Charlie Breitrose Watertown’s City Hall.
Three items will be covered during a special City Council meeting next week: a petition to create a historic district on Main Street, a petition to change the name of the delta in Watertown Square, and to consider the recommended project from the Community Preservation Committee.
The meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 21 at 6 p.m. in the City Council Chamber in Town Hall, 149 Main St. The name of the delta will discussed first, followed by the historic district proposal, and then the CPC projects. People can also participate in the meeting on Zoom.
The first to items are petitions submitted to the Council by residents.
The petition for the delta proposes that the Council “begins a process of reconsidering the name of the delta in Watertown Square, presently called the Columbus Delta. Our hope is the process will generate a new name that is more inclusive of all members of our community and the history of the place we now call home.” It was filed by Mishy Lesser.
City Clerk Janet Murphy certified that the petition had been signed by 154 registered Watertown voters. The area was named the Columbus Delta by Town Meeting about 80 years ago. The petition notes that Watertown’s Charter has a policy for naming of squares and intersection that says that “the Town Council understands that said naming may have long-lasting effects and will span future generations whose perceptions and values may change.”
The petition to create a historic district from 98 to 224 Main Street on one side, and from 99 Main Street to the corner of Main Street and Whites Avenue was filed by Clyde Younger. The effort arose after the proposed project on Main Street to build a five-story residential and commercial project.
The City Clerk certified that 163 registered Watertown voters signed the petition.
The two projects recommended to receive Community Preservation Act funds are a restoration of the historic paintings in City Hall, and the rehabilitation of Irving Park.
On April 21, the Community Preservation Committee voted to support the projects, which need the City Council’s approval to get the funding.
The Historical Society of Watertown was the co-applicant for the painting restoration along with the City of Watertown. The project would receive $33,000 in Community Preservation funds.
The Department of Public works requested $294,195 to do improvements to Irving Park, which is located off of Irving Street, between North Beacon Street and Charles River Road. The project proposes to install a central paved gathering area with four benches, add granite curbing around the park, care for the grass, plant four shade trees and 11 flowering ones, and care for the existing trees.
See the agenda by clicking here.
How to View Remotely
The meeting will be televised Watertown Cable Access and will be available on the Government Channel (Ch. 99 on Comcast, Ch. 13 on RCN) or online at http://vodwcatv.org/CablecastPublicSite/?channel=3
The public can join the meeting virtually here: https://watertown-ma.zoom.us/j/92991331344
Or, join by phone with audio by calling: (877) 853-5257 or (888) 475-4499 (Toll Free) and enter Webinar ID: 92991331344
Comments can be submitted by sending an email to vpiccirilli@watertown-ma.gov
Hello, is it possible the view these petitions somewhere to get more information? (E.g. has there been a proposal made for the re-naming of the Delta? What are the implications of being designated as a Historic District?) Thank you!
Thanks for the question. If you go to the link to the agenda https://watertownma.civicclerk.com/Web/Mobile/mobiledocs.aspx?id=4438 and click on documents you can see the petitions. There isn’t a lot more information. I expect those questions will be raised at the meeting. This is likely the starting point for the 2 petitions, rather than a final decision.
Changing the name of the Columbus Delta to make it more, “inclusive” is just one more step in ripping away at something because it offends a handful of some who never even grew up in Watertown. What’s next, re-naming Watertown, to Everyone’s Town, so we won’t offend the Charles River?
If it ain’t broke, why do we need to fix it? By this countrywide effort to rename everything, we are deleting our history. Most of Watertown’s history has already been destroyed as we have few sites left going back to our founding. It will make it more difficult to go back and research our past when all these unnecessary changes are made. Whatever new names are decided for today’s woke society may not fit with the next generation of people. Why not let it be, learn from it, and go on with life. There are much more important issues facing us than renaming everything to suit the whims of a few amongst us.