🔨 What are the projects seeking CPA funding?
Mayor to Hold District 5 Forum | New Framingham Film Festival Announced! | Repair Cafe is Back | Early Voting Starts | The Civic Week Ahead
Happy Presidents’ Day, Framingham!
Today I am reminded of President Bill Clinton’s visit to Framingham 30 years ago this October. Clinton came to Framingham High School to sign the Improving America’s Schools Act of 1994, $60 billion bill focused on education reform. Clinton remarked Framingham “really looked like America.” After visiting FHS, he joined Senator Ted Kennedy for a campaign rally in Nevins Hall in the Memorial Building. Looking back at the photos, the place was packed! Also if you remember 1994, that was the year Kennedy was in a tough campaign against Mitt Romney.
The MetroWest Daily News features great reflections upon that day with a photo gallery.
Clinton was not the only President to ever visit Framingham. Harry Truman swung by on his 1948 Whistle Stop tour for re-election nearly 46 years previously to the day of Clinton’s visit. He told the crowd “Framingham has a reputation of being a forward looking community…”
While there are no photos that I could find of this visit, here is audio of his speech. This is from the Harry Truman Presidential Library:
Now let’s talk about community preservation…
Have a comment or question? I’d love to hear from you. Email me at mkfeeney@gmail.com
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Looking at the Proposals for Community Preservation Act Funding
Round Two: The Community Preservation Committee is well underway in reviewing the second-ever round of projects eligible for Community Preservation funding.
The CPC are holding their annual hearings on each project throughout the month. They started last week.
Here is a run down of the proposed projects:
Walsh Dunning Softball Field Complex Improvements
Requesting: $50,000
Applicant: Framingham Youth Softball
Project Details: Proposal seeks funding for initial design study to determine options for upgrades and estimated costs.
FYS, in collaboration with Framingham Public Schools and Parks and Rec, are seeking to bring the softball complex to be on par with the Long Athletic Complex for youth baseball.
Goal to build a complex that can support and host USA Softball caliber tournaments for ages 8-14, while also maximizing the site for school and community use.
Accessible Boardwalk Construction for the Carol Getchell Trail
Requesting: $750,000
Applicant: Conservation Commission
Project Details: Replace the 20 year old boardwalk at the south trailhead of the Getchell Trail. The new boardwalk would be longer and Americans with Disabilities Act compliant, further making the trail accessible to all.
The boardwalk would extend from 1 Sudbury Landing to the trail junction at Edwards Street/Stapleton School where a new riverside viewing platform will be built.
Design Carol Getchell Stairway to the Wild and Scenic Sudbury River and the Carol Getchell Trail
Requesting: $30,100
Applicant: Conservation Commission
Project Details: Fund a design to restore the decades old & unusable stairway from the Stapleton School to the Carol Getchell Trail and the Wild and Scenic Sudbury River.
The stairway had provided access to Stapleton School students and the community to the Getchell Trail & the Sudbury River. Stapleton School was designated the Environmental School when Carol Getchell was the principal. The Amphitheater existed at the bottom of the stairs and was utilized as an Environmental Education Outdoor classroom.
Pratt Street Community Gardens
Requesting: $45,386
Applicant: Transition Framingham
Project Details: Purchase and install a secure fence with a gate around the community garden to keep out wildlife and build storage for garden tools.
The community garden was first built in 2011. It is a very active neighborhood garden that is struggling with keeping animals out of the garden and eating their produce. (Editor comment: As a gardener, I so relate to this struggle!)
Readon Park Design & Construction
Requesting: $1,000,000
Applicant: Parks and Recreation Department
Project Details: Park has been on the Framingham Capital Improvement Plan for a long time, and now the city wants to make the Saxonville park into an ADA compliant community park.
Park will feature new play equipment with visual and sensory components, accessible walkways, waterplay features, basketball court, lighting and better parking.
Estimated construction completion is Summer 2025.
Simpson Park - 499 Central Street
Requesting: TBD
Applicant: Planning and Economic Development
Project Details: City is seeking to purchase 499 Central Street, which contains 0.56 acres for open space adjacent to Simpson Park. This would present an opportunity to create additional parking and access to the park, and the potential for direct recreational access to the Sudbury River. The project also includes the possibility of converting the existing home into an affordable unit.
Framingham Rental Subsidy Program
Requesting: $360,000
Applicant: Framingham Community Development Coordinator
Project Details: Establishes a dedicated rental assistance fund to support Framingham residents who are low or moderate-income individuals, families, and seniors, defined as earning at or below 50% of the HUD Area Median Income (AMI).
Program will operate from the Planning and Community Development Division, leveraging both existing city infrastructure and partnerships with local organizations for outreach.
Requesting a budget of $360,000, calculated to support approximately 30 families over a 12-month period, with a maximum of $12,000 per family.
Athenaeum & Firehouse Preservation & Re-Use
Requesting: $500,000
Applicant:
The Ham’er first featured this project back in November when the requested amount was $9 million. Framingham went back to the drawing board and refined its proposal to be in phases.
Project Details: Phase One includes Historic preservation of Athenaeum’s exterior, remove siding, selectively insulate, and reclad. Repair architectural details and refurbish structural elements, including install new, period-appropriate windows and doors, repair roof and repaint.
Phase One includes performing the panning and design for Phase Two.
Framingham History Center Academy Accessibility & Restoration
Requesting: $275,000
Applicant: Framingham History Center
Project Details: Since 1837, the Old Academy in Framingham has served as a site of education, learning, history, and public engagement. Today houses the vast majority of the FHC's 10,000-piece artifact collection and a reading room where researchers, students, and local residents learn more about their family and community history.
