The Framingham City Council met on November 11, 2025 (meeting began November 10) to address a wide range of items including public participation, proclamations, the mayor's report, public hearings for bond authorization and budgets, appointments, and discussion of sidewalk cleaning funds. Key actions included unanimous approval of a $2 million feasibility study bond for Hemingway School, the MRECC budget, the FY2026 tax classification with a 1.69 CIP shift, and a collective bargaining agreement with DPW supervisors, while a proposal to reallocate CDBG funds for downtown sidewalk pressure washing was referred back to subcommittee for further consideration.
The City Council is the sole legislative body of the city of Framingham and is therefore responsible for passing city ordinances. The City Council is made up of 11 members who exercise the legislative powers of Framingham. Two of these members are known as counselors at large, and nine members are known as district counselors. The city council serves as a link between the citizens of Framingham and their municipal government. Counselors help constituents by connecting them to resources, services, and city departments. And also serve as advocates for all Framingham residents. The following City Council coverage is brought to you by the government channel, a service of the City of Framingham Public Meeting Portal and published to legislate on Thursday, November 16th. Council Long will be remote this evening. The hearing is remained open and will be continued as stated on our agenda on November 18th, 2025. First order of business is public participation. First speaker is Donna Kilcoyne, author. Three minutes, Donna, and we'll start when you start. Hi, first off, I'd like to um say that I give you all credit for going through the process of putting yourself up for election. Having run the Yes for Fuller campaign uh several years ago, I know what hard work goes into it and dedication and time. So first off, I want to say thank you for all doing that. I think there was also a message that we shouldn't walk away from from this election, because I looked at some of the numbers. And the fact that um there were so many people who left ballots blank, who showed up to vote, and who did write-ins. And I looked at um one of the I looked at all of them, and on average it was 15% of the people left pallets blank for each candidate on average. And I think that people really need to understand that um their vote matters, and for them to show up and leave something blank when they're voting for others uh positions. That's something that I think each and every one of you should reflect on. I also found it really interesting that district three, one and two had the highest turnout percentage-wise, and district nine, seven and six had the lowest turnout. So I ask all of you to take a look at the numbers and then ask yourself, did I really make the case every day and every meeting that I'm doing the best for Framingham? And the one way that you can do that is to say yes to the special permitting of projects greater than 100,000 square feet. I think those projects have the most impact on Framingham in the long run and in the short run. We need to plan for those projects. And also we need to remember that those people, those developers are asking us to make exceptions to the zoning that you've already said yes to and that everyone has already agreed to. So they're asking you to make an exception. So it should really be up to the people who are elected to review it and decide whether or not those projects really can be done for Framingham without getting the quality of life diminished. So thank you. Thank you very much, Donna. Uh, next order of business of proclamations and citations. We have a joint proclamation uh for the hundredth birthday of Miss Is Maguire, Dorothy Tostey Maguire. Welcome, Ms. McGuire. I see you all in front with your family, and then we have a presentation from the state house from Rep Souza and the Senate from uh Mr. Giambetty. So do you want to start off, uh, Mr. Mayor? Sure. I figure it's our house. We'll start with the uh city council, then we'll go to the Senate and the reps. I have a proclamation to read for you. Uh regarding naming uh the 17th as Dorothy Tom Tostee McGuire Day, whereas Dorothy Tosti was born on November 17th, 1925 in Framingham to Tony and Fiorina Tosti, and whereas she was one of six children raised on Waverley Street across from her father's gas station, Toste Service Station, a Framingham landmark for many years, and whereas Dorothy and her late husband John McGuire Sr. built a life together in their hometown where they raised the three children, John Jr., Joanne, and Bobby. And whereas Dorothy remains a proud resident of Framingham to this day, surrounded by the love of her seven grandchildren and two great grandchildren. And whereas, in addition to raising multiple generations, Dorothy contributed to the Metro S community through various roles, most notably during her 50 plus year career as an insurance broker at Dallas Insurance, where she only retired recently in her mid-90s. And whereas for decades, Dorothy hosted family gatherings and delighted everyone with her incredible cooking and award-worthy apple and pecan pies. Wow. And whereas Dorothy continues to live life to the fullest by playing bridge with friends, walking the mall, attending sons and daughters of Italy events, and cherishing dinners with her ever growing extended family and friends at La Cantina restaurant. Now, therefore, the mayor and city council wish Dorothy Tosti McGuire a very happy 100th birthday and do declare Monday, November 17th, 2025 as Dorothy Tosti McGuire Day in the City of Framingham.