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IN THIS ISSUE

Alert: The ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ and clean energy tax credits
Specialized Building Code goes to City Council
Tree planting project teams form
On-street EV charging coming to Framingham
FPS school sustainability policy still holds
Brophy, Potter Road composting programs funded for fall
Dealing with abandoned shopping carts
Cooler Communities kudos
Drilling down on Framingham’s geothermal data
Community notes | Upcoming events | In the news

City Council to consider adoption of the Specialized Building Code

On June 23, the City Council’s Environment and Sustainability Subcommittee Chair, Adam Steiner, introduced a draft ordinance to adopt the Specialized Building Code. The Subcommittee voted 3-0 to move the draft to the full City Council for education and discussion. That discussion is scheduled for August 19; the vote would most likely take place at a subsequent City Council meeting.

If passed, the Specialized Code would ensure that new buildings constructed in Framingham would either be fossil-fuel-free — using electricity for heating, cooling, and appliances — or pre-wired to be fossil-fuel-free in the future. Larger homes must also have a renewable energy source, like solar panels. The goal is to reduce Framingham’s future greenhouse gas emissions and help the state meet its climate goals.

The Code has already been passed by many of our neighbors — including Natick, Ashland, Wayland, Sudbury, and Hopkinton, as well as Boston and Worcester — and does not apply to additions or renovations. Aside from reducing greenhouse gas emissions, it would protect building residents from high future energy costs and make Framingham eligible for a starter grant of up to $1,000,000 through the state’s Climate Leaders Program. 

High stakes for Framingham

On June 25, the Framingham Sustainability Committee unanimously passed a motion in support of bringing the Specialized Code to the full City Council. The Framingham Democratic Committee has also passed a resolution in support. Energize Framingham has shared our factsheet on the Code with Mayor Sisitsky and Sarkis Sarkisian, Framingham’s Director of Planning & Community Development.

The stakes are high: In the past three years, the city has approved nearly 800 new housing units spread among 12 multifamily developments, according to the Planning & Community Development Department. Wouldn’t it be nice if these were built with an eye toward a clean energy future and keeping energy costs for residents low?

You can encourage the City Council to pass the Specialized Code by signing our petition and writing to your City Councilor directly:

• Click “Steps to Take” on our web page about the Specialized Code for a sample letter.

• Find your Councilor’s email address here.

• Locate your district here.

Tree planting project teams form

Our Tree Equity Action group had a great meeting on June 28! Led by Liliane Dutra and Nanette Magnani, we focused on short-term projects that can be completed within a year to plant trees in South Framingham’s heat island areas. It was agreed that we would invite Framingham’s Tree Warden and other experts to present to us in the future, to guide us on which tree species to choose and their care.

Two groups formed around the short-term projects:

Group one: Plantings at individual homes. This group discussed targeting selected homes in heat island areas. Residents would be invited to apply to receive trees through flyers and other means, with priority given to owner-occupied homes with highly visible front yards, such as those on major through streets, whose residents are able to regularly water and care for the trees. Members discussed providing a post-planting care document and slow-release watering bags. If you’re interested in joining this group’s efforts, contact group leader Carol McGarry at [email protected]. 

Group two: School-based tree planting projects. This group plans to set up a meeting with School Superintendent Dr. Robert Tremblay and a representative of Buildings and Grounds to get their buy-in and recommendations. Harmony Grove and Barbieri elementary schools and Fuller Middle School were tentatively chosen for a pilot project, with three trees planted at each school. Plans are to engage the schools’ principals, PTOs, and afterschool programs, as well as each district’s School Committee Member and the School Committee’s Subcommittee on Sustainability & Environment. If you’re interested in joining this group, contact Liliane Dutra at [email protected]. 

A 2019 study by a city consultant, funded by the U.S. Forest Service, compiled data on the more than 3,500 trees then in South Framingham.

Both groups plan to hold planning meetings during the summer.  Longer-term projects (such as plantings on major thoroughfares like Route 135, or Miyawaki forests on public lands) would have a potential groundbreaking in spring 2026.

For more background, see note from our first meeting in our April issue.

On-street EV charging coming to Framingham

Under a $500,000 grant from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (CEC), Framingham is exploring locations for on-street electric vehicle charging. According to Sustainability Coordinator Shawn Luz, two types of stations are being considered: one with attached charging cables, and a more compact model in which drivers would bring their own cables (possibly subsidized by the city). 

