The week ahead: Community Development grants and renaming Northeast School

This week, City Council’s Economic and Community Development Commission plans to review a preliminary Community Development Block Grant proposal for the year.

The CDBG program, run by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Design, distributes grants to municipalities for local initiatives improving housing opportunities and quality of life for low- and moderate-income residents and for residents in vulnerable populations, such as survivors of domestic violence and people experiencing homelessness. 

Since January, the city has been receiving applications from nonprofits and city departments for CDBG funding for the upcoming year. 

The 18 requests it has proposed to submit to the federal government range from ESL, meal and afterschool programs; renovations for the Boys & Girls Club and home repair subsidies; and operating costs for the Community Day Center and the Housing and Planning departments.

Mayor Jeannette A. McCarthy sent in the preliminary proposal to the council at its last meeting in March, requesting it authorize her to submit these grant requests to HUD after public review. 

The city will hold a public meeting to review the draft plan with the public on Thursday, April 9 at 10:00 am at the Arthur Clark Government Center.

Also this week, the council’s Licenses and Franchises Commission will consider a plan to rename Northeast Elementary School after former Waltham Public Schools superintendent John J. Daddona. The request comes from resident Margaret Cannon after Daddona’s death in February at age 93.

Below is a chronological rundown of other city meetings scheduled this week.

City Council committees

In other business, the council’s Licences and Franchises Committee will also discuss a sidewalk opening requested by utilities company Eversource, a secondhand dealer’s licence and inspections for two lodging house license renewal requests.

The Ordinances and Rules Commission will consider proposed changes for the city’s snow removal ordinances and three requests to extend time allotted for construction on previously granted special permits.

The Long-Term Debt and Capital Planning Committee will consider a $10.5 million loan authorization to fund project management of the ongoing police station redesign, and the Finance Committee will discuss funding requests for the police medical budget, disability services commission and telecommunicator emergency response services.

City Council’s committees will meet on Monday beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Zoning Board of Appeals

The ZBA is a five-person board charged with reviewing new and existing buildings that might violate the city’s zoning code. 

The board has the power to grant project-specific variances to the code, overrule judgments made by the building inspector and grant specific types of special permits.

This week it will hear two cases from private homeowners on Trapelo Road and Edwin Road, respectively, seeking to construct additions to their houses. Both additions will encroach into the houses’ setbacks from the road, and one will increase the house’s floor plan over what the city permits.

The board will meet at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the Arthur Clark Government Center.

Parks-Recreation Board

The Parks-Recration Board is an eight-person board that oversees the city’s public recreational spaces and programming. This week, it plans to discuss a budget proposal for the department for fiscal year 2027, as well as a road race at the Community Day Center and presentations from Waltham Youth Hockey and Waltham Youth Football and Cheer.

It will meet on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at the Waltham Recreation Department at 510 Moody St.

School Committee

The Waltham School Committee, an elected six-member committee chaired by McCarthy, makes policy and oversight decisions for the Waltham Public Schools.

The committee this week will discuss new communications regarding out-of-district transportation and teacher salaries and discuss whether to participate in the state School Choice program. It will also discuss Valor High School, and it may continue discussions about the Waltham High School schedule for the upcoming year.

The committee will meet at 7 p.m. on Wednesday in the James J. Cannon Lecture Hall at 617 Lexington St.

Conservation Commission

The Conservation Commission is a volunteer board charged with overseeing environmental planning in Waltham. The commission reviews certain types of construction on or around wetlands to ensure they comply with the Wetlands Protection Act and the Department of Environmental Protection stormwater standards.

This week, among other business, the commission will discuss a request to construct an emergency generator, conduit, and dumpster at Atrius Health at 1601 Trapelo Road in a previously developed environmental buffer zone.

It will hold a meeting over Zoom at 7 p.m. Thursday. An agenda and link for the meeting will be provided on the commission’s page on the city website at least 48 hours in advance.