🔨 Loring Privatization Plans Put on Ice
Council Next Steps Reviewing Charter Changes (Part 1) | Raw Sewage Seeps into Sudbury River | Part of Getchell Trail Closed | Library Website Survey | Civic Week Ahead
Happy August, Framingham!
Summer and work has thrown my schedule off these last few weeks. I am sure many can relate! So, enjoy this Thursday evening issue of The Ham’er.
Have a comment or question? I’d love to hear from you. Email me at mkfeeney@gmail.com
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Loring Privatization Plans Put on Ice
The Sisitsky Administration's steps to bring a private management company in to operate Loring Arena were sent to the penalty box this week.
Drop the puck: At the end of the Mayor’s Report in the July 16th Council meeting, Chief Operating Officer Michael Tusino, who was filling in for Mayor Sisitsky, dropped news the Administration was seeking applications to fill city jobs for the rink while putting out an RFP (Request for Proposals) for a private company to operate the rink.
What they said: “We’re looking at hiring a company to run it instead of having an employee run it. Natick does it…they run a successful program in Natick. We’re running this parallel because it's such an old rink we don’t know what we’re going to get for applications. We don’t want to miss the hockey season,” said Tusino.
“Bottom Line”: Council Cannon pushed Tusino for what the Mayor’s vision is with privatization. Cannon cited that while Natick runs a successful program, the rink “becomes a bottom line for a for profit company” and expressed his concern that we’ll no longer have control over the community asset to keep activities accessible and affordable.
Why is this happening now?: The director, assistant director, and one employee all filed for retirement effective at the end of June.
Discussions about privatization were not part of the FY25 budget process that concluded in June.
Transition on the agenda: The Loring Arena Advisory Committee met on Tuesday, June 18 to discuss “future transition of the rink”. The consensus of the committee was that keeping the rink in control of the city was in the best interest of the community.
Youth Hockey Needs Loring: In an email to families on July 12, Framingham Youth Hockey said they met with Mayor Sisitsky. They told the Mayor the relationship between the 60 year old rink and the youth program is what makes it successful. It helps keep costs down giving any kid the chance to play.
Privatization limits communities: FYH representatives also stated “in speaking with other programs that have experienced this similar transition of rink management, they have had their ice costs go up, their ice schedule times change, and have been forced to practice at other facilities.”
Request for bids posted: The City posted the RFP on Wednesday, July 31 seeking “a qualified proposer with experience in operating and managing ice skating rinks.” The Director and Assistant Director jobs were posted earlier in the month.
Canceled request: By August 4, the RFP was canceled and removed from the city website. The word from the City was that there were candidates who applied for the positions, and that the Mayor was pleased and canceled the request for a private company.
(MKF Note: The Feeneys are a very serious hockey family. While I never caught that bug, I have spent many quality hours at Loring and nearly every rink in Massachusetts.)
Council Next Steps Reviewing Charter Changes (Part 1)
With the work of the Charter Review Committee complete, the proposed changes were sent to the Council for review and approval. The Council sent the changes to the Rules, Ordinances, and Ethics Subcommittee chaired by Tracey Bryant.
Onto the whole Council: The subcommittee made up of Bryant, Christine Long and Phil Ottaviani approved all recommendations but one. Bryant shared the subcommittee report at the July 16th Council meeting (that was a very busy meeting…).
The one issue: Bryant said the subcommittee had an issue with the added subcommittees listed in the section about Council Chair appointments. The proposed language says:
ARTICLE II: LEGISLATIVE BRANCH, page 6, 2. c) Appointments of (by) the council chair: The council chair shall appoint all members of all committees established by the rules of the council, whether special (temporary) or standing, including, but not limited to a finance subcommittee, appointments subcommittee, and rules/ordinances subcommittee.
The subcommittee wants to include the Planning and Zoning Subcommittee to “demonstrate to Framingham residents that the city council takes very seriously their responsibility to give input and a watchful eye over the planning and zoning of Framingham, which residents consider central to their quality of life in Framingham.”
What is the Council’s role?: As part of the process, the Council can only reject or approve the recommendations. They cannot make any changes. Then the Council votes to put the entire package on the ballot for a citywide election.
Voters have the final say on the recommendations at the ballot box.
