Louis Fellini (Lou) passed away this week, and the town is poorer for it. Lou served the Town of Medfield on many boards and in many forms, but most of all for the Council on Aging. Lou chaired the Council on Aging for many years during the planning for The Center, getting the town financing of The Center approved by the annual town meeting (ATM), and then helping to oversee the actual construction of The Center. The function hall at The Center is properly named in Lou’s honor.
Lou was also a long time member of the town’s Permanent Planning and Building Committee, which vets new town buildings.
Four years ago Lou was honored at the 1/3/2017 Select Board meeting, and my material on that honoring can be found here.
The Medfield TV video of Lou being honored at that 1/3/2017 Select Board meeting can be found here.
Lou was a consummate wood carver, and taught classes at The Center to share the pleasure he derived from his wood carving. See a great photo of Lou wood carving at my blog article.
More recently I frequently saw Lou and Joan at The Center when I was there for my first Friday of the month office hours, and Lou often engaged me during those office hours on many Medfield town government topics.
Posted onFebruary 1, 2021|Comments Off on Local Rapid Recovery Planning – grant
Assistant Town Administrator, Nick Milano and Town Planner, Sarah Raposa, obtained a technical assistance grant from the Massachusetts Downtown Initiative’s (MDI) Local Rapid Recovery Planning program.
This is the email to Town Administrator Kristine Trierweiler announcing the grant –
From: Hahn, Elizabeth (OCD) Date: Sat, Jan 30, 2021 at 2:02 PM Subject: LRRP TA Notification
Dear Local Rapid Recovery Program Applicant-
Please see the attached letter that officially notifies you that your City or Town will be receiving LRRP technical assistance. In the coming weeks I will be introducing the Plan Facilitator that will be assigned to your community. The staff of the LRRP program are looking forward to working with you and your community to strategically address the impacts of COVID-19 on your downtown and commercial areas.
Posted onFebruary 1, 2021|Comments Off on Eversource snowstorm email
Email from Eversource about its preparatons for the snowstorm –
From: communityupdates Date: Sun, Jan 31, 2021 at 1:44 PM Subject: Eversource Storm Update – January 31, 2021 To:
Good Afternoon,
As you know, Eversource is preparing to respond to a significant storm expected to impact Massachusetts on Monday afternoon. Forecasts are calling for rain, snow and heavy winds across our entire service territory. These are damaging winds that down trees and poles, block roads and cause significant power outages.
Based on the latest forecast, Eversource will be declaring a Level 4 Emergency Response Plan (ERP) on Monday, Feb. 1. The first liaison shift will begin at 6pm, and schedules will be provided tomorrow.
As a result, we are preparing for:
· Up to 1,800 damage locations.
· As many as 70,000 customers experiencing an outage.
· A multi-day event, with restoration activities taking 1 to 2 days after the storm passes.
· This storm will have a regional affect, impacting the availability of some contract and mutual aid crews.
When and where it is safe for our crews to work, we will be addressing the priorities embedded in our ERP:
· The first 24 hours our focus will be on FPS1 Life Safety police and fire calls, E-911 calls, life-threatening situations and damage assessment.
· Our top priorities are critical facilities, particularly hospitals and healthcare facilities; blocked roads; and circuit backbones and lateral feeders enabling us to restore the largest number of customers first.
As a reminder, our liaison organization will be functioning remotely during this pandemic and will be available on their mobile phones and by email. We have proactively communicated with all our community liaisons and armed each with the tools they need to successfully stay in touch with you.
We remain committed to providing you with the latest information to ensure you have constant communication with our team throughout the duration of the event. Your dedicated liaison will be contacting you to exchange their contact information with you.
Posted onJanuary 30, 2021|Comments Off on 70 cases over the last 14 days
Medfield’s COVID-19 Data Dashboard has been updated with case and testing data as of 1/28/2021. Medfield remains in the yellow category and has a case count of 70 cases over the last 14 days.
