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I am very lucky to have power back at my house though I am very concerned that Eversource and other utilities have not done enough to avoid widespread power outages and now are not demonstrating the necessary urgency with getting power back on. The City of Framingham needs to start requiring more from our ulitities and city council will be a good place to make this happen.

If you are able to read this newsletter, but are still without power, please let me know if you need a place to warm up, to have a cup of coffee, or to power up your phone. Our libraries. the Callahan Senior Center, and Longfellow Clubs in Natick and Wayland have also offered to help folks left in the cold.

It has been such a busy month since the middle of February. First, our last two council meetings covered a lot of important ground. Here are links to watch the videos:

February 20: http://207.172.210.8:5002/cablecast/public-site/index.html#/show/1386?channel=1

March 6: http://207.172.210.8:5002/cablecast/public-site/index.html#/show/1399?channel=1

Here is an overview of what we covered (February 20):

Order 2018-012-1 Indian Head Head Heights 00:23:05

The Council voted to authorize the historic commission to develop a plan for a Native American memorial plaque in the Indian Head Road neighborhood. This was in response to a thoughtful presentation by a McAuliffee Charter School student at a previous meeting.

ORDER 2018-020 Council Steiner’s Proposal 00:31:16

The council had its first reading of my proposal to give school councils flexibility to meet before 7 pm. This ordinance was developed at the request of the Superintendent of Schools and the Chairman of the Framingham School Committee. Given that a second reading would be required at our next meeting, Councilor Richardson wisely suggested that we get an official opinion from the entire School Committee to guide our decision.

CONTINUED DISCUSSION: Recreational Marijuana 00:36:41

We continued discussing the issue of marijuana legalization and Chairman Giombetti announced the formation of a task force to develop a plan for Framingham. Subsequent to this meeting, Chairman Giombetti named Mr. Rossi as chair of this task force and also named me as a member. I am very happy to be chosen for this responsibility and take the opportunity/challenge that legalization represents seriously. If you have any input on the work of the task force, feel free to come to a meeting or to send it on to me.

ORDER 2018-021 City Seal Ad Hoc Committee 01:17:11

The Council empowered the appointments committee of the city council to interview candidates for the City Seal committee, which will develop a new seal for the City of the Framingham.

ORDER 2018-022 Finance Subcommittee 01:21:19

The finance committee, led by Mr. King, offered the first reading of an ordinance officially requesting particular information from the city finance department including the requirements specified in the charter, but also a complete listing of all city employees with name, title, job classification, and salary, and a budget breakdown by department.

Mayors Report 01:32:05

Mayor Spicer explained that she intends to review all city positions that do not align with the classification plan rather than bringing forward two newly created positions as had been requested by the council finance committee and the full council. Several councillors, including myself, expressed their concerns about this approach. Mayor Spicer also discussed recent community events, her efforts at improved communication with the Council, and progress on forming the Framingham Traffic Safety Commission.

And some highlights from the meeting of Tuesday 3/6.

Upon request of the Superintendent of Framingham Public Schools and the Chair of the Framingham School Committee the City Council unanimously adopted a Joint Resolution on School Safety and Security and Gun Violence Prevention. I was proud to cast my vote for this joint resolution that calls on our state and federal lawmakers to address the issue of school shootings with an aggressive approach toward mental health care, school building safety, and gun restrictions. As a full-time public school employee in Holliston, I know how the issue of gun violence is impacting our schools and every little bit helps in addressing this issue.

Councilor Cannon requested that an examination of the sign bylaw be referred to the economic development committee of the City Council. This is an excellent topic for this committee to tackle. Speaking to business owners, the sign bylaw was mentioned frequently – second only to the tax rate. The economic development committee will have a good opportunity to develop appropriate adjustments that help our businesses.

We had our second reading of the ordinance I proposed giving school councils more flexibility in scheduling. I also reported back that the school committee offered unanimous support for this change and the ordinance passed unanimously.

