🔨 Hospital Top Brass to Appear at Council Meeting
Comings and Goings in the Mayor’s Office | Inside Framingham’s Recycling Program | Mayor Holds District Meetings | Community Events | The Civic Week Ahead
Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Framingham!
In this turbulent world, let us remember Dr. King’s work of love, acceptance and service not just today, but every day. We need more leaders who embrace his values, and not their own ego and quest for power for the sake of power.
“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’”
This week’s issue features another first for The Ham’er - our first contributor! Macy Lipkin wrote an informative piece about recycling after interviewing Eve Carey, Framingham’s Recycling Coordinator. Also included is the audio of her interview. Please give it a read or listen - recycling is important, but it can be confusing.
Have a comment or question? I’d love to hear from you. Email me at mkfeeney@gmail.com
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Hospital Top Brass to Appear at Council Meeting
MetroWest Medical Center CEO John Whitlock and Tenet Healthcare Massachusetts Market CEO Carolyn Jackson will appear in front of the Council tomorrow (Tuesday) at 7:00pm.
Invited by the Chair: At the last meeting of the 2022-2023 Council session, the Council voted again to invite the MetroWest Medical Center and Tenet leadership to a meeting.
What they said: “We had residents raise some concerns about Framingham Union Hospital/MetroWest Medical Center at several of our meetings in late 2023. The City Council invited the CEO to attend a meeting and address those concerns. I am looking forward to a robust discussion on the hospital and the care it provides our residents.” said Council Chair Philip R. Ottaviani, Jr..
In critical condition: Framingham Union has continuously struggled over the last few years under Texas-based for profit Tenet Healthcare’s ownership. Alarms started to ring when they announced they were closing the Cancer Center in April 2022. One year ago today, Tufts Medical assumed control of the Cancer Center. The Tenet-operated part of the hospital continues to struggle with stories about poor conditions for patients, nurses and doctors throughout the facility.
Nurses Vote to Unionize: On Wednesday, 280 Framingham Union nurses participated in an election to join the Massachusetts Nurses Association. 188 voted yes, while 37 voted no. According to the MNA, this vote comes after months of union busting and a delay caused by an appeal filed by Tenet to the National Labor Relations Board. By joining the MNA the nurses will “will establish local union guidelines, vote for their elected leaders and bargaining committee, and begin determining proposals for first contract negotiations.”
Comings and Goings in the Mayor’s Office
Resigned at the end of December: Both Chief Financial Officer Louise Miller and Citizen Participation Officer Heather Gutierrez left the Memorial Building effective December 31.
Strange few months: Miller departs after several months of back and forth with the Council about the status of city finances, including not providing reports requested by Councilors and a $1.7 million shortfall in revenue projections.
Interim CFO: Assistant Chief Financial Officer Jennifer Pratt was named interim Chief Financial Officer (CFO) last week. Pratt has worked for Framingham for two decades. This is her second time named Interim CFO in four years.
Sudden departure: CPO Heather Gutierrez sent the Mayor her resignation letter on Friday, December 29 stating her resignation was “effective immediately.” As of today she is now the Executive Administrator to new Marlborough Mayor Christian Dumais. Gutierrez previously worked for the City of Marlborough in the City Solicitor’s Office. There are more Framingham connections in Dumais’ Office - former Framingham Public Information Office Ryan Egan is Dumais’ Chief of Staff, having been his campaign manager.
Now hiring: The City of Framingham is actively hiring a CFO and CPO.
Also leaving but not in the Memorial Building: Framingham Public Library Director Lena Kilburn submitted her resignation. She leaves to accept a position at Simmons University’s Library. Per the Charter, the Library Trustees will meet this month to make a recommendation to the Mayor for an interim Library Director. They will later conduct a search for a new Director and present a recommendation to the Mayor.
Framingham Recycling 411
By Macy Lipkin
You can listen to Macy’s interview with Eve Carey:
Meet Framingham’s Recycling Coordinator: Eve Carey is the Municipal Recycling Coordinator for the City of Framingham. But she doesn’t see recycling as a saving grace.
“Recycling is not the answer to our overwhelming waste and consumption problem. It’s always going to be better to reduce and reuse before you recycle,” said Carey.
That said, recycling is better than sending everything to the landfill. Carey has been working to inform residents about what can and can’t go in their recycling bins.
Following the rules will increase the odds that your waste is actually recycled.
Recycling audits: Most mornings, Carey picks a section of the city where garbage is scheduled for pickup and looks through recycling bins for things that aren’t supposed to be there.
