Category Archives: Uncategorized

Citizens for Milford recommends that Town Meeting members pass over Article 23 at Town Meeting on May 23.

Article 23 proposes that the Town of Milford enter into a one-year contract with the MetroWest Regional Transit Authority (MWRTA) at a cost of $250,000 to provide one  bus traveling on a fixed-loop in Milford Monday-Friday on a 13-hour schedule. The bus would be capable of transporting a maximum of 16 passengers, with a maximum of 14 passengers if a wheelchair is on board. The bus route has not yet been determined. A $75,000 grant from the community outreach arm of Milford Hospital is available to reduce the cost to Milford in the first year. A second grant, which would apply only to the first year of operation, is pending in the state legislature. The current proposal does not address the need for infrastructure improvements (sidewalks, crosswalks, shelters, etc.) and their associated installation and maintenance costs.

By asking Town Meeting members to pass over Article 23, Citizens for Milford simply requests that the Town take additional time to conduct a complete analysis of the transportation needs and all potential options for meeting those needs. If Article 23 is passed over this month, a new public transportation article could be considered at fall Town Meeting.

Our official statement, as included on the letter we have mailed to all Town Meeting members, is this:

Citizens for Milford recognizes the demand for increased public transportation options in town, but we are not confident that the current MWRTA bus proposal best meets the needs of all Milford residents in a safe, efficient, cost-effective way.

We recommend that Town Meeting members vote to pass over this article until the needs of all residents are fully explored and all transportation options are thoroughly vetted to ensure we can make a well-informed decision about public transportation in Milford.

For more information (including the complete text of Article 23, the letter to Town Meeting members, and our two-page analysis flyer ), visit the Public Transportation 2016 page.

Note: Both pages of the informational flyer were updated to reflect the changing nature of the MWRTA bus proposal on May 13, 2016. If you downloaded these files previously, please take a moment and download the updated files now available on the Public Transportation 2016 page.

Citizens for Milford was pleased to host Congressman Joe Kennedy III at our public meeting on May 3, 2016,  titled “A Conversation with Congressman Joe Kennedy III.” About 50 Milford residents attended this informal question and answer event. Following opening remarks by the Congressman regarding his work in the U.S. House of Representatives, attendees were invited to pose questions. Questions ranged from tackling the dysfunction in Congress, to the treatment of people with disabilities, how federal arbitration is used to deny rights to consumers, the solvency of Social Security and Medicare, and immigration issues.

Asked by a Milford resident what we as constituents can do to help move things along in the midst of a dysfunctional Congress, Kennedy answered, “You get out of government what you put into it. If you don’t vote, how are you sending a signal to Washington as to what we are supposed to care about?… We can move the country forward by having everyone make their voices heard.  …  Make your voices heard, and make us accountable.”

Milford TV video recorded the event, and we will post that video as soon as it is available. The event video will also be broadcast on Milford TV.

You can read more about the Congressman and his policies on his website Kennedy.House.gov.

Second Annual Milford Beautification Day

Saturday, April 30,
from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Join your friends and neighbors to help clean our streets and parks. Meet us in the parking lot across from Sacred Heart Church (5 East Main Street) to get supplies and instructions. Bags, gloves, and water will be provided. We will work rain or shine!

Families, community groups, churches, local businesses, and teenagers who need to perform service hours are all invited to participate. Younger children are encouraged to attend as long as they are accompanied by a supervising adult.

All supplies are being donated by Republic Services. The Milford Farmers Market and the Friends of the Milford Upper Charles Trail are co-sponsoring Beautification Day with Citizens for Milford.

In conjunction with the efforts being organized for Beautification Day, Citizens for Milford has also arranged for volunteers from the Worcester County Sheriff’s Department Community Service Program to initiate the Beautification Day work by conducting a clean-up on April 28 and 29.

Anyone interested in volunteering or participating in any way on April 30—as an individual, a family, or a group—should email us at CitizensforMilford@gmail.com. Although it is not necessary to sign up in advance, having an idea of the number of interested participants can help ensure enough supplies are available.

Help us spread the news! Download a copy of the Beautification Day Flyer.

