Saturday, March 27, 2010

Earth Hour: 8:30 PM - 9:30 PM

8:30 to 9:30pm local time, hundreds of millions of people around the world will switch off their lights and participate in Earth Hour, the largest climate awareness event ever held. As climate change will effect people on every continent, we think a united, global call for action to address the problem is needed.



Quote from the Google Blog here

Franklin, MA

Franklin, MA: Express Line #7

The latest Express Line newsletter from Franklin has just arrived via my email Inbox. You can view the file here

or on the Town website here
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_AdminNews/

You can subscribe to receive your own copy here
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/subscriber-news



Curbside Yard Waste Collection

Franklin’s Curbside Yard Waste Collection will be held on Saturday April 17th, May 1st and May 15th


Be sure to have all material in paper bags, trash barrels or cardboard boxes.  


Brush must be bundled and shall not be more than 4 feet in length and 6–inches in diameter.  


DO NOT USE PLASTIC BAGS THEY WILL BE REJECTED



Franklin, MA

HMEA 5K Race/Walk - May 23rd

The Horace Mann Education Associates - HMEA, Inc. is located here in Franklin, MA but their effective service delivery is to over 100 communities in MA.

HMEA has a long history of providing innovative services in school, at work, at home and in the community and now serve over 2400 children and adults with developmental disabilities. Services include: Residential, Day and Family supports, and services for children.

HMEA's Employment Programs provides people with disabilities the opportunity to pursue meaningful employment either on a full- or part-time basis. For people in the Employment Program who work part-time, HMEA encourages volunteering for community organizations, or leisure and recreation activities to supplement their day.

HMEA's Employment Programs serve people 22 years of age and older who live within the commuting distance of program locations in the following cities and towns: Bellingham, Clinton, Hopedale, Plainville and Worcester

The annual fund raiser for HMEA is the 5K Race/Walk and Family Fun Day scheduled for May 23, 2010.
SAVE THE DATE...Sunday, May 23, 2010 HMEA's 9th Annual Independence 5K Walk/Run in the Park - MARK YOUR CALENDARS and grab your sneakers to participate in this "Fun-filled Family Day fundraising event...
This event, which is hosted by our good friends at EMC2 Corporation in Franklin, MA gathers 2,000 or more people to help HMEA continue its mission to make a difference in people's lives. AND, all the money raised is returned to the many programs at HMEA, which supports 2,400 children and adults with intellectual challenges and developmental disabilities.
Once again we have Gene Lavanchy from Fox News25 and tentatively Gail Huff from WCVB-TV Channel performing hosting duties for us. And our great friends and inspiration to many, "TEAM HOYT", Dick and Rick will be on hand again this year -- plus we're pretty sure there will be a few other celebrities and mascots on hand as well!
So come on down and participate in the fun...there's raffle prizes, food, tee shirts for participants (while they last), prizes, a Kids Corner filled with games and activities, a Kids "FUN RUN" and so much more... 


In addition to working the road race registration table (and providing splits at the 2 mile mark), I have decided to help HMEA do some fund raising this year.

I love the quote from Horace Mann that they use on their History page:
"Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity"

You can help the HMEA make a difference with a donation. I have a widget in the center column of this and my other blogs, should you choose to donate an amount within your means.

I will appreciate it.
The HMEA clients you help will too!

-----

If you would like to register for the race you can do so here
http://www.hmea.org/events.html

If you'd like you can contribute in one of several options directly through the HMEA website here
http://www.hmea.org/donations.html



Friday, March 26, 2010

Robbery suspect sought (video)

The Franklin Police just made a brief video available as they continue their search for the suspect in the robbery of the Tedeschi's at the corner of Union/King Sts.




Franklin, MA: Attempt to identify armed robbery suspect depicted in video. Please call FPD Detectives if you know who this is. 1-508-528-1212




Franklin, MA: Master Plan

The Department of Planning and Community Development (DPCD) is in the preliminary planning process to update the Town's 1997 Master Plan.  The DPCD is currently creating a Master Plan outline that will act as a guideline for the next 12-18 months during the completion of the Master Plan.  After this guideline is reviewed and approved by the Planning Board, Town Council and Town Administration, the DPCD will begin work on the Master Plan, which will include the formation of a Master Plan committee.  The Committee is likely to be formed in the Spring of 2010 and will need volunteers from the Franklin Community.  Please check back regularly for updated information regarding the status of the Master Plan process as well as future ways to leave public comments regarding the Master Planning process.


