Community Preservation Committee

See Proposals for Community Preservation Projects at Upcoming Forums

By |

City of WatertownOne of two historic paintings in Watertown’s City Hall. An application has been made to the Community Preservation Committee to repair and preserve the paintings. Three projects applying for funds from the City will make presentations to the Community Preservation Committee in coming weeks. They would be the first projects to receive money from the Community Preservation fund. The funds come out of the Community Preservation Fund, which was created after voters approved the Community Preservation Act in 2016.

City Council

Council Approves Job Description for Watertown’s Next City Manager

By |

The City Council made tweaks to the description of what Watertown is looking for in its next City Manager, and will soon use it to advertise the position. The job description calls for a salary of $200,000 or higher, with preference for someone with knowledge of Massachusetts municipal laws and operations, with good communication skills and strong personnel management and project management skills. The draft of the job description was presented to the Council by Bernie Lynch, the consultant hired by the Council to assist in the search. The description also includes information about Watertown, and background of the previous manager, Michael Driscoll, who retired after working in the Watertown Municipal government for 45 years, the last 29 as Town and City Manager. Also, it included descriptions of the local government, education, the economy, and Watertown’s recreation and open space amenities.

Schools

Committee to Study Vocational Education Finalized, Will Get Help from Consultant

By |

The ad hoc committee that will study vocational and career education available to Watertown students will have four members of the public, and a consultant will assist members. The Vocational, Technical, and Career Education Options Ad Hoc Committee will have a total of nine members, and will meet monthly from February to June. Ultimately, it will come up with recommendations to the School Committee. The committee was formed after access to Minuteman High School was reduced for Watertown students after the vocational school opened its new campus in September 2019. Watertown is not a member district, but instead pays tuition for students to attend the school located in Lexington.

Around Town

Social Media Contest Inspires Residents to Clear Snow Around Fire Hydrants

By |

A fire hydrant that was shoveled out by one of 25 Watertown residents who entered the City’s social media contest after the recent blizzard. Dozens of Watertown residents answered a call on social media to shovel out fire hydrants in their neighborhoods after the recent blizzard. Watertown’s IT Department put out requests for people to clear the snow, and send in a photo to enter the contest. Prizes were given out to many who participated, said Jeanne Ostroff, the City’s Social Media/Web Coordinator. “At my last job at a local school district, I tried doing this a number of times with support from the Athletic Director encouraging student athletes to shovel and did not get any responses,” Ostroff said.

Homepage Featured

Police Log: Fight Starts After Argument Over Blocked, Businesses Hit With Graffiti

By |

The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department. Arrests

None

Incidents

Jan. 26, 7:53 a.m.: A man came into Watertown Towing and was upset about his car being towed. He spoke to an employee and got upset because they would not release the car because it was unregistered. He forcefully pushed past the employee and took a set of keys, but they were not his.

Around Town

Library Seeks Residents to Take Part in Watertown Collective Memory Project

By |

The Watertown Free Public Library is launching a project called the Watertown Collective Memory Project and you can be a part of it! The Watertown Collective Memory Project (WCMP) is “a yearlong initiative to build a digital collection of stories and photographs from Watertown’s recent history, up to the present day, that captures the full breadth and diversity of our community,” as Local History Librarian Caroline Littlewood described it. Though the project is led by Littlewood and other members of the Watertown Free Public Library (WFPL), they are encouraging other local organizations to contribute and will be relying on volunteers to help run the project. The Historical Society of Watertown and Watertown Cable Access Television are both partners in the project as well. 

The WCMP first got started as part of a refurbishing of the WFPL’s digital history records and has since developed into a community-wide project to build a collaborative and accessible digital history of the town. For Littlewood especially, who started her position at the WFPL during the COVID-19 pandemic, this project has come to mean much more than uploading files.

Around Town

Watertown Library Trustees Fill Open Seat with Candidate from 2021 Election

By |

Maja Young was appointed to the Board of Library Trustees. The following announcement was provided by the Watertown Library:

On January 10, 2022 the Watertown Free Public Library Trustees and Town Council President Mark Sideris appointed Maja Young to fill the open seat on the Library Board of Trustees. She will serve for two years. A Watertown resident, Young explains that the Watertown Free Public Library has always been an important constant in her life:

“As a kid, I loved getting a giant pile of books from the Library to bring home. In high school, my friends and I studied, researched papers, used the computers, and socialized at the Library.

Biotech

Watertown Company Developing COVID Therapy, Trying to Inspire Future Scientists

By |

Charlie BreitroseBryan Goodwin, chief biologist at Enanta Pharmaceuticals, and Watertown High School Senior Phil Centola look at a new microscope donated by the biotech company. Watertown-based Enanta Pharmaceuticals has a potential therapy for COVID-19 ready for human testing, and it also hopes to develop some future scientists with a donation to Watertown High School. On Monday morning, representatives from Enanta presented three new microscopes donated by the company to the WHS Science Department. The equipment can be hooked up to a tablet or cellphone to make it easier to see objects under magnification, and images can even be shared with other devices. The school had one of the microscopes, said Lynsey Kraemer, the district’s Science Curriculum Coordinator for Grades 8-12, but the district could not afford more.