Government

The Voice of the East End Bids Farewell After 16 Years as a Watertown Councilor

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Retiring District A Councilor Angie Kounelis, right, with her mother Evangelia. After 16 years, Angeline Kounelis — Angie to most — represented District A for the final time as a Councilor on Dec. 14. She not only represented East Watertown, to many she spoke for them and was a trusted advocate for their needs. In the wake of her final Council meeting, Kounelis said she has been flooded with notes of thanks, congratulations and appreciation.

Around Town

OP-ED: Keep Health Care Workers in Mind, System Strained by More Than COVID

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State Sen. Will Brownsberger

The following piece was provided by State Sen. Will Brownsberger, who represents Watertown, Belmont and parts of Boston:

Please keep our health care workers in mind as you make decisions about what COVID risks to take over the coming weeks. As of Tuesday, December 14, there were 1411 people hospitalized with COVID in Massachusetts, of which 326 were in the ICU and 176 were intubated. That is well below the level in the first April 2020 surge when hospitalizations peaked at almost 4,000, yet for a combination of reasons, the hospital system is feeling a lot of strain. Steve Walsh, President of the Massachusetts Hospital Association testified at a hearing on December 16 about the state of the hospital system. He made the following points in his testimony:

Like many employers across the country, hospitals are having difficulty recruiting staff — nurses and behavioral health specialists are most in demand, but all hospital jobs are hard to fill.Caregivers are exhausted and burnt out — many are leaving for other fields or retiring.In the early days of COVID, it was possible to recruit travel nurses — acute surges were happening in only a few states.

Government

Upgrades to Softball Facilities Planned at O’Connell Field as Part of Hosmer School Project

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Ai3 ArchitectsA map of the proposed additions to O’Connell Field, shown in yellow. The white pathways are already in the plans. The athletic fields at O’Connell Field will likely be getting some upgrades as part of the construction of the new Hosmer Elementary School, but some neighbors are concerned about the loss of green space and other issues. At Wednesday night’s School Building Committee meeting, designers presented a preliminary design for upgrades to O’Connell Field, which runs along Mt. Auburn Street in front of the Brigham House and sits next to Hosmer’s playground.

Schools

Watertown High School Project Design Sent to State for Approval

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Ai3 ArchitectsAn illustration of what the outside of the new Watertown High School will look like. The final design concept for the new Watertown High School project, and the budget of nearly $200 million, received approval from the School Committee and the School Building Committee on Wednesday night. The schematic design report, including the designs and the budget of $198.39 million, will be sent to the Massachusetts School Building Authority Board to be considered at its meeting on March 2, 2022. The project will be paid for by the City of Watertown through borrowing, but it will not require a temporary property tax override to cover the cost, said City Auditor Tom Tracy. “The Town is carrying $200 million in debt services for the high school project,” Tracy said. 

The project design has reached its goal of Zero Net Energy, said Project Designer Jordan of Ai3 Architects, including 1.4 megawatts of electricity to be produced by the solar photovoltaic array at the school.

Elections

Council Approves Changes to Watertown Voting Precincts, Some Worried About Lack of Detailed Map

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Charlie BreitroseWatertown City Hall

Some Watertown residents will be moved to a different precinct, and vote in a different location, after changes to the precinct boundaries were approved by the City Council Tuesday night. Precincts are changed every 10 years after the results of the Census are released. The changes were complicated by the fact that Watertown’s House districts also changed, with Precinct 9 moving from the 29th Middlesex (represented by Steve Owens) to the 10th Middlesex (John Lawn’s district). The Council had been scheduled to considered the changes at a previous meeting, but they found that the precincts didn’t match up for state and local elections, said City Council President Mark Sideris. “The first time we tried to do this there was going to be a situation where a constituent would have to vote in a city election in one place and a state election in a different place,” Sideris said.

Schools

John Portz Says Farewell to School Committee After 16 Years, Also Served on Town Council

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Northeastern UniversityJohn Portz retired from the School Committee in December after 16 years. He also served eight years as a Town Councilor. School Committee Chair John Portz oversaw his final meeting earlier this month, ending not only 16 years on the School Committee but more than 25 years serving the residents of Watertown. At the Dec. 4 meeting, Portz’s colleagues paid tribute to his dedication to the students of Watertown, his steady leadership, and for focusing on working as a team.