Local Government Update, July 2026

Discover the latest Watertown government moments, stories, and numbers in this relaxed but informative conversation with Tyler Cote, the Director of Communications and Community Engagement for the City of Watertown, and Victoria Weichel from WCA-TV.

See links to things mentioned in this episode at LittleLocalConversations.com.

Transcript

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Matt 0:02

Hi there. Welcome to the Little Local Conversations Podcast. I'm your host, Matt Hanna. Every episode, I sit down for a conversation to discover the people, places, stories, and ideas of Watertown. This episode is one of the monthly local government updates that I record with Tyler Cote, the Director of Communications and Community Engagement for the City of Watertown, and Victoria Weichel over at Watertown Cable Access. And we were at the WCA-TV studios to record this one. So let's dive right in.

Matt 0:29

Welcome to the Local Government Update. We are here to discuss things for the month of July 2026. I'm here as always with Tyler. 

Tyler 0:39

Hello. 

Matt 0:40

And Victoria. 

Victoria 0:40

Hello. 

Matt 0:41

So let's kick it right off. Moments from the past month. Go ahead, Victoria.

Victoria 0:46

So a big moment from the past month was with the school committee and the special education program. Over the course of June, throughout multiple school committee meetings, many parents spoke during public forum with their experience with the program and their frustrations, citing lack of trust and fair retaliation. The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, also known as DESE, did release its review of the Watertown special education program and put Watertown in the needs assistance category. Areas of concern were reading proficiency has decreased in eighth and high school. Inclusion time in general has been an issue. So inclusion time means time kids in the special education program gets with general education. The school committee has brought up suggestions and ideas for improvement, including creating an ad hoc committee focused on special education. City Council (President) Mark Sideris and school committee member, said he wanted to see the special education as a focus for the school administration for the next year.

Matt 1:46

Any thoughts to add on to that, Tyler?

Tyler 1:48

I would just mention people can go back and watch, I believe, the last two or three school committee meetings that this has been on the agenda and been part of the discussion on WCA-TV and hear some of the conversation amongst members of the committee, and of course, from the community as well. See some of the presentations that have been delivered as well to the school committee. So can certainly go on WCA-TV and get caught up on everything that has gone on here over the last few months regarding this conversation.

Matt 2:17

So let's move on to your moment from the past month, Tyler.

Tyler 2:21

Yeah, this is something that is more personal to my experience professionally, I would say, and to a handful of residents as well. But we just concluded our year two of Civics Academy. So ring the bell. Another mention of Civics Academy here. I know you haven't heard from me over the last few months talking about Civics Academy, but.

Matt 2:40

Our counter at the top says 97.

Tyler 2:45

I love this program. Take a lot of pride in the program. I am appreciative of all the staff at City Hall that help make the program a success in what it is. This year we ran seven weeks, two hours every Thursday, talking about everything from public works. Our public works week for the second year in a row was an absolute knockout hit with the students as they walk through the bays of the DPW yard and receive different presentations from all of our divisions within DPW. Everything from what is the process of making our signs to how do we go about pruning and taking care of our trees, to what is our approach to electric mowers and parks equipment that keep our parks as beautiful as they are. It was another great seven weeks with engaging, thought-provoking, very thorough conversation, a lot of exciting activities. Putting the students in the driver's seat of a developing conference of where they have to look at and learn from our zoning and then explore how you can actually build housing and commercial real estate to fit into our zoning. An opportunity to build their own CIP, which is the capital improvement plant. Think of the big expensive, tangible projects, a new park, a new shuttle, a new car, whatever it may be. 

Tyler 4:08

So it was just another great year, a program that I'm very happy that we're able to run. We held our graduation just a couple weeks ago in June. It's always fun. You know, this year's class, we had our youngest was right around 20, our oldest was in their 70s. It's always fun running a graduation with people that haven't participated in a graduation in some time, and telling them, like, oh yeah, no, you're walking across the stage here in front of all of our boards and commissions.

