HomeMy Public PortalAbout2017-11-20_Mt_Auburn_Street_FINALTown Council
Town of Watertown
Committee on Public Works Meeting November 20, 2017
REPORT: December 12, 2017
The Committee met at 6:30 pm in the Town Council Chamber. Present were Committee members Aaron Dushku
(Chair), Anthony Palomba (Vice -chair), Susan Falkoff (Secretary); Public Works Staff Gerry Mee, Dennis Sheehan
and Matt Shuman; Senior Planner Gideon Schreiber; State Senator William Brownsberger; Governor's Councilor
Marilyn Petito Devaney; Town Council President Mark Sideris and Councilors Woodland, Feltner, Kounelis, and
Dattoli. Please note that some of the Councilors arrived for the Mount Auburn St discussion that began at 7:15 and
may not have been present throughout the meeting.
1. RIDGELAWN CEMETERY
Councilor Dushku read a list of concerns that were recorded in the April 24, 2017 minutes of this committee. Mr.
Sheehan reported that the Public Works Department (DPW) had closed the Warren Street gate to forestall cut -through
traffic and as a result less dust was being stirred up. Storage of material for non -cemetery uses has ceased; truck
dumping is being done in a bin at the DPW yard. The exposed dirt pile has been grassed over. To deter illegal
dumping, an open dumpster has been removed. There are ongoing water issues due to high groundwater on the
property. Mr. Mee reminded the committee of the urgency of the DPW's need for an alternative staging location. The
DPW has not begun work on a Property -wide Management Plan but they plan to do so as soon as possible. Councilor
Dushku praised the Department for tree pruning and new fence screening on the Highland Ave side.
2. WEBSITE AND WORK -ORDER TRACKING
Mr. Sheehan reported that a work order tracking system has been implemented "on the back end," i.e. it is not yet
ready for public access. He said that the new town website will go live in January and the DPW site will also debut at
that time.
3. WATER METER REPLACEMENT PROJECT
Mr. Sheehan said that this item has been a Capital Improvement Project (CIP) item for several years.
The Department plans to begin replacing meters for 109 large commercial users soon but before they do, they are
requesting a change in the ordinance. Currently, DPW owns all meters unless they are larger than one inch in
diameter. DPW inspected the 109 meters of this size and only six were working well. Property owners have no
incentive to repair/upgrade meters. DPW would like to change the ordinance so the town owns all of the meters. Mr.
Sheehan presented draft ordinance revisions. The committee found some of the language confusing and asked for a re-
written version. This will be presented to the committee at the December 6th Committee meeting.
4. MOUNT AUBURN STREET PROJECT
The room was packed for this discussion. Regina Villa Associates facilitated this part of the meeting. The slide
presentation is available for viewing at www.Mountauburnstreet.com. Detailed minutes of the meeting are being
prepared by Regina Villa Associates and will be posted on the same website once they are finalized.
Generally -speaking, the project team explained their deeper analysis of previously -discussed bicycle solutions and with
very few exceptions, separated bike lanes are now off the table due to a preponderance of constraints. In the case of
the segment from Watertown Square to Patten Street, traffic volumes have also led the project team to discard the road
diet option entirely. In the East End, the team is considering the addition of some new parking near a church and
funeral homes.
The team's next steps include developing a concept for the Coolidge Square area, and then finalizing the cross section
from Arlington Street to Cambridge. The team anticipates a mid -January meeting to discuss those. The team will also
analyze the Common Street/Parker Street area to evaluate future operations of the Common Street intersection. Based
on the recommendations and outcome of the next meeting, the team will develop draft corridor -wide 'roll plans' that
will be posted to the website in February. In February or March, the team will host an open house to discuss the draft
corridor -wide roll plans. This project is slated for construction beginning in fiscal year 2022.
Meeting adjourned at 9:10 pm. Report respectfully submitted by S. Falkoff, secretary and edited by A. Dushku, chair.