Watertown

Watertown City Council

Tuesday February 13, 2024

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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

00: 00.803|and we've also moved some monies from the capital improvement plan that we had set aside to make a contribution to the Watertown Community Foundation. Those two factors have allowed us to a loan order momentarily tonight, the $10,359,500, to renovate Arsenal Park, which is a project that I think, for many years, we've been talking about, about the need to upgrade the facilities at the park. It's well used, but it's been tired and in need of upgrades for many years. This project in front of you tonight includes a full-scale renovation at the park. It's going to include a new playground, a splash pad. It's going to include a new skate park, a new basketball court, a new tennis court, and a new pickleball court. It is going to be a significant upgrade to the park. The skate park is something that we've been talking about for a long time. It's very well used. It's primitive, at best, and needs to be upgraded. The playground is also something that's been a long time in need of an upgrade and a renovation. The splash pad is something that we think, will be used tremendously by the residents of the town. The basketball courts and the tennis courts that are there have seen better days, and this project will renovate them as well. So this is something that we are very excited about. I think the other thing to keep in mind is that this project is going to be paid for through a combination of loans, which will be paid back primarily through the local tax levy, tax dollars, and also through a donation from the Arsenal Yards project. We did have a conversation with the Arsenal Yards project. The Arsenal Yards project has committed to making a $4,000,000 contribution to the town for the park project. As you may recall, we received a $1,000,000 contribution from that project for phase a in which we built the field house. We spent about $1.2 million of that money to build the field house, and we used the rest of the money to fund the field project, which we're well underway with. Phase B is going to be paid for primarily through loans, and the loans will be paid back through the tax levy. Again, we are very excited about this project. I think that's a great opportunity to upgrade the park and to bring it into

Section 2

The city has had to push back the start of a park renovation project in order to allocate more funds for it. The project will include a permanent skate park, community garden, tennis and basketball courts, and a pavilion. The delay in starting the project was due to issues with sewer regulations for the planned spray pad, but these issues have now been resolved. The city will also receive a contribution from a local business for stormwater improvements. The project will involve extensive soil testing and excavation, and the high cost of the bids may be due to the complexity and vastness of the project and the current disruptions in supply chains due to COVID-19.

Section 3

The speaker is asking for approval for two memorial installations on city property - a bench along the community path and a Little Free Library at Phillip Ella Park. These installations have been donated and are in memory of individuals with ties to Watertown. The speaker explains that while they are in the process of creating a committee to oversee such memorials, these two proposals were already in process and it would not be fair to hold them back. The first installation is a memorial bench in memory of Nazar Ohannesian, a survivor of the Armenian genocide who settled in Watertown and was known for his generous nature. The bench was requested by his grandson, who attended Northeastern while living with his grandfather. The speaker asks for the council's support in accepting and dedicating the bench.

Section 4

This is a city council meeting discussing the acceptance of a gift of tangible personal property, specifically a memorial bench and a little free library, for two individuals, Eliza Ruth Aidoo and Phillip Palo. The meeting also addressed discussions on potential changes to the city council's rules and ordinances and announcements about upcoming events, including a meeting about reallocating resources for a permanent pickleball solution. The meeting concluded with a motion to adjourn.