Natick Report

More than you really want to know about Natick, Mass.

Natick Town Seal Review Committee learning from other communities

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Natick’s Town Seal Review Committee has learned a lot through historic research in its efforts to propose a new town seal, and is gathering even more perspective by reviewing approaches taken by other communities.

“The big takeaway for me personally is how little awareness there was about town seals, though I think that’s changing,” Natick Committee Chair Mia Kheyfetz says.

“Several communities in Massachusetts (as well as the Commonwealth itself) are in the process of examining these very public symbols and what they portray about our history and how we understand that history as 21st century citizens,” Kheyfetz says.  “Mashpee is in the process of approving a new seal, Newton has just released a report on their seal, Andover, Yarmouth and Westborough are in the process and a few years back Framingham redid their seal.”

Natick  has been helped by advice from members of the Framingham Seal Development Committee and Historic Newton.

“In reality though, there is no clearly defined path forward for how to reassess and redesign town seals. Each town has tackled this project in their own unique way,” Kheyfetz says.

The Natick committee was created following 2020 Fall Town Meeting approval, and charged with “reviewing the history of town seals in Natick [and] proposing a new town seal after a public process.”

The public process has included regular open meetings, and a forthcoming survey will ask about things like what themes you’d like to see on a new town seal, what best represents Natick’s history, and what best represents its future.

“The committee is focused on making sure people’s voices are heard and that the finished product is something we can all be proud of,” Kheyfetz says.

The town’s current seal includes an image designed in 1951 to commemorate the 300th anniversary of Natick’s founding as a Christian mission for Indigenous people. The image was adopted for the town’s seal in 1980, but has since questioned for depicting an inaccurate understanding of Natick’s early history.

town seal

Town Meeting this past fall via Article 36 got an update on the committee’s work and approved the appropriation of $11K to be used for design services related to a new seal. The request for quotations for such services was among the committee’s March agenda items, and Kheyfetz says the goal is to hire a designer “who can help translate public input into design concepts.”

Once a design is settled upon, it would need to be approved by Town Meeting as the town’s official seal, as was last done in 1980.

The Natick Town Seal Review Committee next meets on March 21 at 730pm.

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Natick delays vote on Town Governance Study Committee members; DE&I Committee candidates hard to find

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Update (3/21/22): The Select Board finished the process of interviewing and voting on members of the Town Governance Study Committee at its March 16 meeting (discussion starts at about 1-hour, 24-minutes of recording). The committee members are:

The Natick Select Board on Wednesday, following interviews at their meeting with Town Governance Study Committee candidates, decided to hold off on making their selections because a couple of the dozen candidates weren’t available.

The Committee will examine possible ways to improve the way the town operates and share findings with the Board as soon as the end of the year. It could recommend everything from doing away with Town Meeting to hiring a town manager. It could morph into a more formal charter commission down the road.

The Board heard from a variety of candidates, including a Natick High School senior whose interest in municipal government was stoked during his Eagle Scout process, familiar faces from current town government posts, and those whose experiences stem from both the public and private sectors.

Familiar themes from the candidates are that they love the town and want to help it thrive going forward. One candidate, Town Moderator Frank Foss, said “It’s not that the Town of Natick’s government is broken. It’s that it could be better…”

Candidate Lisa Tabenkin said during her statement and interview that it will be important to find out what does work as well as what doesn’t. From her time on the School Committee, she said, she saw well different boards can collaborate.

Former Board of Selectmen member Carol Gloff termed the effort a challenging research project, and asked by the Board whether she comes in with any preconceived notions of possible outcomes, she replied “I don’t…I really want to look at this with an open mind.”

Candidate Daniel Sullivan pointed out that Natick’s Finance Committee and Town Meeting really pile up the time and meetings that members commit to, making it clear to him that “participation in municipal government in Natick was really more akin to an endurance sport.” For this and other reasons, he said there is a need to assess how Natick is run, in part to find ways to make civic participation possible for more people.

DE&I talent hard to find

When Natick called for the creation of an 11-member Equity Task Force in 2020 charged with recommending how the town might go about ensuring diversity, equity & inclusion in all it does, there was no shortage of candidates. However, finding candidates for the standing committee that the task force recommended has been a tougher task.

While a few quality candidates have stepped forward, not enough of them have to fill out a committee roster. So the Select Board is going to hold off pursuing new candidates and reassess in a few months. It might be easier to find candidates once the town gets a chief diversity officer in place. The fact that the town at that point has a chief diversity officer could be a draw for potential committee members.

