Fwd: SW Update, early October

[barbara R]

Reply-To: Sustainable Watertown <in...@sustainablewatertown.org>

Sustainable Watertown Candidates Nights October 18 and 19. Share Tweet Share Forward Dear Sustainable Watertown, We hope you are enjoying this complex season and will take time from your many activities to evaluate the candidates who want to represent us on the Town Council, School Committee, and as Library Trustees. Democracy is not a spectator sport, we know, so consider your votes carefully. You may register at Town Hall until October 13 to vote November 3. Sustainable Watertown believes that our elected officials hold the future of so much in their hands. Our votes are crucial, and informed voting is key. Join us as we MEET THE CANDIDATES at two events sponsored by Sustainable Watertown. District Councilors will take the floor Sunday, October 18 from 6-8:30 and At Large and Town Council candidates will take questions Monday, October 19 from 7-9:30. Both Candidates Nights are at the Coolidge School Apartments, 319 Arlington Street. Please park out front, or behind along the fences. We appreciate access to this wonderful space made possible by the management and residents. Are you concerned about Watertown's future?Please send your questions related to the mission of Sustainable Watertown that you would like to hear discussed to in...@sustainablewatertown.org. Our issues: Transportation, Development, Public Space, the Environment, Sustainability, Urban Design, and more.Joe Levendusky, chair of the debate committee explained: "At this time of profound change in Watertown, it is critical to give the quality of our built and natural environment a greater degree of discussion and debate."   WATERTOWN'S DOG PARK TASK FORCE, a part of Sustainable Watertown, supports a modern off leash dog park at the Grove Street entrance to Filipello Park. The task force has been working for two years and offered to participate in the design of a dog park as that part of Filipello is reconfigured. Neither the Dog Park Task Force, nor any other citizen group has been included in the planning process. Following the Victory Field to-do, we would have thought that community input would have been sought before any plan was brought forth. Criteria the task force recommends include: Dedicated 200x100 foot area; Convenient and accessible location; Well-used and safe location (not isolated); Pea stone surface for comfort and drainage; 4' high fencing; Double gate safety entrances; 10x15' time out space; 10x15' small dog space; Water spigot/fountain combination; Benches with roof structure to protect dog owners from the elements; Posted rule board; Compostable baggie supply for picking up dog waste;Trash barrel for dog waste; Shade trees if possible; Regular park hours, sun up to sun down with no lights necessary. The former town dump which has been remediated is aperfect location in the East End. It is a spacious area. It is visible from a busy street so people will feel safe at the park and there could be several convenient entrances. A dog park is a year-round activity unlike most public fields and courts and consistent with the mission of those who want to protect open space in Watertown, with both green and other natural, permeable surfaces. Families already use the facilities of Filipello Park. There is parking nearby and there is room for short term parking at the potential dog park itself. It is a social space for both the dogs and their families. It will serve a large and multigenerational population, many of whom can walk there from neighborhoods in the East End and developments to come. A modern off leash dog park is an amenity much desired by all the residents of Watertown. Please let your opinions be heard AT THE OCTOBER 6 MEETING TONIGHT. A NEW POLICE CHIEF FOR WATERTOWN: The Council's Public Safety Committee, chaired by Susan Falkoff with Steve Corbett and Kenny Woodland, will hold a public hearing Wednesday, October 7 to learn about and contribute to criteria that will be used in the selection of a Police Chief. Watertown Citizens, World In Watertown, Progressive Watertown, and Sustainable Watertown have supported this public discussion and asked that criteria include A demonstrated commitment to Community Policing; A history of connecting to minority and other marginalized communities; Ability to work well with schools and social service agencies and to provide leadership in inter-departmental initiatives; Knowledge and ability to implement non-violent and non-militarized interventions. You may have other areas of concern , such as supporting off site safe storage for gun collections and other gun safety measures. Other measures typically used include civil service tests and related experience on the job. While the Town Manager has the responsibility to choose a new police chief under the Charter of Watertown, a company has been hired to choose finalists. The criteria to be used is the topic of this hearing. You are invited to listen and participate. Thanks for all you do, Sustainable Watertown in...@sustainablewatertown.org ACTION ITEMS Dog Park criteria and citizen participation in redesign of Grove Street entrance to Filipello Park   Whitney Hill Park, the only major wooded acreage in town, and Conservation Commission evaluation of maintenance and educational programs   Public Safety hearing to discuss criteria for selection of Police Chief   Historical Commission takes a first look at tear-down proposals for single family houses in Watertown   MBTA.com/survey is an on line opportunity to help determine service priorities and the standards the MBTA uses to evaluate service   Three Listening sessions for Residential Design Guidelines   IMPORTANT DATES TUESDAY, tonight, OCTOBER 6, 7PM. REDESIGN OF GROVE STREET ENTRANCE TO FILIPELLO PARK. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION has been lacking and the Dog Park Task Force of Sustainable Watertown rejects the "preliminary" design. Please attend to give your impressions and criteria for a modern off leash dog park. Lower Hearing Room, Town Hall. If you cannot attend, please send letters to Recreation pcen...@watertown-ma.gov; Conservation and Tree Warden, chay...@watertown-ma.gov; Planning,sma...@watertown-ma.gov. Please review the Criteria and rationale for the Grove Street portion of Filipello Park. Read the analysis on this page. See the proposal here: http://www.watertown-ma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/17636. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 7PM PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE of the Council will hold a  PUBLIC HEARING about CRITERIA FOR SELECTING A POLICE CHIEF FOR WATERTOWN. See information on this page.  Please attend, or write to Councilors Falkoff, Corbett, and Woodland with your opinions and suggestions for criteria. COUNCIL CHAMBERS WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 7PM, CONSERVATION COMMISSIONmeeting on the evaluation of maintenance and educational programs at Whitney Hill Park, our wild oasis at Victory Field. Please let your voices be heard, at the meeting, or in letters about maintaining the last centrally located wilderness in town. Lower Meeting Room. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 7PM, HISTORICAL COMMISSION will discuss proposals to tear down single family houses for development all over Watertown. It seems premature to make lasting decisions on this topic when David Gamble is beginning to lead public discussions about Residential Design Guidelines. There are three Listening Sessions. Stay tuned. Contact the Historical Commission via chair David Russo, or Chris Hayward,chay...@watertown-ma.gov. Lower Hearing Room, Town Hall. More listings next week.     Thanks for all you do, Sustainable Watertown in...@sustainablewatertown.org