Luz believes the funding is enough for three to five curbside charging locations in town, with two to five dual-part stations each. Sites being considered are parks or public areas that are close to multifamily housing or dense neighborhoods that lack dedicated parking spaces, a major barrier to EV adoption. 

 Possible sites, shown in a map in the On-Street EV Charging Survey, include:

• Grant Street alongside Butterworth Park

• Gallagher Park, near Gleason Pond and Concord Street

• Walnut Street, alongside Bowditch Field

• Framingham Center

• Downtown near City Hall

• The downtown Common area along Howard Street

• Lincoln Street near the Framingham Main Library. 

The city is exploring a policy restricting use to local residents after 6 p.m. to ensure that neighborhood residents coming home from work have access to the stations.

Want to give input? Take the city’s On-Street EV Charging Survey. You can also register for this July 8 webinar to learn more.

School sustainability policy still holds

In May 2022, the Framingham School Committee (SC) approved a comprehensive Climate Change, Environment, and Sustainability Policy known as EBACA for the public schools. It was celebrated as the first student-driven public school sustainability policy in the state. 

Fast forward to June 2025. The SC’s Policy Subcommittee and School Superintendent Dr. Robert Tremblay have been revisiting some policies to see if they need updating or streamlining. This includes policies related to COVID-19 – and also EBACA.

On June 16, the Policy Subcommittee voted to remove EBACA’s long list of specific sustainability actions. Instead, they inserted a more general statement of intentions, saying the policy “felt way too detailed.” (You can see their changes in this markup - scroll to page 4). This general statement would then link to an Environmental Best Practices Regulation with the list of actions.

Energize Framingham felt that this change would negate the student voice and weaken the policy – which, if anything, needs more teeth and accountability measures. EF members Nancy Fliesler and Meghan Murphy gave public comment to that effect at the full SC meeting June 19  (they begin at 10:17 in this recording).

During the discussion, SC member Adam Freudberg asked for clarification on why the edits were made (jump to 2:01:28).  “This has been in effect for three years, I never heard one complaint,” he said, adding that the Massachusetts Association of School Committees had adopted it as a model across the state. 

Soon after, the SC voted to leave EBACA as written and take no action this year — thank you to the members who voted to keep it! The roll call:

Yes (to take no action):
Rich Robles (District 1); David Gordon (District 2), Adam Freudberg (District 4), Judy Styer (District 5), Valerie Ottaviani (District 6), Tiffanie Maskell ( District 7), Jessica Barnhill (District 8), William LeBarge (District 9).

No: 
Jennifer Moshe (District 3)

Separately, the Framingham Sustainability Committee approved a letter in support of keeping EBACA as written.

BRIEFS

Brophy and Potter Road composting programs funded

It’s official! The Composting Task Force, appointed by Mayor Sisitsky, voted June 11 to recommend that the Department of Public Works allocate state Recycling Dividends Program funds to pay for food waste pickups at Brophy and Potter Road Elementary Schools by Black Earth Compost. Both schools have been developing food waste separation programs in their cafeterias with student involvement. We’re thrilled to see them get this long-awaited funding. Both schools will launch their programs his fall and may be looking for volunteers as it gets closer. Please email [email protected] if you’re interested in being notified of volunteer opportunities.

Dealing with abandoned shopping carts

Keep Framingham Beautiful (KFB)’s Debra Kaplan has been highlighting the problem: a proliferation of abandoned shopping carts from stores like Stop & Shop, Target, BJ’s, Walmart, and Market Basket in Ashland. The carts show up around bus stops, apartment complexes, wooded areas, wetlands, and ponds. KFB members have collected and returned some of them, but the task has become overwhelming.

In March, Caplan shared her research on what stores and other municipalities are doing about abandoned carts with the City Council’s Subcommittee on Environment and Sustainability. On June 23, the subcommittee agreed to move forward an ordinance that calls on stores to do at least one of the following:

— Install containment systems, such barriers and cart modifications, to prevent carts from leaving store property.
— Install technology to detect when a cart has gone outside store property or to lock cart wheels automatically. 
— Sign up with a company that would retrieve carts within 72 hours of notification.
— Create a process for store personnel to retrieve carts found off site within 72 hours.

Cooler Communities: Great work, kids and teachers!

Energize Framingham was thrilled to participate in the fourth annual Cooler Communities Fair, held this year at Fuller Middle School. While the forecasted rain forced us to cancel the planned outdoor tour of the geothermal pilot project and Fuller’s solar panels and EV charging stations, we had the opportunity to speak with students whose projects covered these topics and much more. Thanks to all who stopped by the fair and great work to all the students and teachers who contributed!