January 29, 2021 03:24 PM Medfield’s COVID-19 Data Dashboard has been updated with case and testing data as of 1/28/2021. Medfield remains in the yellow category and has a case count of 70… Read on Click here to open the dashboard.
Q: Cloth masks are relatively inexpensive. How much do some of these upgrades cost?
Srikrishna: The Envo mask, which I personally have been using quite a bit and fits like a sleep apnea mask, is $79. It’s reusable for three to four months and has replacement filters for $2, and is now sold with a valve cover. 3M’s Elastomeric mask costs about $30 and has filters for $7 or $8, and these may last up to a year. The Fire Department of New York is using them. SoftSeal masks have a gel seal but are still disposable, and they cost between $7 and $16. And Fix The Mask is a flexible brace or harness that you put over a regular surgical mask and it forms a tight seal and provides a really good fit throughout the face. They cost about $15 each.
Posted onJanuary 28, 2021|Comments Off on Medfield’s cherry sheet numbers
Below are Medfield’s cherry sheet numbers in the Governor’s budget released by Division of Local Services (DLS) this week. The town’s state monies will be up $335K or 3.96% over last year per these numbers.
The town’s state revenue numbers are called “cherry sheet” numbers because historically these budget numbers were issued on red paper – back when things were still done on paper.
Next in the annual state budget process the House will produce its budget numbers, followed by the Senate version, the consensus version of the two, the Governor’s vetos, any legislative veto overrides, which is what will then be next year’s budget. That process usually takes until April.
GOV. BAKER FILES $45.6 BILLION FY 2022 SPENDING PLAN
• $39.5M INCREASE IN UNRESTRICTED MUNICIPAL AID (3.5%)
• GOV’S CH. 70 PLAN WOULD INCREASE FY 2022 SCHOOL AID BY $197.7M (3.7%)
• CHARTER SCHOOL & SPECIAL ED REIMBURSEMENTS INCREASE
• MIXED RESULTS FOR OTHER MUNICIPAL AND SCHOOL ACCOUNTS
January 27, 2021
Today at noon, Gov. Charlie Baker submitted a $45.6 billion fiscal 2022 state budget plan with the Legislature, proposing to reduce overall state expenditures by almost 1 percent next year as the Administration plans a sustainable recovery from the fiscal and service delivery disruptions caused by the ongoing coronavirus public health emergency and the related economic recession. Similar to the recently finalized fiscal 2021 budget, the Governor’s spending plan for next year relies on temporary and one-time revenues, including emergency federal funds related to the pandemic and up to $1.6 billion from the state’s Stabilization Fund.
UNRESTRICTED MUNICIPAL AID INCREASED BY $31.6 MILLION
As Gov. Baker pledged to local officials at the beginning of his administration, his budget includes a $39.5 million increase in Unrestricted General Government Aid, tracking the expected 3.5% increase in state tax revenues. Implementing this state-local revenue sharing framework is good news in a very challenging time for state and local finances.
OVERALL CHAPTER 70 SCHOOL AID WOULD GO UP BY $197.7 MILLION, A 3.7% INCREASE – ALTHOUGH A LARGE NUMBER OF DISTRICTS ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN AT MINIMUM AID ONLY
The Governor’s budget recommendation re-starts implementation of the funding schedules in the 2019 Student Opportunity Act (SOA) that were delayed last year after the coronavirus recession upset the original first year funding plan.
Fulfilling the commitments in the new Student Opportunity Act, the Governor’s fiscal 2022 budget submission would bring Chapter 70 school aid up to $5.48 billion, a $197.7 million increase in school aid. This would fund the first year of the 7-year plan to add $1.5 billion in new state funding for K-12 education. The majority of the funds would implement the improvements to the foundation budget, adding weight for low-income students, English Language Learners, special education costs, and school employee health benefits. While this is important progress, an initial look at the budget indicates that a large percentage of cities, towns and school districts would remain minimum-aid-only, and receive the minimum $30 per-student increase in the Act. The MMA will continue to strongly advocate for significantly higher minimum aid throughout the budget process.