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[jdpa...@comcast.net]

The subject line was my wife's coinage, to give credit where it's due.

It was a spirited discussion last night in the Town Council's chambers, as the designers presented their PRELIMINARY plan to interested onlookers, including the council itself. Your humble correspondent was there.

I capitalized PRELIMINARY because the designers and town officials took pains to iterate and reiterate that these plans are PRELIMINARY. In that sense, it was actually helpful to have a concrete plan to react to.

And react we did. First, Tony was AWESOME. He spoke firmly and sternly that the "preliminary" dog park penciled at the edge of the site barely met the letter, and certainly not the spirit, of the council's intent. He left no doubt of his disappointment at what was presented. I spoke up as a member of the Task Force, as did several other dog owners. We all agreed that The Green in the plan would make an ideal dog park. Nobody favored the dog park as it was proposed.

Even so, I don't necessarily blame the designers. They have been working on their plan over the same period of time that we dog-parkers have been working toward a state-of-the-art dog park. But we were working in parallel, never to meet. The designer who addressed us went from mild surprise to a state of shock, as we made clear our dismay. I actually felt sorry for him; he was ambushed. Should someone have made it clearer to them what kind of dog park we were expecting? Tony's remarks would suggest that the point had been made plenty clear. In any case, we removed any doubt last night.

One observation: the designers wanted to make a design statement. The Green that they propose is meant as a visual gateway to the park. Landscape was their intent, not utility, and they tried to defend the conception as a "completion" of Filippello Park. No one was persuaded (Susan Falkoff least of all). The people who showed up at the meeting wanted something they could use, not just a pretty space. (My aside: a Green with dogs at play would make a lovely gateway to the park.)

