Watertown

Watertown City Council

Tuesday November 14, 2023

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The order of items in transcripts is the chronological order in which they were taken up. Some Agenda items may have been skipped.

Section 1

At a city council meeting, the speaker called the meeting to order and announced that it was being broadcast and recorded. After roll call, a public forum was held where concerns were raised about noise pollution from nearby buildings. Other residents also expressed concerns about a road and curbing project in their neighborhood. The council was urged to take action and not to give the city manager a bonus until these issues were resolved. The meeting also discussed a plan to improve traffic in Watertown Square by reducing the number of lanes at intersections, but some residents questioned the effectiveness of this plan and suggested a trial period before implementing it.

Section 2

Residents from various streets in Watertown are expressing their concerns regarding ongoing construction projects in the area. Some have observed issues with the construction on Highland Ave, including a leaning telephone pole and hanging cables. Others have raised issues with the construction on Eaton Field, citing a lack of oversight and crews disappearing for weeks at a time. Additionally, residents have expressed frustration with the impact of construction on their everyday lives, including difficulty navigating streets and disruptions to parking and local businesses. Some have also raised concerns about the use of rubberized materials for sidewalks, which they feel are not as durable as concrete. Overall, residents are calling for better communication and accountability from the town when it comes to construction projects.

Section 3

0. This is the best of the best. 82 to 100 on the PCI scale. 0:00:58.6 And you can see the red roads are roads that are beyond their useful life. And as we move forward, what we try to do is work on the red roadways as opposed to the green roadways. I will say the green roadways are done. And, so, We'll focus on the red roadways. So, the red roadways in mind. So, when we move forward and look at these, these selected roadways, some of our selected roadways, we're looking for, roads that are greater than 25 years in age based on our rating. And if it's a collector roadway, we'll look for roadways that are greater than 30 miles an hour and roads that are 33 feet wide. So if we put those three criteria together, we get a list of roads that are overdue for reconstruction. And so, that's kind of where we're at. When we move forward we're looking for roads that have high traffic volumes that are going to be problematic in the future, and This kind of feeds into the reconstruction of Highland Ave. Highland Ave has a roughly 10,000 traffic volume that goes up to 16,000 cars a day in some cases. And it's a wide road with a lot of parking. And we're doing a water main replacement job, which is necessary. It's a 100-year-old main, and we're doing a sewer replacement, which is also necessary because of the age of the sewers at the same time. So we're kind of multitasking, and it's unfortunate that we can't do the project all at the same time, but moving forward, this project will be done in a construction season. So, we have a little bit of inconvenience during the construction season. One of the problems we've been facing in the public work's department is resource constraint. As the city manager pointed out, we have a relatively young staff. We have a staff that's been like we've been managing for a number of years, and this year we have a staff that's been growing. So, we've had resource constraints without a doubt and some of the project management on behalf of the city that we've been looking for to bring in additional resources to help us manage our projects. As we go, as we move forward into the future

Section 4

The city is working to improve the conditions of its roads, with a focus on aligning utility and pavement investments. They also prioritize safety improvements, multimodal transportation, and other city design standards. The city has also updated its standards for contractors and documents any challenges that arise with specific companies. Additionally, the city is committed to creating complete streets with traditional sidewalks, planting strips, and curbs, in order to provide a better experience for all users.

Section 5

Watertown is proposing a shift in the property tax levy from residential to commercial properties for fiscal year 2024. This is possible due to the arrival of a Home Rule Petition that provides relief from a law that limits the amount of taxes that can be placed on commercial properties. The proposed shift will bring the residential tax rate down from $13.58 to $11.70, resulting in a substantial savings for residential property owners. This is due to a record level of new growth in Watertown, with a total value of $11,931,304,624. The residential class makes up 71.26% of this value, while commercial and industrial properties make up 28%. The shift is in line with the Watertown Comprehensive Plan, which aims to increase revenue for schools and other needs without burdening taxpayers with overrides or debt exclusions. Overall, the proposed shift and residential exemption will result in significant tax savings for Watertown residents.

Section 6

The Watertown City Council held a public hearing to discuss setting the tax rate for the upcoming fiscal year. The meeting began with a presentation from the city manager, who explained that the budget for the previous fiscal year was $144 million and that there was a 9.85% increase over the previous year's levy. The manager also discussed the significant new growth in the area, particularly from the completion of the Arsenal Yards project. The council then discussed the option of splitting the tax rate, as allowed by state law. The city has always chosen to shift the maximum amount to the commercial and industrial sectors, but a recent change in legislation allowed for a lower minimum residential burden. The council voted to adopt the maximum shift of 173.985%. The assessors recommended maintaining the residential exemption at 33%, which would result in significant tax relief for residential property owners. The council discussed potential future developments and how they may impact the tax rate in the coming years. They also acknowledged and thanked the state delegation for their work in passing the legislation to lower the minimum residential burden. Overall, the council was pleased with the progress and the potential for tax relief for residents, particularly with the completion of the Arsenal Yards project. They thanked the assessors and the state delegation for their efforts in making this possible.