WHAT IS A MASTER PLAN?

According to Chapter 41 Section 81D of the General Laws of Massachusetts a Master Plan is:

“A statement through text, maps, illustrations or other forms of communication, that is designed to provide a basis for decision making regarding the long-term physical development of the municipality…”

A Master Plan consists of the following elements as defined by the M.G.L. Chapter 41 Section 81D.

  • Land Use
  • Housing
  • Economic Development
  • Circulation
  • Open Space and Recreation
  • Natural, Cultural and Historic Resources
  • Community Services and Facilities
  • Goals and Policies
  • Implementation


The information above was from the Franklin Planning and Community Development Master Plan page on the Town website

Franklin, MA

Franklin, MA: Absentee ballots available - Precincts 2, 3 and 4 only



ABSENTEE BALLOTS ARE NOW AVAILABLE AT THE TOWN CLERK’S OFFICE.
ONLY PRECINCTS 2, 3, AND 4 ARE ELIGIBLE TO VOTE

Absentee Ballot Information:  Absentee ballots are now available in the Town Clerk’s office.  A registered voter who will be unable to vote at the polls on election day due to the following reasons may vote absentee up to 12:00 noon the day before the election:
  • absence from your city or town during normal polling hours; or
  • physical disability preventing you from going to the polling place; or
  • Religious belief.
All absentee requests must be made in writing with an original signature (no faxes or e-mails are accepted).  If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call Deborah L. Pellegri, Town Clerk, at 508-520-4900.   



TOWN OF FRANKLIN ELECTION NOTICE

SPECIAL STATE PRIMARY ELECTION

DATE:  TUESDAY, April 13, 2010

TIME:   6:00a.m. – 8:00p.m.

PLACE: FRANKLIN HIGH SCHOOL FIELDHOUSE ON OAK STREET
                                    ALL PRECINCTS




Franklin, MA

2nd Fund Raising Event for Abbey Candy House





FRIENDS of the ABBEY
In 
SPORTS AND SONG







Come join with us in Sports


MATT LIGHT

PATRIOTS Offensive Tackle
(Six Division Championships, Four Conference Titles,
Three Super Bowl Championships)
AUTOGRAPH SIGNING –  PATRIOTS MEMORABILIA


Come join with us in Song

AYLA BROWN
– former American Idol finalist from season 5:
(Boston College Eagles Basketball)



SILENT AUCTIONS, RAFFLES, DOOR PRIZE
ADMISSION: ADULTS $10.00
Children Free - Cash/Checks only



Where: Lake Pearl Luciano’s
When: April 11, 2010
2:00 to 4:00 P.M.
Creek St., Wrentham, Ma.

Mt. St. Mary’s Abbey – 300 Arnold St. – Wrentham, Ma. 02093
Phone: 508 528 1282 Web www.msmabbey.org

Boston Globe West: Schools put clamps on bullying

Sent to you by Steve Sherlock via Google Reader:


via Boston Globe -- Globe West by Rachel Lebeaux, Globe Correspondent on 3/24/10

In response to high-profile bullying incidents in other communities and in advance of pending state legislation, school officials in Franklin have set up an antibullying task force, making it the latest local district to tackle the sensitive issue.

Add to Facebook Add to Twitter Add to digg Add to StumbleUpon Add to Reddit Add to del.icio.us Email this Article

Things you can do from here:


To be fair to the efforts of the Community Health Council that are and have been underway in this space for sometime, this is an 'extra' effort by the School Committee. 


The Community Health Council has been active in this space with great progress being made particularly in the cyberbullying arena with Teenangels. Teenangels is a group of Franklin middle school students who under the guidance of 
Lisa Keohane have been getting formal training, developed a questionnaire, an anti-bullying pledge, visited the State House and are about to take their efforts to students throughout the Franklin school system.




Additional information about the Community Health Council efforts can be found here.


The full and current Community Health Council "action plan" can be found here:
http://www.franklin.k12.ma.us/co/Debbie/Community%20Health%20Council/2009-2010%20CHC%20Action%20Plan%20March.pdf

Thursday, March 25, 2010

That's not cool!

