area. The town needs to gain input from stakeholders and to proceed carefully; these decisions will affect residents for many years to come, including my children  and their children. I have lived in Watertown since 1975 and love this community. I want to see it continue to be a place that balances development with the needs of it residents so that it can continue to maintain its strong community orientation. The Community Development and Planning Department has worked hard to develop a Comprehensive Plan; it should be utilized.

Government

LETTER: Watertown’s Retirement Savings is Misleading

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Dear Editor:

I am writing in response to your article on the May 27 budget hearing in the hope of clarifying issues surrounding Watertown’s pension funding decisions. [Click here to read the article.]

The article reports the misleading claim, made by the Town Manager in the April 29 budget presentation document and again during the May 27 budget presentation, that moving the end-date for eliminating our unfunded pension liability from 2022 to 2019 will save the Town $32 million. This inaccurate claim leads to the false and damaging impression that the pension appropriations for FY2015 and subsequent years cannot be reduced because doing so would eliminate substantial savings. To the contrary, in order to realize $5 million savings by 2022 (not $32 million!), by 2019 the Town must make $10 million more in contributions than had been previously scheduled through 2019. Before addressing arcane aspects of pension funding, we need to ask: Why is this important to Town residents?