Matt 4:39

Did they have a tassel to move to the side?

Tyler 4:41

So they they did ask about tassels, that might need to be added into our budget for next year. So something to consider, and especially for our future applicants to think about as, you know, we head towards graduation future years, whether you're going to be wearing the old cap and gown to celebrate. But it's a program I'm really appreciative of and the support that we receive from the city council. But none of it is possible without the community interest that goes into it. This year we had over 60 applicants. We don't have the space to take in all 50 or 60 applicants that want to participate in the program. That is why we're exploring ways that we can fill the gaps in other parts of the calendar to offer opportunity for people to participate in a program like this. Maybe not this exact program at a different time, but maybe some supplemental things that people can participate in. Just very grateful for everything that the community has put into this program participating and congrats to this year's class.

Matt 5:33

Yeah. And for a moment, was there a particular moment? I don't know, something that was like that was a really great moment in this year's Civics Academy.

Tyler 5:40

Yeah, it's a great question. This year, one that really sticks out to me was in our public safety night, which we have our police department and our fire department each presenting for an hour each to the class. And we had members of the class actually share about their experience in interfacing with our public safety teams. For a little while in the class, it became almost like a round table of sharing. And I felt like it really bonded the class together in a really interesting way. And something that on paper, this program is about like building future leaders in the community. But coming out of every single class, the students are always saying how appreciative they are that they can meet other residents that they would have never had the opportunity to connect with in the past. So being able to be a part of the connecting people together and the residents together. I was speaking with a graduate of year one who told me that they participated in the Dragon Boat Festival that happened last month or two months ago in Boston. And they did it with somebody from their class in Civics Academy participated on their team. Like that is a relationship, that is a friendship, that is a connection that is maintained because of what Civics Academy presented them with the opportunity to connect. So it's moments like that that stick with me. 

Tyler 6:56

And my mother was a teacher and then an elementary school principal. And I'd always hear her say how it's all about the kids. I love the work, but it's about seeing the kids grow. I'm not comparing Civics Academy to that. However, it's the first time that I think I really got a glimpse of, we do this every day. We work in City Hall with some highly dedicated and committed professionals in their field that are really, you don't get into public service. A reason you get into public service is because you want to serve a community, you want to be a part of something that is a little bit bigger. So being able to see the enthusiasm from staff and sharing their professional work day in, day out, but then also having the residents infectiously grab onto those experiences and want to bring those out into the community themselves in some way and continue the conversation outside of the city council chamber. That is, that's really the thing that sticks with me and that makes me really, really appreciative of this program. You know, as soon as it's a lot of work in putting it together, but the second that Civics Academy ends, my mind always turns to think like, okay, I can't wait to do it again.

Matt 8:08

Nice.

Tyler 8:09

It's about as emotional as I'll get on this podcast, I think. But yeah, love the program. I love the opportunity that George our City Manager gave me to in terms of like seeing it through and running it week to week. And I'm grateful for all the connection that I've had with the students that have come through it as well.

Matt 8:24

Nice. Well, congrats on two successful years.

Tyler 8:27

Thank you. I appreciate it.

Matt 8:28

And one other, one other note, when you mentioned DPW is the most popular one, I've heard from multiple people on different occasions now that they would like to see an adult touch a truck event. 

Victoria 8:39

Yes. 

Matt 8:40

At the DPW staging. 

Tyler 8:42

Yeah. Okay. 

Matt 8:43

So just putting that on your radar along with the mascots and all those other ideas.

Tyler 8:47

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's good. All right. I'll report back. Let me see what I can do.

Matt 8:50

Yeah. All right. Let's move on to next segment. Success story. What do you have for us, Victoria?

