Government

City Splitting Up Financial Positions After Failing to Find “Unicorn”

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Watertown City Hall

After the City Council struggled to hire someone to replace retired Auditor and Financial Director Tom Tracy, City Manager George Proakis recommended that the job be split into two. Last week, Proakis told the City Council of his plan to split up the duties that Tracy had, rather than trying to find someone with the same skills. Tracy retired in October after working for nearly 30 years in Watertown, and has stayed on part-time to help Proakis with his first budget as City Manager. “We’ve done a pretty broad search, we hired a consultant and we made some real progress in searching all corners for this type of position,” Proakis said. “After taking a significant look at this I have come to the conclusion that the combined chief financial officer/auditors are unicorns.

Government

City’s 5-Year Capital Plan Includes Park Projects, School Improvements, and Demolishing the Old Police Station

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The five-year Capital Improvement Plan includes 43 items, including 19 new items for Fiscal Year 2024. Projects in the pan include the new Watertown High School, the Victory Field track and courts area, the second part of the Arsenal Park renovation, and the demolition of the old Police Station. In addition, the capital plan also includes a field house at Victory Field, an extension of the Community Path, replacement of the spray pad at Filippello Park, lighting improvements at Saltonstall Park, improvements to the baseball field at Casey Park, and improvements to Sullivan Playground. There are also multiple projects at Watertown’s schools, improvement projects at the Library, the newly acquired Parker School office building, and at the John A. Ryan Skating Arena. Purchases of vehicles and equipment for the Fire Department and the Department of Public Works also made the list.

Around Town

City Council Will Discuss Replacing Victory Field Turf Tuesday

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Charlie BreitroseWatertown’s Victory Field. The City Council will consider funding the replacement of the turf at Victory Field at its meeting on Tuesday. The field currently has an artificial turf surface with plastic grass and black rubber fill in between. The proposed new field would have plastic grass, but the fill would be an organic material made from pine trees. The artificial turf was installed in 2011, replacing a natural grass field.

Government

DATE CHANGE: West End City Councilor Emily Izzo Hosting Annual Public Meeting

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District D City Councilor Emily Izzo. As part of the changes to the Watertown Charter all City Councilors must have an annual meeting to meet with the public. City Councilor Emily Izzo, who represents the westside of the City, announced dates for her constituent meeting. See info below. Izzo announced the change of dates for the meeting:

Due to a conflicting event, I have changed the date of my annual councilor meeting.

Government

See How Much the City Proposes Charging New Developments to Fund Affordable Housing

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Watertown City Hall

The City of Watertown recently received approval from the state to charge linkage fees on new developments to raise money to create affordable housing. A zoning amendment has been proposed that would set the fee to be paid by new developments. The special legislation approved by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Charlie Baker in December allows Watertown to charge up to $18 per square foot on projects over 30,000 sq. ft. The exact amount must be set by amending the Watertown Zoning Ordinance.

Government

Watertown City Councilor Elected to Mass. Municipal Councilor’s Association Board

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Lisa Feltner seeks re-election as District B Town Councilor. District B City Councilor Lisa Feltner has been elected to serve on the board of the Massachusetts Municipal Councilor’s Association. The group provides opportunities councilors to network and share ideas, pursue educational opportunities, meet with state leaders and subject-matter experts, and participate in the advocacy work of the Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA). The following announcement was provided by the MMA:

Member groups representing the state’s mayors, councillors, town managers and administrators, and select board members elected their 2023 officers at their annual business meetings held during the recent Massachusetts Municipal Association’s (MMA) Annual Meeting & Trade Show in Boston. Women Elected Municipal Officials (WEMO) also named its 2023 Steering Committee at its annual Leadership Luncheon during the MMA Annual Meeting.

Government

City Councilor John Airaisan Hosting Annual Public Meeting

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Councilor At-Large John Airasian. As part of the changes to the Watertown Charter all City Councilors must have an annual meeting to meet with the public. City Councilor At-Large John Airasian announced dates for his constituent meeting. See info below. Join City Councilor John Airasian at his Individual Annual City Councilor Meeting on Tuesday, January 31, 2023 from 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. in the Watertown Police Station Community/Training room, 552 Main St., Watertown.

Government

Residents Discussed How Watertown Should Spend ARPA Money

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The following announcement came from Watertown Forward:

Watertown residents came together on January 22, 2023 for a Watertown Forward City Chat to learn more about how the city could spend the one-time $10.5M allotment in funds from the American Rescue Plan Act. (ARPA). Jared Knowles, founder of Civilytics Consulting a data science consulting firm here in Watertown, and frequent resource to communities around Massachusetts and the country for the allocation and use of ARPA funds, provided an overview of the funding guidelines and insight into what other communities have done with their funds. Knowles commented that communities have used this funding in a wide-range of applications, for instance, to address affordable housing and houselessness by constructing new housing or providing rental assistance, to give childcare workers bonuses for their efforts as essential workers, and to invest in the public water infrastructure by installing public water fountains or water bottle filling stations. According to federal guidelines, there are three categories of funding that Watertown can consider: respond to the public health emergency of the pandemic and its impact, make investments in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure, and provide premium pay for essential workers.