District D

Process for Filling Empty Council Seat Delayed Due to Error in Voting Process

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The Town Council heard a proposal for how to fill the vacant District D Town Council seat, but could not make a vote due to an error during the subcommittee meeting held the previous week. One of the rules changes made by the Governor impacting remote meetings requires all votes to be made by roll call. During the May 5 meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee on District D Vacancy the group made a unanimous vote to recommend a process for filling the seat that became vacant when Ken Woodland had to resign to take a job that does not allow him to serve on the Council. However, the vote was not done by roll call — with each committee member being called upon and voicing their vote. Town Attorney Mark Reich, from KP Law, said that the vote should have been made by roll call, and added that since the plan was not put on the May 11 Council Meeting’s agenda as an action item the Council might be in violation of the Open Meeting Law if the it took a vote to approve the plan.

Homepage Featured

Police Log: Vehicle Stolen from Construction Site in Town, Perfume Stolen from Beauty Store

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

None

Incidents

May 3, 3:41 p.m.: The owner of a work vehicle left in Watertown was informed that the vehicle had been involved in an incident in Walpole. The 2005 Ford pickup had been parked at a construction site on Howard Street on April 30, and the following day Walpole Police stopped the vehicle and found that the driver did not have a driver’s license and it was towed. At the time, Walpole Police did not know the vehicle had been stolen. When they realized it was stolen they contacted the owner.

101 North Beacon St.

Town Council Delays Vote on Electrical Service to New Building, Wants to Avoid New Pole

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Embarc StudioThe new building at 101 North Beacon St. has 28 condos in three-stories. Developers have not been able to get electricity to the building, an await a decision from the Town Council which has said it prefers not to have a new utility pole installed as part of the project. For the second time, the Town Council voted to table the vote on a proposed petition to put in a new utility pole on Irving Street to supply power to a new residential building on North Beacon Street. The petition submitted by Eversource is asking to install a new pole about 18 feet north of another pole on Irving Street, just south of North Beacon Street.

Police/Fire

Fire Damages Apartment in Large Complex South of the Charles River

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A fire started in an apartment in an apartment complex on Watertown Street on Wednesday, but was doused before it spread within the unit or to other apartments. The Watertown Fire Department received the fire alarm at 1:31 p.m. on Wednesday. The fire began in the kitchen area of a unit in the Watertown Square Apartments, located at 20 Watertown Street. No one was home when the fire began, but it was discovered by an alert employee, said Watertown Fire Capt. Eric Allen, the WFD’s Fire Investigator. “There was a maintenance worker that was on the roof of the building that saw smoke coming out of one of the vents,” Allen said.

District A

Library Trustee Mike Hanlon Announces Candidacy for District A Town Councilor

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Mike Hanlon. Mike Hanlon, an elected member of the Watertown Library Board of Trustees, has announced his candidacy for East Watertown District A Town Councilor. Hanlon provided the following statement:

My wife, Joyce, and I are longtime residents and homeowners of Coolidge Avenue having lived in Watertown for over 25 years. We have appreciated living in a community that is rich in tradition and deep in so many cultures where people are so respectful and friendly. I understand the importance of the quality of life for Watertown residents and it has been a wonderful experience to have been elected to four terms (a total of 16 years) as a member of the Watertown Free Public Library Board of Trustees.

Government

OBIT: John Flynn, 63, Served as Watertown Town Clerk for 26 Years

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Long-time Watertown Town Clerk John Flynn. John “Jack” Flynn, who served as the Town Clerk of Watertown for more than a quarter century, died on Friday, May 7, 2021 after a brief illness. He was 63 years old. Born in Cambridge, he served as Deputy City Clerk and Principal Budget Analyst for the City of Cambridge before becoming Watertown’s Town Clerk in 1995. He retired in 2021.

Around Town

Watertown Library Seeks Donors to Help Cover Cost of Book Mobile

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Watertown Free Public LibraryThe Watertown Free Public Library. The Watertown Library is looking to bring books and other items closer to residents by starting a book mobile. The effort got a big boost from a donor, but the library still needs to raise about $70,000 to cover the cost of the custom vehicle, said Daniel Pritchard, a member of the Watertown Board of Library Trustees. “It is a great opportunity to reach the parts of the Watertown community that are not able to get to the Library, and maybe aren’t as mobile and can’t get down there as easily,” Pritchard said. “The Library is also just such an important resource for the Town, and to be able to go out to every nook and cranny in the community and make resources available is a really exciting opportunity.”

Arrests

Police Log: Employee Charged With Assaulting Assisted Living Center Resident, Stolen Vehicle Recovered

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

April 28, 1 p.m.: Police received a call from The Residence at Watertown Square on Summer Street after management found an employee of the assisted living center mistreating a resident. During an internal investigation on a separate matter, management found a video showing an employee being physical with an 83-year-old woman. Watertown Police reviewed the surveillance video and determined the worker’s treatment of the resident rose to the level of an assault and battery charge. Police spoke with the employee, and as a result of the investigation the employee, an 46-year-old Waltham woman, was summonsed to Waltham District Court for assault and battery on a person over 60 years of age.