Drilling down on Framingham’s geothermal data

HEET, the nonprofit that has partnered on Framingham’s networked geothermal project, is monitoring 14 of the project’s boreholes with a so-called Distributed Fiber Optic Sensing system. The system will provide high-resolution temperature data along the length of the boreholes underground. This will help operators understand how the geothermal network stores and distributes heat under different conditions, helping to optimize its performance and informing design of future geothermal networks. Optic sensing experts from the University of California Berkeley are collaborating on the project. HEET plans to publish the findings when the project is complete. Learn more.

HEET is also supporting another 12 Massachusetts communities in exploring the feasibility of networked geothermal. These “Kickstart” projects are funded through a $450,000 grant from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center.

COMMUNITY NOTES

Remembering Larry Decker

Larry Decker, who led the Climate Action Team at the First Parish in Framingham Unitarian Universalist church, sadly passed away on April 21 at the age of 90. With his involvement, First Parish has long engaged in state and local climate advocacy and, in 2013, was among the first religious institutions in Framingham to install solar panels. Larry was a valued partner for other environmental groups in town – including partnering with Energize Framingham on our Candidates Climate Forums. 

An engineer by profession, Larry also served as an officer in the U.S. Navy, taught engineering at Wentworth Institute of Technology, and, with his wife Ruth, was Metrowest Chapter Coordinator for MATHCOUNTS.

Those who knew Larry described him as kind, gentle, articulate, and simply, a gem of a human. In the words of EF member Tim Brainerd, “He showed that one can be an activist in such a quietly engaging way.” We will miss Larry’s kind and positive voice going forward.

EF’s Nancy Fliesler named a Commonwealth Heroine

Nancy Fliesler, Energize Framingham’s communications lead and co-editor of this newsletter, was chosen as a Class of 2025 Commonwealth Heroine, recognizing "women who don’t often make the news, but who always make the difference." Shown here at the State House with State Rep. Jack Patrick Lewis, she is among 125 women honored from across the state. Rep. Lewis nominated her at the suggestion of EF Community Lead Aimee Powelka. Debra Kaplan of Keep Framingham Beautiful received the honor in 2024.

Former EF intern Eliza Rubel is now with MassEnergize

Eliza Rubel, a communications intern with Energize Framingham from 2022-23 and a member of the City Council Youth Council from 2023-24, is interning this summer with our parent organization, MassEnergize. Now a rising sophomore at Williams College, Eliza will be supporting MassEnergize’s climate action projects. They are lucky to have her!

UPCOMING EVENTS

Stay updated about events by visiting www.energizeframingham.org/events and sign up for email notifications by creating a profile (“Sign In/Join” button on the top right corner on the page).

Thursdays through Oct. 9, 3-7 p.m. Framingham Farmers Market 
Framingham Centre Common
Enjoy fresh produce, local goods, live music, and more! Free rides with MWRTA.

Tues., Jul. 8, 6:30-7:30 p.m. On-street electric vehicle charging webinar
Learn more about the City of Framingham’s on-street charging station pilot and how you can provide feedback to support the process. 

Tues., Jul. 15, 3:30-6:30 p.m. Need help paying your energy bill? 
Framingham Main Library, Costin Room
Learn about programs to help you manage your bills. Sponsored by Eversource.

Fridays, Jul. 18 and 25, 5-6:15 p.m. Tasty, Fun & Beautiful: Creating a Family Herb Box
Roosevelt Park (Jul. 18) and Bates Park (Jul. 25), Framingham
This interactive hands-on program is designed for parents and kids to experience the joy of growing herbs while using all of their senses. A collaboration between Open Spirit’s Nourishing Gardens Project, Tasty Harvests, and Framingham Department of Parks & Recreation. Register at the above link (small fee).

Sat., Aug. 23, 9 a.m.-12 p.m. 14th Annual Framingham Vegetable Gardens Tour
Visit several home and community gardens to get inspiration, ideas, and advice from local gardeners! Starting location TBD — keep in touch for updates!
Free event sponsored by Transition Framingham. Register at the link above.
More Info: [email protected].

SAVE THE DATE

Sun. Sep. 21:  Sun Day 
Sun Day — falling on the fall solar equinox — is a day of action celebrating solar and wind power and the movement to leave fossil fuels behind. Events are being planned all over the country to showcase solar installations, electric homes, and vehicles running on clean power.

