Around Town

City Surveying Residents About Qualifications, Characteristics Desired in Next City Manager

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The process to hire the next City Manager for Watertown has begun, and residents can weigh in on what they think the most important qualifications and characteristics for the next chief executive of the City to have. They survey is being conducted online, and the City sent out the following message:

“Watertown residents, please participate in this citizen survey which is designed to help identify the desired experience and attributes of Watertown’s next City Manager. Your opinions will assist our recruitment consultant and the City Manager Screening Committee as they identify candidates and work to narrow the field to a small group of finalists to submit to the City Council.” The survey has five questions about the next City Manager:

Which professional qualifications are most importantWhich personal characteristics are most importantWhat challenges and opportunities are most critical for the City Manager to be able to addressThe most important thing a new City Manager should know about Watertown, andWhat other information the City Manager Search Committee should know in the search for a new City Manager

Access the public input survey by clicking here.

Government

The Voice of the East End Bids Farewell After 16 Years as a Watertown Councilor

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Retiring District A Councilor Angie Kounelis, right, with her mother Evangelia. After 16 years, Angeline Kounelis — Angie to most — represented District A for the final time as a Councilor on Dec. 14. She not only represented East Watertown, to many she spoke for them and was a trusted advocate for their needs. In the wake of her final Council meeting, Kounelis said she has been flooded with notes of thanks, congratulations and appreciation.

Around Town

OP-ED: Keep Health Care Workers in Mind, System Strained by More Than COVID

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State Sen. Will Brownsberger

The following piece was provided by State Sen. Will Brownsberger, who represents Watertown, Belmont and parts of Boston:

Please keep our health care workers in mind as you make decisions about what COVID risks to take over the coming weeks. As of Tuesday, December 14, there were 1411 people hospitalized with COVID in Massachusetts, of which 326 were in the ICU and 176 were intubated. That is well below the level in the first April 2020 surge when hospitalizations peaked at almost 4,000, yet for a combination of reasons, the hospital system is feeling a lot of strain. Steve Walsh, President of the Massachusetts Hospital Association testified at a hearing on December 16 about the state of the hospital system. He made the following points in his testimony:

Like many employers across the country, hospitals are having difficulty recruiting staff — nurses and behavioral health specialists are most in demand, but all hospital jobs are hard to fill.Caregivers are exhausted and burnt out — many are leaving for other fields or retiring.In the early days of COVID, it was possible to recruit travel nurses — acute surges were happening in only a few states.

Government

Upgrades to Softball Facilities Planned at O’Connell Field as Part of Hosmer School Project

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Ai3 ArchitectsA map of the proposed additions to O’Connell Field, shown in yellow. The white pathways are already in the plans. The athletic fields at O’Connell Field will likely be getting some upgrades as part of the construction of the new Hosmer Elementary School, but some neighbors are concerned about the loss of green space and other issues. At Wednesday night’s School Building Committee meeting, designers presented a preliminary design for upgrades to O’Connell Field, which runs along Mt. Auburn Street in front of the Brigham House and sits next to Hosmer’s playground.

DPW

More Than a Ton of Clothing Collected in First Month of Watertown’s Curbside Textile Collection

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The following announcement was provided by the City of Watertown:

The City of Watertown, working with HELPSY, the largest clothing collector in the northeast, has collected nearly 3,000 pounds of clothing during the first month of curbside pickup. By collecting unwanted clothing for recycling, thousands of pounds of unnecessary trash have been diverted from local landfills. This not only helps the environment but reusing and recycling textiles also saves Watertown money by reducing tipping fees or landfill maintenance costs. Textile pickups are ongoing and offered weekly. Residents can schedule online at helpsy.co/watertownma.

Elections

Council Approves Changes to Watertown Voting Precincts, Some Worried About Lack of Detailed Map

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Charlie BreitroseWatertown City Hall

Some Watertown residents will be moved to a different precinct, and vote in a different location, after changes to the precinct boundaries were approved by the City Council Tuesday night. Precincts are changed every 10 years after the results of the Census are released. The changes were complicated by the fact that Watertown’s House districts also changed, with Precinct 9 moving from the 29th Middlesex (represented by Steve Owens) to the 10th Middlesex (John Lawn’s district). The Council had been scheduled to considered the changes at a previous meeting, but they found that the precincts didn’t match up for state and local elections, said City Council President Mark Sideris. “The first time we tried to do this there was going to be a situation where a constituent would have to vote in a city election in one place and a state election in a different place,” Sideris said.