A Conversation with Congressman Joe Kennedy III

Tuesday, May 3 at 7:00 p.m.
Parish Hall at Saint Mary’s Church, 17 Winter Street

Note: This event has been rescheduled from the originally published date.

Make plans to meet Congressman Joseph P. Kennedy III (Democrat), who represents our district in Congress, in an informal setting. Congressman Kennedy is attending in order to meet area constituents, listen to their concerns, and answer questions regarding national issues. Congressman Kennedy represents the 4^th District of Massachusetts in the U.S.  House of Representatives. Constituents in all towns within the 4^th District are invited to attend.

Citizens for Milford Co-Chairman John Seaver says, “Our goal for this meeting is to provide an opportunity for area citizens to meet face to face with our representative in Congress in a casual environment. Our agenda for this meeting is simply to enable citizens to meet with Congressman Kennedy so they can share their concerns and ask questions.”

The meeting will be video recorded and available for all to watch on Milford TV at subsequent times. The video will also be available to watch on this website and our Facebook page as soon as it is available following the event.

Help us spread the news! Download a copy of the Kennedy Flyer

Citizens for Milford encourages all registered voters to head to the polls this today and VOTE! The polls will be open between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.

This year’s election features contested races for crucial town government offices:

• Board of Selectmen
• School Committee
• Parks Commission
• Board of Library Trustees

If you missed our Candidates Forum, you can watch it here.

If you don’t know your polling place, click here to type in your address on the Secretary of State’s website and find it. You could also call the Town Clerk at 508.634.2307.

Every vote counts! Be sure to cast YOURS!

Have you always wanted to run for Town Meeting, but didn’t want to collect all those signatures? Well, there’s another way. This year Town Meeting has multiple openings for 3-year seats in almost every precinct, and you could run for one of them simply by asking voters in your precinct to write in your name and street address when they vote on April 5th.  Openings for 3-year Town Meeting seats are available in these precincts:

• Precinct 1: 5 seats open
  
• Precinct 2: 5 seats open
  
• Precinct 4: 4 seats open
  
• Precinct 6: 4 seats open
  
• Precinct 7: 1 seat open
  
• Precinct 8: 3 seats open
  

To read more about the responsibilities of Town Meeting and how it operates, click the TOWN MEETING tab.

To run a write-in campaign, follow these tips to ensure the best possible outcome:

• Ask friends, family members, and neighbors who live in your precinct to vote for you by writing in your name. Focus on folks you know who are likely to vote.
• Be sure that the voters know the correct spelling of your name and your street address.
• Explain to voters that to vote for you, all they need to do is write in your name and street address in the appropriate space for Town Meeting Members AND to fill in the oval at the end of the line. If the oval is not filled in, the vote does not count! Voters must use the marker provided in the voting booth to fill in the oval. See the illustration below.
• Tell voters to bring a ballpoint pen to use to write in your name and address because the write-in space is too small for the marker provided in the ballot box.
• To make this as easy as possible for your voters, give them a small slip of paper or a business card with your name and address typed on it. Be sure to tell them NOT to leave this at the polls. Simply suggest that they put the paper in their pocket or purse when they are done voting. It is OK to bring this into the ballot box; it is not OK to leave it there.
• Remember to vote for yourself on April 5th!
• Before the election date, please call the Town Clerk’s office at (508) 634-2307 OR send an email to the Town Clerk at aneves@townofmilford.com to let her know you are running a write-in campaign. This will help the staff count the write-in votes more easily at the end of the night.

Download a handout with instructions for running a write-in campaign for Town Meeting. 

If you missed our recent Candidates Forum, you can watch the video, see a photo gallery, and find direct links to news coverage on the Town Candidates Forum 2016 page.

In the meantime, we invite you to join us at the following two events:

Second Annual Milford Beautification Day

Saturday, April 30,
from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Join your friends and neighbors to help clean our streets and parks. Meet us in the parking lot across from Sacred Heart Church (5 East Main Street) to get supplies and instructions. Bags, gloves, and water will be provided.

Co-sponsored by the Milford Farmers Market and the Friends of the Milford Upper Charles Trail.

