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Town Council

Town of Watertown

Committee on Public Works, Meeting June 16, 2009Report: June 23, 2009

The Committee met June 16th at 5pm in the Council Chambers to discuss 1) traffic calming onMaplewood St; 2) Ridgelawn Cemetery expansion; 3) policy on betterments; and 4) fees forbusiness recycling. Present were: Susan Falkoff, Chair; Steve Corbett, Vice-chair; VincentPiccirilli, Secretary; DPW Superintendent Gerald Mee; Deputy Superintendent Sue Tamber;Mary Haley, DPW; Steven Magoon, Director of Community Development & Planning; AliceWadden, Recycling Advisory Committee; Mari Ryan, Bicycle-Pedestrian Committee; RuthThomasian and Joseph Butler, Trees for Watertown; Ann Asnes, Bellevue Rd; and ChristineLaubenstein, Watertown Tab & Press.Policy on Betterments:As a follow up to the draft ordinance distributed on the March 12

meeting (copy attached), Mr.Magoon gave a brief review of sections 8.06

Curb and Sidewalk Installation Funding

and 8.07

Procedural prerequisites to performance betterment financed granite curbing or sidewalk improvements.

Discussion followed on several points:

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Councilor Falkoff asked of this proposed betterment policy was in accordance with theDepartment of Revenue’s policy “Betterments and Special Assessment” dated April2001. Mr. Magoon will look into this and report back. The document is available athttp://www.mass.gov/Ador/docs/dls/publ/misc/betterments.pdf

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It was clarified under 8.07(c) that the 51% vote of abutting owners is based on one voteper property, and not based on frontage. Councilor Corbett though this is too low andperhaps should be 75%.

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Councilor Piccirilli asked if the requirement to prepare engineering drawings in 8.07(f)was excessive, considering that the town does not prepare drawings for rehabilitationprojects where the street geometry is not changed, and only uses typical cross-sections.Mr. Magoon said there should be some flexibility if the work is straightforward, andperhaps the requirement should be “only if required by the DPW Superintendent”. Ifstreet calming measures are requested, then drawings would be needed.

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Mari Ryan asked what the costs are for curbing. Mr. Mee stated that it depends onquantity, but granite is about $28 to $35 a foot, and asphalt $5 to $15. The cost of thesidewalk must also be considered.

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The question was raised about whether a property owner may choose to pay full priceto have new curbs and/or sidewalks installed in front of their property, as is currentlyrequired by the DPW of developers of any new project that requires site plan review. Itwas agreed that this would be permitted provided that the new curb is granite and thenew sidewalk is concrete; that the materials match the prevailing materials on the street;and that the proposed work is approved by the DPW Superintendent to insure that thework will not cause any safety, grading, or drainage issues.

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Mr. Magoon will revise the document for further review.

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Traffic Calming on Maplewood StreetMr. Mee presented a plan that he developed for traffic calming on Maplewood St, because oflong-standing complaints from the neighborhood about speeding traffic that uses it as a cut-through.

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Maplewood St from Arlington St to Edgecliff Rd was scheduled for mill & overlayrehabilitation, and Mr. Mee would like to extend the mill & overlay to School St andincorporate traffic calming measures. By adding these measures as part of therehabilitation, they can be done at a much lower cost than if they were done as a retro-fit.

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The first element would be three “raised tables” mid-block between Hillside Rd,Langdon Ave, Winsor Ave, and School St. These would be about 12 feet long, andwould not go all the way to the curb so as not to interfere with drainage and to preventvehicles from going up on the sidewalk. These are not “speed bumps” which can causevehicles to go out of control if they are hit at high speed.

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Mr. Magoon stated that the Planning Department supports this measure. TheCommittee voted unanimously to approve the installation of speed tables as described.

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The second element would be a reconfiguration of the confusing intersection ofMaplewood St, Edgecliff Rd and Summit Rd. Parts of this intersection are up to 40 feetwide, and the roads will be straightened out and narrowed down to perhaps 25 ft wideby the placement of new asphalt curbs. This will improve sightlines and slow traffic.

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Mari Ryan pointed out that there are no stop signs at Maplewood for Summit Rd, IrmaAve, Kimball Rd, and Templeton Parkway. Mr. Mee said under state law stops signsare not required, but he would be willing to petition the Traffic Commission to have stopsigns installed after the construction is complete.

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Mr. Mee said the Maplewood project will begin in July, and he will update thisCommittee on the status of the entire road rehabilitation project in the July meeting.Ridgelawn Cemetery ExpansionMr. Mee presented a preliminary design concept for the remaining triangle of undevelopedcemetery land defined by the Waltham border, Partridge St, and Highland Ave. RidgelawnCemetery is filling up, with about 135 burials per year, and there are only about 30 unsold plotsleft. Burial space is rapidly disappearing in Massachusetts cities, and burial practices arechanging with more of a trend toward cremation, and this design concept addresses both ofthese issues.

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The concept envisions above-ground structures for caskets and urns, five gatheringareas for ceremonies, and a new workshop. There will be about 4700 crypts about 36” x30” x 120” for caskets, and about 700 12” x 12” niches for urns.

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Above-ground crypts are now in use at Calvary Cemetery in Waltham and Mt AuburnCemetery. These structures would be between 10 to 17 feet high, depending whetherthey were on flat areas or built into a hillside.

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Mr. Mee did not have the exact figures with him, but he said the Town charges $800 fora burial plot, which can hold two caskets stacked on top of one another. There is a$400 charge per burial for a casket, and $150 for an urn. Mr. Mee said we also need to

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re-examine our charges for burial plots, noting that surrounding cemeteries chargethousands of dollars.

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Ms. Thomasian spoke about the value of planting trees in the cemetery.

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Mr. Mee noted that this is a long term project, and not all of it will be built at once. He isalso making plans to put in perhaps 100 new burial plots at the Warren St end toaccommodate burials for the short term.

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Mr. Mee would like to continue discussions of this concept with local funeral directors,and requested this be scheduled for the September meeting.Fees for business recycling:As a follow up from the March 12, 2009 and April 1, 2008 meetings, we continued discussionon the possibility of curbside recycling for commercial customers, as well as trash fees forcommercial customers who choose to have the town collect their waste. The fees have notchanged since 1993.

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Ms. Tamber discussed preliminary findings from a survey of surrounding communities.Most do not provide commercial trash collection and some provide it on a limited basis.Only one requires businesses to recycle. More information is needed before the DPWcan make a recommendation on curbside commercial recycling pickup.

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Regarding trash fees for businesses, the DPW will study this further and make arecommendation based on what private haulers are charging. Mr. Mee questionedwhether it makes sense to continue commercial trash pickup at all now that we nolonger have to meet minimum tonnage at the incinerator.

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Ms. Wadden asked about recycling pickup at the Boys and Girls Club. Many bottles areused there and recycling would have educational value. Mr. Mee said that since this isa town-owned property, he will have Allied pick up their recycled material.Other issues:

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Snow Removal Practices

: Mr. Mee said he needs to update the survey results andprepare policy changes for the joint committees to discuss. He would like to do this inSeptember.The proposed date for the next meeting is July 15

at 5 pm. The agenda will be further reviewof the street and sidewalk policy, update on street and sidewalk construction, and trash fees.The committee adjourned at 6:50 pm.Report submitted by: Vincent Piccirilli