The Newton Charter Commission will hold its Neighborhood Area Councils review on Wed., 9/28 in Room 222 of City Hall, 7p.m.
There is a wide range of opinion about area councils, as we learned in our recent public hearing and panel discussion on September 14th. Questions that the Charter Commission members assigned to this subject identified after our discussion include:
- How should area council boundaries be created?
- Are they a valuable governmental body?
- Do they accurately represent their communities?
- What should their powers and functions include?
- How do they compare in purpose/efficacy to neighborhood associations?
If you can’t attend, as always you can reach the commission by email at [email protected] to share your thoughts.
I’ve been a member of the Newton Highlands Neighborhood Area Council for the past 5 years and it has been one of the most productive and enjoyable civic activities I’ve ever been engaged in. I’ve been directly or indirectly involved in several village issues and challenges during my tenure in office and all of these have improved the safety and quality of life for residents of the village and for outside visitors who come here to shop, eat or to simply enjoy the amenities and ambience of the village center and many streets radiating out from the center that contain a significant portion of the beautiful Victorian and Queen Anne homes and the other architectural gems in this area.
Our area council has led or made valuable contributions to measures that placed a dog fence in Cold Springs Park, improved sidewalks throughout the village, improved safety at crosswalks, helped advance a critical reconstruction program needed to install full handicapped access to the Newton Highlands MBTA station and reduced excessive noise from the Post Office and other sources following complaints that were brought to the Council’s attention. We have also been deeply involved in issues related to school issues affecting the Highlands, Waban and Upper Falls, sometimes in support of what the City wanted to do and sometimes as part of a responsible opposition.
I think we do a reasonable job of “representing the Highlands” because we get concerns directly from residents every month at our regular council meeting and via email or telephone and we take them all seriously. The accomplishments I noted above all came from groups within the community or from individuals. We do direct outreach to homes through email, newsletters, Facebook posts and door-to-door canvassing or direct mail for items affecting the entire community.
When I was first elected, I thought that we would have some frequent tussles over turf with the ward aldermen who represent the Highlands, but the reverse has been the case. We work hand in glove with Councilors Rice and Blazer on many of the most important issues. We don’t always agree on everything, but it’s remarkable just how well we work together.
Don’t have more time now. Will have a few more things to say tomorrow evening.
Bob-I look forward to hearing your comments tomorrow evening. Just as a reminder, this is a regular commission meeting and not a public hearing, so the public comment segment will be the first 20 minutes of the meeting, which will begin at 7:00.
Jane-thanks. I’ll also be touching on the two way process we have been using to advance discussion of a local historic district (LHD) in Newton Highlands.