Watertown City Council (Tuesday March 24, 2026)

Good evening, this is the meeting of the City Council on March 24th. This is an in-person meeting and remote access is provided solely as a courtesy. there is Zoom information on the city website and this meeting is being broadcast and recorded by Watertown Cable Access and there is an email and a phone number on the agenda if needed. Clerk, please call the roll.

Bayes.

Councilor Bayes is joining by Zoom this evening.

Present.

Councilor Feltner.

Present.

Councilor Gannon.

Present.

Councilor Gardner.

Present.

Izzo.

Present.

Councilor Offei. Present. Councilor Palomba. Present. Councilor Piccirilli. Present. President Sideris.

Present. Thank you. Can I get a motion to go into executive session to discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining if an open meeting may have the detrimental effect on the bargaining position of the public body, and the Chair so declares, which I do, and it involves the DPW Union, Watertown Municipal Employee Group, Library Union, Fire Union, Police Patrol Union and Police Supervisors Union.

So moved.

Is there a second? Second. Roll call please.

Councilor Bays.

Yes.

Councillor Feltner. Yes. Gannon, Gardner, Izzo, Offei, Palomba, Piccirilli, Sideris.

We will be returning to open session at approximately 7 p.m.

Okay, we're returning to open session.

Please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, to God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you. Next item on the agenda is public forum. Is there any member of the public here or at home that wishes to speak? Seeing none, I close the public forum and move on to the next item, which is the examination of minutes. Can I get a motion on the minutes of March 10th, please?

Mr. President, I make a motion that we adopt the minutes of March 10th as written. Is there a second?

Second. Any discussion? We're doing a roll call, please.

Councilor Gardner?

Yes.

Councilor Izzo?

Yes.

Councilor Affei? Yes. Councilor Palomba? Yes. Yes. Piccirilli. Yes. Councilor Bays. Yes. Councilor Feltner. Yes. Councilor Gannon. Yes. President Sideris.

Yes, thank you. Next item is President's Report. I just have one item. Yesterday, Congressman McGovern and Congresswoman Clark were here visiting our freight farm, and then they went to the Harsman School and had lunch which included lettuce that was grown in the freight farm. And they had a couple of second grade girls walking them and taking them around the school if they would be liaisons to the city council they would be perfect because they did such a good job representing the school community the Congresswoman and the Congressman were very pleased that they came. They spent quite a bit of time here and I thought it was a very nice gesture on their part to come in in the time of food insecurity and things like that, and they're promoting continuing, Massachusetts gives free lunches and free breakfasts.

but they're promoting this nationwide. We would add some money to SNAP benefits for that and I think it's a beneficial program and they chose, this is one of Representative McGovern's 19 stops that he's gonna make on this tour. so I just wanted to announce and many of my colleagues here on the school committee also were there so it was great to see. Next item is presentations of petitions, proclamations, and similar papers. And the proclamation that's on here will be tabled till the next meeting as there was an event at the high school this evening that he needed to attend. The next item is a public hearing. and it's a public hearing and vote on a proposed loan order that the sum of $450,000 is appropriated to pay costs of turnout gear replacement for the fire department as more fully described in the annual budget for fiscal year 2026. Mr. Manager.

Thank you, Mr. President. And as I noted at the first reading last time, the note actually should be that it was more fully described in the capital improvement plan for fiscal years 26 through 2030. purchase aligns with line 83 of the capital improvement plan following the department's five-year replacement cycle to maintain compliance with the 10-year service life standard of fire department turnout gear. It is also important to us as we purchase this gear that we make sure that this is PFAS free as increased cancer rates within the fire service have been partially linked to material contained in the equipment they wear. And I know that the The chief was here at our last meeting when we did the first reading, but it's really important to to make sure to replace this gear in a regular replacement schedule. And that is, I'm certainly available to answer any questions coming out of the public hearing. Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you. This is a public hearing, so if there's any member of the public either here or at home that wishes to be heard, please raise your hand. Seeing none, I close the public hearing and ask for a motion from the City Council.

Mr. President, I make a motion that we approve the loan order for $450,000 for the gear for the fire department.

Is there a second? Second. Discussion? Roll call please.

Councilor Izzo.

Yes.

Councilor Offei. Yes. Councilor Palomba. Yes. Councilor Piccirilli. Yes. Councilor Bayes.

Yes.

Feltner, yes, Councilor Gannon, yes, Councilor Gardner, yes, President Sideris, yes, thank you.

Next item is a first reading on a Pet Shop Ordinance. At our previous meeting, we reported out from the Rules and Ordinance Committee that they had come up with language for proposed ordinance, so that will be on the upcoming agenda for a public hearing and vote per the council rules. The next item is a first reading on a proposed loan order that the sum of $1 million is appropriated to pay costs of installation of stormwater management improvements, electrical and telecommunication improvements, and catenary pole removal along the corridor in connection with the Mount Auburn Street Transportation Improvement Project for the Department of Public Works, more fully described in the city's fiscal year 2026 through 2030 Capital Improvement Program. Mr.

Manager. Thank you, Mr. President. This item before you is a first reading. It is consistent with items 28 and 43 on the Capital Improvement Plan. As noted here, part of the Mount Auburn Transportation Project is there are certain items that are not covered by the that tip federal money that's administered through the state as a part of this project. That is what we refer to as the non-participatory funds, the funds that we have to put forward to cover the items that aren't eligible for the reimbursement under these other programs. This is the first item before you. to borrow for the non-participatory funds. I look forward to having that for a public hearing at our next meeting. Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you. The next item on the agenda is a resolution authorizing a transfer of funds in the amount of $4,052,660 from the fiscal year 2026 three elementary schools transfer out to other funds account to the fiscal year 2026 middle school feasibility study account and the fiscal year 2026 Watertown High School transfer in from other funds account. Mr. Manager.

Thank you, Mr. President. this has been a key moment for us with a lot of work by our auditor and I really appreciate the auditor and our financial team working closely and we also worked very closely with the owner project manager, the OPM who has worked on the elementary school projects with us from the beginning to finally conclude the three elementary school projects. And as this is concluded and we are closing out the account for the elementary school projects and being being done with this project, there's $4,052,660 of available funds remaining in the account. As we look to close this out, our first request is to move 1,802,660 to the high school construction project. I want to stress that the high school construction project is on budget. The moving of these additional funds into the high school project allows the high school project to float the costs of

some of the federal grants, some of the energy improvement grants that the high school project is eligible to until such time as those funds come in. We expect then that we'll close out the high school project also with some sort of a A surplus there that will then move again. But at this point, having those funds available ensures the cash flow in the project account is consistent to get the high school complete without further appropriations. the remainder of this the $2,250,000 is intended to be moved for the middle school feasibility study allowing us to continue to move along design of the middle school project so that we can get better more refined cost estimates without having to tap into middle school stabilization, without having to do borrowing as we continue to determine if, how, or when we would do a middle school project. So that's the particular transfer in front of you. The auditor's here who can answer any more questions in detail than I can, but that's the request for this evening.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you. I want to make a brief statement on behalf of the school building committee as well. I want to thank the committee for their very diligent and hard work over the last five years in order to get the three elementary schools done and closed out with a four plus million dollar surplus. We timed everything perfectly. Everything worked very well. and this gives us an opportunity to do two things. One is the manager indicated the high school project is going to come in within budget and maybe under budget, but part of that is a grant that's coming from the federal government for more than $2 million, and rather than say we're doing deficit spending, we're transferring this so that we don't get into technically a deficit.

And then on the middle school feasibility, the city council had requested that we continue with some feasibility here to get a better cost estimate. So this allows us, again, gives us money to move into this feasibility without taking transfer out of the stabilization fund. So the work that the school building committee and Councilor Piccirilli is my colleague on the committee, and there are several others, and you know I can't say enough about the work that was done to get us to this point and I want to thank them publicly because I don't think that that group is appreciated except for the people in the schools. But I want to thank them publicly and so I am respectfully also requesting that we approve this transfer. So can I get a motion on the transfer of funds?

So moved.

Is there a second? Second. Any discussion? Councilor Piccirilli.

Thank you, Mr. President. So we started this, the three elementary school project, the first phase of our building for the future. eight years ago, 2018. And we finished that project because of the opportunity of renting St. Jude's Elementary School one year ahead of schedule. So we finished $170 million project one year ahead of schedule and with four plus million dollars under budget. So that is actually astounding. If you think about public projects and how often they run behind schedule and over budget, It is really astounding and a testament to the diligence that the school building committee put into this to keep us on budget and on schedule. So thank you.

Are there any other comments? Councilor Feltner.

Thank you, Mr. President. I, too, I, wow, I just want to say wow and thank you, not only for the financial benefit, but the scheduling, the dedication, the communication, the transparency involved as well. I mean, I don't think there's, I don't think any other community has achieved this in the state of Massachusetts. So just thank you.

Thank you. Are there any other comments? Can I get a roll call, please?

Councilor Offei? Yes. Councilor Palomba? Yes. Yes. Councilor Piccirilli? Yes. Councilor Bays?

Yes.

Feltner, yes, Councilor Gannon, yes, Councilor Gardner, yes, Councilor Izzo, yes, President Sideris, yes.

Thank you. Next item is a resolution authorizing a transfer of funds in the amount of $8,000 from the fiscal year 2026 City Council Reserve to the fiscal year 2026 Police Staff Development Account. Mr. Manager.

Thank you Mr. President. This item is an $8,000 transfer for police assessment centers. This is the process by which we determine promotions to sergeant, lieutenant, and captain. Under our agreement as the police department left civil service, this mirrors a process that is very similar to that done within civil service. but it requires us bringing in outside assessors to manage this sort of complex assessment interview process that we go through to then provide the list of potential promotions and get them into place. So it's a simple $8,000 transfer in order to be able to complete that. The police chief is here and can answer any further questions you have. Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you. Can I get a motion on the transfer of $8,000? So moved. Is there a second? Second. Discussion? Roll call, please.

Councilor Palomba. Yes. Piccirilli. Yes. Councilor Bays.

Yes.

Councilor Feltner. Yes. Councilor Gannon. Yes. Councilor Gardner.

Yes.

Izzo. Yes. Councilor Offei. Yes. President Sideris.

Yes. Thank you. 10 E is a resolution authorizing a transfer of funds. in the amount of $291,100 from the fiscal year 2026 City Council Reserve to various fiscal year 2026 Police Personnel Accounts. Mr. Manager. Thank you, Mr. President.

With this transfer of $291,000, we will fund the police supervisor's contract, and with the funding of the police supervisor's contract, we will have All of our union employees under current up-to-date collective bargaining agreements, all of which are funded through the remainder of fiscal year 26. $291,000 to various police lines, full-time salary, specialty pay, overtime, shift differential, holiday, fitness, and bilingual statement, and career incentive should fully fund this contract moving forward. I am relieved to say that we are through our bargaining efforts for a little while as these contracts are in place through the end of fiscal year 28. Thank you, Mr. President.

Can I get a motion on the transfer of 291-100? So moved. Is there a second? Second. Discussion? I want to thank you, Mr. Manager, and your staff, Chief Hanrahan, for closing out. This is our last of the bargaining units on the city side. I appreciate all of your efforts. I know this takes a long, long time and it gives you a little bit of an opportunity to do some other things. So thank you all for your efforts. Can I get a roll call, please?

Yes. Councilor Bays. Yes. Feltner, yes, Councilor Gannon, yes, Councilor Gardner, yes, Councilor Izzo, yes, Councilor Offei, yes, Councilor Palomba, yes, President Sideris, yes, thank you.

Next item is consideration and action on the administrative code as submitted by the city manager. Earlier this evening, we had a committee of the whole meeting to discuss this and made some amendments. and in order to bring this for action, I'd like to get a motion to put this on the floor.

Mr. President, I make a motion we adopt the administrative code as amended earlier tonight with the Committee of the Whole.

Is there a second?

Second.

Discussion? I just want to, again, this is another one of these long, long projects. Deputy Manager Monet and Mr. Manager Prowakis and others, I'm sure, are pleased that this is done too. so that we can move on to other things. I believe that this cleans up a lot of ambiguities, it cleans up a lot of and things that we weren't doing, that were inconsistent in the way we were doing things. I am fully supported, but there are other actions that we're going to be taking at a future meeting with regard to this. So there's a motion and a second. Any other discussion? Roll call, please.

Pardon me.

Councillor Bays.

Yes.

Feltner. Yes. Councilor Gannon. Yes. Councilor Gardner. Yes. Councilor Izzo. Yes. Councilor Offei. Yes. Councilor Palomba. Yes. Councilor Piccirilli. Yes. President Sideris.

Yes. Thank you. Communications from the City Manager and 11A is a request for confirmation of reappointment for the Chairman of the Board of Assessors. Mr. Manager.

Thank you, Mr. President. Item 11a is a little bit unique at this point because we've just put ourselves into a little bit of an in-between space. The passage of the administrative code Like I mentioned in the committee as a whole meeting, the other thing I'm going to bring forward to you is the repeal of the sections of the current code that are inconsistent with the administrative code to remove them. The Chairman of the Board of Assessors has traditionally been appointed with confirmation by the City Council. It's the only member of my staff that requires Council confirmation. but A303 of the administrative code says the chief assessor shall not be subject to city council confirmation, which you just passed, but the existing code says it still shall be. So at this point I would like to submit this to you for referral but I'm hoping should you repeal the other section of ordinance on April 28th the referral becomes unnecessary. I will just note that Earl Smith continues to do a stellar job as Chief Assessor.

I really enjoy working with him. As he notes in his memo, they've tracked, listed, and valued over What is that number? $2.3 billion in new growth, providing over $48 million in additional tax dollars. and as he notes, while every prospectus warns past performance is not indicative of future results, he goes, I can assure you I will bring the same dedication and commitment to the next three-year term as I'm sure he will. So I will submit this for your approval, although it may or may not be necessary by the time it comes back to me. Thank you, Mr. President.

This goes to the Committee on Personnel. Mr. Manager, you can continue.

Thank you, Mr. President. So as noted at the April 14th meeting is my intent to submit to you to have ready for you as a first reading the repeal of ordinances relative to the administrative code. And we'll also do a little more in-depth review of the repeal of the personnel code as it impacts non-union staff surrounding the specific items that could need updating if we determine it should be in either city ordinance or administrative code. We also get ready because April is April and here it comes, we'll be submitting the new city budget. So the fiscal year 27 budget should be in front of you in just a few weeks. My other big announcement today is, as we have continued to work to celebrate Steve Magoon's time as Assistant City Manager and his Retirement, although he continues to assist me part-time a little bit in his retirement. At this point, I am pleased to announce that Ken and Ryan

who is both a architect and city planner, will be the city's new assistant city manager for community development and planning. Kennen Rhine is an experienced municipal planner and architect who brings to Watertown an impressive background of leading and contributing to complex planning projects across the region. She has most recently served as principal of her own consulting firm since 2023, where she's advised cities of Boston, Lowell, Quincy, and many others. I mean, I couldn't even list all the other communities she's working for, related to land use planning, zoning, urban design, and public policy. Ryan has previously served as the deputy director for comprehensive planning in Boston's planning and development agency, including a stint as interim director of planning in 2022. During her time with the City of Boston, she conducted extensive planning studies that addressed housing needs, economic development, climate resiliency, transportation, and open space.

who play a significant role in Boston's recent master planning of key neighborhoods, including Plan Downtown and Plan Charlestown, each of which established a new framework for growth enhancement and preservation in key Boston neighborhoods, some of them covering areas of similar size to the entire city of Watertown, and doing it again and again in a very activist place. Ken had the opportunity to work both under Mayor Walsh and Mayor Wood's administrations. As I noted in our press release, she's a leader and an innovative thinker when it comes to developing and planning communities. I can't wait to work closely with her, having her as a member of my leadership team as we continue to carry out a vision for Watertown and implement our comprehensive plan. through a very extensive interview process as I have come to know her and did a very in-depth interview process with a number of candidates. It was clear to me that Her creativity, her commitment to community engagement, they're going to be immediately important as we move forward with some of the large-scale planning initiatives in Watertown over the next few years.

Prior to Boston, Ken and Ryan was the urban design director at UTIL, the consultant that worked as the lead consultant on our Watertown Square plan. She served as lead designer and project manager on a variety of planning projects there. They were the lead design firm, as I noted, in Watertown Square and just a number of other projects across the region and across the country. Ryan is also taught in a variety of architecture and planning courses at Wentworth Institute Technology at a university in Bangkok, Thailand. She holds a master's in architecture and urban design from Harvard University, a bachelor's and master's in architecture from Wentworth Institute of Technology, and she will be leading the Department of Community Development and Planning. She will be serving as assistant city manager as part of our key planning team and her first day will be April 13th. So...

I hope everyone joins me in welcoming Kenan Ryan to Watertown and I look forward to inviting her to meet the Council and the community in the very near future. And that is all I have today Mr. President, thank you.

Thank you. Requests for information. Any requests for information? Councilor Feltner.

Thank you, Mr. President. If the administration could please provide data on modes of commuting for city employees and information about any available parking and transportation benefits. Yes, thank you.

Any other requests for information? Announcements? Any announcements? Councilor Izzo?

Thank you, Mr. President. On Tuesday, March 31st, at 6.30 p.m., there was going to be a public community meeting at Gore Place. I think it's going to be in the Carriage Houses at 6.30 p.m. It's on a project that they are proposing on a solar array. All are welcome to attend to ask questions and hear a presentation from the staff there. Thanks.

Thank you. Are there any other announcements? Public forum. Any member of the public here or at home wish to be heard? Seeing none, I close the public forum and ask for a motion to adjourn. So moved. Is there a second? Second. Roll call, please.

Councillor Feltner.

Yes.

Gannon, Gardner, Izzo, Offei, Palomba, Piccirilli, Bays,

President Sideris.