Building for the Future

Good Reviews for 3-Story WHS Design, Call to Move Non-School Functions Out

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A drawing of what the new Watertown High School could look like. The illustration of option 3D-4 shows a three-story main academic building, and a faded image of how tall it would be if it were four stories. The three-story design for the new Watertown High School got good reviews from the School Building Committee and residents who tuned into the meeting Wednesday night. Also, there were calls for the District Administration offices and the Facilities Department to another location to free up room at WHS. The main academic building, proposed the property where the Phillips School and Senior Center now sit, was shortened by a story after concerns were raised about how big it would be compared to the surrounding neighborhood at a meeting in October.

Letters

LETTER: Watertown Schools Have Asbestos, Air Flow Problems

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Letter to Editor,

This past week, the Massachusetts Department of Education & Secondary Education (DESE) conducted an audit on the Watertown Public Schools and the District’s decision to delay opening the buildings for in-school/hybrid learning. At this moment, no details have been provided to Town residents as to what the audit yielded. Information requests to the DESE have been unanswered. All the details residents know (via a ZOOM call), is that Superintendent Galdston spoke to DESE Commissioner Riley (or an associate) and that the conversation was short with few questions (according to Galdston). So what were the DESE findings and why haven’t the Middle School and High School opened yet?

2020 Election

See How Watertown Voted for President, Senate and Ballot Questions

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Watertown voters came out in huge numbers for the 2020 Presidential Election, and heavily supported Joe Biden and other Democrats on the ballot. The voter turnout for the Nov. 3 election in Watertown was 76.09 percent, or 19,197 ballots cast. This was slightly higher than the 2016 election when 18,402 votes were cast, or 75.89, in an election which also featured the local ballot question on the Community Preservation Act. The Biden/Harris ticket got 14,885 votes locally (77.5 percent), while Donald Trump and Mike Pence received 3,795 votes (19.7 percent).

Around Town

Emmy Winning Movie Part of Education Program Co-Founded by Watertown Educator

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The Emmy-award winning documentary “Dawnland” was made by The Upstander Project, a group co-founded by Watertown’s Mishy Lesser. The film will be shown on PBS’s World Channel in November. A Watertown resident teamed with a local filmmaker to use documentary film and educational materials with the goal of dismantling hurtful and stereotypical ideas, as well as teaching people about the experiences and history of Native Americans that many do not learn in school. Mishy Lesser, an educator from Watertown, co-founded the Upstander Project with local filmmaker Adam Mazo. The project has made several films, including the Emmy-award winning Dawnland, which will be shown in November on PBS, including locally on the World Channel.

Climate and Energy Master Plan

Town Using Part of Budget Surplus to Fund Climate & Energy Master Plan

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Watertown’s Town Hall. On Tuesday, the Town Council approved using some of the funds left over from the Fiscal Year 2021 budget to fund the creation of a Climate and Energy Master Plan. Town Manager Michael Driscoll told the Town Council that the Town’s share of state aid and new growth came in higher than projected when the FY21 budget was created. As a result, the Town ended up with $1.57 million in additional revenues. He proposed using the money in multiple ways, including the Climate and Energy Plan.

Around Town

COVID-19 Cases Rising in Watertown, Town Remains in Yellow

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A screenshot of the state’s Community Level COVID-19 Reporting map released on Oct. 29, 2020. Watertown remained “yellow” in the State’s COVID-19 tracking program this week, but the number of positive cases of COVID-19 rose close to the threshold for the Town to become “red,” or high risk. The Town has a total of 34 positive COVID-19 cases over the past two weeks for a total of 514. That puts Watertown’s rate at 7.32 cases per 100,000 residents, so the town remained yellow (or moderate risk).

Elections

Big Voter Turnout Already in Watertown From Mail-In Ballots, Early Voting

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The ballot drop off box outside Watertown’s Town Hall. Many Watertown voters have already cast their ballot in the 2020 Presidential Election, with the number of votes already received by the Town Clerk’s office nearly as high as the total cast in the September Preliminary Election. As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 40 percent of Watertown’s registered voters had turned in their ballots, according to Town Manager Michael Driscoll, who got the latest numbers from Town Clerk John Flynn. The Town sent out 13,255 vote-by-mail and absentee ballots, many of which have already been returned, Driscoll said, plus early voting started on Oct. 17 and continues through Oct.