Framingham does many things well. Our schools are excellent, Public Works does a great job of keeping our streets plowed and our water flowing. Parks and Rec provides wonderful opportunities and spaces for recreation, and a superb senior center. We are a designated Green Community, with exciting sustainability and alternative transportation projects underway. Positive zoning changes have refocused attention and investment on the Central Business District and the downtown is poised to fulfill its potential as a vibrant urban center.
In other ways we fall short, particularly on the south side of Framingham. Multiple environmental hazards and contamination by past commercial and industrial operations have led the Massachusetts Environmental Protection Agency to declare South Framingham an Environmental Justice neighborhood. As we implement downtown improvements, we also need to protect the health and safety of our south side neighbors and address these hazards.
In addition to new developments planned for the Central Building District, Mass Bay Community College may move its main campus to downtown Framingham. The north rail yards could become available, including the original site of Harmony Grove, along with Farm Pond waterfront. This would be a tremendous public opportunity, and as selectman, I want to ensure that plans for downtown and especially this important historic location will include open space, public amenities, and public access, and that residents of moderate and low incomes are not priced out of our community.
Holding taxes down is also vital. Seeing the asphalt shingles on the Goodnow Pumping Station replaced with slate and copper was an eye-opener! The Goodnow Water Pump Station Rehabilitation Project is described on the town website as including a new roof, but further detail is lacking. More detailed and timely budget information provided to those who authorize spending would reveal what they are actually voting on and help them keep expenses down.
That brings me to another example of our need for better leadership. In recent years, Framingham has lost one major civil rights abuse case and settled another for a total of $4.75 million dollars, plus millions more in legal fees. The financial costs of such actions are high, and the social costs are even higher. Our elected officials and employees must obey the law and protect civil rights, not abuse them.
Looking for ways to make Framingham a more healthy, safe and prosperous community for all of us, I’ve studied other towns and cities for inspiration, and one stands out. Burlington, Vermont, is comparable to Framingham in many ways, the poverty rate is actually higher, yet it is a popular destination for visitors and has been chosen as the #1 place in the United States to raise children. As our downtown renaissance takes off, the community will benefit if we apply some of the lessons learned in Burlington about protecting public spaces, promoting community justice, and advancing the common good. On the Issues page, you’ll find links to some specific examples we might use as models.
If you have questions or concerns you would like to share, please contact me here. And if you care about good transparent government, smart development for the common good, and community justice, if you want to see those values represented on the Framingham Board of Selectmen, please vote for me on April 4. I will work hard to make our community stronger and to deserve your confidence.