Victoria 8:56

So a little success story. The Watertown School Building Committee met on June 17th, and the committee reviewed the current designs for the middle school. It is important to note that the new middle school has not been approved by the city council yet, but it is starting to get to the point where it has to get approved. Otherwise, progress will stop. They're finishing up the feasibility study now. And over the next month or so, the cost estimate will be finalized and the budget is expected to be presented in August. So I would recommend checking out that meeting to see the current designs.

Matt 9:28

Yeah. And has it changed drastically from what we saw last time we were talking about this?

Victoria 9:33

So now we have renderings of the inside. So now we can actually imagine students or yourselves walking through.

Matt 9:40

Gotcha. Any add-ons? 

Tyler 9:41

I'll just mention that we posted on our city social media slides of photos of the presentation that evening at that school building committee meeting. That people can, if they don't want to go through the experience of diving through previous agenda packets, for example, that may be the easiest way to jump back, in addition to, of course, watching WCA-TV's coverage on their website. But if they scroll back on Instagram or on Facebook, they should be able to find the slides that are presented that include all the images of some of those renderings that Victoria's mentioning.

Matt 10:15

Yeah. I'll try and include a direct link to that in the show notes as well.

Matt 10:19

All right, let's move on to Did You Know? All right, Tyler, what's your Did You Know for this month?

Tyler 10:24

I think that this is a program that gets woefully underacknowledged, but it is such an incredible one. Did you know about our summer parks program with our recreation department? This is a free program that our recreation department runs Monday to Friday every week at two separate parks from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. And they are running it every Monday to Friday until August 14th this summer. Registration is required. However, there's no fee associated with registration. So want to make that clear. It is for grades three to twelve. So if you have a young one that fits into that grade range and they want to participate in something this summer, but they're not totally sure. Maybe they just want to go hang out at a park where you will find arts and crafts, pickleball, tennis, dodgeball, board games, some field trips associated with it. One of my favorites, wiffle ball. I used to play wiffle ball every day in the summer growing up. I wish that there was a parks program in my small little 1,000-person town. 

Matt 11:22

What was your favorite trick pitch, real quick? 

Tyler 11:24

Oh, gee. Well, I had a, I had a curveball that I called the cheese sandwich. And that was a specialty on my street growing up with all the kids that are much older than me, but they couldn't hit the cheese sandwich.

Matt 11:36

Delightful.

Tyler 11:38

Yeah. But you didn't expect me to have that answer ready for you.

Victoria 11:43

Sounds like he was waiting to tell that the whole time.

Tyler 11:46

Just been begging.

Matt 11:47

He said whiffle ball and looking around. Anybody?

Tyler 11:50

So please, I recommend anybody that's interested, register for our parks program. The parks program runs at Arsenal Park and Casey Park. Casey Park, which is on the south side of the river. So if you're on the other side of the river, just jump right over to Casey Park and you can participate there or over at Arsenal, which one of our crown jewel parks here in the city, the new Arsenal Park, which opened up last year. So if you're interested, you can go to rec, that is r-e-c dot us slash watertown. And that's where you can register for not only the parks program, but all of the recreation programs that we have going in the city at any given time. But that is the easiest way for you to participate. So free program run at parks daily in the middle of summertime. Highly recommend people getting involved.

Matt 12:35

Yeah. Will say it is weather dependent.

Tyler 12:38

Yes. Thank you. It is weather dependent. We are currently recording during maybe one of the rainiest days of the summer that we have had. So day like today, parks program not running, but there are many sunny days, which it does.

Matt 12:50

Yeah. Great. Great program. Let's move on to our next segment. You're up again, Tyler. Maybe not as fun of a topic.

Tyler 12:57

No.

Matt 12:58

Questions we get a lot.

Tyler 12:59

Yeah, we're getting a lot of questions. And this happens during the summertime, especially for a few reasons. People moving out a little bit more frequently if they're on a like a June to June rent schedule or a September to September rent schedule. And then also just the nicer weather, spring, summer cleaning, things like that. We're getting a lot of questions regarding illegal dumping right now. And forgive me to all of our listeners as I take a minute just to implore you to not illegally dump. And what I'm referring to in particular is taking bulky items. So think of a mattress or furniture, a bookshelf, a bookcase, anything that's larger than what you would typically put into your bins or your toters. You need to call to have a scheduled pickup for those items with Republic Services. That number is 844-737-8254. We can ensure to have that in the show notes for you. 

