The week ahead: Long-term debt committee to discuss final stages of Fernald restoration

This week, City Council’s Long-Term Debt and Capital Planning Committee will discuss a request for $6,356,860 in funding to develop two final recreational areas to sit on the site of the former Fernald State School.

These two areas — an amphitheater area for the arts and an athletic area — will constitute the fourth and fifth stages of Mayor Jeannette A. McCarthy’s plan to redevelop parts of the site as community recreation facilities.

According to the request the mayor submitted for City Council’s last meeting, the city plans to award the contract to Green Acres Landscaping & Construction Co. Inc.

At previous meetings, members of the committee have raised concerns about future funding requirements for projects on the Fernald property, and have requested a better estimate of their long-term funding requirements.

Police Headquarters Selection Committee

The Police Headquarters Selection Committee will be meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Monday in a lower floor conference room at City Hall to review and discuss information from Tecton Architects, a firm the city has been working with to draw up plans for a new joint police, fire, and consolidated public works building on Lexington Street.

City Council committees

The rest of City Council’s standing committees will also be going through a number of items of business this week.

The Public Works and Public Safety Committee will be hearing from Waltham Land Trust treasurer Marc Rudnick about bacteria testing at Hardy Pond. The Finance Committee will be hearing funding requests for design work on the Common Street Garage and the Public Works department’s upcoming move to the Fernald Property. The Long-Term Debt Committee will also be reviewing funding applications from the Community Preservation Committee for restoration work at two Waltham churches.

The Committee of the Whole will discuss a motion put forward at the last City Council meeting recognizing September as Recovery Awareness Month, and the Ordinances and Rules Committee will discuss a resolution to ease zoning restrictions around accessibility tools like elevators and lifts.

The committees will be meeting at City Hall throughout Monday evening, starting with the Long-Term Debt committee at 6 p.m.

Historical Commission

The Waltham Historical Commission is a seven-member board charged with preserving and overseeing Waltham’s historic buildings and properties. 

This week, the commission will be holding two public hearings about building demolition for 15 Church St., and 132-134 Russell St. It will also be discussing the upcoming renovation of the Waltham Public Library and window replacements at the Mill Building at 190 Moody St.

The commission will meet at 7 p.m. Monday over Zoom. The passcode for the Zoom meeting can be found on their page on the City site.

Zoning Board of Appeals

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

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

The board is scheduled to hold a meeting at the Clark Government Center on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

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 will be hearing a presentation from Waltham Youth Baseball and discussing a remembrance rock memorial for the late Pastor Hoaglander of Lakeview Congregational Church, as well as requests from A Special Day in Waltham and Bay State Bullets Lacrosse.

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

School Committee

The Waltham School Committee is an elected six-member committee chaired by Mayor McCarthy that makes policy and oversight decisions for the Waltham School District Board.

This week, among other items of business, the School Committee will accept the spring’s MCAS results and discuss School Improvement Plans for Stanley Elementary School and McDevitt Middle School. They also may be finalizing changes to the Waltham Public Schools Student Handbook. 

The School Committee will hold its meeting at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, in the James J. Cannon Lecture Hall of the old high school 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 it complies with the Wetlands Protection Act and the Department of Environmental Protection stormwater standards.

This week, among other business, the commission will be hearing an application by the Chapel Hill–Chauncy Hall private school to repave an access driveway at 417 Lexington St.

The commission will hold its meeting over Zoom at 7 p.m. Thursday. A link for the meeting will be provided on the commission’s page on the city website at least 48 hours in advance.