Schools

State Officials Have Questions About High School Project, May Delay Final Vote

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A conceptual design of the preferred option for the New Watertown High School, looking down Common Street toward Mt. Auburn Street. The date of the public vote on funding for the Watertown High School project may have to be pushed back after state officials had questions about the size and design of the proposed new school. After reviewing the preferred design of the new WHS, the Facilities Assessment Subcommittee of the Mass. School Building Authority sent back comments, and request for more investigation into other options after their meeting on Jan.

Government

Watertown’s Too Tall Parking Meters to be Fixed

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New parking meters, like this one, will be installed in Watertown’s Municipal Parking Lots. They will accept credit cards as well as coins. Watertown’s new parking meters are high tech, and residents have found that they have to reach much higher to put in payments in some of new ones than they did with the old ones. WBZ Channel 4 came out to Town and reported that one of the meters measured 5-foot-7, according to the news station’s report. A Watertown resident posted a photo on Facebook showing a meter on Mt.

BB&N

Sale of Grove St. Land to BB&N Closes, Demolition Delay on Shick House Approved

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The historic Shick House is on property sold by the Mount Auburn Cemetery to Buckingham Browne & Nichols School, and may be torn down. [UPDATED Feb. 3, 2021. The year that the Shick family purchased the house was 1914]

The sale of the land on Grove Street from the Mount Auburn Cemetery to Buckingham Browne & Nichols School closed last week. The Cambridge-based private school plans to build two athletic fields and a field house on the property, which is also the location of the historic Shick House.

Around Town

Watertown Declares Snow Emergency for Nor’easter, Schools Dismissing Early

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The Town of Watertown declared a Snow Emergency due to the impending snow storm forecast to hit the area on Monday afternoon through Tuesday. Also, the Watertown Schools will dismiss early on Monday, but the status of Tuesday’s school day has not been announced, as of 9:50 a.m. Monday. Superintendent of Schools Dede Galdston announced early dismissal times for the Watertown Public Schools on Monday. She did not announce plans for Tuesday, but said if a snow day is declared, there will be no remote learning, it will be like a normal snow day. See more details below.

Around Town

RMV Closing Early Due to Storm, MassDOT Encourages People to Avoid Roads

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The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is advising the public against traveling as the National Weather Service is forecasting heavy snow rates per hour in the early afternoon today, Monday, February 1. Snowfall rates may exceed one inch per hour on Monday afternoon and Monday night. The very strong winds will lead to blowing snow and greatly reduced visibility during the height of the storm. “We urge the public to take this storm seriously because driving conditions will be difficult, with heavy snow falling at a fast rate and gusty winds expected,” said Acting Transportation Secretary and CEO Jamey Tesler. “During the storm, we are advising the public to stay home and don’t drive if you don’t have to.” 

“We are encouraging those workers who have the ability to work remotely to do so tomorrow,” said Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver. “If you do have to be on the roads we urge you to plan ahead and to be off the roadways by mid-day. We expect roadways to become snow covered and slippery in the afternoon and through the evening with limited visibility and high winds as the storm progresses.”

MassDOT’s snow and ice operations will be deployed throughout the Commonwealth as conditions necessitate. Highway Districts continually conduct preparation activities in advance of new weather systems and are able to pretreat roadways with brine and Magnesium Chloride when necessary.

Police/Fire

Police Log: Gun Shown in Road Rage Incident, Car Window Shattered

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

None

Incidents

Jan. 19, 3:20 p.m.: A man came into CVS on Main Street and took some razors off the shelf but did not pay for them before leaving. The store manager called Police and gave them a description of the suspect. The man was identified and the 38-year-old Medford man was summonsed to Waltham District Court on a charge of shoplifting.

Business

Galen Street Biotech Development Approved by ZBA

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A view of the life sciences building at 66 Galen St. approved by the Zoning Board of Appeals. This view is from Galen Street. The following piece was provided Boston Development Group:

Following months of planning discussions and community meetings, Boston Development Group (BDG) has received approval from the Watertown Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA)  Thursday for a proposed life sciences development at 66 Galen Street in Watertown, Massachusetts. Boston Development Group (BDG), a multifaceted investment management and real estate development firm, plans to build a major life science campus comprised of two phases totaling nearly 450,000 SF of Class A Office/ R&D LAB.

Entertainment

Make Your Own Creation and Join in YardArt Watertown

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Everyone from artists to people who have never created anything before are invited to make something and display it in their front yard as part of a Town-wide art exhibition. Organizers of the event, dubbed YardArt Watertown, wanted to bring some cheer to Watertown during the gloom of winter, said one of the organizers, Roberta Miller. “We need something this winter that is fun and gets people outside — kind of like porch fest, only it’s art,” Miller said. “Some people have done projects similar to this, decorate your door. So, after a lot of discussion with this small group, the idea emerged that we would do YardArt and we would encourage people to make something fun.