Tyler 13:54

And it is illegal to just, for lack of a better word, dump these items on the sidewalk. Not only that, but it also creates inaccessible sidewalks because it usually leads to an item sitting on a curb for much longer than was ever intended. It cuts down on the width of a sidewalk if somebody needs to get by, say they're in a stroller, say somebody's rolling down the sidewalk in a wheelchair, whatever it may be, cuts off their path, forces people into the street, which we never like. And also it comes with fees that people need to pay. That it is the responsibility of the person putting the item on the sidewalk to pay that fee. Now I will say to get a bulky item picked up, there is a cost associated with it to have it picked up by Republic Services or to have it donated. In some cases, there are donation organizations that you can reach out to as well for something like a mattress, for example. There typically is some sort of fee associated. And it depends on the item and the size of the item and such. 

Tyler 14:45

But we strongly, strongly, strongly, strongly ask you and advise you and tell you do not just illegally dump your items, not only in front of your sidewalks, but also please don't bring your items over to a dumpster that is in another location that you assume, well, it's a dumpster, so I can just leave it there. That is not the case. Regardless of it's a city dumpster or a private dumpster, it is still illegal to do that. So please do not. If you do see illegal dumping happening, you can actually call the non-emergency line with our police department to take care of that. That number is 617-972-6500. They will go and address whatever is going on with the illegal dumping. With all that said, I know that this is not the fun, lighthearted, enjoyable. This is more procedural. I'm imploring us all to please not do something that is illegal. I very much appreciate everybody's participation in legally getting rid of any items that they need to during this summertime and helping us with communicating over to our non-emergency line in the police department whenever they do potentially see something like that. So that is that.

Matt 15:53

Is there a page on the city website that has all the resources?

Tyler 15:56

Yes, yes. And it is under our public works page. I'll have it linked in the show notes for anybody that is interested. And over the next week or so here, we will be releasing more information on social, on the city social media about who you can contact and where you can go to find out more about legally getting rid of any bulky items that you need to.

Matt 16:16

Thanks for the information. Let's move on to number of the month. So, I mean, it's here finally. It's finally here.

Tyler 16:26

I knew it.

Matt 16:27

It's the right, for anyone who's been listening. Every time it's a number, I guess that it's a new type of bowling, but this time you've actually given me the correct amount of bowling pins.

Tyler 16:37

I am.

Matt 16:38

Is it in every type of bowling there's 10 pins? There's different types that don't have 10 pins, correct? Like candlepin has more or?

Tyler 16:43

I believe candlepin does have more, but I'll be honest, I have candlepin bowled less than I can count on one hand. I am a staunch 10-pin, big ball.

Matt 16:54

You don't like the skeeball effect of candlepin?

Tyler 16:56

No, it's not for me. Born and raised in a 10-pin bowling alley, so.

Matt 16:58

So I need a better guess now because it's not funny to guess bowling pins

Tyler: 17:05

No. That's too on the nose.

Matt 17:07

You have any guesses, Victoria? 

Victoria 17:09

I don't know I was thinking like maybe something with the parks.

Matt 17:11

Like 10 parks being renovated this year or something like that. 

Tyler 17:15

Not quite that many.

Victoria 17:17

I don’t know, that's just what my gut's telling me. Because last time my gut was telling me streets and I didn't say anything. And I was right.

Tyler 17:22

You were right.

Matt 17:23

Yeah, I don't have any fun guesses. 