That's Not Cool is a website designed to teach young adults that online and mobile phone behavior is real behavior with real consequences. That's Not Cool has three primary features; videos, discussion forum, and call out cards. The video section features video clips called Two Sided StoriesTwo Sided Stories use puppets and stop motion to portray examples of cyber stalking. The discussion forum is called Talk It Out. In Talk It Out students can comment on stories and exchange comments about issues around cyber behavior. Call Out Cards are small posters featuring slogans and statements about cyber stalking behavior. Call Out Cards can be downloaded from That's Not Cool. In addition to the three main features, That's Not Cool provides students with resources and contacts if they think they are in an abusive relationship or are being cyber stalked.

The videos are cool. They are also interactive in that the choices at the end of each lead to other videos!



Have you talked about cyberbullying with your teen?


Thanks to Mr Byrne at Free Technology for Teachers for the link to this site.

Franklin, MA

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Live reporting - Financial Planning Committee

Present: Jim Roche, Scott Mason, Sue Rohrbach, Steve Whalen, Doug Hardesty, Deb Bartlett, Brendan Morrison, Jeff Nutting, Shannon Zollo (late)
Absent: Roberta Trahan, Rebecca Cameron

Oct 8th 2009 minutes to be approved, motion to approve, passed.

Motion for Doug Hardesty to be chair, seconded, passed
Held off on other positions until some of the paperwork gets through to make the revisions to the committee "official".

The mix of the committee will now be

  • 3 members of the Town Council (Mason, Whalen, Zollo)
  • 2 from the Finance Committee (Roche, Cameron) 
  • 2 from the School Committee (Trahan, Rohrbach)
  • 3 citizens (Bartlett, Hardesty, Morrison)


First objective of this meeting to hear from Jeff Nutting on the budget update and start from there

estimated total revenues

  • FY 09 - 88.3  
  • FY 10 - 89.0 
  • FY 11 - 88.6 


The FY 11 numbers are based upon Senate numbers, House numbers have not yet been released
overall 4% decline with local receipts and state aid

State Aid maybe a little higher with local receipts a little lower
Will have a better handle in 2-3 weeks when Legislature makes some decisions
House Ways/Means budget usually available around school vacation

Usually the House number doesn't get lower so it can be used as a baseline

Total Town deficit currently about 3.3 to 3.5M (combined Town and Schools)

The FY 10 budget has the deferred cost of living increase (COLA) wage increase for the brief portion of June for the last pay period into July 1. The FY 11 does not have anything currently budgeted for COLA increases for any of the "to be negotiated" agreements with the bargaining units.

Town departmental budgets will be coming in flat with increases only in areas where known expenses have increased (i.e. gasoline cost up $100,000 over last year).

Positions where folks have left (resigned) have not been re-filled with new folks.

Steve Whalen provides an update on his spreadsheet with the comparisons amongst the 31 communities
Franklin is 3 of 31 in population growth; Hopkinton for example grew at a faster rate although less in total.
Franklin is 22 of 31 for per pupil spending, 9,995; 2 years later up only $400 but sunk to 28th
- Wrentham needs to be looked at, it maybe a K-8 district (i.e. King Phillip Regional has the high school)

Franklin was 13th for teacher salary, now we are at 5th (due to the teacher reductions on the lower end of the salary scale). The School Board has also acknowledged keeping the teachers in a competitive position as that affects the student performance in the classroom

2009 property tax bill 22nd then, 22nd now

residential tax burden was 25th, still 25th

to give a general sense of how much debt we have, we haven't changed position, hence we are well managed

Franklin is 20% below the medium on tax burden but we are 76% above the medium on State aid returned to the community! This is the significant issue that will hurt us until we lessen our dependence upon State Aid.

the next two sheets break out by towns with single vs. split tax rates
the consequences of the decision to remain with a single tax rate need to be fully understood.
we are ranked 11th on tax rate for communities where they do have a split tax rate.
we are ranked 12th on tax rate for communities with a single tax rate
we have a lower tax burden and lower tax rate against comparable communities with either a single or split tax rate.

we are trying to do something that is impossible, to have a really low tax rate and a high quality of living

we are a well run, efficient, lean town that doesn't have a lot of taxes.
27 communities are sacrificing more (i.e. paying higher taxes) to get less results (i.e. MCAS performance) than we are getting

the biggest exposure we have is our reliance on State Aid.
need to find a way to make these numbers human readable

After Steve's update the discussion turned to overall process:

  • What annual date should we have as a target to update the full set of numbers?
  • How do we incorporate an update with what the forecasted numbers were? need to tell the story on the reconciliation (where we were vs where we are)
  • Extend the analysis by a year.
  • Need to also update the progress on the action items


What is the timing for bringing this to the Town Council as part of the budget process?
Should be ready for the Apr 28th meeting

next meeting 3/31/10 7:00 PM



Franklin, MA

Franklin, MA: Finance Committee Mtg 03/23/10

The collection of audio recordings for the Finance Committee meeting of Tuesday March 23, 2010 can be found here:



Video was also recorded but due to a technical glitch (operator error, oops!), the video did not capture the audio at the same time. Fortunately, the backup audio recording did perform wonderfully and that is made available here.

