Welcome to my first monthly City Council newsletter! Please feel free to share with anyone else who might be interested in subscribing.

Go here for a link to a video of our last City Council meeting with time stamps of agenda items: https://www.facebook.com/adamsteinercc/posts/557608797940793

Thoughts on our previous meeting (in order of the agenda):

• A McAuliffe Charter School student presented to us on the naming of Indian Head Road and Indian Head Heights and she made a passionate argument that we consider renaming these roads because they are culturally insensitive to Native Americans. The city historian provided some more historic background and he suggested the installation of a plaque recognizing native Americans rather than renaming the streets. We asked the historic commission to explore such a plaque. To me, a plaque is a reasonable compromise between a changing of street names and doing nothing. If we could conclusively show that these are the only two offensive street names in Framingham, I would revisit the idea of renaming them – IF we provided appropriate support to residents of those streets.
• Authorized a transfer of funds from the Disability Commission to support a terrific sailing program for children and adults with disabilities.
• Authorized Verizon and NSTAR to place a new telephone pole to support a new development at Phelps and Rachel Roads.
• We began discussing the legal implications of marijuana legalization and the city’s rights and responsibilities in managing marijuana. This conversation will continue, but I feel that the marijuana industry, if done right, represents an opportunity for our city to establish a badly needed new source of revenue. Reasonable limitations in terms of commercial operations are important, especially to limit “pot bars” that might contribute to unsafe driving and other behavior. Overall, I plan on pushing for a modern 21st century approach to this issue, but please share your thoughts with me.
• The project manager and architect for the proposed Fuller school building project gave us an overview of the need for a new school and the designs being considered. There is no doubt that a new school is needed and the work now must focus on the details that will insure that a new facility will be both an excellent school environment and a whole-community asset for decades to come.

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday 2/20. A full agenda and background material is available here: http://framinghamma.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=2476&Inline=True

A few highlights:

• Councilor Pam Richardson will introduce the topic of Air BnB rentals, which is on everyone’s minds after the awful situation with the party on Brook Street that went out of control leading to multiple injuries including a Framingham police officer. We need to find a way to avoid this type of situation and punish abusers without burdening homeowners who responsibly rent out rooms to visitors in order to earn extra income.
• Further discussion of the Indian Head Road topic from the prior meeting.
• My proposal to modify the open meeting bylaw allowing school councils to have more flexibility in their meeting times. As of now, they are obligated to meet at 7 pm or later, which is a real burden when you consider that these councils consist of teachers, parents, and community members.
• Continued discussion of the topic of marijuana legalization.
• I am going to introduce an idea I brought back from the Massachusetts Municipal Association conference in Boston – the creation of a public database of vacant properties so that businesses always know what is available and so we can better attract the kinds of businesses we want in Framingham.

Finally, a few items from my Subcommittees:

• The Finance Subcommittee, led by Councilor King, has been developing our requests from the City’s finance dept. as part of the budget process. This will include details on personnel in each department.
• The Rules Subommittee, led by Councilor Richardson, is finalizing the rules of the Council, adjusting and incorporating the temporary rules previously developed.
• The Education Subcommittee, which I chair, is working on our mission statement. This will help guide the Council on appropriate topics to be referred to this group.

Please reach out with any questions or concerns at any time. Also, remember that Councilor Tully Stoll and I will have office hours this Thursday at City Hall from 3-5 pm. No appointment is needed – stop by with questions or concerns!

Thank you for subscribing!

–Adam

asteiner@framinghamma.gov