Brian
YatesBrian
YatesWelcome!
The site has been created to inform the people of Newton about my record. Please visit this site often. I'll try to add new material on a wide range of issues that will make it worth your while.
Let me thank everyone for their support in the election of November 2007. I believe we can look back on substantial accomplishments during the past two years and look to the future with reasonable confidence.
The past two years have seen the design of the Newton North High School. I have brought to bear on this task my 20 years of service on the Public Facilities Committee where an item I co-sponsored helped to bring in the Main Library Building on time and under budget. I made sure that the Design Review committee was fully involved in this project. The current Newton North was built without their input; its prison-like appearance and multitude of dysfunctions show the results of failing to involve them. You all know that this is the largest and most expensive Public Building project ever undertaken by the city, and I promise to all of you to hold the administration accountable for reaching an agreed maximum price and holding the general contractor to it.
In November, 2007, the Board of Aldermen adopted the City's new New Comprehensive Plan after thorough review and careful amendments by the Zoning and Planning Committee, which I Chair. We held a public hearing on the Plan in October and reported the Plan to the full Board in time for it to be adopted this year.
The next two years will begin the implementation. Although I question the validity of a few elements of the Plan, I strongly agree with most of it, particularly the "Planning for and with History" section that would make the preservation and celebration of the history of the city a positive part of public policy. This is something I have worked for throughout my career as an activist and an official. I first got the Charleston Principles of Historic Preservation endorsed as part of the previous Plan in 1992, and I am delighted to see them fleshed out in the new Plan. Since I found the grave of my Great Grandfather's Great Grandfather, Lieutenant Samuel Richardson, in the Revolutionary War section of the South Burying Ground, I've become even more interested in the history of the city where my family has lived for seven Generations.
I appreciate the opportunity to have worked on these and other issues on your behalf, and I look forward to continuing to do so in the future. Please do not hesitate to contact me to express your views on any topic before the city or to seek information about city matters
After a difficult two or three year hiatus, the efforts of the Friends of Hemlock Gorge and Site Supervisor Erica Uramkin have borne fruit. The electrical fault that prevented delivery of electricity to the Stone Building in Hemlock Gorge has been repaired. Power and lighting is again. available. I invite all citizens to join me and the Friends for the annual Spring Cleanup of the reservation on Saturday, April 26 from 9:30 a.m. to noon. After the cleanup, we'll have lunch for all volunteers in our newly re-lit historic Stone Building.
The MWRA notified the public in March that they intended to close the pedestrian Promenade on Echo Bridge in Hemlock Gorge Reservation in 2006 for "safety reasons."
A building inspection convinced the MWRA of what we've being saying for decades. The 1876 original cast iron railings are badly rusted and need to be replaced.
The photo shows me pointing out a deteriorated railing atop the Bridge in 2004.
In March, 2006 the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) closed Echo Bridge. However, in response to the efforts of the Friends and local officials and residents, the MWRA installed temporary fencing and re-opened the Bridge. To secure a permanent solution, the Friends and community leaders have worked through with the legislature to secure funding for the needed repairs, and $250,000 for the “Echo Bridge Safety Project” was appropriated in 2007 and is now in the hands of the MWRA.
The MWRA has conducted a study of possible repair strategies. Historically correct repairs would cost $1 million. The Friends plan to assist the MWRA to secure the remaining $750,000 that is needed. One possibility is to secure Community Preservation Act funds from Newton ($500,000) and Needham ($250,000). We will also continue to seek out alternative strategies to possibly repair and preserve the existing railings in place. The full text of the MWRA report is available as a PDF file for downloading at the website of The Friends of Hemlock Gorge. Click here to download the report.
We are now at an acceptable standoff: a chain link fence that meets the safety requirements of the MWRA has been installed inside the old railings. Although only a temporary solution, we are pleased that people can continue to enjoy this wonderful promenade as we seek funds for a definitive fix.
If you have any expertise in the restoration or replacement of Cast Iron Railings, please contact me at BYates@ci.newton.ma.us.
Other Progress at Hemlock Gorge
Thanks to a Public-Private partnership of the Friends of Hemlock Gorge and the DCR, a new floor was installed in the Stone Building downstream of Echo Bridge. This will provide a sheltered venue for citizens' groups meeting in the Hemlock Gorge Reservation. For more information, please see the website of The Friends of Hemlock Gorge.
Thanks to Advocacy from Representative Ruth Balser and Senate Natural Resources Committee Chair Pam Resor, the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) accomplished long needed maintenance and repairs to the Echo Station under Echo Bridge and the stairs leading to it.
In addition, the Friends of Hemlock Gorge, of which I am honored to be the President, received an award from The Green Decade Coalition for Environmental Leadership.
Again, for more details please visit the Friends of Hemlock Gorge web site.
Other News (April 2008)
A small bit of good news: I am pleased to announce that it should be possible again this summer for residents to launch canoes and kayaks on the public lands at Crystal Lake. The posted prohibition against recreational boating on the Lake appears to be illegal and signs prohibiting the launching of small, non-motorized watercraft will be removed.
If you have direct questions email me at byates@ci.newton.ma.us or call me at (617) 244-2601.
My home address is 1094 Chestnut Street, Newton, Massachusetts 02464.
To learn more, just click on any of the topics below.
The Brian Yates web site went online on August 23, 2001
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This page last updated on Tuesday April 01, 2008
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