Watertown News (https://www.watertownmanews.com/tag/city-council/page/3/)
The Watertown City Council Newsletter for the meeting on Jan. 28, 2025 was provided by the City Council. Residents can view the recording of the January 28th meeting here. PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Council President Mark Sideris began by reading a proclamation honoring Ingrid Marchesano on her retirement after over forty years of dedicated service to Watertown. You can read the full proclamation here.
Nicole Gardner, District A Councilor. All City Councilors must have an annual meeting to meet with the public according to the recent changes to the City Charter. District A City Councilor Nicole Gardner announced the date of her meeting. See info below. District A City Councilor Nicole Gardner’s Annual Councilor Community Meeting is Wednesday, January 29, 2025, from 7-8 p.m. at the Coolidge School Apartments, 319 Arlington Street.
Watertown City Hall
The City Council put out a summary of recent meetings in the first Watertown City Council Newsletter. See the piece provided by the City Council below. January 14, 2025 City Council Meeting & January 21, 2025 Special City Council Meeting
Residents can view the recording of the January 14th meeting here and the January 21st meeting here. PRESIDENT’S REPORT
On behalf of the city and the council, Council President Mark Sideris thanked and congratulated Marsha Osmond upon her retirement after more than two decades of service to Watertown in the manager’s office. He noted that Marsha has been incredibly helpful with events such as inaugurations and other celebrations.
Watertown residents will have more places to charge electric vehicles (EVs) in public parking lots. For now, the charging will be available for free, but in the next several months the City will begin charging for the electricity. A loan order approved by the City Council on Tuesday will allow the City to purchase eight charging stations to go in four locations: Nichols Avenue Lot, the Phillips Building (the lot for the School Administration’s office and the Senior Center behind 30 Common St.), at the John A. Ryan Skating Rink (1 Paramount Place), and at the Police Station (552 Main St.). The two chargers at the skating rink will be fast chargers, and the other locations will get two dual-port charging stations, said City Manager George Proakis. He added that the loan is for $180,000 and the projected cost of the eight stations is about $136,000, so the City will look at a couple other locations to install EV chargers.
By Linda ScottWatertown Resident
This will be a short one. About 10 months ago, this appeared on Reddit:
Watertown Winter Parking Ban update
TLDR: Watertown Councilor Tony Palomba is working to petition and amend the winter parking ban. Email him at councilorpalomba@gmail.com to sign the petition, share your feedback, and learn more. “Hi Folks, I am sending this email to those of you who have contacted me regarding the Winter Parking Ban (Ban) at some point in the last year and a half. My apologies of the long delay in coming up with a way to get this important issue in front of the City Council for a public hearing and vote.
Watertown City Hall
The City Council will discuss whether to continue the Winter Parking Ban after receiving a petition signed by more than 800 residents. The public an provide input at the special meeting scheduled later this month. The City sent out the following information:
A Special City Council Meeting to discuss the Winter Parking Ban has been scheduled for January 21, 2025 at 6 p.m. This is a Public Hearing that has been scheduled following the City Council receiving a petition asking for the Winter Parking Ban be lifted. The Hearing will be held in the City Council Chamber in Watertown City Hall at 149 Main Street. The Hearing’s agenda will be posted soon.
City Councilor John Airasian. All City Councilors must have an annual meeting to meet with the public according to the recent changes to the City Charter. City Councilor At-Large John Airasian announced the date of his meeting. See info below. Join City Councilor John Airasian at his Individual Annual City Councilor Meeting on Monday, January 6, 2025 from 6 – 7 PM in the Watertown Police Station Community/Training room, 552 Main Street, Watertown, MA.
Charlie BreitroseWatertown’s City Hall. Property taxes will rise nearly 6 percent over last year, but will still be lower than they were in Fiscal Year 2022 (2021-22). On Tuesday, City Council approved a property tax rate with the maximum amount of the burden shifted from residential to commercial, industrial and personal properties, and the maximum residential exemption for owner-occupied homes. During the Property Tax Classification Hearing, the Council heard from people concerned about the rising taxes, as well as the recent five-year property revaluation process. Tax Bills
The Council got to choose the maximum exclusion for residential properties, either 33 percent (the same as last year), 34 percent, or 35 percent.