Around Town

LETTER: Walker Pond is an Opportunity to Embrace Nature

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Photo by Leo MartinWalker’s Pond, on the Westside of Watertown. By Linda ScottWatertown Resident

Thoughts on Walker Pond

“So ring the bells that still can ringForget your perfect offeringThere is a crack in everythingThat’s how the light gets in.”

— Leonard Cohen

I was reminded of this Leonard Cohen song while watching the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) meeting on January 18th. One of the projects being discussed was Walker Pond, a property that Watertown purchased for over $11 million as a sort of “Jewel in the Crown” for Watertown, a rare place where families could sit, experience nature, picnic, fly kites, play informal soccer games, and get to know more about each other and the nature that surrounds them. Lots of my life experiences came to mind…

“Look, Linda, a rabbit. It must have escaped from the Nature Lodge,” said a little girl while we, me a camp counselor and she a child from a very rich NYC family, stood on the porch of our cottage on a dewey early morning at a camp in Connecticut.

Government

Watertown Community Preservation Program’s Current Projects, Reviewing Applications

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The following announcement was provided by the Community Preservation Committee:

The Community Preservation Program is approaching its fifth year of operation. Since the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) adopted the Community Preservation Act Five-year Plan 2021-2025, the CPC has conducted two complete funding rounds. This year, the CPC celebrated the completion of the program’s first two projects. Irving Park got revamped using $372,606 in outdoor recreation funds and the Edmund Fowle House saw its deteriorated wooden gutters replaced using $47,177 in historic preservation funds. While Irving Park is city-owned, the Fowle House Museum, listed on the National and State Registers of Historic Places, and built in 1772, is owned and operated by the Historical Society of Watertown.

Around Town

Learn About How to Apply for Community Preservation Act Funds & Approved Projects

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The following information was provided by the City of Watertown:

The CPA Annual Public Hearing will be held in the Council Chamber in City Hall on Thursday, June 15, 2023, at 7 p.m.

Don’t miss the CPA Annual Public Hearing hosted by the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) in the City Hall, City Council Chamber.  You may also join remotely via Zoom: https://watertown-ma.zoom.us/j/91525442843. This event is a great opportunity to: 

Hear more about the recently funded CPA Projects;

Tell us your open space, outdoor recreation, community housing, and historic preservation priorities;

Learn how to apply for CPA funding; and

Get answers to your questions about CPA in Watertown. Take our one question survey, What is one thing you would like to know about the Watertown CPA? 

You may send questions or comments in advance to Lanae Handy, Community Preservation Coordinator, at lhandy@watertown-ma.gov. Visit watertown-ma.gov/cpc for more information.

Around Town

UPDATED: Committee Will Consider Which Community Preservation Projects to Support in 2023

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The Community Preservation Committee will deliberate over the proposed projects for 2023, and vote on which ones to recommend to the City Council for final approval. The Community Preservation Committee (CPC) makes recommendations on how to spend the funds raised after Watertown passed the Community Preservation Act (CPA) in 2016. The money can fund projects in multiple areas: historic preservation, affordable housing, and open space and recreation. In February, the CPC heard six proposal for projects to be funded. On Thursday, March 30, at 7 p.m. the Committee will discuss the proposals and vote on recommendations.

Around Town

See the Community Preservation Project Application Presentations for 2023

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The Community Preservation Committee will hear applications for six projects seeking from groups funding from the fund created by the passage of the Community Preservation Act. This year, will be the second year that funding had been awarded for Community Preservation projects. Last year, two were funded: the preservation of two historic paintings in City Hall, and the renovation of Irving Park. A third did not receive funds. Funds can go to projects in three areas: historic preservation, community housing, and outdoor recreation.

Government

State Giving Watertown Nearly $1 Million for Community Preservation

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The following announcement was provided by the City of Watertown:

Watertown’s Community Preservation Committee is pleased to announce that the Commonwealth has released $203,645 more to Watertown’s Community Preservation Fund, bringing the total annual state match to $956,905 for our City. These resources are a supplemental distribution from $20 million in state surplus funds for Community Preservation Act (CPA) communities in fiscal year 2022. State matching funds come from fees assessed on certain real estate transactions through the registration of deeds. For the past fiscal year, the state match equaled 38.5 percent of the CPA funds raised locally. Mark Kraczkiewicz, current chair of the CPC, said, “These matching state funds of nearly a million dollars confirm the wisdom of Watertown voters when they adopted the CPC.

Around Town

Historic Paintings Removed from City Hall to be Restored Using Community Preservation Funds

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Charlie BreitroseEmployees from Maquette Fine Arts Services prepare one of the historic paintings in City Hall’s lobby to be removed from the wall for restoration. Stephen Munroe of Maquette, center, speaks with art preservationist Louise Orsini, right. Friday morning a quiet sense of anticipation filled the lobby of Watertown’s City Hall. The marble covered atrium was filled with history lovers and art preservationists waiting to see what secrets are held by a pair of paintings dating back to the early 1930s. The towering paintings have been inset into the walls of Watertown’s Town Hall (since 2021 City Hall) since it opened in 1932.

Affordable Housing

DATE CHANGE: Learn About Applying for Community Preservation Funds at Upcoming Workshops

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The date of one of the Community Preservation Act Application Workshops has been moved from Aug. 9 to Aug. 10. See the information below:

The first two projects to receive Community Preservation Act (CPA) funding were approved in 2022, and those seeking to submit their projects in the next round of funding can get information about the process at an upcoming CPA Application Workshop. CPA funds can be used in four areas: affordable housing, historic preservation, open space, and outdoor recreation.