Project includes Construction of an ADA-compliant walkway that connects the sidewalks with the front door, removal of cracked pavement on the portico and replacement with a historically-accurate material, installation of a bathroom on the first floor and expansion of ADA parking.
Framingham History Center Village Hall South Wall Restoration
Requesting: $132,000
Applicant: Framingham History Center
Project Details: Continue restoration on Village Hall on the Common, specifically, the south-facing wall that is suffering from significant deterioration and was not included in the 2019 renovation of the building.
Clapboards and shutters require replacement and paint to prevent further deterioration and water damage. The south wall facing the parking lot and the Edgell Memorial Library shows peeling paint and damaged clapboards and shutters in contrast to the other sides of the building that have been properly restored.
Cochituate Rail Trail Habitat Restoration
Requesting: $39,900
Applicant: Ron Chick
Project Details: Install native plantings with erosion control for approximately 125' adding to the existing restoration initiative. Native vegetation will be planted, invasive vegetation removed, crushed stone and inappropriate debris removed and replaced with proper soil. The results will be a welcoming entrance to the CRT showing native plants and a rain garden as needed to remediate stormwater runoff.
Memorial Building Historic Preservation
Requesting: $200,000
Applicant: James Paolini, City of Framingham Director of Capital Projects & Facilities Management
Project Details: Cover the cost of design services for the first phase of the internal historical preservation of the Memorial Building. The first phase includes the renovation of bathrooms necessary to meet code and accessibility requirements.
Edgell Grove Cemetery Tomb House Preservation & Restoration (Phase 2)
Requesting: $353, 000
Applicant: Edgell Grove Cemetery Trustees
Project Details: Starting Phase 2 in restoring the old Tomb House to eventually become the office for the Department of Cemeteries. Project includes restoration of the exterior with repointing and cleaning of masonry, making the building safe, including the floors, and refurbishing 11 stained glass windows.
Waushakum Lake Restoration - Phosphorus Reduction
Requesting: $150,000
Applicant: Conservation Department
Project Details: For decades, out dated (c.1915) and neglected storm drains and watershed inflow have contributed to the rising levels of phosphorus and sediment contained within Lake Waushakum, causing the growth of harmful algae blooms (HABs).
Water quality in Waushakum Lake has been a concern since the 1970s, and it’s listed on every available Massachusetts Integrated List of Waters for a variety of impairments, including phosphorus. Listed as a category #5, the lake does not currently meet the criteria to be considered a "fully recreational" water body. A level #5 designation is the worst possible; there is no level #6 and the city is required to monitor and report to the State annually due to these impairments.
An application of alum (Aluminum Sulfate) would provide a long-term solution for 10-20+yrs.or more. An alum "dosing" application would clarify water, increase deep water oxygen levels, strip phosphorus; create a barrier and seal existing accumulated sediment and solids that contain centuries of recycling phosphorus. On average an alum treatment is capable of binding 70-90% of the internal phosphorus load in a lake.
JFS Rental Subsidies
Requesting: $90,000
Applicant: Jewish Family Services
Project Details: JFS seeks funding to provide assistance to low-income, primarily immigrant and refugee Framingham families facing the possibility of eviction and homelessness, through rental subsidies.
$90,000 will assist some 25 Framingham families with housing security
The rental assistance project is intended to respond to immediate housing emergency needs and not to serve as an ongoing rental subsidy.
Mayor to Hold District 5 Forum
Next forum scheduled: Mayor Sisitsky holds his next district forum in the heart of Framingham: District 5.
When and where: Monday, February 26 from 6:30 to 8:00pm at the Farley Building Auditorium
New Framingham Film Festival Announced!
Attention filmmakers, actors, cinematographers and musicians: Access Framingham is co-sponsoring its first ever film festival.
Support local talent: The festival is an exhibition of inspiring films across all genres, from around the world and right here in our community.
Tons of great activities: The festival will feature workshops, films, and networking events. The festival takes place on November 9, 2024.
For more information: Visit the festival’s website.
Love this idea! Let’s have more of this in Framingham!
Repair Cafe is Back
Repair Cafe is back! Bring your items to be repaired to Scott Hall (24 Vernon Street) on Saturday, February 24.
The volunteers can work on items such as clean mendable clothing, knitted and crocheted items, lamps, small appliances, electronic devices that need button batteries, computers and other electronics, bikes, toys, jewelry, wheelchairs, and sewing machines. They can also sharpen straight knives, scissors, and garden tools. You pay for needed parts. If you know what parts are needed, please get them ahead of time and bring them to the Repair Café to save time.
All are welcome and encouraged to participate.
Free event, but donate what you feel is fair so they can continue to host the Repair Cafe.
For more information, see their website.
The Repair Cafe is an all-volunteer project, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Framingham with support from Transition Framingham.
Early Voting Starts
Super Tuesday is here: Vote in the Presidential Primary election on or before Tuesday, March 5.
Early Voting Begins: If you cannot make it to the polls on March 5, early voting is available at the Memorial Building or the McAuliffe Library starting this Saturday, February 24. See below for a schedule from the Clerk’s Office.
(Disclosure: I am on the ballot this year for the Democratic Town Committee. But that is all I will say in The Ham’er - if you have any questions about that race, feel free to email me or call/text at 508-733-3153).
The Civic Week Ahead
Tuesday, February 20
Wednesday, February 21
In Closing…
Since I started this issue with a history lesson, I shall close with one: this Thursday, February 22 is the 96th anniversary of the dedication of the Memorial Building.
I wrote an op-ed celebrating the building a few years ago, and republished it last year in The Ham’er. Invite you to give it a read to learn about this mighty building. And maybe its in 96th year, we can stop referring it to simply “City Hall”.
Have a great week,
Mary Kate