We also had the second reading of the finance committee request to the city finance department for specific information in the budget process. This also passed unanimously. We also learned that the finance department will not be able to deliver a complete budget to the city council until the charter imposed deadline of May 2 (May 1 is Sunday). This means the finance committee will have a real challenge in reviewing the entire budget for FY19, which begins July 1, with enough time for full council approval. To that end, the finance committee plans on celebrating Cinco de Mayo (May 5) with all day budget marathon to get a jump start on the process.

Finally, several members of the council reiterated their concern about the two new positions created by the Mayor, but our intention is to focus on the FY19 budget at this point in the interest of moving forward for the city.

The Mayor, in her report, offered her plan to improve communication with the city council, which was well received. She will now be having dedicated office hours when any member of the council is welcome to stop by to talk about an issue of concern.

Other items of note:

February 12: The Fuller Building Committee had another community meeting to discuss the need for a new Fuller Middle School. The next goal of this group is to identify the best design for the new school.

February 18: I attended Senator Markey’s town hall meeting at the Memorial Building. The Senator covered a lot of ground including the issue of gun control and took many comments and questions from residents. It was nice to know that Framingham is on the minds of all members of the federal delegation. I know that I am personally looking forward to the elections of 2018 and 2020 and seeing if we can get our country back on track.

February 22: The education committee of the City Council met and finalized our mission statement that will offer guidance to the Council and the Chair in referring matters to our committee.

February 28: Mayor Spicer had her first community conversation at the Memorial Building. This one was focused on downtown economic development. Mr. Robert, the Director of Community and Economic Development, gave an overview of the major construction plans moving forward downtown. Many participants expressed significant concerns about the impact of construction on existing businesses, in particular in relation to traffic and parking. Parking is an issue that needs to be addressed immediately as construction crews are absorbing much available parking. We are going to look at areas around downtown that could be opened up to public parking and we have to keep existing downtown businesses at the top of our agenda. They have been burdened with so much road construction already – and are the key to a successful downtown.

March 1: This was the first public hearing for the proposed zoning changes being examined by the Planning Board. These changes will have huge relevance for Nobscot Plaza, which borders district 3, the farms and neighborhoods in the NW Quadrant, and really the entire city. One major component of the proposals is a set of adjustments of the Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) program, which allows a developer to exceed some zoning requirements in terms of density in one area of town in exchange for paying to preserve an undeveloped area of Framingham such as a farm. TDR has the potential to support open space and economic development, but the key will be to design a system that does not burden one part of Framingham to the benefit of others. Another element would create a new zoning plan for Nobscot, which would guide mixed-use development in the plaza. The next public hearing will be March 15 at 7 pm in the Ablondi Room and I encourage you to attend or pass your thoughts on to me.

Upcoming events I will attend:

This Saturday, I will participate in a full day Citizens Police Academy at the Police Department, which will be an amazing learning experience and in the afternoon I will stop by the Green Framingham United brainstorming conference at the First Parish Church in Framingham Centre.

March 11 TBA Basketball Banquet

March 20 8th Annual Taste of Metrowest

March 22 Open Office Hours with Councillor Tully Stoll at City Hall from 3-5 pm

March 25 Framingham’s Daring Dozen

March 29 Hoops and Homework Fundraiser at Exhibit A

Other upcoming meetings:

Short Term Property Rental Task Force  Monday, March 12          Blumer 6:00 PM

Mayor’s Financial Summit*          Tuesday, March 13          Nevins Hall          7:00 PM

Finance Subcommittee Wednesday, March 14   Blumer 7:00 PM

Appointments Subcommittee    Thursday, March 15        Blumer 6:00 PM

Rules Subcommittee      Tuesday, March 20          Blumer 6:30 PM

City Council         Tuesday, March 20          Blumer 7:00 PM

Environmental & Sustainability Subcommittee   Monday, March 26          Blumer 7:00 PM

City Council         Tuesday, April 3                Blumer 7:00 PM

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

Thank you for subscribing!

–Adam

asteiner@framinghamma.gov