Police/Fire

Watertown Man Arrested for Role in Fatal Crash in Rhode Island

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A 25-year-old Watertown man faces multiple charges after he was involved in a motor vehicle accident that killed a man on New Year’s Eve. Christopher Vincent, 25, of Watertown, was driving in Lincoln, Rhode Island, when he lost control and struck an attenuator, according to the report by Boston Channel 25. The accident occurred around 2:30 a.m. on Dec. 31. The passenger in the vehicle, William Molloy, 22, of Ashland, died from his injuries.

Government

Five Members of Residents Advisory Committee Appointed

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Charlie BreitroseWatertown City Hall

The City of Watertown sent out the following announcement:

City Manager George J. Proakis is pleased to announce the establishment of Watertown’s first Residents’ Advisory Committee. The Residents’ Advisory Committee, as required by Section 3-7 of the new city charter, is designed to “assist with recruitment, evaluation and selection of candidates for appointment to multi-member bodies.” As noted in the charter, the committee and the City Manager will work together to “actively encourage a diverse pool of applicants for (these) multiple-member bodies.”

The City Manager has formed a five-member committee to serve in this role. He has appointed the following individuals to this committee. All members of the committee are residents of Watertown:

J. Elizabeth Cremens: Ms. Cremens is a retired Associate Justice of the Massachusetts District Court. Ms. Cremens has served in a number of volunteer roles in non-profits and local government.

Government

Finalists for City Auditor Will be Interviewed at Council Meeting

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Two finalists for the City Auditor will be interviewed by the City Council this week at a special meeting. The Council will hold the interviews at a public meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 4 at 6 p.m. The meeting will be both in person in the Council Chamber in City Hall and remote. The finalists are Donna Tuccinardi and Charles Doherty. They will be taking over from long-term City Auditor Tom Tracy, who retired in 2022 after working in Watertown for 30 years.

Government

How to Spend Federal ARPA Funds Will be Discussed by Council Budget Committee

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Watertown City Hall

The City of Watertown will receive several million from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), and the City Council’s Committee on Budget and Fiscal Oversight will be discussing what to do with the funds. Watertown will receiving approximately $10.5 million of ARPA funds, according to an estimate by the Massachusetts Municipal Association. The money could be spent in a number of areas, including public health, water and sewer infrastructure, public broadband networks, paying essential workers, and making up revenue lost due to the pandemic. The Council has already heard a recommendation from the Department of Public Works to spend half of the money on water and sewer infrastructure to make improvements and also keep rates down in future years. The meeting will be held on Tuesday, Jan.

Around Town

Trash Collection: Christmas Trees, Extra Trash Bags & 2023 Schedule

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Watertown residents will be allowed to put out more trash bags than fit in their toters for one week only, and in January they can put out Christmas trees. The Department of Public Works sent out the following announcements, and also noted that trash and recycling collection will be delayed by a day the first week of January. Extra Trash

We understand that households often generate some extra trash during the holiday season. For this reason, we are allowing OVERFLOW trash bag pickup during the holiday week of Tuesday, January 3 through Saturday, January 7, 2023. Residents may put up to THREE extra bags of household trash out with their trash barrels for collection.

Around Town

Efforts to Start Local Food Co-op Reaches Key Milestone

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The Charles River Food Co-op surpassed the 500 member mark recently, and continues to work toward opening somewhere in or around Watertown. Progress has been encouraging for Nick Quaranto, president of the Co-op’s board of directors. “I haven’t seen other co-ops get to 500 as fast as we have, so I think we are really onto something,” Quaranto said. “People really understand what we are tying to do, which is great. but we are going to need more.”

Around Town

Watertown Doctor & Singers Carol for Patients at Local Hospital on Christmas

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The Cardiotonics performed for patients at Brigham & Women’s Hospital on Christmas. Among those sharing the cheer was Watertown’s Dr. Thomas Michel, who played his accordion. Patients at Brigham and Women’s Hospital received some Christmas cheer this year when a group of carolers paid them a visit, including a doctor from Watertown. Thomas Michel is a familiar face, and voice, to visitors of the Watertown Free Public Library in warmer months. He often gathers fellow musicians on his porch (which overlooks the parking lot) on weekends for a good song.