Friday, August 7, 2009

Government that you can trust

With my work here on Franklin Matters to share information and to create an informed community, the fact there is still mistrust of government is an issue to be addressed. The ethics changes made by Governor Patrick and others are a step in the proper direction for the state level. This Common Cause effort should help us on the national stage.



What change would you like to see to enable a government you can trust?

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Open offer to Franklin's candidates for election

To the candidates for Franklin's election on November 3, 2009:

I extend an offer to conduct and post an interview with you here. The interview can be either text or audio.

You are running to conduct business on behalf of Franklin. Together, we can share your views, your objectives, and help to spread the word to create an informed voter.

Send me an email (shersteve at gmail dot com) and we can arrange a mutually convenient time.

Be aware that this is my public service effort conducted solely to create an informed electorate here in Franklin.

I do this for fun and education. If it stops being that way, I will stop. This is not an advertising site. This is an information sharing site.

My disclosure statement can be found here.

A similar offer was made for the last Town election in 2007.

Harvest Festival Booths Available

The Franklin Downtown Partnership is preparing for their September Downtown Harvest Festival and is inviting crafters, restaurants, vendors and community groups to register for this year’s event.

This festival is the Partnership’s largest event and brings over 2,500 people to downtown Franklin each year. The festival will be Sunday, September 20th. The rain date is Sunday, September 27th. The event will be downtown starting on Main Street and will include East Central Street and Summer Street. There will be a variety of free entertainment and fun games and food. This year the Partnership is inviting restaurants to participate and showcase their menu items to area residents. Last year the festival had close to 100 vendors and crafters participate and they expect even more this year.

Space is limited, so anyone interested in participating should e-mail Mary Graff for more details and a registration form at mgraff@berryinsurance.com or call (508)733-5504.

The booth fee is $50.00 if registration is received by August 20th. The fee increases to $75.00 after that. Registration is free for Partnership business members.

Rockland Trust Charitable Foundation is this year’s Gold Sponsor and Middlesex Savings Bank is the Bronze Sponsor. Sponsorships are still needed for the festival. As a non-profit organization the Downtown Partnership depends on sponsors in order to fund the downtown festivals and events.

The Partnership has formed a merchants committee which will be hosting a “Third Thursday” event downtown each month. The events will be held every third Thursday and will include special events, sales, refreshments, and free entertainment at local downtown businesses. For more details contact Jane Curran at janeframe@verizon.net This year the downtown will also host a Holiday Stroll on December 3rd.

Any business, organization or resident interested in becoming a sponsor or who would like to become a member of the Partnership should call the Executive Director, Lisa Piana, at downtown.franklin@yahoo.com or (774)571-3109 or visit the downtown office location at 9 East Central Street ..

The Partnership’s mission is to stimulate economic development in the downtown in order to create a positive impact throughout the area. Some of the past Franklin downtown projects include the new bronze sculpture in front of the museum, the downtown signs, and working with town officials on new construction, green space and streetscape projects. New members are always welcome!

Town Council Mtg Smry 08/05/09

The collection of live reporting for the short (approx. 30 minutes) Town Council meeting held August 5th can be found here:

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Live reporting - Administrator report/closing

Jeff thanks Fire Dept for their work on the Medway church fire

Update from the town via email now available on the Town website

Listing of vacancies is available

Upgrades to the corner at E Central/King/Chestnut should be started in a couple of weeks. It shouldn't take long to complete.

Councilor Comments
Doak - would be remiss if I didn't congratulate my daughter on her birthday

Pfeffer - thanks for the work cleaning up the corner on Pond St

Bartlett - thanks to Jeff and others involved for the new email service, this is the way of the future

Friday nights under the lights at Beaver St started two weeks ago
about 35 the first night, the weather canceled last week
this week is on, for frisbee

Motion to adjorn

Live reporting - Action items

F - HEARINGS - none

G - LICENSE TRANSACTIONS - none

H - PRESENTATIONS/DISCUSSIONS - none

I - SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS - none

J - LEGISLATION FOR ACTION

1. Resolution 09-54: Acceptance of G.L. Chapter 59, Section 5, Clause 17E motion to approve, passed 5-0

"Authorizes an annual increase in the asset (whole estate) limit for exemptions granted to senior citizens, surviving spouses and surviving minors under General Laws Chapter 59, Section 17D, by the percentage increase in the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index for the previous year as determined by the Commissioner of Revenue to be effective for exemptions granted for any fiscal year beginning on or after July 1, 2009."