Franklin, MA

FM #61-4 Finance Committee 03/23/10

This is the fourth and final segment for the Finance Committee meeting on Tuesday 3/23/10

Time: 26 minutes, 49 seconds



MP3 File


Session Notes:

This internet radio show or podcast is number 61-1 in the series for Franklin Matters.

This special recording is from the Finance Committee meeting on Tuesday March 23, 2010. It was held in the Training Room on the 3rd floor of the Municipal Bldg. The School Committee meeting was being held in the Council Chambers so there was no planned cable video production.

I did manage to broadcast the video and record that however, the audio feed was silent. Doesn't do much good for folks to sit and watch about an hour of folks sitting around a table and not being able to hear what they are saying.

Fortunately, I did have a separate audio recording to capture the meeting and I draw on that to share the meeting here.

The meeting will be split into four sections:

1 – to cover the opening and the discussion around the first appropriation for the Board of Assessors

2 – to cover the Parmenter Solar Panel project

3 – to cover the capital budget which was split into two votes, for for 2,009,000 for the overall capital needs of the town and the second setting aside 100,000 into a fund to accrue for the eventual replacement purchase of a new fire engine.

4 – the final section will cover the discussion on the overall FY 2011 budget schedule, additional questions from the committee members, and then the closing of the meeting.



For the full schedule of Franklin Meetings, check out the town website
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_MeetingsCal/?formid=158


As I close this session this week, let me remind you that
If you like what I am doing here, please tell your friends and neighbors
If you don’t like something, please tell me
Thank you for listening!



For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.blogspot.com/

If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com

The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana"  c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission

I hope you enjoy!

FM #61-3 Finance Committee 03/23/10

This is the third of four segments for the Finance Committee meeting on Tuesday 3/23/10

Time: 16 minutes, 51 seconds



MP3 File


Session Notes:

This internet radio show or podcast is number 61-1 in the series for Franklin Matters.

This special recording is from the Finance Committee meeting on Tuesday March 23, 2010. It was held in the Training Room on the 3rd floor of the Municipal Bldg. The School Committee meeting was being held in the Council Chambers so there was no planned cable video production.

I did manage to broadcast the video and record that however, the audio feed was silent. Doesn't do much good for folks to sit and watch about an hour of folks sitting around a table and not being able to hear what they are saying.

Fortunately, I did have a separate audio recording to capture the meeting and I draw on that to share the meeting here.

The meeting will be split into four sections:

1 – to cover the opening and the discussion around the first appropriation for the Board of Assessors

2 – to cover the Parmenter Solar Panel project

3 – to cover the capital budget which was split into two votes, for for 2,009,000 for the overall capital needs of the town and the second setting aside 100,000 into a fund to accrue for the eventual replacement purchase of a new fire engine.

4 – the final section will cover the discussion on the overall FY 2011 budget schedule, additional questions from the committee members, and then the closing of the meeting.



For the full schedule of Franklin Meetings, check out the town website
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_MeetingsCal/?formid=158


As I close this session this week, let me remind you that
If you like what I am doing here, please tell your friends and neighbors
If you don’t like something, please tell me
Thank you for listening!



For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.blogspot.com/

If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com

The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana"  c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission

I hope you enjoy!

FM #61-2 Finance Committee 03/23/10

This is the second of four segments for the Finance Committee meeting on Tuesday 3/23/10

Time: 6 minutes, 15 seconds



MP3 File


Session Notes:

This internet radio show or podcast is number 61-1 in the series for Franklin Matters.

This special recording is from the Finance Committee meeting on Tuesday March 23, 2010. It was held in the Training Room on the 3rd floor of the Municipal Bldg. The School Committee meeting was being held in the Council Chambers so there was no planned cable video production.

I did manage to broadcast the video and record that however, the audio feed was silent. Doesn't do much good for folks to sit and watch about an hour of folks sitting around a table and not being able to hear what they are saying.