“I’m looking for anything that doesn’t belong there,” said Carey. “Anything that’s not one of the big five—paper, cardboard, plastic, metal, glass—and you know that there are nuances to even those descriptions.”
Carey leaves stickers on bins that miss the mark. These aim to educate residents on recycling dos and don’ts. They do not come with a fine.
Framingham Public Works published a chart of the most common contaminants on Facebook.
The weirdest thing Carey has found in a bin was a live rabbit. “I don’t think it was put there on purpose, but I did set the little guy free,” she said.
Plastic bags and thin plastic are not curbside recyclable. You can take them to a designated dropoff at a grocery store, but they cannot go in your bin. Air pillows, plastic Amazon envelopes, and plastic bags get tangled in the sorting machines at the recycling facility. If you leave your recyclables in a plastic bag, that whole bag will get thrown out.
“The first line in a MRF [materials recovery facility] is human pickers who are going through and looking for really out-of-place stuff and throwing it off the line. So plastic bags in that line are gonna get chucked immediately,” said Carey, because staff can’t tell what’s in them.
Dump your recyclables straight into the bin or pack them loosely in paper bags. If items get stuck in a bag—even a paper bag—the whole bag could get thrown out.
Don’t be fooled by plastic bags marketed for recycling. These are not curbside recyclable either.
Framingham sends its recycling to E.L. Harvey in Westborough. Staff and machines sort through the items to discard things they can’t process. The facility then bales materials like plastic, metal, paper, and glass, and sells them.
So, is my recycling getting recycled? The city will take your things to a recycling facility, which wants to recycle them so it can make money. Carey can’t guarantee that those materials get recycled, but if E.L. Harvey keeps taking Framingham’s recycling, odds are they’re turning some profit.
Rinse your recyclables! Just how clean do things have to be? “The guidance that I’ve heard is that you shouldn’t be able to tell what was in the container,” said Carey. If there’s a bit of oil residue left from your peanut butter, that’s fine. But there should not be globs of peanut butter, she said.
Black plastic is not recyclable. E.L. Harvey uses optical sorters to go through items, and “those lasers can’t pick up that [black] pigment,” said Carey.
Small items will fall through cracks in the machinery. “The regular guidance is no smaller than a credit card,” said Carey.
For more info and a searchable database of what can and can’t go in the bin, visit the Curbside Recycling page of the Framingham website or recyclesmartma.org.
Macy Lipkin is a journalist and lifelong Framingham resident. She's seen too many recycling bins overflowing with plastic bags or styrofoam, so she spoke with Eve Carey to help get the word out about what can and can't go in the bins.
Mayor Holds District Meetings
Coming to your district: Mayor Sisitsky announced he is holding nine district meetings to hear from residents.
First one this week: The Mayor’s District tour begins this Thursday, January 18 at the Pelham Lifelong Learning Center at 103 Second Street from 5:30 to 7 p.m.
Other dates on the tour have yet to be announced.
Community Events
Friends of Framingham Trails Meeting
Want to get involved with the Friends of Framingham Trails? Join us for our next meeting on Saturday, January 20 in the Community Room (2nd floor) at Loring Arena.
On the agenda:
Latest news on Framingham trails
Recap of NYE event
Setting up a board & volunteer groups
Plans for the summer
FoFT is entering year two of its work. The group is now officially a non-profit with a fiscal sponsor. We are taking steps to grow our volunteers and mission. All are welcome!
Seed Swap Party!
Time to think about spring and gardening! The FPL - McAullife Branch along with Tasty Harvests, is holding the first annual seed swap party!
Hope to see many of you there!
Celebrate 20 Years of Downtown Framingham, Inc!
Join DFI for a night of fun, music, and festivities as we mark two decades of community development. Starting at 5:00 PM, connect with community members and enjoy diverse culinary delights and live music performances. Whether a long-time resident or new to the area, come celebrate and support Downtown Framingham’s ongoing revitalization efforts. Save the date for this unforgettable evening!
Ticket and event information linked here.
The Civic Week Ahead
Monday, January 15
5:00pm: Youth Council Health Issues Subcommittee Agenda
Tuesday, January 16
Wednesday, January 17
Thursday, January 18
7:00pm: Planning Board Agenda
In Closing…
Once again, thank you for reading, commenting and sharing The Ham’er. I have a lot planned for this year, so keep your eyes open.
I will be at tomorrow’s Council meeting and the Mayor’s D9 event. Please say hello if you see me!
Believe in Framingham,
Mary Kate
Always informative - thank you
Bob Draper