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HomeMy Public PortalAboutFall 2022 City Manager NewsletterCity of Watertown Autumn 2022 Newsletter Issued by George J. Proakis, City Manager Watertown City Council Mark S. Sideris, President Vincent J. Piccirilli, Vice President John M. Airasian, At -Large Caroline J. Bays, At -Large John G. Gannon, At -Large Anthony Palomba, At- Large Nicole N. Gardner, District A Lisa J. Feltner, District B Emily C. Izzo, District D City of Watertown, Massachusetts 149 Main Street Watertown, Massachusetts 02472 www.watertown-ma.gov Recycling, Compost, and Trash Collection Changes Changes are underway to address the Massachusetts's 2030 Solid Waste Reduction Goals, as adopted by the City of Watertown! The Recycle Center will be open 3 days a week (Tuesdays, Fridays & Saturdays) from 9:OOAM-4:OOPM to all Watertown residents. This is active now. Changes to disposal of bulky household waste will be going into effect later this fiscal year. The official start date for these changes will be announced soon. These policy changes are being implemented to promote Watertown residents reducing, repurposing/reusing, and recycling materials before relying on disposal. Starting soon, residents that participate in the curbside trash and recycling program will need to schedule and pay for their bulk collections through Republic Services. Republic will collect burnable furniture, white goods, and TVs/ monitors. The future phone number to schedule and pay will be 844-737-8254. Official start date to be announced. • November Pt, mattresses will be banned from disposal. Starting soon, mattresses will no longer be collected by Republic, and instead Watertown will offer curbside collection through Hand -Up, a mattress recycler. Mattress recycling will be scheduled and paid for by the resident. The website to schedule a pickup is www.handupmattress.com/curbside-pickup. Compost drop-off bins are also available at the Recycle Center if you have not yet been able to enroll in the curbside pickup program. Composting is a great way to reduce the amount of material going into the trash. This is active now. Please visit www.watertown-ma.gov/trash to review in more detail the upcoming changes. Planning for Watertown's Future Don't miss your chance to express your opinion on Watertown's future! The city is updating the 2015 Comprehensive Plan that laid out goals and strategies to achieve a shared vision for Watertown. There are many ways to participate in the process this fall. Start by looking at the "Planning for Watertown's Future" page: htips://tinyurl.com/34aeny Caution with Trusts Placing your home into a trust represents a change of ownership. To continue to be eligible for the residential exemption and/or other exemptions, you must be a trustee of that trust and have sufficient beneficial interest. When estate planning, make sure your attorney understands Watertown has the residential exemption (only 15+- communities have the residential exemption) and the requirements necessary to maintain eligibility. Call the Assessors' Office with any questions , 617-972-6410. State Election - Tuesday, November 8" The State Election will be held on Tuesday, November 8th. To speed up time spent at the polls, check your voter registration status here before you go: https://www.sec.state.ma.us/VoterRe-aistrationSearch/MvVoterReeStatus.aspx If you are an Inactive voter, please complete the Blank 2022 Census form and mail to City Clerk — 149 Main Street — Watertown, MA 02472 — or drop it in the ballot box located right outside of City Hall, or bring it in to the City Clerk's Office. This simple step will save you time when voting at the polls. Interested in being a Poll Worker? Please contact the City Clerk's Office to fill out an application. Questions? Email Ciiyclerk@Watertown-ma.gov. SAVE THE DATES! Community Events at the Commander's Mansion Annual `Lil Monstah Joyride Saturday, October 29th 2022 Annual Whoville Jubilee & the City's Official Tree Lighting Saturday, December 3rd 2022 Looking to get involved?! We are always looking for volunteers to dress up, plus there are business sponsorship opportunities available for both events. Email us: info@CommandersMansion.com Follow us on - www.facebook.com/commandersmansion and www.insta�zram.com/commanders.mansion Community Sculpture Walk The Public Arts & Culture Committee is pleased to announce the first Community Sculpture Walk which will follow the Community Path from the Watertown Free Public Library parking lot to Waverly Avenue. Four sculptures will be unveiled in Spring 2023, with four more selected in 2024, to fill all eight sites along the walk. Sculptures will be on loan from selected artists for two years. Learn more and apply to the Call for Art: hops://www.watertown- ma.gov/816/5211/Community-Sculpture-Walk. Bill Payments Please be advised that the City of Watertown has updated the PO Box that is used for bill payments. All bills will have a new PO Box listed for payments, the new Box information is City of Watertown PO Box 4132, Woburn Ma 01888. We are in the process of updating the address on the return envelopes. Please be assured that you can use the old PO Box envelopes and your payments will be processed. Only Rain in the Storm Drain The Department of Public Works would like to remind everyone this fall that only rain should go in the storm drain! After enjoying the fall foliage this season, please do not rake piles of leaves directly on the roadway or sidewalk and please do not dump them in the storm drain! Not only can blocked storm drains cause flooding, materials entering storm drains flow directly to our waterways. Consider composting or mulching your leaves. This year, the City is pleased to introduce weekly fall yard waste collection in September, October, and November. You can review the trash and recycling collection calendar, which also has information on how to properly prepare and place your yard waste to be collected curbside. Collection calendar can be viewed here: https://www.watertowndpw.org/DocumentCenter/View/ 1529/2022-Trash-and-Recycling-Collection-Calendar-PDF