Conservation staff eliminated; tune into CC Tuesday + the City Council/Mayor role

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I know it is summer and many are away and busy but...
Please tune into Tuesday Night's City Council meeting. The Conservation
Commission has twice requested to be put on the Council agenda to discuss this
critical issue, only to have it removed both times. Some Commission members
will be present for the Public Comment portion of the meeting with
information/requests.
The Conservation Commission posted Meeting with the Council had to be cancelled
when the Commission was not put on the Council agenda.
 
In addition:
Please contact the Mayor and your City Councilors (both your District and the
At-large Concilors King and Leombruno) to voice your concerns.
 
MAYOR Contact information
CHARLIE SISITSKY
Mayor of the City of Framingham
<email obscured>
Phone: 508-532-5400 https://www.framinghamma.gov​​/2425​​/Office​​-of​​-the​​-Mayor
 
ALL CITY COUNCILORS
Framingham City Council <email obscured>
For a list of all Councilors and their email go to
https://www.framinghamma.gov​​/2432​​/City​​-Council​​?fbclid​​=IwAR1Gt6GIOi4uHGp8Q8V​​_gvGzD​​_u7YQP8siKoYH3​​_2Cp7Ru5jm03aRKglYBY
 
A brief history of what has been going on.
The Conservation Administrator retired, giving notice to the City in early
March. Sometime before that the job had been posted but once the retirement
was announced the posting was removed. And now the staff has left leaving the
office vacant. The
TUES 19TH PUBLIC PARTICIPATION -
 
The current plan has the overworked, seemingly overwhelmed Community and Econ
Dev Director taking on the conservation job. Almost no staff, still no
organization plan for his entire Department, - Working on Planning, Economic
Development, Zoning and trying to put his department together and yet he is
going to take on the heavy burden of enforcement and more in Conservation.
Seems like a bad joke. A rather expensive joke for the City, the residents and
developers and likely to delay projects even more. In what world does that make
sense??
 
Meeting information
http://framinghamma.iqm2.com​​/Citizens​​/Detail​​_Meeting​​.aspx​​?ID​​=13590​​&​;​​;fbclid​​=IwAR3hobr4yky5om2jk0PFchq5NNTC9Ph13ejBMkLgZ​​-ZrdLMv6sdVbxqgyhk

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The following is a long letter but has important information regarding the
Conservation Office and theCommission.
 
Dear neighbors,
 
Effective, Monday, July 18, Framingham will have zero dedicated Conservation
staff employed to handle inquiries, review permit applications, or conduct
oversight and enforcement. Director Rob McArthur retired a few months ago, and
both remaining Conservation agents departed July 15 after giving multiple weeks
notice.
 
Information from various sources indicates the City is having great difficulty
retaining or hiring new staff for other open positions as well as Conservation.
At the ConCom hearing last week, the volunteer Commissioners reported that none
of the openings have yet been advertised, no transition team has been assigned,
and no comprehensive public statement outlining the path forward has been
issued by the Mayor's office.
 
State law requires the City to respond to many new applications within only a
few weeks of submission. Delay could result in Superseding Orders issued by the
State that are often less restrictive than our local regulations. The
consequences would be lack of compliance with long-standing City ordinances,
weak enforcement, and possible environmental damage.
 
We recognize that staffing shortages and recruitment challenges are a fact of
life in many sectors of the US workforce. We want to believe the City
leadership shares our view that environmental protection is a high priority
among the many other roles of local government. Many residents believe the
City can and should act more aggressively and creatively to remedy this
situation as quickly as possible.
 
We need your voice to be heard if you share our concerns; here is how you can
help:
 
1) Copy and paste the generic email messages down below to the Mayor and City
Council. Edit them to reflect your own personal thoughts and concerns.
 
2) Send your emails today, tomorrow, or as soon as possible to the addresses
provided for: A) the Mayor and: B) the City Council.
 
3) Participate in the July 19, 2022 City Council Meeting in person or online:
* In-Person: 7:00 PM; City Hall, Blumer Room.
or
* Online webinar:
https://us02web.zoom​.us​/j​/82487730507​?pwd​=SmN4VnA2cm1kRjQzWjRoblB3RHNmQT09
Passcode: 281449.
 
If allowed to speak, respectfully state your name, address, and concerns.
 
4) Immediately forward this email to neighbors and invite them to participate
in this effort.
 
As always, thank you for reading my emails and sharing your concerns with local
officials.
 
John Mastrobattista
1064 Grove Street

Rest of post

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A) Send the following to: <email obscured>
 
Dear Mr. Mayor,
We have learned that the entire Framingham Conservation Staff has resigned, and
we have not yet seen a public statement outlining a transition plan or
recruitment plan from your office. We have also been told that none of the
positions have been advertised as of July 18. I and many other residents
believe, and hope you agree, that environmental protection is a high priority
that requires competent, dedicated staff employed by the City.
 
We recognize that recruitment challenges are not unique to Framingham, but
nevertheless action must be taken immediately if you truly believe in upholding
our local environmental protection requirements. We respectfully urge you to
implement every possible effort to fill these positions as quickly as possible
with the best people possible.
 
Thank you,
 
(your name and address)B) Send the following to: <email obscured>
 
 
 
Dear Framingham City Council,
 
We have learned that the entire Framingham Conservation Staff has resigned, and
we have not yet seen a public statement outlining a transition plan or
recruitment plan from the Mayor’s office. We have also been told that none of
the positions have been advertised as of July 18. I and many other residents
believe, and hope you agree, that environmental protection is a high priority
that requires competent, dedicated staff employed by the City.
 
We recognize that recruitment challenges are not unique to Framingham, but
nevertheless action must be taken immediately if you truly believe in upholding
our local environmental protection requirements. We respectfully urge you to
assist the Mayor's office and City departments with the resources and approvals
needed to implement every possible effort to fill these positions as quickly as
possible with the best people possible.
 
Thank you,
 
(your name and address)

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