City Council

Three Finalists Named for Watertown City Manager Job

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The City Council was presented with the names of the three finalists for the City Manager position on Wednesday evening, none of whom are internal candidates. The finalists are: John Curran, Norman Khumalo, and George Proakis. The three will appear at a community forum on May 9 at 6 p.m. and interviewed by the City Council on May 12 at 6 p.m.

Curran currently works as the Town Manager of Billerica, and previously worked as Town Administrator of Maynard and as the mayor of Woburn. He also worked in the private sector as a senior systems analyst and before that as a senior fund analyst at Investors Bank & Trust. Khumalo’s position now is Town Manager in Hopkinton.

City Budget

FY23 City Budget Includes New Positions for Police, Fire & Library; Organic Waste & Pest Control Programs

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Watertown City Hall

Watertown’s Fiscal Year 2023 City Budget is projected to drop by more than $1 million from FY2022, but will add several positions, including for the Police, Fire Department, and the Watertown Library. The budget also includes new initiatives related to curb-side composting and rodent control. Acting City Manager Tom Tracy presented the $174.79 million Watertown City budget for Fiscal Year 2023 to the Council Tuesday night. The budget would be a reduction of $1.79 million from FY2022. The budget includes funding for the three elementary school projects, as well as the new Watertown High School project, Tracy said, which will be done within the normal operating budget and won’t need a temporary tax increase though a Proposition 2 1/2 override.

Around Town

Watertown Helps Out Returns Bigger and Better in 2022

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Watertown’s day of community service has turned into a month of volunteering. After a two year hiatus, Watertown Community Foundation is bringing back Watertown Helps Out in May, and WHO22 will have multiple opportunities during the month to lend a hand to local organizations around the city. Watertown Helps Out started in 2014 as a way for Watertown community members to help support their neighbors after Watertown was touched by the marathon bombings, it has now become a mainstay and beloved springtime event. 

In 2022, WCF decided to expand to a month for a few different reasons, said Executive Director Jan Singer. “Having had to forgo WHO in 2020 and 2021, we wanted to give back in a bigger and better way,” Singer said. “Watertown Helps Out, an annual day of community service and volunteering on the first Saturday in May, has been a mainstay of WCF since 2014.

Armenia

Watertown Teacher Traveling to Armenia With Genocide Education Project

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Watertown High School English teacher Jess DePamphilis will travel to Armenia this summer to learn about the Armenian Genocide. A Watertown High School English teacher will travel to Armenia this summer as part of a program sponsored by The Genocide Education Project. Jess DePamphilis was chosen as one of 17 secondary level teachers from 14 states chosen to be GenEd Teacher Fellows. The group will spend 10 days in Armenia in July to take part in a professional development program based at the Armenian Genocide Museum and Institute. While in Armenia the group will be based in Yerevan, the capital city.

Schools

Demolition of Old Hosmer School Will Impact Neighbors; Placement of Solar Panels Discussed

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Charlie BreitroseThe new Hosmer School opened in February but the old section still stands. It will be soon be deomolished. The brand new Hosmer Elementary School recently opened its doors, but the main classroom building of the old one remains standing. It will soon be torn down and it will have some impacts on the neighborhood, including cutting off water for a period. Tom Finnegan from Hill International told the School Building Committee on Wednesday that the demolition of the old building will soon begin.

Police/Fire

Watertown Police Chief Michael Lawn Announces His Retirement

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Charlie BreitroseWatertown Police Chief Michael Lawn. Chief Michael Lawn will be retiring in early June after six years leading the Watertown Police Department and 32 years working for the WPD. On April 19, Lawn sent a letter to acting Town Manager Tom Tracy informing him of his decision to retire on June 3, 2022. “I started my career with the WPD on October 30, 1989. I have enjoyed my thirty-two plus years working for the WPD and serving the City of Watertown where I grew up,” the letter reads.

Business

See What Developers May Do on the Former Russo’s Site

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JacobsA view of the four-story life science center proposed for the former Russo’s site at 560 Pleasant St. Preliminary plans for the former Russo’s property on Pleasant Street have been submitted to the Watertown Planning Department, and include a lab/office building, retail space, a parking garage, with publicly-accessible open space in between. Saracen Properties and BentallGreenOak submitted the plans on April 7, and the group will have a developer’s conference with Planning staff about the project on the 4.82-acre property. Plans show a life science center, retail, and publicly-accessible open space. The project will have at least one community meeting before going to the Planning Board for consideration.