The week ahead: City to discuss building purchases for new veterans’ housing

Mayor Jeannette A. McCarthy will attend City Council’s Committee of the Whole meeting this week to discuss the proposed purchase of two houses at Mount Walley Road for affordable veterans’ housing.

McCarthy requested $1,749,800 from the Community Preservation Committee to buy the two houses at 48 and 50 Mount Walley Road. The Community Preservation Committee last month reviewed the request and endorsed the use of Community Preservation Act funding for the project. City Council then approved the use of CPA funding for the project at the beginning of June.

Both buildings are single-family homes. The city plans to operate them as affordable housing with a veterans’ preference, with rents affordable to residents making at most 80% of the area median income. The city plans to house up to three residents in each building. 

McCarthy has requested that the city name one house Mac’s Place, in honor of Mac Moran, a Waltham veteran and former resident of the building, and the other Arrigo’s Place, a nod to the nearby Arrigo Farm.

Below is a chronological rundown of other city meetings scheduled this week, June 15 through 19.

City Council committees

In addition to the proposed affordable housing, the Committee of the Whole will discuss multiple other matters pertaining to city land; a sale agreement to purchase a property at 600 Main St. for city offices and plans to move the Department of Public Works headquarters from its current location at 155 Lexington St. to the former Fernald State School property. It will also continue discussing locations for Bluebikes bike-sharing stations around the city.

The Ordinances and Rules Committee will discuss a zoning change to allow residential construction in west Waltham neighborhoods, as well as two other zoning changes proposed last week and a zoning application for housing on the current Pizzi Farm property. It will also discuss raises for multiple municipal positions, including the deputy fire chief, payroll supervisor, human resources director and senior park rangers, and standardizing the name of the Department of Public Works. 

The Finance Committee will consider accepting two state grants for the city’s 911 program and multiple donations of historical Waltham memorabilia, as well as a request for $125,000 in extra funding for the Building Department.

The Licenses and Franchises Committee will consider two applications for outdoor dining permits and an application to renew a lodging house permit; the Public Works and Public Safety Committee will discuss a request for a new Bigbelly trash can near the commuter rail station at Moody Street; and the council may discuss recipients for the Kevin M. Ritcey Service Award.

City Council’s committees will meet on Monday beginning at 7 p.m.

Budget hearing

The city’s annual budget hearings will continue Tuesday between 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

During these meetings City Council’s Finance Committee can question individual department heads on their budget requests for the upcoming fiscal year beginning in July. 

The council will hear from the city’s Fire and Police departments and its emergency management team; the Veterans’ Services, License and Conservation commissions; the Building, Traffic, Public Works, Wires, Engineering, Law, Assessor’s, Auditor’s, Purchasing and IT departments; the human resources office; council President Robert G. Logan about the City Council budget; and McCarthy.

The council received the mayor’s final recommendations for the city budget at a meeting two weeks ago. McCarthy’s recommended budget of $399,492,794 was $18,392,224 less than department heads requested in their own budget drafts.

Board of Health

The Board of Health works to address potential public health problems in the city, including communicable diseases, foodborne illnesses, and housing and environmental safety issues.

Board members will hear about nine tobacco violations around the city, including two who are coming in for a second recorded offense.

The board will meet at 5 p.m. on Wednesday in the auditorium of the Clark Government Center.

School Committee

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

Before the committee’s meeting this week, it will hold a workshop on metrics of success with Superintendent Marisa Mendonsa. 

During the board’s main meeting, it will discuss student handbooks for elementary and middle schools for the upcoming year; Mendonsa’s evaluation as superintendent; and some donations to the high school.

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

Traffic Commission

The Traffic Commission meets monthly to discuss matters before the Traffic Engineering Department about improving the streets and infrastructure of the city.

The commission is scheduled to get a first look at plans for the Green Street, a road the state and real estate company BXP Inc. have partnered to build to connect the Rail Trail and ease traffic on the west side of the city.

It will also review four traffic plans for new developments at a proposed hotel at 220 Moody St., a small mixed-use housing development at 719-723 Main St., a housing development at 51 Bacon St. and a new credit union at 995 Main St.

It will also discuss a request for an October race run by REACH Beyond Domestic Violence and fireworks safety measures for Independence Day celebrations on June 28. It will discuss changes to a Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon on South Street; consider adding a disability-accessible parking spot on Circle Drive; and hear applications to install a stop sign on Farnsworth and Bacon streets and to paint the intersection of Newton and Bartlett streets to avoid cars blocking it.

It will revisit requests for intersection improvements at the intersections of Cedarwood Avenue and Villa Street; Lexington and Pond streets; and Thornton and Florence roads. It will also revisit discussions of gas line work on Main Street from National Grid, overall traffic improvements in the West End and upgrades to the city’s electric car chargers.

The commission will meet Thursday at 10 a.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall.

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.

The commission will discuss, among other business, an application to take down and rebuild a single-family house on Bacon Street and an application for an underwater stormwater system and repaving work at 153 Second Ave.

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.