IN THE NEWS

Framingham/Metrowest

Will Natick make the goal to be net zero by 2050? Here's what's changing in town (MetroWest Daily News)
Natick has adopted a zero-emission vehicle first policy, the Specialized building code (see first article in this newsletter), and more. The article is cited in Letters to the Editor from Rev. Dr. Deborah Lee Clark and Rev. Dr. Frances Bogle from Framingham.

There's A Huge Pond In Massachusetts Where You Can Walk Right Through The Middle Of It (CBS Boston/WBZ)
Celebrating Framingham’s Farm Pond.

Owners of historic MA shopping mall are proposing a redevelopment. What they want to add (Metrowest Daily News) 
The project, as planned, would add 224 housing units at Shopper’s World and around Kohl’s.

Massachusetts/Region

An economic opportunity, or an energy crisis in waiting? Data centers are coming to Massachusetts. (Boston Globe)
AI is getting faster and more pervasive. It also requires a staggering amount of electricity, at a time when Massachusetts households are reeling from high utility bills and the state is trying to wean itself off fossil fuels to combat climate change.

Metro Boston municipal leaders sign new climate commitment amid Trump rollbacks (Bay State Banner)
At the Metro Mayors Climate Summit, 17 communities renewed their commitment to addressing climate change together. 

Urban oasis: A tiny forest in downtown Worcester is thriving (Worcester Telegram)
Thirteen months after being planted, a Miyawaki forest planted in downtown Worcester under a state grant appears green and lush. Its diverse trees, plants and shrubs suck up pollutants, cool temperatures on hot days and provide a habitat for wildlife.  

Can Solar and Geothermal Energy Help a Church and Its Neighbors Wean Off Fossil Fuels? (Inside Climate News)
Spurred by rising utility bills, a church in Salem, Mass., looked for alternatives. Its “Heaven and Earth” plan would include a geothermal loop connecting the church to 20 other buildings in downtown Salem.

Healey unveils plan to target billions in savings for Mass. energy bills (Boston Globe)

Healey will delay MA electric vehicle sales requirements for 2 years (State House News Service)
The Healey administration said it won’t enforce minimum electric vehicle sales requirements for model years 2026 and 2027. Environmental advocates slammed the decision.

Hydro-Quebec shut off the spigots for New England power in March and hasn’t turned them back on. Why? (Boston Globe) 

Maine ramps up training to meet ambitious heat pump goals (Boston Globe) 

Trump says the solution to high New England energy costs is a natural gas pipeline project. It’s not nearly that simple. (Boston Globe) 
Critics of the Constitution Pipeline, which would carry natural gas from Pennsylvania to a regional interconnection point in eastern New York, say savings estimates are wildly inflated, in part because customers would have to help pay construction costs. Environmental and regulatory challenges led developers to abandon the project in 2020.

AG leading suit against NY effort to punish energy firms for climate change warns of major repercussions (Fox News) 
Pushback on New York State’s “climate superfund” law.

General interest

Mayors are making climate action personal. It’s working. (Grist)
Cities are electrifying their public transportation, forcing builders to make structures more energy efficient, encouraging rooftop solar, and adding green spaces.

Charging Electric Cars, a Bane of Their Owners, May Be Improving (New York Times) 
It is becoming easier to find fast chargers for electric vehicles, and they are more likely to work — and not just for Teslas.

Fighting climate change, one yard at a time (Boston.com)
Some experts say how we tend our gardens — including planting more native species — can make a difference. 

Could this city be the model for how to tackle the housing crisis and climate change? (NPR)
Sustainable, affordable government housing is a key driver of Vienna, Austria's ambitious climate action.

How balcony solar is taking off in Europe (The Guardian)
Balcony solar panels can save 30 percent on a typical household’s electricity bill. With vertical surface area in cities larger than roof space, the appeal is clear.

Oil Companies Are Sued Over Death of Woman in 2021 Heat Wave (New York Times)
Experts said the case, filed in state court in Washington, was the first time fossil fuel companies have been sued over an individual’s death as a result of man-made climate change.

Why knowing your neighbors can be an important climate solution (NPR) 

ABOUT US

Energize Framingham provides climate education, outreach, and advocacy to promote a healthy, equitable, and resilient community.

Have a tip for us? Email [email protected].
In case you missed it… Back issues!
Editors: Nancy Fliesler and Aimee Powelka