2. Resolution 09-55: Acceptance of G.L. Chapter 59, Section 5, Clause 41D motion to approve, passed 5-0


Authorizes an annual increase in the income (gross receipts) and asset (whole estate) limit for exemptions granted to senior citizens, under General Laws Chapter 59, Section 5, Clause 41C, by the percentage increase in the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index for the previous year as determined by the Commissioner of Revenue to be effective for exemptions granted for any fiscal year beginning on or after July 1, 2009.


Live reporting - Town Council 8/5/09

Attending: Mason, Bartlett, Pfeffer, Doak, Vallee
Missing: Whalen, Feeley, McGann, Zollo

A - APPROVAL OF MINUTES – July 1, July 15 Regular, July 15 Executive Session
Change to minutes of July 1 to correct Feeley vote for Resolution 09-47 (bottom of page 4) should be "Y" (not as shown "1")

B - ANNOUNCEMENTS
Debbie Pellegri - making the announcement about the election November 3rd. The papers will be available August 10th at the Town Clerk office in the Municipal Bldg.

Positions and dates have been posted previously here

C - PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS
* Pearce Murphy, Retiring Member of Conservation Commission

D - CITIZEN COMMENTS

E - APPOINTMENTS
* Conservation Commission
Appointment of Jeff Livingstone - motion to approve, passed 5-0

Have you taken a ride on the Franklin Area Bus?

Did you know that you can have it stop for you along the route?

This summer why not take some time to ride the bus. For $1, it can be a real bargain.

One of the buses on the Franklin Area route has been wrapped to help advertise for Dean College. The bus (pictured below) was recently seen on its route along King St.



For more information (and schedule) on the Franklin Area Bus follow this link (PDF).

"won't have to raise money"

State Rep. Jim Vallee, D-Franklin, said he was proud to be an advocate for the grant.

"The Charles River Pollution Control District does a very good job, they're recognized as a cutting edge, state-of-the-art water treatment facility," he said. "But they are in need of upgrading their systems for energy efficiency and keeping up with technology."

Read the full article about the grant just received by the Charles River Pollution District in the Milford Daily News here

This will help Franklin and the other towns that are part of the District. There are major expenses coming for required improvements to reduce the phosphor being discharged into the Charles River. You can review the most recent presentation to the Town Council here.



Tuesday, August 4, 2009

"The circle is sacred"

"A safe place to be yourself. There is no agenda except just come and share your story," she said.

The women will "go with the flow" to create the kind of circle they want, as such groups can often change course, she said.

Read the full article about the women's circle being formed in Franklin by Michelle Reid in the Milford Daily News here


"the full attention it deserves"

It was only due to a series of one-time, non-recurring revenue sources, like stimulus funding and voluntary salary freezes, that Franklin did not suffer severe cuts in services this fiscal year, Whalen said.

"Given the severity of the challenges we are going to face, I'm leaning toward throwing my hat in the ring for the citizens' consideration for one more term, but I haven't decided for sure," Whalen said.

Read the full article on the status of the councilors up for re-election this fall in the Milford Daily News here

For a complete listing of open positions and the paperwork schedule to run for election, you can check here


Concerts on the Common - Frank Padula Band

The Frank Padula Band will be appearing Wednesday, August 5 for Concerts on the Common from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM.

Wally, the Green Monster will perform for the Children's Concert from 6:00 Pm to 6:30 PM.

Monday, August 3, 2009

Franklin: Walgreens Conveyor

Quite busy at the Walgreens (former Four Corners Bldg) site. The foundation appears to be nearing completion.