The Governor’s Chapter 70 recommendation would make a significant change in how cities and towns can meet their required local contributions for fiscal 2022. Municipalities may use up to 75% of the total grant awarded to the local school district through the Elementary and Secondary Education Emergency Relief (ESSER) program enacted by Congress last month (also known as ESSER II) to fund a part of the increase in its local contribution requirement under Chapter 70, but not more than the increase in required local contribution in FY2022 relative to FY2021. This is a new temporary provision that is explained in the narrative and slides on the DESE school finance website provided below.
This landing page will also include the preliminary fiscal 2022 charter school assessments and reimbursements.
CHARTER SCHOOL REIMBURSEMENTS WOULD INCREASE TO $143.5M – CHARTER FUNDING REMAINS A SERIOUS PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED
The Governor’s budget would increase the charter school reimbursement account up to $143.5 million, intended to meet the commitment in the Student Opportunity Act to fund 75% of the state’s 100-60-40 statutory obligation to mitigate Chapter 70 losses to charter schools.
The Student Opportunity Act pledges to phase in full funding of the statutory reimbursement formula over three years, and while this plan may meet that requirement, it would not fix the serious flaws in the charter school finance system. Charter schools will continue to divert a high percentage of Chapter 70 funds away from many municipally operated school districts, and place greater strain on the districts that serve the vast majority of public school children. Major problems will continue unless a true resolution of the charter school funding problem is achieved, a top MMA priority.
SPECIAL EDUCATION CIRCUIT BREAKER INCREASED TO $367.7M
The Governor’s budget would add $22.5 million to fund the Special Education Circuit Breaker program at $367.7 million, an increase of 6.5%. The Student Opportunity Act expanded the special education circuit breaker by including out-of-district transportation, an important enhancement for cities and towns.
REGIONAL SCHOOL TRANSPORTATION REIMBURSEMENTS REDUCED
Gov. Baker’s budget submission would reduce funding for regional transportation reimbursements from $82.2 million this year to $75.9 million. This will be a hardship for virtually all communities in regional districts. Reimbursements for transportation of out-of-district vocational students remains significantly underfunded at $250K. Increasing these accounts is a priority for cities and towns and the MMA.
McKINNEY-VENTO REIMBURSEMENTS REDUCED
The Governor’s budget would reduce reimbursements for the transportation of homeless students from $13.5 million this year to $11.1 million in fiscal 2022. The impact of this funding level will vary from community-to-community depending on the number of homeless families that remain sheltered in local hotels and motels. The Administration has been successful in reducing the number of homeless students who are dislocated from their original district, but those communities that continue to provide transportation to many students may continue to see shortfalls.
PAYMENTS-IN-LIEU-OF-TAXES (PILOT) LEVEL FUNDED
The Governor’s budget would level fund PILOT payments at $31 million, which would be a significant hardship for many smaller, rural communities with large amounts of state-owned land. This is a key account due to the major impact that PILOT payments have on budgets in very small communities.
Please contact your legislators today and ask them to support the $39.5M increase in municipal aid and the $197.7M increase in Chapter 70 aid.
Please ask your legislators to address the serious flaws in charter school funding, increase minimum Ch. 70 aid to $100 per student, and increase funding for school transportation, PILOT payments, and ensure full funding for the Special Education Circuit Breaker
I started this blog to share the interesting and useful information that I saw while doing my job as a Medfield select board member. I thought that my fellow Medfield residents would also find that information interesting and useful as well. This blog is my effort to assist in creating a system to push the information out from the Town House to residents. Let me know if you have any thoughts on how it can be done better.
For information on my other job as an attorney (personal injury, civil litigation, estate planning and administration, and real estate), please feel free to contact me at 617-969-1500 or Osler.Peterson@OslerPeterson.com.