The other consituency who came out in number were the community gardens folks. They would like a permanent site for town residents to plow the earth. The garden on Nichols Avenue is closed, I understand, and the plots across from the Mt. Auburn Cemetery are leased only for ten years. There seemed to be no contention between the dog owners and the gardeners; we felt there was enough room for both. No one spoke up for hopscotch, by the way.

Two things we need to know that affect all designs: the park is built on landfill. There is only two feet of clean soil atop a toxic mess. There will be no digging below two feet. The gardeners want raised beds, anyway, so they weren't put off by that, but the limitation on digging means no water can be piped in. Which is a severe, though not fatal, limitation in gardening. It's a limitation on a dog park, too, but as I lug a gallon water and an old bowl every time I go to a dog park, sharing with the other dogs, it's not that big of a deal. The second non-negotiable design element is that the town needs to retain the basketball courts (or something like them) as a snow dump. There's no other place, they swear, and as the area will be out of commission for perhaps six months every year, there's no reason to invest much more than a paved surface and removable basketball nets.

There were other suggestions--move any parking out of the interior of the park and keep it closer to the street (less pleasing to the eye from the outside, but better from the inside); play area for non- or less-competitive sports (something called Gaga)--some people even suggested going back to a blank slate and starting over.

But this was a PRELIMINARY plan, one subject to revision, I trust. I give the designer credit for taking the critical comments from the town, from citizen to councilor, in stride. I was impressed with and proud of the way people spoke their minds. Wionderful thing, democracy.

Josh Passell

Shattuck Road

[Kathy Alpert]

Hi Josh,

Thanks for the thorough and entertaining report.  I was unable to attend last night's meeting, so it's encouraging to learn the Dog Park Task Force's goals are still in play, and are being carefully considered. Special thanks to Tony, who's been a great ally throughout the process. 

Best,

Kathy Alpert

Spruce Street

Sent from my iPad

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[Deborah Whitman]

Thanks so much, Josh, for your comprehensive summary!  And heartfelt thanks toTony for his continued strong leadership for a state-of-the-art dog park.

Deepest thanks to all who attended and/or wrote.

 

Were we able to secure representation at future meetings? What is our next step?

 

Hope everyone gets to enjoy this gorgeous day!

 

Deb

 

 

[Deborah Whitman]

Thanks so much, Josh, for your comprehensive summary!  And heartfelt thanks toTony for his continued strong leadership for a state-of-the-art dog park.

Deepest thanks to all who attended and/or wrote.

 

Were we able to secure representation at future meetings? What is our next step?

 

Hope everyone gets to enjoy this gorgeous day!

 

Deb

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: jdpassell <jdpa...@comcast.net>
To: watertownmadogs <waterto...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Wed, Oct 7, 2015 7:32 am
Subject: [watertownmadogs] Bow-wow pow-wow

[barbara R]

Thanks, Josh. Sounds like a good show. I sent a letter from Sustainable Watertown that also mentioned the usual issues and the to-do over not including citizens in the preliminary thinking-pre design- of Victory Field. You'd think they'd learn. 

Another point: The change in location of the entrance road places the park adjacent to any development that will occur at the site of the businesses next door. And I am sure that land is extremely valuable. We don't want the park and DP compromised later on. Let me know if anyone didn't get the Update with the blurb on DPTF--I sent it separately and used the wrong address, so it arrived a little late. Sorry. Are you all on the regular SW Update list?

Mark Sideris replied to my letter this am: 

Barbara,

I again want to assure you from my perspective, we will not be putting this on a council agenda until we come to some agreement on what the dog park portion should look like.

Mark

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/watertownmadogs/150426546e4-4ae7-2ca55%40webprd-a17.mail.aol.com.

[Councilor Tony Palomba]

Josh,

Thank you for the excellent summary and for speaking at the meeting.  I also appreciate your kind words.

Tony

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Tony Palomba

Councilor At-Large

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