Help us spread the news! Download a copy of the Beautification Day Flyer

A Conversation with Congressman Joe Kennedy III

Tuesday, May 3 at 7:00 p.m.
Parish Hall at Saint Mary’s Church, 17 Winter Street
Note: This event has been rescheduled from the originally published date.

Make plans to meet Congressman Joe Kennedy III, who represents our district in Congress, in an informal setting. Come, share your concerns directly with Congressman Kennedy, and ask him your questions.

Help us spread the news! Download a copy of the Kennedy Flyer

Meet the Candidates and Ask Them YOUR Questions!

Citizens for Milford invites all Milford residents to attend its third annual Candidates Forum, which will feature candidates in Milford’s upcoming town election. The Candidates Forum will be held Wednesday, March 16^th in the Parish Hall of Saint Mary of the Assumption Church in Milford. Candidates will be available to meet voters starting at 6:30 p.m. The forum will start at 7:00 p.m.

Due to time restrictions, only those candidates running in a contested race have been asked to participate; however, unopposed candidates are invited to attend and to meet voters during the “meet and greet” time, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Once the forum starts, each participating candidate will speak for two minutes and then take questions from the audience. Citizens for Milford co‑chairmen John Seaver and Steve Trettel will moderate the event.

The forum will be video recorded and available for all to watch on Milford TV and from the Citizens for Milford website following the event.

“As Milford’s local newspaper, delivered to all homes and businesses in town, The Town Crier is pleased to be co-sponsoring this event to encourage citizen participation in Milford’s town government,” said Publisher Alfred Holman.

The Parish Hall of Saint Mary of the Assumption Church is located at 17 Winter Street in Milford. Parking is available in the adjacent lot and on neighborhood streets. Main entry into the Parish Hall is located on the side of the building that faces Sumner Street. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m.

Note: If you are a candidate or local citizen with questions about the Candidates Forum, please send an email to CitizensforMilford@gmail.com.

Help us spread the word! Download a copy of the Candidates Forum 2016 flyer and share it with friends, family, and neighbors.

To see a complete list of the candidates in contested races, visit the ELECTION 2016 page.

SAVE THE DATE!
Candidates Forum to be held March 16th

The Third Annual Candidates Forum will be held Wednesday, March 16^th in the Parish Hall at St. Mary’s Church in Milford. Arrive at 6:30 p.m. to meet the candidates. The forum will start promptly at 7:00 p.m. and will feature the candidates in the town’s contested races. The Town Crier is co-sponsoring this event with us.

We hope to see you there!

We invite all Milford residents to attend our first public meeting of the new year on Wednesday, January 27 at 7:00 p.m. in the Milford Town Library.

Town Administrator Richard Villani and Finance Director Zachary Taylor will be our special guests. “Providing direct access to our public officials is a priority for Citizens for Milford. We encourage residents to join us on the 27^th to meet Mr. Villani and Mr. Taylor and to ask them their own questions about town projects and finances,” says Co-Chairman John Seaver.

Additional agenda items include a discussion of projects and events that Citizens for Milford has planned for 2016, such as the Candidates Forum, Beautification Day, and “A Conversation with Congressman Joe Kennedy III.” Our complete 2016 calendar is displayed here on the right.

New members are encouraged to attend this public meeting, volunteer, and share their concerns and ideas for additional projects that benefit the community at large.

The meeting will be video recorded and broadcast on Milford TV at subsequent times. The video will also be available to watch on our website as soon as it is available following the event.

The Milford Town Library is located at 80 Spruce Street. The meeting will be held in the library’s Granite and Quarry rooms on the lower level. Limited parking is available at the library. Additional parking is available on Spruce Street and at nearby Stacy Middle School.

Citizens for Milford Named the January Hometown Hope Initiative Recipient

Also, we are honored to announce that Citizens for Milford has been selected as the local nonprofit group awarded a full month of free radio time through the Hometown Hope Initiative. Please tune in to WMRC First Class Radio, 1490 AM, every day this month to hear members of Citizens for Milford share news about our projects and events for 2016 in radio spots that are playing four to six times each day. We are grateful to WMRC and Asphalt Engineering for providing us with this valuable community outreach opportunity.

Did you miss any of our spots? Just click here to visit our Hometown Hope Initiative page and listen to each of our ads at your own convenience.