Around Town

Local Company Lends a Hand at School Garden & Across Town as Part of Watertown Helps Out

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Charlie BreitroseEmployees from C4 Therapeutics work on the school garden at Hosmer Elementary School as part of Watertown Helps Out. The school garden at the Hosmer School was filled with people digging, pulling weeds and raking, but rather than grade schoolers doing the work it was employees of a Watertown company. About 20 employees from C4 Therapeutics volunteered to work on the garden. In all, 104 people from the company on Arsenal Way participated in the volunteer day as part of the Watertown Community Foundation’s Watertown Helps Out effort, said Kendra Adams, C4’s Senior Vice President of Communications and Investor Relations. “We are all from C4 Therapeutics.

Entertainment

A Hidden Gem Training Ballet Dancers Right in Watertown Square

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Maya ShwayderAlexandra Koltun, co-founder of Koltun Ballet in Watertown, instructs dancers in the level 7 class at the recent open house at the studio in Watertown. High above Watertown Square on a rainy Saturday, pink tights, skirts and hair in tight buns abounded at the Koltun Ballet Boston open house. Low levels of mild chaos permeated the proceedings as adults milled about in front of the coffee table avoiding abandoned street shoes, little kids curled up in parents’ laps, and older students weaved their way through the crowd, preparing for their next class. Presiding over all of the leotard-clad tumult are Alexandra Koltun and Alex Lapshin, the founders of the school, which just recently won their fourth Youth America Grand Prix award for Outstanding School in the past six years. For the last 20 years, YAGP has been one of the most prestigious international annual ballet competitions and scholarship programs that sees more than 10,000 dancers compete.

Around Town

Highland Street One of Several Road Projects in Watertown This Week

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Crews work on Highland Street as part of the ongoing road reconstruction project. Parts of Highland Street will be closed this week as crews work on the reconstruction of that street. That is one of several projects going on in Watertown this week, and beyond. The City plans to reconstruct Highland Avenue, from Lexington Street to the City line just before Longfellow Road, according to the Department of Public Works site. The existing roadway pavement and gravel sub-base materials will be ground up and reused to create a new base for the road which will then be repaved.

Schools

City Officials Look at Ways to Deal with Soaring Cost of Watertown High School Project

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Ai3 ArchitectsA rendering of the designs for the new Watertown High School viewed from Columbia Street. Soaring construction prices have pushed the cost of the new Watertown High School millions above the original estimate, but City Manager George Proakis committed to getting the school built without sacrificing the educational program or the net zero energy design. During his Fiscal Year 2024 Watertown budget presentation on May 9, Proakis gave the City Council an update on the WHS project, and some of the imperfect options for paying for the cost increase. When the Council approved the WHS project in June 2021, the price tag was $198 million. That figure includes building a temporary high school site at Moxley Field and making the school net zero (producing enough energy to cover the amount used by the building).

Schools

Watertown’s Musical Talent Showcased at MusicFest

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A Watertown student performs at MusicFest on April 28. The following piece was provided by Friends of Watertown Music:

After a pandemic-imposed hiatus, the Friends of Watertown Music was excited to revive its annual MusicFest tradition and on April 28th, and the community turned out to welcome its return! MusicFest celebrates music and musicians, through a presentation of short performances – each between 5 and 20 minutes long. This year’s attendees had the opportunity to choose among more than 40 acts across three spaces within the performance venue — Watertown Middle School. A dazzlingly wide variety of musical genres were featured, and performers and audience members alike spanned the decades.

Government

Watertown’s Budget Includes Study of Improving the Square, Rodent Control & Energy Efficiency

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Watertown City Hall

City Manager George Proakis told the City Council that he believes that a key to getting the best bang for the buck in the City Budget is providing competitive salaries and benefits to employees. He also discussed some new initiatives planned to start in Fiscal Year 2024, including studies on Watertown Square, rodent control, and making the City’s buildings and vehicles more efficient. Revenues

The vast majority of Watertown’s budget comes from local real estate and personal property taxes. The City is forecast to collect $152 million in property taxes, which makes up about 80 percent of the $190 million Fiscal Year 2024 Budget. The City budget includes $15.9 million in State Aid, up $1.5 million from FY23.

Government

Budget Forecast Good for 2024, but Manager Sees Gloomy Conditions in Future

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Watertown’s budget will be healthy enough to add several positions in Fiscal Year 2024, but City Manager George Proakis told the City Council Tuesday night to expect some challenging budgets in the years to follow. The FY24 budget, which will be approved by the Council in June and begins July 1, will be $190 million. This is 5.9 percent below the FY23 budget, but Proakis said if you take out the money used to purchase Walkers Pond and the former Parker School, it would be 6.99 percent higher than FY23. The stormy seas ahead are due to five converging forces, Proakis said, and they could impact the budgets from FY25-28. The first factor is the cost of construction, which comes at a time when Watertown is taking on the biggest in its history: a new high school which will cost more than $200 million.