City Council in brief: Police request up to $750,000 of potential new funding for FIFA

Excitement is building for next week’s arrival in Waltham of the French team for the 2026 FIFA World Cup — and the Waltham Police Department is bracing itself.

The global soccer tournament begins Thursday, and Greater Boston is one of the competition’s hubs. The French national team, one of the highest-ranked teams going into the tournament, chose Bentley University as its temporary home turf until the competition ends on July 19.

Bentley agreed to pay for additional police patrols around the university to keep visitors safe. But the Police Department is worried that Bentley is not the only place that could experience security incidents, with Waltham’s extensive hotel space potentially filled with fired-up sports fans. 

WPD Capt. Jeffrey Rodley this week asked the City Council to accept two state grants: A $135,000 grant from the Office of Travel and Tourism that the city must match and a $383,392.78 grant from the Emergency Management Agency. 

“We don’t know what this is going to look like,” said Rodley. “So we want to make sure we’re responsible from a public safety standpoint.”

Mayor Jeannette A. McCarthy requested an additional $100,000 that the department can use to pay for police overtime if it runs out of grant money.

Ward 1 Councilor Anthony LaFauci expressed frustration with the last-minute funding additions. “It was always my understanding that FIFA coming to Waltham would incur no expense to the city,” he said. “Everybody along the way is making money, and we’re spending money.”

Councilors voted to accept both grants and allocate the contingency overtime funding.

Excitement for Les Bleus’ arrival

Ward 6 Councilor Sean T. Durkee said that the French team’s arrival has put Waltham into the global spotlight, and it’s an excellent opportunity to underscore its worldly history and connections.

“We are in an interconnected global community and sometimes have a reputation for looking inward,” he said. “We have a great history [with France], and I think we should know it as we welcome the team”

Councilor-at-Large Carlos Vidal also emphasized the importance of FIFA as a global unifier, drawing billions of eyes around the world.

“For a brief period this summer, Waltham will become part of that global story,” he said.

Additionally, the City Council:

• Celebrated the 100th birthday of longtime Cedarwood resident Rose Marie Richard.
• Forwarded a list of requests from McCarthy to the council’s committees. Next week’s Finance Committee will discuss accepting multiple state grants for the 911 program, approving an additional $125,000 in funding for city utility bills before the end of the fiscal year and accepting historic Waltham memorabilia. The Committee of the Whole will discuss relocating the Department of Public Works to the former Fernald property. It will also decide whether to use Community Preservation Act funding to purchase two buildings for rent-controlled veterans’ housing, and the Licenses and Franchises Committee will discuss renaming those buildings.
• Forwarded a request for a new Bigbelly trash container at the train shelter on Moody Street to the Public Works and Public Safety Committee.
• Forwarded two outdoor dining licenses and one lodging house license renewal to the Licenses and Franchises Committee.
• Highlighted the community work of Jewish Family & Children’s Service, a longtime community service nonprofit headquartered in Waltham and serving eastern Massachusetts. Ward 7 Councilor Paul S. Katz praised the organization for its “holistic and compassionate approach.” JF&CS CEO Gail Schulman emphasized that the organization serves people of all faiths, backgrounds and experiences. She encouraged councilors to offer its services to constituents.
• Ratified committee decisions from last week’s meeting and voted a second time to approve two previously proposed amendments to the city’s ordinances about pet-centric businesses and affordable housing minimums.
• Together with the Board of Survey and Planning, heard a presentation to extend the Riverside Overlay District over a lot at 181-185 Felton St. The overlay district currently covers half the lot, and the owner, Union Avenue LLC, owns three adjoining lots that fall under the overlay. The petitioner did not specify whether it intended to use this lot for commercial or residential construction, and board members expressed concern around whether the proposal would address the original purpose of the overlay district. The matter was forwarded to Wednesday’s special board meeting and to next week’s meeting of the Ordinances and Rules Committee.
• Together with the Board of Survey and Planning, reviewed final language for three proposed mixed-use zoning districts in west Waltham, hearing a final round of comments on the districts from residents. The two bodies also heard an initial proposal from Ferris Development Group LLC to extend one of the three districts to cover a lot at 1432 Main St. The matter was forwarded to Wednesday’s special board meeting and to next week’s meeting of the Ordinances and Rules Committee.