Welcome to my City Council newsletter for August 2020. Feel free to forward this to anyone else who might be interested and you can subscribe by visiting here: https://www.steineredtech.com/newsletter/

It is definitely one of the most challenging and stressful summers in my lifetime in Framingham. Covid-19 has impacted the well-being of so many residents, threatened the economic vitality of our local businesses, and taxed the collective mental health of our entire city. At the same time, I have been amazed at the outpouring of support that Framingham residents and businesses have offered each other. I have no doubt that we will emerge from the crisis a better city and a better country because of our collective strength.

There are some positive developments in Framingham:

First, our municipal budget found the right balance of reducing where possible while maintaining essential services. Mayor Spicer had made reductions on the city side of the ledger. The School Committee in partnership with Superintendent Tremblay and his team also found strategic reductions including giving up their office space for the 20-21 school year and renegotiating our busing contract given the uncertain school year ahead. Further, the City Council made additional reductions including an across-the-board 10% cut in operations.

Despite these reductions, the City Council also resisted the urge of some to make more painful cuts that would have resulted in a reduction in services. This is looking like an especially wise decision given that the state is currently committing to keeping cities and towns whole in terms of their state budget contributions.

There is still room for a more critical look at our budget including a strategic review of potential mergers of departments with the school department. Even though we are nearing 3 years as a city, this has yet to occur.

Second, the redevelopment of Nobscot Plaza is beginning after years and years of inactivity. Already, the historic Chapel on the corner has been raised and slid over next to Gianni’s pizza. This was an amazing thing to watch. Check out the video below if you didn’t get to see the move:

Chapel Move

Soon, the intersection work will begin in earnest and we’ll see the new CVS start to take shape.

Also, it is good to hear there is light at the end of the tunnel in the form of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail. We are finally having discussions about the next steps in extending the Bruce Freeman trail into Framingham. This walking and bike path would run from Route 20 through Nobscot and all the way to Framingham Centre. Done correctly, it would serve as a valuable alternative to our congested North/South corridors through district 3 including Edgell Road.

Another recent item on the City Council agenda was the apartment moratorium. The Council voted to support a moratorium on apartment construction, a pause in the rapid progress of residential development in Framingham that is badly needed. We have heard from the business community that this moratorium would send a message that Framingham is not business-friendly. However, I am more concerned about the actual impacts of the overdevelopment of Framingham than symbolism. I am concerned about our schools and potential overcrowding. I am concerned about traffic. I am concerned about our water and sewer infrastructure.

It is true that we need to be more business-friendly but that will come from streamlined permitting and services for businesses, that will come from an administration that is constantly on the hunt for new businesses to move into Framingham, and that will come from efforts to find efficiencies that will put downward pressure on our commercial tax rate.

The economic health of our city relies on a balance of commercial and residential development and it is a worthy concern that this balance is being upset. A brief 6-9 month moratorium will be a helpful pause to evaluate where we stand now and what direction we should be going in terms of residential development.

This ordinance now goes to the Mayor for her signature or veto.

I also wanted to let you know about an important event taking place on August 26 from 6:30-8:00 pm.

Sheryl Goldstein, District 3 resident, and member of the Framingham Disability Commission contacted me about working with her to put together a free program to address the mental health challenges faced by Framingham residents – which have been made so much worse by all that is going on in the world right now. 

What we have developed is a free 90-minute Zoom webinar on identifying mental health challenges and a review of the resources available to Framingham residents. It will be led by Katelyn Dehey from Advocates Inc. and Officer Jay Ball from the Framingham Police Department. Katelyn and Officer Ball are both trainers in Mental Health First Aid, a recognized educational program in this area.

The program is sponsored by the City of Framingham and our Health Department, the Mayor, the City Council, and Senate President Spilka and our state reps. Maria Robinson, Jack Lewis, and Carmine Gentile.

You can register for the program below:

http://framinghammentalhealth.eventbrite.com/

Also, please note that outside open office hours coming up on Saturday, August 22 at 10 am in Nobscot Park. Bring a chair, your coffee, and questions or concerns on any topic. We’ll spread out safely with masks and chat!

–Adam

asteiner@framinghamma.gov