Tyler 17:25

I'll tell you what, Victoria, you are, you're scratching at the surface with the parks because this takes place at one of our parks, at Saltonstall Park, which is our summer concert series. Thank you. So the summer concert series takes place at Saltonstall Park at 6:30 every single Wednesday night, weather dependent. 10 is the number of concerts that we have planned this year. Now, by the time that this gets released, there will have already been two, potentially up to three of these concerts that have already taken place. However, what better way to break up your week than to head down to Saltonstall Park, maybe get a couple produce at the farmer's market, which runs from 2:30 to 6:30 every single Wednesday at Saltonstall Park as well, the new Saltonstall Park, recently renovated. And then pop down a lawn chair, maybe a blanket, bring a snack, or you grab a snack at the farmer's market, and then just pop it right open right there, eat an apple or a tomato, whatever.

Matt 18:20

They have ready-made foods too.

Tyler 18:22

Yeah, that too. Not just ingredients.

Matt 18:25

I'm not just gonna chomp on a tomato listening to a band.

Tyler 18:28

To each as their own.

Matt 18:31

Fair.

Tyler 18:32

But we have a concert running every Wednesday up until September 2nd this year. We have a bonus concert this year, dipping into September, which we're excited about. So come on down, experience great live music, come with friends, family, whoever it may be, and enjoy a summer of tunes. Appreciative to the arts and culture planner, Liz Helfer, for all her work in terms of putting the summer concerts together. Come on down, 6:30 every Wednesday, up until September 2nd this year.

Victoria 19:00

And if you can't go, WCA-TV is there recording all of them. You can check out ones from previous years as well.

Tyler 19:05

Thank you, Victoria. Sorry for not giving you the proper shout.

Victoria 19:09

It's okay. 

Matt 19:10

All right, let's move on. What do we got here? We have a little spotlight this month. All right, Tyler, who are you giving props to this month?

Tyler 19:18

Yeah, so now that we're beyond budget season, but might I add, budget season is a year. 

Matt 19:25

It's always budget season. 

Tyler 19:26

It's always budget season. 

Matt 19:28

You need a t-shirt that says that. It's always budget season.

Tyler 19:31

Gosh, not sure how many of those I would sell. So this month I want to talk about the CPC, our community preservation committee. And the reason is because this year they're celebrating their 10-year anniversary, 10 years of existing here in Watertown, which is fantastic. Before I get into the CPC to both pull back the curtain so you understand where they came from and who they are, I do want to, and this goes for not only this case, but in previous episodes and future ones that we do whenever I do these department or committee or commission spotlights. I'm not suggesting that I'm the expert. I'm giving a very like 101 brief understanding. If there's anything that I'm missing, it's by no means meant to be a purposeful omission. It is really just I want to give a little bit of context to who some of our departments and some of our committees are, especially our committees who are often made up by volunteers. They're volunteering to be a part of our community and to make big decisions for our community, which we're always very appreciative over in City Hall for. 

Tyler 20:32

But, CPC turning 10 this year. So very cool, very happy for them. To zoom out to September of 2000. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts ended up passing the Community Preservation Act. That is the CPA. If you hear me say CPA for the rest of this chat, that is what I am referring to. 

Matt 20:52

Not tax accountants. 

Tyler 20:53

That's right. Thank you. What the CPA, the Community Preservation Act, does was it allowed cities and towns to raise funds through a surcharge on local real estate taxes to do a handful of things. Everything from buy and create, well, a handful of things within guardrails, I should say. They could use it to buy, create, preserve open space, rehabilitate or preserve open space that was acquired using CPA funds. Keep a note of that. Acquire, preserve, rehabilitate, and restore historic resources. Acquire, create, preserve, support community housing needs. Acquire, create, preserve, rehabilitate, and restore passive and active outdoor recreational facilities. So it's really focusing on those, I'll call it kind of four main focus areas. Think of it open space, outdoor recreation, historical preservation, and housing. Those are the four heads in general sense of the CPA and what it's really aiming to do. 

