Friends of Saxonville Annual Meeting Wednesday

The Friends of Saxonville will hold its annual meeting Wednesday, March 26 at 7 p.m. at Edwards Church's educational building. The public is invited to attend.

The featured speaker will be Framingham Town Manager Bob Halpin. He will give an overview of the continuing and proposed construction projects in Saxonville.

Expected to be discussed will be the Cochituate Rail Trail, the Athenaeum Hall renovation project, Water Street and Central Dam, the Saxonville Fire Station, Ellingwood Operation, Danforth Farms, the Conservation Area at Danforth Farms, the Aqueduct Trails and the former State Lumber Site.  There will be time for questions after the presentation.  Refreshments will be served.

The Athenaeum  has been a community hall for Framingham residents for more than a century and in May 2013, Framingham Town Meeting approved funds to prepare final restoration construction documents for the Saxonville landmark.

Throughout 2013, town officials worked with the Friends of Saxonville to create a public document to describe the purpose and goals of the Athenaeum Restoration Project, explained Friends of Saxonville Vice President John Stasik.

A selection committee composed of the Halpin, the Director of Building Facilities Management, a Selectmen and three members of the Friends of Saxonville, interviewed firms who submitted a proposal. 

The chosen firm, working in partnership with town's professional staff, the Framingham Disability Commission and the Project Advisory Committee, will submit a plan to Town Meeting, that will fulfill the goals and purposes of the restoration, said Stasik. 

Town Meeting in May is expected to be presented with an update on the project; and construction is tentatively scheduled to begin in 2015.