Around Town

Phase 2 of Walker Pond Project Partially Funded After Council Vote

By |

Phase 2 of the Walker Pond project would help create a new park on the Westside of Watertown . The effort to create a new public park in Watertown received a boost on Tuesday when the City Council approved nearly $1 million to go toward the cost of improvements to the Walker Pond site. The $990,000 will come from Community Preservation Act funds, raised from a surcharge on Watertown property taxes. The proposal was recommended by the Community Preservation Committee. In 2022, the City of Watertown purchased the pond site, which used to be owned by Raytheon.

Around Town

Deadline Approaching to Apply for Community Preservation Funds

By |

The deadline to apply for Community Preservation Act funds is Monday, July 27, 2026. See more details from the City of Watertown, below. The Community Preservation Act (CPA) was approved by the legislature and signed by Governor Paul Cellucci in September 2000. Watertown residents voted to adopt the CPA in November 2016. This state law, MGL Chapter 44B, allows cities and towns to raise funds through a surcharge on local real estate taxes to:

Buy, create, preserve open space and rehabilitate and/or restore open space that is acquired or created using CPA funds

Acquire, preserve, rehabilitate, or restore historic resources

Acquire, create, preserve, and support community housing

Acquire, create, preserve, and rehabilitate and/or restore passive and active outdoor recreation facilities

Before applying for Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds, please read the entire CPA application package, which includes the:

1.

Government

Watertown’s Community Preservation Act Turns 10, Learn More at Celebratory Hearing

By |

The following announcement was provided by the City of Watertown:

Please make sure the Community Preservation Act (CPA) Turning 10 celebratory public hearing is on your calendar. Join the Community Preservation Committee to: 

Learn more about the CPA projects in Watertown

Share your ideas and priorities as we update the CPA 5-year plan 

Engage with your neighbors in breakout groups sorted by open space/outdoor recreation, community housing, and historic preservation

Enjoy anniversary cake. When: Thursday, July 23, 2026, at 7PM

Where: Watertown Free Public Library, Watertown Savings Bank Room

Contact Lanae Handy at lhandy@watertown-ma.gov for more information or if you have questions.

Around Town

Watertown’s Community Preservation Program is Turning 10 Years Old

By |

The City of Watertown provided the following information:

Join the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) for a special Annual Public Hearing to celebrate completed Community Preservation Act (CPA) projects and help us update the CPA Plan. When: July 16, 2026, at 7-8:45 p.m.

Where: Watertown Free Public Library, Watertown Savings Bank Room

Stay tuned for more details and visit watertown-ma.gov/cpc for information about Watertown’s Community Preservation Program and Community Preservation Committee. Questions: Contact Lanae Handy, Community Preservation Coordinator at lhandy@watertown-ma.gov

Around Town

New Signage for Paintings in City Hall Provides a Historical Perspective

By |

The historic paintings in Watertown City Hall now have signs with information about the town’s history. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

The entry lobby in City Hall is beginning to look like a room at the Museum of Fine Arts, with the addition of signs to accompany the recently restored historical paintings of Watertown. The foyer of City Hall has long been home to a pair of paintings depicting Watertown, one showing the town in the 1630s when it was founded, and one in the 1930s, around the time when City Hall was built. The signs have been installed in front of the paintings that hang on either side of the entryway off of Main Street. The Historical Society received money from the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) to pay for the creation and manufacturing of the signs. The contents went through several iterations before reaching the final version, said Watertown Community Preservation Coordinator Lanae Handy.

Around Town

Community Preservation Funds Approved for 2 Affordable Housing Projects & Work at the Commander’s Mansion

By |

A rendering of the affordable Willow Park affordable housing complex. Funding for a home for adults with special needs, to help build a 138 unit affordable housing complex, and to replace the elevator at a historic home owned by the City of Watertown were approved by the City Council Tuesday night. The three projects came recommended from the Community Preservation Committee. The funds come from the Community Preservation Act (CPA) surcharge on Watertown properties, which are to be spent in three areas: affordable housing, historic preservation, and open space/outdoor recreation. For each area, 10 percent of the funds collected go into a reserve.

Around Town

Community Preservation Committee Hearing 2025 Project Applications

By |

Watertown’s Community Preservation Committee will see the presentations for an affordable housing redevelopment project at Willow Park, and rehabilitation of the Commander’s Mansion. See information from the City of Watertown, below. The Community Preservation Committee (CPC) is evaluating project applications and requests for Community Preservation Act (CPA) funding and applicants are presenting their projects to the Committee in the areas of historic preservation and community housing. 

View the Willow Park Redevelopment request for additional funds and the original application.  

View the Commander’s Mansion Building Envelope Rehabilitation and Elevation Modernization project application. 

Join the presentations on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025, at 7 p.m. in person at City Hall, 149 Main St., in the Lower Hearing Room or via Zoom.

Government

Council to Weigh Changes to Rules for City Boards and Committees, City Departments

By |

Photo by Charlie BreitroseWatertown City Hall

The City Council will be weighing in on a 39-page document that sets the rules for how Watertown’s appointed committees and municipal departments operate. Some changes proposed include changing the length of terms for some committees, who appoints members of certain committees, and how to remove members of committees. The City has been working for many months with the Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center for Public Management at UMass Boston to create an Administrative Code for the City of Watertown, said City Manager George Proakis at the Sept. 23 Council meeting. He provided the Council with a draft Administrative Code, which he said is designed to “serve as a single, consolidated ordinance that outlines the structure and organization of city government that essentially covers boards and commissions and covers city departments.”