Welcome to my City Council newsletter for September and October!

We have had a couple of busy months on the council.

One topic that has been examined on several occasions is the construction of a new Fuller Middle School in Framingham. The Finance Subcommittee voted unanimously just tonight to support the project and the Council will vote to approve the funding on October 30. If successful, this would send the project to the voters for a December 11th special election.

Education has always been at the core of the character of Framingham and this project will help to maintain that tradition as we approach the end of our first year as a city. The current Fuller building is failing and is simply inadequate to meet the needs of the students there and the STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) focus of the school.

Without a new school, we will have to pour funds into the facility just to maintain the status quo. Even with millions spent in remediation and repair, a new school will eventually be needed – and construction costs increase over time. In fact, there is no better time than the present in particular because the state is pledging to provide about $39 million to support the project, offsetting a significant portion of the cost to the taxpayer. These funds are available to us after years of preparation, organization, and planning by our School Building Committee and if this project fails, funds would not likely be available again for close to a decade.

That said, many of our taxpayers – individuals and businesses – are struggling to make ends meet and this project will produce an average residential tax increase of $100/year. It is absolutely essential that the Council and the Mayor continue to find ways to reduce spending and identify additional sources of revenue so that we can offset this burden.

Here is a link to the presentation given to the Council by the Building Committee.

Highlights from our September meetings:

1. We approved the transfer of funds from the disability commission to support the library’s new bookmobile, which will be accessible for all readers. I am very happy to report that the Framingham Public Library Foundation has reached its fundraising goal for the Bookmobile and they expect a grand opening in April – and I am thrilled that the Bookmobile will be accessible to all.

2. We completed deliberations around the implementation of adult-use marijuana. The City will have up to 6 retail marijuana locations (though more likely 2-3) limited to areas of Rt. 9 and the Golden Triangle with a goal of separation from residential neighborhoods and at least 500 feet from any k-12 school.

I am very happy that my amendment to expand potential areas for indoor cultivation to the farms of Northwest Framingham was passed by the Council. This will allow a cultivation company to possibly lease small areas of farmland for growing marijuana inside a warehouse-like building. This has the potential to provide needed revenue to one or more farms and avoid development of these areas without changing the overall character of the farms. It would also be a significant source of revenue for the City.

3. With the leadership of Chairman Giombetti, we were able to develop a compromise with the owners of 613 Pleasant Street that will hopefully save this historic, but dilapidated property. This 18th century Hemenway home will be marketed to those willing to preserve it and the owner will be encouraged to seek a variance from the ZBA allowing the construction of a second house on the land.

Here is a link to the listing page if you or someone who know is interested in owning and restoring a historic property.

Highlights from October:

1. The City Engineering Department brought forward a number of private streets that we accepted as new public roads in Framingham. These are primarily subdivisions that were always expected to be managed by the city but hadn’t due to various bureaucratic issues. In the meantime, many of these roads need repairs and our DPW is best equipped to handle that. The streets accepted were: Arbor Way, Arnold Road, Laverdure Circle, Pitt Road, Salvi Drive, and a portion of Alan Street.

Additional streets will be added each year as we catch up on the backlog of private streets that are appropriate to be accepted by the City.

2. Last night, the Council approved Mayor Spicer’s appointment of Steve Trask to the be the next Police Chief of Framingham. While several members of the council expressed concern about the flawed hiring process in terms of posting, establishing a vision for the police going forward prior to hiring a new chief, and the lack of consideration for a wide range of candidates in a transparent manner, all of us agreed that Chief Trask is qualified for the role. The vote was 8-2 in favor of the appointment of Chief Trask with Councilors Cannon and Grove opposing.

Subcommittee updates:

The Finance Subcommittee is laying the groundwork for an intensive budget review beginning soon. Unlike last year, we will have the time to work with departments to develop priorities and look for efficiencies. We are also looking at the tax levy and making recommendations to the full council and we are continuing to encourage the COO to take a hard look at the degree to which we provide city-owned vehicles and cell phones to employees.

I have also asked the COO to work with us to strategize the use of state funds appropriated in the most recent Bond Bill – dedicated to the clean up of Southside environmental justice areas and to the creation of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail, which would provide a N/S alternative to our crowded roads.

The Education Subcommittee had a productive meeting with city Technology Services Department and School administration about expanding public wireless access in Framingham. The best news to come out of that meeting is that the schools are once again offering public wifi access in the afternoon and at night.

Events coming up:

Wednesday, October 24 – Finance Committee

Tuesday, October 30 – City Council

Saturday, November 3 – Keefe Tech Pancake Breakfast, which is run by the Framingham Rotary. The pancake breakfast is a very fun – and delicious – annual event and fundraiser. This year it will support scholarships for students in towns served by the Rotary including Framingham, Ashland, Holliston, and Hopkinton.

Sunday, November 11 – Veterans Day Event

I hope that this newsletter was helpful. Please feel free to contact me at any time with questions or concerns.

If you would like to subscribe, please click here.

–Adam

asteiner@framinghamma.gov