Tyler 21:52

In November of 2016, residents of Watertown voted to adopt the CPA. And they adopted through a two percent surcharge on real estate bills. There are exemptions to this tax for low-income qualifiers. You can learn more about that by reaching out to our assessor's office. But if you live in the home that you own in Watertown, your real estate tax bill very likely has this 2% surcharge. If you have any questions about a real estate tax bill, you can reach out to 311. Anyways, after 2016, when this was added to our real estate tax bills, the CPC, the community preservation committee, was formed to focus on the use of that 2% surcharge in the taxes to use those funds to address those four subject areas, those focus areas that I just mentioned. Open space, outdoor recreation, historical preservation, housing, affordable housing in particular.

Tyler 22:45

So this year the CPC is now updating their community preservation plan. Every CPC has a community preservation plan, which sets this set of priorities, goals, action items to take what it is that the community is looking for with relation to those four focus areas to be able to prioritize how we can be using the funds that are community funds. These are taxes coming in to support projects that address those four action items. There are nine members on our CPC, our community preservation committee. Four of them are at-large members that are appointed by the city manager, confirmed by the city council. Five are statutory members. We have a planning board member, a conservation commission member, a historical commission member, a housing authority member, and one member appointed by the city manager to represent parks and open space. So currently, that is the individual that runs our parks in the DPW, Bob DiRico, is the one that is appointed taking on that task at the moment. 

Tyler 23:43

So this is an incredibly diverse and collaborative committee as you're pulling from several subject matter experts that are already volunteering on other boards or commissions in the city. You have individuals that are brought on that entirely focus on the CPC themselves. And then you even have internal staff, and then you actually have a liaison on top of that, all focusing on how we can fund projects, how can we prioritize projects that are focusing on those four items, the open space, the recreation, the housing, and the historical preservation. Over the last handful of years, they have worked to fund an envelope restoration of the Commander's Mansion. Envelope means basically the outside of a building, completely redoing that and modernizing it and then doing some modernization inside as well, including for the elevator. You have the Willow Park Redevelopment, which is an affordable housing development site. You have a group home construction over on Nichols Ave, which is another affordable housing site for individuals with disabilities. We have the Walker Pond design. Ever heard of it? We have talked about it maybe more than any other project on this podcast. The CPC funded the design and ecological study. So going through all of that work that we have done over the last year almost, is our first community meeting for that was back in August of 2025. All that work had been funded by the CPC. 

Tyler 25:06

So that is just one example of some of the amazing projects that they are funding to improve areas of the city for the betterment of the community, really focusing in on the preservation of some of these important historical resources, or in this case, open space and recreational spaces, even if the recreational spaces are passive recreation, like much of the conversation around Walker Pond. All this is to say, I encourage residents to come out to the forthcoming public hearing that is being held by the CPC, which is an annual public hearing that they have to hold every single year. It is happening on July 23rd at 7 p.m. At this hearing, that is where you can come and have a say in what you would like the CPC to be thinking about moving forward. Give opinions on where you would like the CPC to align their priorities, to think about what projects they should be considering. 

Tyler 25:55 

CPC, of course, they do not create projects themselves. They review projects that are submitted to them. I want to make that clear, they are not the ones writing up these projects. But having people and individuals come to the CPC and residents come and share what it is that they're hoping the CPC to consider in the future, it still can be very, very helpful in terms of their thinking of this is what matters to the community, as they are, in a lot of ways, the holder of community funds, with every single real estate tax bill, almost every single real estate tax bill that gets sent out. So I highly recommend you come to the 10-year celebration and public hearing on the 23rd. You do not have to have a decade-long understanding of the CPC to come. If you have feelings about open space and historical preservation in Watertown, they are the committee to connect with. So I strongly recommend you come to the Watertown Free Public Library at 123 Main Street to participate. I've heard that there will be cake. So come and have a slice.

Matt 26:54

Any tomatoes to gnaw on?

Tyler 26:57

I will have to report back on that. If not, I'd be more than happy to provide them myself. And then the project deadline for submitting projects for the CPC to consider funding is on July 27th of this year. So you can go to watertown-ma.gov slash CPC to learn more about that, about the hearing, and about everything you need to know about the CPC, the CPA, and whatever other acronym you can think of related to community preservation. And a credit to the CPC and all the work that they've done over the last handful of years. And a lot of these projects that I mentioned touch a lot of lives. I mean, they were involved in the newly improved Saltonstall Park, which is where our summer concert series and farmers market take place as well. So we're appreciative for them and hope that that gives a little bit of an understanding of what that thing is on your tax bill, where is it going, and then what is it that the committee is doing day in and day out and week in and week out and month to month to utilize those funds for the betterment of the community and preserve some of the things that we love here.

Matt 27:58

Yeah. Well, thanks for that spotlight. We're racking up a few of these now. We'll get through all the departments in a few years, right? 

Tyler 28:05

Yep, yep, yep.

Matt 28:06

One kind of not really a segment here, but just something I want to talk with you, Tyler, is just there's been some comments about. I mean, you mentioned in the last episode that it’s a summer of construction, but just some clarity about what projects the city is in charge of and what projects they're not in charge of could help people understand.

Tyler 28:21

Totally, totally. Yeah. So what I'll say is if you live on a residential street that is getting work done, a milling and overlay or complete streets, that is being done by the city. You'll see contractor trucks out there. They're not all going to be the yellow DPW trucks that are doing the work. However, those are city projects. I think one of the biggest non-city projects that is maybe being recognized day in and day out by our residents is the Mount Auburn Street Project. That is a state project. Mass DOT are the ones that are running that. But that is a massive project, and again, a multi-year one that I know we've talked about. 

Tyler 28:58

I want to acknowledge that there are parts of that project that the city is also aware that things are, get slowed down from time to time, that leads to sidewalks being ripped up longer than what we hoped that they would be. We are continuing to communicate with Mass DOT all the time about this and trying to tighten up the timelines in terms of when a sidewalk is removed and then when it is poured again. I also want to ensure that everybody is aware that Mass DOT is working with businesses. So if you see us bouncing, or if you see Mass DOT and Newport, who is the contractor on it, bouncing up the road, which almost at times may feel like they're throwing a dart at a dartboard to decide where they're ripping up sidewalks next. A lot of times the reason that they're doing that is because maybe they've communicated over with a business who is closing down for a given week, and it'd be least disruptive for them to tear up that sidewalk during that week. So maybe they're working down in Coolidge in one area for one week, and all of a sudden they're halfway up the road way closer to the square the next week. That is some of the reasoning why you'll see some of that hopping around. 

Tyler 30:00

And of course, we're not the only city in the region that is doing a lot of road work. So there's a lot of cement pouring that needs to happen, and only so many cement pourers, which can sometimes impact timelines as well. But I want to ensure you that we at the city are continually working with Mass DOT and communicating with them to ensure that all the concerns that we are hearing are being conveyed over to them. Regardless of all of that, if you have any questions about any work anywhere in the city that's getting done, call 311, email 311, text 311, and they will get back to you. If it's a work that is being done in the city that you didn't hear about and you're unsure of why it's happening in front of your house, contact 311. They'll be able to tell you if that is a city project or not. They'll be able to tell you and direct you over to a street letter where it may be. And also, if you did not receive a street letter, because say work's happening right in front of your house, you should be expecting a street letter if it's something that is impacting you, which a street letter being a literal letter that gets dropped off at your home. If for whatever reason you did not receive one, they will be able to understand what went on there to avoid that from ever happening again. 

Tyler 31:07

So we appreciate everybody's understanding and flexibility as we go through a summer of construction here. And I'm happy to continue to give updates on where some of this construction sits month to month, because I know that these are the items that people are seeing and thinking about each and every day. Illegal dumping may be something that you don't think about and you don't see necessarily all the time. Something we hear a lot about. But construction is something that impacts both people that live in the city and outside the city as well. People that are traveling through, if you're going from Cambridge to Waltham or vice versa, or whatever it may be. So we're working to try and make it as undisruptive as we possibly can, but we can't promise that it's always going to, you know, be the easiest thing.

Matt 31:48

Gotcha. All right. So now we just have our upcoming to get through here. So, Victoria, you got anything upcoming to share?

Victoria 31:55

Nothing directly. I would just say keep an eye on WCA-TV socials. We'll be announcing some stuff coming up at some point. We're planning a lot, so just keep an eye on our socials for when we're ready to announce those.

Matt 32:06

What kind of stuff?

Victoria 32:07

Some stuff for youths. Specifically, we have a possible teen after school program for the high schoolers.

Matt 32:14

Nice.

Tyler 32:15

It's exciting.

Matt 32:16

Tyler, what do you got upcoming? I mean, I know there's one thing that's upcoming that I've already talked to you last week about that will be released in tandem with this at some point. Yeah.

Tyler 32:24

Yep. Treaty Day, July 18th at the Mosesian Center for the Arts at 321 Arsenal Street, celebrating and commemorating the 250th anniversary of the Treaty of Watertown, the first international treaty signed by the United States, two weeks after the signing of the Declaration of Independence back in 1776. It is Watertown's little slice of history in a summer that is full of historical commemoration and remembrance of everything that's happened in the history of the United States. These events have been planned in concert and in conversations with the Mi'kmaq, the Maliseet, the Massachusetts tribes, and ensuring that we are encompassing and including as much of the perspective around this event as we possibly can. So we're very excited about everything that we have planned for the 18th at the Mosesian. I encourage everybody to come out and participate starting at 2 p.m. over at the Mosesian Center. Hands-on workshops, musical performances, honoring of Mi'kmaq and Maliseet veterans who have served because of this treaty. 

Tyler 33:31

Always fascinating in thinking about the impact that these documents, which we view maybe contemporarily, we view them as historical documents. However, this treaty is very much still impactful today, especially on the tribes that it was signed for, who are in present-day Canada and Maine. So very excited. And yes, please listen to the episode that myself and my colleagues and the Historical Society and the Mosesian, it was a full table, chatted with Matt about Treaty Day. And come on down, participate, be part of what we know is going to be a great event on July 18th. Treatyday250.com.

Matt 34:08

Awesome. Check that out. Well, we've made it to the end, so want to say thank you, Tyler. 

Tyler 34:14

Thank you. 

Matt 34:15

Thank you, Victoria. 

Victoria 34:15

Thank you. 

Matt 34:16

So that's it for my conversation with Tyler and Victoria. I'll put links to the things that were mentioned in the episode in the show notes. And if you want to listen to more episodes of the podcast, find out more about what's going on in Watertown with the people, places, stories, and ideas in the city, head on over to LittleLocalConversations.com to find all the episodes, sign up for my weekly newsletter, support the podcast if you're a longtime fan. And if you like this episode, share it with a friend. Help someone in our neighborhood stay more up to date with what's going on. 

Matt 34:43

Alright, I want to give a few shout outs here to wrap things up. I want to give a thank you to the Watertown Cultural Council who have given me a grant this year to help support the podcast. So I want to give them the appropriate credit, which is, this program is supported in part by a grant from the Watertown Cultural Council, a local agency, which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency. You can find out more about them at WatertownCulturalCouncil.org and MassCulturalCouncil.org. And a couple more shout outs to promotional partners. First, the Watertown Business Coalition. Their motto is Community is Our Business. Find out more about them at WatertownBusinessCoalition.com. And lastly, Watertown News, which is a Watertown focused online newspaper. It's a great place to keep up to date with everything going on in the city. Check that out at WatertownMANews.com. So that's it. Until next time, take care.