Fortunately, I did have a separate audio recording to capture the meeting and I draw on that to share the meeting here.

The meeting will be split into four sections:

1 – to cover the opening and the discussion around the first appropriation for the Board of Assessors

2 – to cover the Parmenter Solar Panel project

3 – to cover the capital budget which was split into two votes, for for 2,009,000 for the overall capital needs of the town and the second setting aside 100,000 into a fund to accrue for the eventual replacement purchase of a new fire engine.

4 – the final section will cover the discussion on the overall FY 2011 budget schedule, additional questions from the committee members, and then the closing of the meeting.



For the full schedule of Franklin Meetings, check out the town website
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_MeetingsCal/?formid=158


As I close this session this week, let me remind you that
If you like what I am doing here, please tell your friends and neighbors
If you don’t like something, please tell me
Thank you for listening!



For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.blogspot.com/

If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com

The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana"  c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission

I hope you enjoy!

FM #61-1 Finance Committee 03/23/10

This recording is the first of four segments from the Finance Committee meeting on 3/23/10.

Time: 23 minutes, 42 seconds



MP3 File

Session Notes:

This internet radio show or podcast is number 61-1 in the series for Franklin Matters.

This special recording is from the Finance Committee meeting on Tuesday March 23, 2010. It was held in the Training Room on the 3rd floor of the Municipal Bldg. The School Committee meeting was being held in the Council Chambers so there was no planned cable video production.

I did manage to broadcast the video and record that however, the audio feed was silent. Doesn't do much good for folks to sit and watch about an hour of folks sitting around a table and not being able to hear what they are saying.

Fortunately, I did have a separate audio recording to capture the meeting and I draw on that to share the meeting here.

The meeting will be split into four sections:

1 – to cover the opening and the discussion around the first appropriation for the Board of Assessors

2 – to cover the Parmenter Solar Panel project

3 – to cover the capital budget which was split into two votes, for for 2,009,000 for the overall capital needs of the town and the second setting aside 100,000 into a fund to accrue for the eventual replacement purchase of a new fire engine.

4 – the final section will cover the discussion on the overall FY 2011 budget schedule, additional questions from the committee members, and then the closing of the meeting.



For the full schedule of Franklin Meetings, check out the town website
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_MeetingsCal/?formid=158


As I close this session this week, let me remind you that
If you like what I am doing here, please tell your friends and neighbors
If you don’t like something, please tell me
Thank you for listening!



For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.blogspot.com/

If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com

The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana"  c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission

I hope you enjoy!

"Everyone who's driving is paying the price."

Nutting explained that it is the town's policy to not appropriate free cash to the operating budget, as the account varies from year to year.
"There's no other way to fund the capital plan. Even though there's going to be a humongous struggle on next year's budget ... infrastructure problems don't go away with the financial struggles we have."
Nutting said the capital plan will go before the council on April 7. He and the committee are hoping to have the operating budget finalized by mid April.

Franklin hopes to spend $2 million on needed items

from The Milford Daily News News RSS




Franklin, MA

Hold the date for the Charles River Watershed Cleanup!

Are you looking to make a real difference in your community? If so, join a group or form your own to clean up trash throughout the Charles River Upper Watershed. You will be helping us improve the appearance and health of the waterways in our region.
If you live in the Upper Watershed please consider volunteering a few hours of your time to help us protect this unique and valuable natural resource. The large majority of our the cleanup sites are land-based, but we have a few on-water sites for experienced paddlers who can supply their own canoe or kayak. 
Did you know? The Charles River stretches for more than 80 miles from Hopkinton to Boston. It originates and flows for nearly 37 miles here in the Upper Watershed. In our region alone the Charles is fed by 45+ miles of waterways including seven major tributary rivers, brooks, and streams.

WHEN: Saturday, April 24, 2010
TIME:  9:00 AM - 12:00 Noon


WHERE: Charles River Upper Watershed - Ashland, Bellingham, Dover, Franklin, Holliston, Hopedale, Hopkinton, Medfield, Medway, Mendon, Milford, Millis, Norfolk, Sherborn, Wrentham.


The volunteer check-in site will be located in front of Whole Foods Market in Bellingham, MA. Stop by to get directions to your assigned site, collect your cleanup supplies and receive a free t-shirt. We encourage you to sign up in advance by using the contact information below.


