Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice & Environment
Minutes: Monthly Meeting Oct 27, 2021 via zoom and in person
Land Acknowledgement
Friends of Bees reports new native plantings at the Senior Center. They recently viewed a terrific video of native Bees.
The Pigsgusset Initiative is planning an online public forum webinar, scheduled for Sunday Nov 14, 2:30-4:30pm
They are working with the Middle School on a presentation of one of the scenes from the recent New Rep play Listening to Sipu. They plan to submit the petition to the Town Council asking to reconsider the name of the Columbus Delta in Watertown Square, and hope to host a community discussion to find a name that is more inclusive of the community.
Community for Black Lives will be reviewing the most recent public safety subcommittee meeting at the upcoming meeting. They will hold their second Tuesday standout in November which is likely to be the last until warmer weather.
Watertown Faces Climate Change continues monitoring school construction, strategizing Watertown’s current Climate Action Planning, and is gearing up to launch a campaign to gather support for the Fair Share Amendment to be on next year’s ballot.
The Refugee Support Group has been responding to emergencies among its families, collecting and delivering food to a family of 7 in Medford with Covid, and finding services for a family in Upton. On the state level, they are working to get the Safe Communities Act passed.
PRESENTATION BY WATERTOWN FORWARD
Watertown Forward is a non-partisan civic action group that grew out of the Kitchen Conversations project. Watertown Forward’s mission is to educate, empower, and engage the Watertown community in our Charter review process. Member Marcy Murningham gave a presentation on the Town Charter. The charter, which defines the roles and functions of town government, was described as “a set of agreements people make about their government defining power relationships.” Our town charter calls for a charter review every ten years. After an intense 9 months of meetings, the committee proposed two sets of changes which are on the ballot for approval. Throughout this process, Watertown Forward has reached out to residents, hosted multiple explanatory meetings, facilitated and encouraged conversations, provided materials and meeting summaries, and created avenues for public input.
The first question on the upcoming Nov 2 ballot asks whether to change our name from the City Known as the Town Of Watertown to the City of Watertown. This is primarily an existential change, deciding whether we are now willing to see ourselves as a city rather than a town. The second question is a host of ballot changes with tangible outcomes that work together to result in an explicit VISION FOR THE TOWN to be generated each year by the Councilors, Town Manager and Residents; a commitment to DIVERSITY in the form of a Human Rights Commission and Community Engagement Officer; a TOWN COUNCIL POLICY ROLE that provides for access to expertise and consultants, oversight of the Town Manager’s policy implementation, a resident advisory council, and performance reviews of the Town Manager that are grounded in goals and metrics. Many people felt this year’s 15-member committee of 9 councilors and 6 community representatives was too large with an unbalanced councilor-resident ratio. The new charter calls for a 5-year review, and with a much smaller group of 3 councilors and 6 residents.
Marcy touched on some of the lofty goals and issues that members of the Charter Review grappled with in a historical context. This included incorporating a Preamble as a set of cultural norms and expectations tor working together. Q&A followed the presentation, in which attendees offered stimulating questions and opinions on the charter review. Respectfully submitted, Deborah Peterson