Franklin_WalgreensConveyor, originally uploaded by shersteve.

I was caught by this arrangement of machines. The bucket loader (far right) drops a load of dirt into the first blue machine. This appears to filter the material and transfer it to another similar machine which may have a different filter setting to process before it drops it off the last conveyor in a pile to be used on the site.

How many men would have been required to provide the same filtering function in the days when the Four Corners Bldg went up (or earlier)?

Anyone know the answer?


PMC - Nutting quoted

Franklin Town Administrator Jeff Nutting was amongst the thousands who participated in the PMC Challenge this year. Jeff rode as part of the Phils Phriends Team. He finished in Wellesley and was part of the Team NECN recap of the event. You can view the video here

Photos from the activity on Saturday morning at the PMC Franklin water stop can be found here

Town Council - Agenda - 8/5/09

A - APPROVAL OF MINUTES – July 1, July 15 Regular, July 15 Executive Session

B - ANNOUNCEMENTS

C - PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS
* Pearce Murphy, Retiring Member of Conservation Commission

D - CITIZEN COMMENTS

E - APPOINTMENTS
* Conservation Commission

F - HEARINGS

G - LICENSE TRANSACTIONS

H - PRESENTATIONS/DISCUSSIONS

I - SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS

J - LEGISLATION FOR ACTION

1. Resolution 09-54: Acceptance of G.L. Chapter 59, Section 5, Clause 17E
2. Resolution 09-55: Acceptance of G.L. Chapter 59, Section 5, Clause 41D

K - TOWN ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT

L - OLD BUSINESS

M - NEW BUSINESS

N - COUNCIL COMMENTS

O - EXECUTIVE SESSION – Negotiations, Litigation, Real Property, as May Be Required

P - ADJOURN

"an issue for the new council to work on"

Nutting said he will wait to see the cost before deciding whether he feels as strongly as Vallee about burying the utilities.

Town Council filed special legislation months ago that will allow them to borrow money for the work, and Nutting said he expects the special legislation to be voted on by year's end.

Read the full article about this aspect of the planned improvements for downtown Franklin in the Milford Daily News here.

Picking up from the headline this is just one of many items that the "new" council will work on. The "new" council is one that will be elected on November 3rd. Who of the current council is running and who else will be on the ballot remains to be seen. As noted here previously, papers will be available from the Town Clerk next week (Aug 10th) and are due back to the Town Clerk by Sep 15th.

Please stay current with what is happening in Franklin. We will need to cast an informed vote in November to handle the major items that are facing Franklin.


Sunday, August 2, 2009

"It's just a matter of economics"

"I certainly understand the struggle the state is having to make ends meet. We at the association adamantly opposed the change," Nutting said.

Franklin's allotment was cut from $183,000 to $33,000, he said. The town is is only legally obligated to match that $33,000, Nutting said, so the Police Department's total Quinn Bill budget of $366,000 may become $66,000
Read the full article on the Quinn Bill in the Milford Daily News here

Bold Opportunities for District–Union Collaboration on Teacher Quality

Sent to you by Steve Sherlock via Google Reader:

via ASCD Inservice by Laura Varlas on 7/31/09
Teachers unions are often cast as at odds with education reform and innovation. But frequently, behind a conservative national agenda, there's a union local working with districts on reforms like performance compensation and better, fairer educator evaluation systems. Even charter...

Things you can do from here:

The Month in Review - July's Most Popular Items

Sent to you by Steve Sherlock via Google Reader:

via Free Technology for Teachers by noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Byrne) on 7/31/09
As I do every month, I've compiled a list of the most popular items from the last month.

Here are the seven most popular items in the month of July, 2009
1. 10 Things Teachers Should Know Before 1:1
2. DL Hughley Reminds Us Why We Teach
3. When I Become a Teacher...
4. The World Images Kiosk - 75,000 Images
5. A Very Simple Way to Make Screen Captures
6. More Wordle in the Classroom Ideas
7. Using Blogs and Wikis are Core Skills


Things you can do from here: