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Home My Public Portal About6/13/2018 - Prentiss Street - abandoned sidewalk & stairway - Kounelis, Angeline - Request for InformationSubject FW: abandoned sidewalk and stairway on Prentiss St From Kounelis, Angeline To Pronovost, Marilyn Cc Kounelis, Angeline Sent Wednesday, June 13, 2018 7:40 AM Attachments <<Sampson St..msg>> Hi Marilyn, The following is for the record, regarding Sampson St. The attachments were also forwarded to the constituent and previously submitted. Thank you. Best, Angie Angeline B. Kounelis District A, East End, Town Councilor The City Known as the Town of Watertown 617-926-2352 All electronic mail to and from this City address should be considered subject to Massachusetts Public Records Laws. Thank you From: Kounelis, Angeline Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2018 9:54 AM To: Jeff Bail; maureen.murphy7l@gmail.com Cc: Driscoll, Michael; Magoon, Steven; Mee, Gerald; DPW1; Town Councilors Subject: RE: abandoned sidewalk and stairway on Prentiss St Hello Jeff, Nice to hear from you. It's been a while since we last chatted. Thank you for advocating to enhance the green canopy of Watertown. Yes, I am quire familiar with Trees for Watertown; have supported their efforts and been a member, since the inception of the organization. Going back to the days of Diana Proctor and so many others who offered their time and talents. Such fond memories...... The two attachments within this e-mail offer background of my involvement with Sampson St., the name of the parcel of land, off of Prentiss St. that leads to the blocked access of the former Coolidge School property, aka Apartments at Coolidge School. On 06/15/16, I forwarded communication to Town Manager Michael Driscoll, specific to the overall conditions of the site, inclusive of the stairs, with inquiries for subsequent maintenance plans. The responses that I received from Steve Magoon and Dennis Sheehan were blind copied to the neighbors, whose e-mail addresses appeared in my files on 12/14/16. Accordingly, maintenance and planting plans were to have been developed. As for the stairs: "it will be a bigger effort to remove the concrete structure, so this will be addressed in the future." Please refer to the two attachments, and the attachments within, for details from the Team on 12/08/16 and 12/09/16. Herein, I am forwarding to the Team requesting a status -up -date to address the ongoing concerns that have been discussed and re -discussed for a lengthy period of time. When more information is made available, I will advise. Thank you. Best, Angie Angeline B. Kounelis District A, East End, Town Councilor The City Known as the Town of Watertown 617-926-2352 All electronic mail to and from this City address should be considered subject to Massachusetts Public Records Laws. Thank you From: Jeff Bail [rustysawdust@gmail.com] Sent: Tuesday, May 29, 2018 7:08 PM To: Kounelis, Angeline Cc: Maureen Murphy Subject: abandoned sidewalk and stairway on Prentiss St The crumbling stairway and abandoned sidewalk between 30 & 38 Prentiss St is an eyesore and a safety hazard. The neighbors here don't like looking at it and they don't like that it invites strangers to wander around there. The sidewalk and stairway should be completely removed. I've talked with Libby Shaw from Trees for Watertown and she felt that this area would be an excellent spot for some big and beautiful shade trees. If you're not aware of TFW I'd be happy to make an introduction; they do fantastic work advocating for a greener Watertown. She suggested I speak to the neighbors about it and the abutters I've spoken to are all in favor of it. Thanks, Jeff Bail 38 Prentiss St Subject Sampson St. From Kounelis, Angeline To Driscoll, Michael Cc Magoon, Steven; Tracy, Thomas; Mee, Gerald; mreich@k-plaw.com; Town Councilors Sent Wednesday, June 15, 2016 8:05 AM Good morning Mr. Driscoll, Many thanks to one and all for coming to a resolution specific to a situation that was created when the Town's access to its right-of-way was closed by the installation of a fence on Sampson St. by the current owner of the property at 38 Prentiss St. Some residents felt the positioning of the fence was actually better than looking at the condition of the property that the Town has allowed to manifest into disrepair. The situation was quite unfortunate in that the issue culminated in court action that caused friction amongst neighbors. Neighbors have expressed concerns about the lack of upkeep on the parcel; even to the extent of the previous owner of 38 Prentiss St. and the current owner of 30 Prentiss St., inquiring to purchase the property from the Town to better maintain the area. The concrete stairs, leading to the blocked access to the Coolidge Apartments, are crumbling; as are other patches of concrete. Vegetation along the Coolidge property retaining wall, that has been known to harbor rodents, has in the past been periodically cut back by the Town's landscape contractor. The strip of land is barren and neglected; an eyesore for the neighborhood. In light of all that has transpired, with respect to right-of-way and ownership, are there limitations as to how the parcel can be used for the benefit and enjoyment of the area residents? During the development of the Coolidge School property, suggestions were made for off-street parking or a pocket park that did not materialize. Once parameters have been established, I would suggest a neighborhood meeting to solicit input from the abutters. It is the Town's responsibility to clean and maintain its property before neighborhood intervention. Thank you. Regards, Angie Angeline B. Kounelis District A, East End, Town Councilor 617-926-2352 Subject Sampson St. From Kounelis, Angeline To Kounelis, Angeline Sent Wednesday, December 14, 2016 10:25 AM Attachments <<pages from Misc. Items 12-13- 16 (1).pdt>> Good morning Everyone, A response has finally been received to my many requests for information regarding the maintenance of Sampson St., the property off of Prentiss St. leading to the Coolidge Apartments. Please review the attachment for specifics. Hope all is well. Best, Angie Angeline B. Kounelis District A, East End, Town Councilor 617-926-2352 MISC ITEM From: Driscoll, Michael To: Osmond, Marsha; Hand, JoAnna Cc: Magoon, Steven; Mee, Gerald; Sheehan, Dennis; Shuman, Matthew; Mark R. Reich Subject: Sampson Street Maintenance Date: Tuesday, December 13, 2016 3:31:34 PM Please include in today's Misc Items to Council. From: Magoon, Steven Sent: Friday, December 09, 2016 4:48 PM To: Driscoll, Michael Cc: Shuman, Matthew, Mee, Gerald, Sheehan, Dennis Subject: RE: Sampson Street Maintenance Below is a summary of the discussion with DPW regarding the future use and maintenance of Sampson Street. We did also discuss the abandoned stairs at the end of the right of way, they are blocked by a fence at the top, and it will be a bigger effort to remove the concrete structure, so this will be addressed in the future. Thanks From: Sheehan, Dennis Sent: Thursday, December 08, 2016 11:25 AM To: Magoon, Steven <smagoon@watertown-ma.gov> Cc: Shuman, Matthew <mshuman @watertown-ma.gov>, Mee, Gerald <Jmee@watertown- ma.gov> Subject: Sampson Street Maintenance Steve, It was nice meeting with you the other day to discuss the Sampson Street maintenance issues. As we discussed, Attorney Reich's 10/31 email indicated that while the Town took action to preserve its access rights in this property and may maintain this property, we cannot not erect anything that would obstruct access as such a structure would be tantamount to the fence that we required be removed by the abutters. In this regard, we will be using our contractor to perform general maintenance for the time being and then will be meeting with our Parks/Forestry/Cemetery Supervisor in the spring to develop a planting plan to improve the landscaping in the area. Respectfully, Dennis J. Sheehan Director of Administration and Finance Department of Public Works Town of Watertown Tel. 1-617-972-6420