Category: Politic News

The House of Representatives adopted Rep. Stanley’s amendment to the Economic Development Bill which will help qualified municipalities address their downtown parking demands. Under the criteria, the City of Waltham would be eligible to receive up to $100,000 in grants for the study and implementation of a parking management plan. Traditionally, cities and towns seek to resolve parking issues by […]

The Waltham City Council is looking for volunteers to serve on the Inflow & Infiltration (I&I) Advisory Committee. No less than four members shall represent the interest of businesses and shall have expertise in the area of land use, environmental law, commercial leasing, residential and commercial construction, engineering, the local business climate or the I&I practices of other Massachusetts communities. […]

On Tuesday, May 6, I called a citizens input hearing before the City Council’s Economic Development Committee to learn more about the city’s inflow and infiltration (I&I) policies, in response to the many complaints I’ve heard from businesses over recent months and years. The hearing was well attended, and what I heard was downright alarming! The message from businesses was […]

Local lawmakers rejoiced Monday after an environmental bond bill, which includes funding for an urban sustainability center in Waltham, was passed out of a legislative committee. The $1.7 billion bond bill was unanimously passed out of the Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture, and contains a $20 million provision for UMass-Amherst to build a Center for Urban Sustainability at […]

The City Council gave a nod of approval to Mayor Jeannette McCarthy Monday night, permitting her to sign off on terms set by the state for the acquisition of the Fernald land. Next stop: the state legislature. The state is offering the land, at 200 Trapelo Road, and most of its amenities to the city for $3.7 million. The council […]

The city of Waltham has been party to a consent agreement with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection for several years to resolve a critical environmental issue and infrastructure shortfall regarding inflow and infiltration (I&I). The city of Waltham administration is responsible for setting policy and mitigation strategies to meet the conditions of the consent agreement and ultimately resolve this […]

Mayor McCarthy and I agree that Waltham’s downtown is in a state of disrepair and requires immediate attention. Unfortunately, the path to get there is where we disagree. The mayor recently asked the council for $1.9 million, in addition to the $4.5 million previously appropriated over the last 12 months, for a downtown streetscape improvement project, the details of which […]