Development

LETTER: Westside Resident Upset by Loss of Trees on Recently Sold Property

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Linda ScottStumps remaining after several trees were taken down at a property on Olcott Street. An Open Letter to the Watertown Planning and Zoning Boards:

There’s a war on trees on Olcott Street. On a one block street where the only major street tree is dying, it was a terrible shock to me and my neighbors when we returned home from our work and chores to find that a developer who bought 45-47 Olcott St., had, in one day, chopped down at least five trees on this private lot … five mature trees that were homes and roosts for wildlife; provided shade on those extremely hot days that have become so prevalent; provided privacy, a commodity hard to come by in this dense neighborhood; and served as a sound buffer for traffic and neighborhood noises. The trees that remained were “pruned” to within inches of their lives. Trees which, in short, made Olcott Street a much more pleasant and livable place were felled without any thought for how this would Impact this neighborhood.

Government

OP-ED: Legislature’s Bill Includes Money for Greenway, Replacing Pipes, Wayside Program in Watertown

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State Sen. Will Brownsberger

The following piece was provided by State Sen. Will Brownsberger:

We are pleased to announce that the state’s positive financial position combined with additional federal support has allowed the legislature to make new contributions to Watertown’s health, housing, and environmental programs. 

We have just approved a $4 billion one-time spending bill, funded from $2.5 billion in federal relief and $1.5 billion in state surplus.   

Statewide energy and environmental programs receive $370 million in the package. We were able to additionally allocate $150,000 directly to Watertown to help replace lead pipes that connect service lines to water mains and to conduct a public outreach campaign targeted to all residents and property owners served by lead pipes so that they know to take appropriate precautions, most importantly flushing their faucets in the morning before drinking. 

We additionally allocated $250,000 for the construction of stormwater infiltration systems to reduce flooding of the Watertown-Cambridge Greenway in the vicinity of Cottage Street. The Watertown-Cambridge Greenway is the new bike path segment starting on Arlington street in Watertown and connecting through to Fresh Pond. The project was delayed to address drainage issues at several points along the path in both Watertown and Cambridge. The path design had to be modified to include flood control structures, but it is finally nearing completion.   

Unrelated to the current bill, but also in the environmental-good-news category, the state’s Department of Conservation and Recreation is finally moving forward with a set of sidewalk improvements, river path improvements and landscaping improvements along Charles River Road. This project is funded in part by $500,000 that Simmons College provided as part of its compensation to the state for use of the Daly Field across the river in Brighton.   

The bill devotes $1.15 billion to statewide public health and health care systems. Of that amount, $400 million is devoted to behavioral health, including $122 million to help young professionals who commit to the field. Behavioral health and public health remain centrally important as the COVID pandemic continues. 

We were able to invest $125,000 directly to support behavioral health efforts in Watertown through the Wayside Youth and Family Support Network. Wayside is the nonprofit which houses the Watertown Social Services Resource Specialist positions as well as the Watertown Youth Coalition. 

Of the $617.6 million that the bill devotes to housing and homelessness, $150 million will go to local housing maintenance needs statewide. We were able to additionally allocate $57,000 directly to the Watertown Housing Authority to conduct a feasibility study for the redevelopment of the Willow Park family public housing development in East Watertown. 

The bill also devotes $1.578 billion to supporting workers and businesses statewide. It allocates $500 million to support front line workers through premium pay, $500 million to support businesses through relief for their contributions to unemployment insurance and $578 million to a range of other economic development and work force measures. 

Finally, the bill provides $271 million for education on multiple levels, including $100 million for HVAC upgrades to protect health in local public schools.  

In selecting programs to benefit from the large amount of funding made available by the federal government and the strength of the state’s economy, the legislature solicited input across the state and deliberated at length as to how to most effectively use the funds. We also kept in mind that the funds are available on a one-time basis and cannot be used to fund permanent program expansions. 

Watertown stands out for the effective financial management that has allowed it to be very self-sufficient in its public investments, but we are pleased to be able to support and complement those investments and we are grateful for the ongoing collaboration we have with Watertown’s very effective leadership team. 

Will Brownsberger is the state senator serving Back Bay, Fenway, Brighton, Allston, Watertown and Belmont.  Steve Owens is the state representative serving much of Watertown, and parts of  Cambridge.