Around Town

New Spray Pad Will Keep Kids Cool at East Watertown Park

By |

Children enjoy the new spray pad at Filippello Park in East Watertown. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

On a warm afternoon, dozens of children waited patiently for City officials to declare the new and improved spray pad at Filippello Park open so they could run through the cooling streams of water. Friday’s ribbon cutting marked the official opening of the new feature that has 15 spray features, including geysers, an aquadome, a lunar cannon and a palm tree on 2,500 sq. ft. of non-porous rubber play surface.

Around Town

DPW Releases Results of Watertown’s Recycling Audit

By |

The following information was provided by the Watertown Department of Public Works:

The Watertown recycling audit has concluded after two weeks. Thank you to all who reached out with questions and engaged with this city program! Observation from the audit found that about 10 percent of each route contains recycling contamination. This means we still have work to do in the city to ensure that we are sending the correct materials to our Materials Recovery Facility, also known as a MRF. MRFs, like everything else, can only work efficiently with the materials that they are built to process.

Around Town

Field at East End Park to be Closed for Multiple Months

By |

The City of Watertown announced that one of the fields at an East End Park will be closed to let it recover from high use. The City sent out the following announcement:

The Watertown Department of Public Works (DPW) and Recreation Department have concluded that the Filippello (Grove) Field should be shut down due to poor field conditions. Due to overuse and weather the turfgrass went into winter in rough condition and will not recover unless it is allowed to rest. There is extreme wear on the east end of 11 v 11 soccer layout caused by shading of trees, which prevents area from drying out after rain events. We will take an aggressive approach to renovation (aeration/seeding/fertilization/topdressing) over the next 3 months and expect the field to fully recover for Fall ’24 sports.

Around Town

Watertown Touch-a-Truck Features DPW, Fire & Police Vehicles + Bookmobile

By |

The following announcement was provided by the City of Watertown:

Calling automobile enthusiasts of all ages! Watertown Department of Public Works is hosting a Touch-a-Truck on Saturday, May 11, 2024 at 124 Orchard St. from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Guest experiences will include a Road Sign Maze as well as a Planting Station where participants can plant seeds in a paper cup to take home. Free popcorn and giveaways for children will be available while supplies last. You can plan to see DPW vehicles and others from around the city, including Watertown police and fire, the library’s bookmobile, plus recycling and compost trucks!

Government

City Offices, DPW, Senior Center Closing Early on Good Friday

By |

The City of Watertown announced that some municipal facilities will close early on Good Friday. The City release said:

Please be aware that the Department of Public Works office is open at 7:00 AM and closes at noon, and City Hall and Senior Center are open at 8:30 AM and are closed at 1 PM, in observance of Good Friday on Friday, March 29, 2024.

Around Town

DPW Update on Waste Reduction, Recycling & Re-use

By |

The Department of Public Works provided the following update on trash, recycling, and re-use efforts in Watertown:

Happy New Year! 2023 was a strong continuation of the big push that was started in 2022 to help achieve our Resilient Watertown action items, as well as the City Council established goal of reducing the amount of waste sent for disposal by 30% by 2030. Watertown’s tonnage reduction is being tracked based on the City’s 2019 baseline of 8,760 tons of waste sent for disposal. Watertown sent 8,581 tons of solid waste for incineration in 2022 and reduced that amount to 8,327 tons in calendar year 2023. This decrease shows that as a city we are continuing our trajectory of reducing our trash tonnage every year, which is critical to hitting our goal.

Around Town

2024 Watertown Trash & Recycling Calendar Out, Includes 1 More Yard Waste Collection

By |

The Department of Public Works released the Watertown trash and recycling pickup schedule, along with the yard waste collection weeks. In 2024, there will be 26 yard waste collection weeks, one more than 2023, including three in the month of April. The first yard waste collection will be the week of April 8. Twelve weeks will have holiday trash delays for at least some residents. Watertown’s 2024 Trash and Recycle calendar is available online.

Government

Watertown Public Works Front Office Hours Changing

By |

The Department of Public Works facility on Orchard Street will be opening and closing earlier in the day starting the week of Dec. 18. The DPW asked the City Council to make the changes because many contractors start before the old opening time of 8:30 a.m. and wanted to do business with the department. Some councilors asked if residents would be coming over in the afternoon and no longer be able to speak to someone at the DPW front desk. Public Works Superintendent Greg St.