Hiring a chief diversity officer has been a challenge of its own, as such professionals are in high demand by governments, schools, and business. When asked about the status of Natick’s hiring efforts, Town Administrator Jamie Erickson said during the Select Board meeting that a hiring is “not right around the corner.”

“With all our job positions, we’re finding that the applicant pool is pretty slim, it’s not unique to the chief diversity officer,” he said.

Natick Town Hall

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Save the date: Natick Passion Plunge to support Special Olympics, Feb. 12th

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The annual Natick Passion Plunge hosted by AMVETS Post 79 will take place on Sat., Feb. 12, at Post 79’s 79 Superior Dr., Natick location. The ice-cold plunge into Lake Cochituate may freeze your body, but helping to raise funds for Special Olympics Massachusetts will warm your soul.

AMVETS v

Grab your brrrravest friends and family, create a plunge team, and start fundraising. The Passion Plunge is about more than just a good time. By fundraising $100 or more, you are empowering over 14,000 Special Olympics athletes in Massachusetts to train and compete in the sports they love, sponsoring lifelong friendships and competitive spirits, and celebrating inclusion for individuals with intellectual disabilities on and off the playing field.

Need some incentive? Raise $100 and get a long-sleeved t-shirt. Raise even more and the prizes get even better.

There will also be a raffle, and tickets can be purchased the day of the event at registration. Winners will be announced after the Passion Plunge.

EVENT: Passion Plunge
DATE: Sat., Feb. 12
TIME: Registration/check-in begins at 10am,  the Plunge begins at noon.
LOCATION: AMVETS Post 79, 79 Superior Dr., Natick, MA
QUESTIONS: Contact Wayne Anthony, State 1st Vice Commander, at 774-270-3253 or Tim Eaton, State 2nd Vice Commander, at 857-498-0612

 

MLK Day 2022 events in Natick, Massachusetts

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Celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at Natick’s annual MLK Community Celebration on Mon., Jan. 17, 10am. The Community Celebration will be virtual and feature a keynote address from Deacon Art Miller. Deacon Miller is a certified trainer in Dr. King’s nonviolence philosophy and addresses 21st-century examples of the societal tendency to embrace violence. Echoing the thoughts of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Deacon Miller brings home the message that no one can tolerate the great injustices that happen anywhere in the world. Register here.

Natick, MLK Day

 

Natick’s MLK events are co-sponsored by the Greater Natick Interfaith Clergy Association, Natick Is United, the Natick Board of Health, Natick 180, Town of Natick, Natick Public Schools, METCO, and SPARK Kindness.

Don’t see your Natick MLK Day event here? Contact deborahcb100@gmail.com for inclusion.

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Task force recommends Natick create standing Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Committee

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Natick’s temporary Equity Task Force, created a year ago to explore ways the town should approach the issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion, has recommended that the town create a permanent committee.

Select Board member Sue Salamoff put the recommendation into perspective at the Nov.  17  board meeting (about 2 hours into the recording). She stated: “The wrongful death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020 was a wake-up call to address structural racism.  It was clear that it requires government leadership to effect change. It was a need to evaluate how the town was doing in employment practices, representation in elected and appointed volunteer committees, and the unknown factor of how welcome persons from marginalized communities feel in Natick.”

The Select Board voted in July 2020 to establish the 11-member task force to put a DE&I framework in place for Natick, and this past summer supported plans to hire a chief diversity officer.

The task force has researched Natick’s attention to diversity to date, as well as the Natick school system’s and governments in other communities.

Its recommendation is for Natick to form a standing 7-to-9-member committee whose mission would be to work with the chief diversity officer (once hired) and advise the Select Board on such projects as building community relations, establishing a way for people who interact with the town to report civil rights violations, and reviewing town bylaws.

Select Board member Paul Joseph raised the question of how such a committee might work with the town’s Commission on Disability and affordable housing groups to ensure diversity efforts are in sync.

Task force member Guimel DeCarvalho said during the Select Board meeting that the Council on Aging, Sustainability Committee, and other groups would also be natural partners “by default.” She added: “Equity encompasses everything.”

The first group of committee members would serve until mid-2023, and then 3-year staggered terms would be the protocol from there. The committee would have at least 75% representation of communities that are historically marginalized populations. Sitting members of the Select Board, School Committee, Planning Board, and Finance Committee members would not be eligible.

The timing of when such a committee would be created vs. when the chief diversity officer is hired remains to be seen.

The Select Board at its meeting accepted the report (embedded below) from the task force at its Nov. 17 meeting and will now bring the issue back to a future meeting as a charge that could be discussed and voted on Dec. 1.

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