Scheduling a wider conversation: While no action was taken on the Charter and the subcommittee’s recommendations, mostly due to the time… the Charter discussion occurred 2 hours and 44 minutes into the meeting at 9:44pm.
Major changes to budget process: Councilor Adam Steiner requested the Finance Subcommittee get the first crack to go through budget changes since they are extensive. Councilor George King, chair of the Finance Subcommittee, agreed and then went through a list of concerns he has about the timing of the process, including the capital budget, and appointments.
“It does take away what we’ve talked about before…being nimble as a city, this is more of a town meeting schedule,” said King about the proposed length of the budget process. Recognizing he cannot make changes he said “Shame on me for not having more input at the meetings.”
What is the deadline: The Council has 45 days to act on the recommendations. Chair Ottaviani proposed a special Council meeting for Tuesday, August 6 to solely review the Council. The Finance Subcommittee did not schedule a meeting for their review.
In next week’s issue, we’ll get to part 2 of their discussions…
Raw Sewage Seeps into Sudbury River
Eeewww: A break in a sewer pipe behind the Center Pump Station on Route 9 caused a health advisory for the Sudbury River last week.
What happened? A force main along the river broke, resulting in 675,000 gallons of untreated sewage seeping into the water. The leak occurred last Tuesday, July 30 at 4:30pm. The break occurred on city property between Rt. 9 and Main Street.
To give a sense of how much sewage that is, an Olympic sized swimming pool holds about 660,000 gallons. (Thanks, MWDN for that comparison!)
Health advisory: Framingham issued a health advisory for residents and pets to stay out of the Sudbury River for 48 hours. Framingham Director of Public Health Bill Murphy lifted the health advisory on Friday.
Repaired: It took 4 ½ hours for crews to locate the pipe break, divert upstream wastewater into trucks, which stopped the flow of sewage, and repair the pipe. The pumping station was back in operation.
Ongoing Work: The Center Pump Station, located next to Bawarchi Biryanis Indian restaurant, is undergoing repair work. The station was constructed in 1966 and is well beyond its useful life, according to the city. Construction began a year ago.
According to the project page on the city website, the contractor has to install a bypass pumping system to allow for the station to be taken offline and replaced. Taking the station offline will allow for the required overhaul.
25% of Framingham’s wastewater flows through this pumping station.
Getchell Trail Closed
Severe issues: The Carol Getchell Trail is closed as of August 8 due to the severe degradation of the existing boardwalk and pedestrian bridges, which are being replaced.
The Framingham Conservation Department’s Summer Crew, led by Brian Prue, Assistant Conservation Administrator for Land and Trails, are handling the deconstruction.
Upcoming reconstruction: Registered bidders toured the trail on August 7, in preparation for submitting sealed bids. The project includes reconstructing the boardwalk and pedestrian bridges, as well as upgrading a 1,500-foot section of the trail at Little Farms Road. Work will begin once a successful bidder is selected by the City.
Significant funding for this project comes from the Framingham Community Preservation Committee, MassTrails, SuAsCo River Stewardship Council, and the Solomon Foundation.
Alternative routes for walking: While this closure may inconvenience trail users, there is an alternative route. From Little Farms Road, you can head left to the Weston Aqueduct and walk either west or east along the top of the aqueduct. Heading east, you’ll find a trail section that connects to Pod Meadow in Wayland, which is also a very enjoyable walk.
The Library Wants to Hear from You!
Do you visit the Framingham Public Library website? Do you have any ideas on what you’d like to see and make it better?
FPL wants to hear from you. The library is undergoing a redesign of their website.
According to the press release, Library Head of Technology Experience Dave DiGuardia said, “The current iteration of the website was built and launched a decade ago. This redesign gives us the opportunity to implement new protocols and standards that will make the site easier to navigate for patrons and will also enable staff to keep the site updated more efficiently.”
Deadline to complete the survey is Saturday, August 31, 2024.
In Closing…
Hard to believe but The Ham’er is approaching its 2nd anniversary later this month! One of the best ways you can help mark the occasion is by encouraging your friends, families, neighbors to subscribe to The Ham’er.
A strong community is an informed community. Let’s work together to make that a reality.
Have a great weekend,
Mary Kate
Mary Kate, thanks for providing these reporrts which help us all keep up with important city doings! Much appreciated.
Hank