The Town Council will meet virtually Tuesday night at 7 p.m. and are scheduled to have a public hearing and vote on the lighting project at Filippello Park.
The Recreation Department has proposed putting up new lights at the Arlington Street Field at the park on the Eastside of town, and replace the lights at the softball field closer to the Grove Street side of the park. A new scoreboard will also be installed.
At a March meeting, the Council discussed how strong the lights should be and who would have control over the lighting level.
See more information about the Filippello Park lighting project here.
Also on the agenda are: funding for the remodeling of two bathrooms at Watertown Middle School, acceptance of a gift for the Watertown Food Pantry and a budget transfer for improvements at the John A. Ryan Skating Arena.
How to Participate
The Council will meet remotely due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The will use the Zoom app, and the public can participate by joining the Zoom meeting, calling in or sending a comment or question by email. The meeting will also be broadcast on Watertown Cable (including on its website).
Information on Participating in the Town Council Meeting
- The meeting will be televised through WCATV (Watertown Cable Access Television): https://wcatv.org/government-channel/
- Public may join the virtual meeting online: https://zoom.us/j/686435824
- Public may join the virtual meeting audio only by phone: (877) 853-5257 or (888) 475-4499 (Toll Free) and enter Webinar ID: 686 435 824 #
- Public may also comment through email: vpiccirilli@watertown-ma.gov
See the entire agenda by clicking here.
Watertown does not have updated zoning for lighting, one of the many ways this government falls short. It’s only taken 3 years for a noise ordinance, so I guess we won’t have one anytime too soon.
Unfortunately, lighting counts for more than just making sure the baseball is seen. Ecologically, lighting has a big impact on the natural world, as well as our own mental health. I would be surprised if anyone in our backwards-thinking town hall is thinking about much more than the baseball though.
People have been asking about updating our zoning for lighting for years. As usual, all the projects will be done before we get to this basic necessity, so we will be forever mired in old zoning.
For instance, as I understand it, UPLIGHTING is not allowed in our zoning. Because of this, my neighborhood was made to endure 30′ pole lights 60+’ above our heads on the top floor of the Athena garage, with no input from the neighborhood even though we asked for this.
But it seems OK for sports. What a joke.
We need a major government overhaul—let’s hope the old boys club ruling the town lets some questions be asked during the Charter Review. Many up there are quite satisfied with things as they are, which is unfortunate for our town.