Government

Council Changes Direction on Community Preservation Committee, Town Manager will Make Appointments

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Tuesday night, after a long and contentious debate, a majority of the Town Council voted to approve a compromise that would give the Town Manager power to appoint member of the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) with those selected needing to be confirmed by the Council. The decision went away from the subcommittee recommendation to have members appointed by the Council. The approved ordinance, which was brought forward by Town Council President Mark Sideris, also provides specific direction to the Town Manager for what qualities to look for in the appointees. Since the Community Preservation Act (CPA) passed in 2016, the focus has been on how to appoint the four at-large members of the Committee, which is charged to come up with ideas and recommendations for how to use funds from the tax surcharge. The money can be spent on affordable housing, open space and recreation, and historic preservation.

Government

Some Major Changes in Final Draft of Community Preservation Ordinance, but it Keeps the Spirit

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A Town Council subcommittee approved the final draft for the rules on establishing the committee that will oversee the money brought in by the Community Preservation Act. The final draft eliminated some major portions of the previous version, but kept the main priorities. Tuesday night, the Council’s Rules and Ordinances Committee voted to send the draft to the full Town Council, which includes the changed ordinance and the separate policy for appointing the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) members who are selected by the Town Council. Each year the CPC will send to the Council a list of projects to be funded by the CPA funds. The state’s CPA statute allows the money, which comes from a 2 percent property tax surcharge, to be spent on affordable housing, open space or historical preservation.

Community Preservation Committee

Council Subcommittee Crafting Rules for Appointing Community Preservation Committee

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{Updated Feb. 11, 2018 at 9:50 a.m., the method for appointing the statutorily required members of the Community Preservation Committee was corrected to be by the other members of the board on which they serve.}

The process for how the at-large members of the Watertown Community Preservation Committee has been hashed out by the Town Council’s Rules & Ordinances Committee over the past year, and a final recommendation will soon be going to the full Council for consideration. Five members of the CPC are mandated by the state Community Preservation Act law, and communities can add at-large members. Watertown’s CPC will have four at-large members. The Rules & Ordinances Committee has discussed this in prior meetings, and they sent it to the full Council for an opinion on who should appoint the four members.

Government

Town Council and Town Manager Will Appoint People to Community Preservation Committee

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After more than an hour’s debate Tuesday night, the Town Council decided who will appoint the four at-large members of the committee that will recommend how to spend the funds from the Community Preservation Act (CPA) after coming to a compromise, of sorts. The Community Preservation Committee (CPC) was created when Watertown voters approved the CPA in November 2017, and will send recommended projects to be funded by the CPA money to the Town Council for final approval. Five members of the CPC are required to be on the committee by the state statute, but communities can add other members. Watertown decided to have four at-large members, but the Rules and Ordinances subcommittee could not agree on how the four would be appointed. The group that put the CPA on the ballot, Invest in Watertown, pushed for the four seats to be appointed by the Town Council.

Community Preservation Act

Council Asked to Weigh in on Who Should Select Community Preservation Committee

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The Town Council will be asked to decide who should appoint certain members of the Community Preservation Committee – the Council itself or the Town Manager. 

The Community Preservation Committee will make recommendations on how Watertown’s Community Preservation Act (CPA) money will be spent. The Town Council ultimately approves the projects, which must fall into at least one of three categories – affordable housing, historic preservation and open space/recreation. Towns and cities can decide who will be part of their Community Preservation Committee, but five positions are mandated by the state statues: member of the Planning Board, a member of the Conservation Commission, a member of the Historical Commission, a member of the Housing Authority Board and a member of the Parks Commission. Those members are chosen by their respective board or committee. Watertown does not have a Parks Commission, so the Council’s Rules and Ordinances subcommittee decided Monday night to have someone who “acts in the capacity or performs like duties of the Board of Park Commissioners.”