Government

Trustees Impressed by New Watertown Library Director’s Experience and Vision

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Kim Hewitt was chosen to be the next director of the Watertown Free Public Library. (Courtesy photo)

The new director of the Watertown Library impressed the Board of Trustees with her knowledge of libraries, her experience dealing with difficult situations, and her vision for the library. Thursday night, the Board of Library Trustees voted unanimously to appoint Kim Hewitt as the next Director of the Watertown Free Public Library. The vote came two days after the board interviewed Hewitt, who is currently the director of the Needham Free Public Library, and the other finalist, Dan  Brower, Library Director of the Cass County Public Library in Missouri. All the trustees said the two candidates were very well qualified, but Hewitt stood out with her experience dealing with a range of challenges that face public libraries these days.

Government

City Manager Hears from Residents at Forum on Hiring Watertown’s Next Police Chief

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Residents had a long list of requests for the qualities and qualifications they would like Watertown’s next Police Chief to have, and new initiatives they would like the new head of the WPD to take on. Monday night, City Manager George Proakis held a community forum to discuss the hiring of the new Watertown Police Chief. He was joined by two members of the consultancy firm who will run the process of evaluating the candidates. Attendees brought up a variety of areas they would like to see the next chief take on, including changes in the department. Several wanted to see the Watertown Police be more transparent, and provide more data to the public, including arrests, traffic violations, and other incidents broken down by race, ethnicity and gender.

Government

State Senate Offering Paid Fellowship Program

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Wikimedia Commons / ChensiyuanMassachusetts State House. The following announcement was provided by State Sen. Brownsberger’s office:

The Massachusetts state Senate is accepting applications for a fellowship program offering paid, part-time positions for eight weeks in Senate offices from September through November 2023. Our office is participating. The program has been designed to expose traditionally underserved populations to public service, representative democracy, and lawmaking. This is an opportunity to learn firsthand about the roles and responsibilities of state legislators and their staff.

Government

Election 2023: Potential Race for Council President, Library Trustees May Have Open Spot

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Charlie Breitrose

The deadline to file to run in the 2023 Watertown City Election is less than a week away, and there could be a contested race for City Council President, while the Library Board of Trustees has only two candidates for the three openings. Former Council President Clyde Younger took out papers to run against incumbent Mark Sideris. The deadline for candidates to file papers with the City Clerk’s office is Monday, July 31, at 5 p.m.

Younger has served on Town Meeting before Watertown changed to a Council form of government, as well as School Committee, Town Council and served as Council President from 1997-2004, and 2006-2009. Sideris was a Councilor from 1995 to 2009, and has served as Council President since he defeated Younger in 2009. Since then, Younger has run against Sideris multiple times, the last time in 2015.

Government

Developers of 104 Main Street Project Ask for Delay for Zoning Board Hearing

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A view of the revised plans for the 104-126 Main Street project. The sixth floor has been scaled back and would not be seen from Main Street. (Illustration by Icon Architecture)

The developers of the proposed six-story project on Main Street requested that the hearing on the case be moved to the August Zoning Board of Appeals meeting. In June, they presented changes to the ZBA, which still had concerns about aspects of the project, including the number of stories and public amenities. The case was due to be back before the board on July 26, but developers requested the case to be continued another month.

Government

Council Rejects 2 Resident Petitions, Ideas Remain Alive in Zoning Discussions

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Watertown City Hall

The City Council did not pass two citizen petitions seeking to change Watertown’s zoning rules, but Councilors said they heard the frustration expressed by the supporters and signers and said they support many of the ideas contained in the petitions. The first petition called for reducing the floor area ratio (FAR) allowed for new buildings in the Watertown Square area, while the second called for more protections for residential neighborhoods located next to areas where large commercial or residential projects could be built.

While the Council rejected the petitions — the first not going to a vote after receiving no second, and the second unanimously voted against — City Council President Mark Sideris said he has heard the signers of the petitions concerns. “I want to take a moment to thank the 600 people who signed the petitions because I think there is some frustration — and we noticed that this evening — with the process. I think we can always do a better job with process, and I think the Manager’s FY24 budget had proposed additional ways that we can communicate with the citizens and we approved that, ” Sideris said. “There is clearly a sense of frustration and I am not sure that any actions that we are going to take are going to satisfy those frustrations until, as somebody pointed out, that we come together and talk about things comprehensively.” 

Petition 1: Watertown Square Building Size

The Council heard from people supporting and opposing the petitions.

Government

Reorganization of City Government Includes Changes to Planning, DPW and Other Departments

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When the City Council approved the Fiscal Year 2024 budget, they also approved a reorganization of Watertown’s municipal government. Some changes impact who directly reports to the City Manager or the Deputy Manager. Other positions have been moved into new departments, and some departments have been split into divisions. One department with new divisions is Community Development and Planning, which will have Planning and Building Divisions and a third for community events and the Commander’s Mansion. The Planning Division includes a Current Planning Group and a Planning Director to oversee long-range planning.

Government

City Releases Draft of the Watertown Comprehensive Plan

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The City has been working on updating Watertown’s primary planning document, the Comprehensive Plan, for months. This week, the City released the draft of the plan to be considered by the City Council. See the plans and more details about the process on the Comprehensive Plan website,  www.watertown-ma.gov/comp-plan. “This draft is updated based on input from the spring Open House and Online Survey. The formal approval process with the City Council and Planning Board is the next step,” the City’s announcement said.