Section 7

A resolution was proposed to create the Watertown Square Cultural District and was met with support from the City Manager and City Council. The resolution was to request a home rule petition from the state to allow for municipal charges to be used for nonpayment of fees and fines. Another resolution was passed to accept a gift of a city flag from Athenahealth to be used in city celebrations. The council also discussed the creation of a partnership to manage the Cultural District and how involved it would be in events and improvements within the district.

Section 8

The committee on education and school system matters discussed and recommended the reappointment of three members to the Watertown Cable Access Corporation. The committee on parks and recreation discussed proposed renovations to Casey Park, including changes to the baseball field and the addition of a permanent bathroom and storage facility. Residents expressed concerns about noise and inappropriate behavior at the park, and the committee ultimately recommended a pause in the renovations to reevaluate the design and use of the park.

Section 9

1). Move that the committee on rules and ordinances and the joint committee on public works recommend to the city council that the draft of the Watertown sidewalk snow shoveling regulation is amended as follows. One, under application number four, add committee on disabilities, Watertown police department, and department of public works under enforcement entities, two under application number b three, add words to be appointed by the city manager at the end of the first sentence. Three, under application number five, add the words to household members that receive an exemption. 4. Request that the DPW create a memo that includes a complete inventory of all city streets, state properties, etcetera, to help the committees find out whether or not there are properties that abut, that do not abut publicly maintained ways and there was a second to that motion. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? No opposition. And then the second motion was to the motion that the committee on rules and ordinances and the joint committee on public works recommend to the city council that the draft of the Watertown snow shoveling regulation is amended as follows. One, strike the words or residential structure from Section 1(d). 2. Request that the DPW create a memo that includes a complete inventory of all city streets, state properties, etcetera and seconded. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? No opposed. Third motion, amend the motion that the committee on rules and ordinances and the joint committee on public works recommend to the city council that the draft of the Watertown sidewalk snow shoveling regulation is amended as follows. One, under application number four, add committee on disabilities, Watertown police department, and department of public works, under enforcement entities. Two under application number b three, add the words to be appointed by the city manager at the end of the first sentence. And three, under application number five, add the words to household members that receive an exemption. Four, strike the words or residential structure from Section 1(d) and seconded. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? No opposition. And then finally, move that the committee on rules and ordinances and the joint committee on public works recommend to the city council that the draft of the Watertown sidewalk snow shoveling regulation is amended as follows. One, under application number four, add committee on disabilities, Watertown police department, and

Section 10

The report discusses a recent meeting where three motions were put forth by the committee. The first motion was for the administration to have KP Law review the final draft of a proposed ordinance, the second motion was for the council to bring the ordinance forward for a first reading after the review, and the third motion was for the city council to endorse regulations to the ordinance. There was also a discussion about who would be liable if someone was injured on a sidewalk. The committee voted in favor of all three motions. Another motion was made to have both the committee on public works and the committee on rules and ordinance review data after the first winter to evaluate the program and suggest any changes. The committees also discussed the clearing of sidewalks on municipal and state owned properties and snow plowing at intersections. The meeting was adjourned at 9:53 PM and the minutes were prepared by Councilor Palomba. The committee also discussed revising requirements for community meetings for large projects, with recommendations for changes to regulations such as including a list of required documents and changing the timeline for submission. There were public comments expressing concerns about the process and suggestions for improvements. The motion to endorse the changes was voted in favor unanimously. Councilor Palomba also brought up a discrepancy between the meeting requirements mentioned in the report and the actual code.

Section 11

The city council discusses various topics such as changing the front office hours at DPW, designating a Hero's Square in honor of a World War II veteran, and dedicating a flagpole in memory of a late fire chief. They also mention upcoming events, including the Senior Fitness and Health Fair, the Whoville Jubilee and official Watertown tree lighting, and the upcoming charrette meetings on Watertown Square. The memo also provides an update on the progress of various park and playground projects in the city, including Casey Park.

Section 12

Watertown is making updates to their parks, including adding multi-use game areas and increasing green space. They also have a new electricity choice program that offers renewable energy options at a lower cost than Eversource. Residents are encouraged to join the Human Rights Commission and attend a workshop about it. Councilor Gannon announced a food drive for the Watertown Food Pantry. The groundbreaking for the new high school will take place on November 21st.

Section 13

During a public forum, multiple residents addressed concerns about rodent control measures in their neighborhood and urged the city to be more proactive in implementing these measures during construction and excavation projects. One resident also brought up the issue of short-term rentals, expressing frustration over the lack of progress and resolution on this issue. Another resident requested a noise barrier ordinance for future development in the area to mitigate noise pollution. The meeting ended with a motion to adjourn and a wish for a happy Thanksgiving.