CONTACT: David Dobrzynski
Upper Watershed Volunteer Coordinator


EMAIL: CRWAvolunteer@gmail.com

You can view the flyer for this event here:


Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Franklin, MA: Finance Committee - Live broadcast

Live video chat by Ustream


Franklin, MA

Phil's Phriends - 8th Annual Live Music Silent Auction - April 9th


Join us for our 8th Annual Live Music Silent Auction, April 9th, at Showcase Live at Patriot Place in Foxborough, featuring live music from THE Average White Band and Sugarfoot and the Brass Kicking Horns. Help Phil’s Phriends raise funds to fight cancer through the Pan Mass Challenge and the Jimmy Fund.
Tickets are only $25 per person and must be purchased in advance. Limited tickets are available, so please reserve your spot as soon as possible. To reserve tickets, click here.
We look forward to you joining us for a great event. The doors to Showcase Live will open at 6:00pm. At that time you will be able to order food and beverages, preview auction items and make initial bids. The Average White Band will take the stage at 8:00pm and play until 9:30pm. At that time, we will open the silent auction bidding for 1 hour. At 10:00pm Sugarfoot and the Brass Kicking Horns will take the stage and complete the evening.
All ticket sale proceeds bought from Phil’s Phriends will be donated to the PMC and Cancer Research. All tickets bought through the Showcase Live Box office will be for the Average White Band Show and will not be considered a donation. Auction item bidding will be open to the entire crowd at Show Case Live. Please help Phil’s Phriends support our young PMC pedal partner – Emily Taylor – by raising money for cancer research. We look forward to seeing you at the event and thank you for your support!
The Average White Band are widely regarded as one of the best soul and funk bands in the history of music. Though perhaps best known for their timeless instrumental mega-hit ‘Pick Up the Pieces’ the band’s strength actually lay in their consistently accomplished song-writing, stretching across several gold selling albums and multi-grammy nominations for the legendary Atlantic Records. Sugarfoot & The Brass Kickin’ Horns is a 7 piece band with male & female vocalists and one of the finest horns sections around. The band plays the absolute best funk and dance hits from all eras including Michael Jackson, Bon Jovi, Madonna, Journey and many more.
To get tickets, click here.





You can subscribe to the Phil's Phriends blog to get regular updates as they prepare for this year's Pan Mass Challenge  http://philsphriends.wordpress.com/


Franklin, MA

In the News - reaction to Big Y


Several neighbors said they are concerned traffic will increase and Jordan Road will become an even more dangerous cut-through.
"Jordan Road traffic is a very big concern as it stands," Patricia Reinertson said. "I'm concerned with any such retail establishment that will bring a lot more road traffic."
Kelly McInnis of Russett Hill Road agreed increased traffic on Jordan Road could result in accidents and fatalities, and asked why there's a need for an additional supermarket.
"It's like we are becoming the city of Franklin," McInnis said. "... I love this town, but you're making the wrong business decision."



Some Franklin residents oppose new store

by 


The official town song "The City Known as the Town of Franklin" can be found here
http://www.franklin.ma.us/auto/schools/jefferson/board/song/default.htm


Franklin, MA

Planning Board 03/22/10

The collection of posting from the Planning Board meeting of Monday, March 22 can be found here:




Franklin, MA

Public Notice: Hydrant Flushing to begin

PUBLIC NOTICE

The Franklin Department of Public Works, Water Division will begin its hydrant-flushing program on Monday, April 5, 2010.  This program is conducted annually to improve Franklin’s water quality and fire flows.  Some hydrants will be flushed between the hours of 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM, while others will be completed during the day.  Hydrant flushing will continue depending on water availability and system pressures. Residents may experience discolored water during this process.

Residents may experience, temporary water loss or discolored water while hydrants are being flushed in their area.  Even though the water may be discolored, it is still safe for human consumption.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation and we apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause.  If you have any questions or concerns, please call the DPW office at 508-553-5500.

Department of Public Works

Alfred Boone
Water/Sewer Superintendent


Franklin, MA

Monday, March 22, 2010

Live reporting - Planning Board

282 Summer St - site plan application

application for site plan approval
Conservation Commission scheduled for Mar 25
Design Review scheduled for Mar 23

combining 282 and 278 parcels, two separate properties
approval not required plan for 278 Summer

never received an occupancy permit for the existing building
lot to be used as a church and place of worship
structure to be renovated to being it up to code
not seeking dimensional relief

below the 15% impervious coverage, hence no need to go before ZBA

80 proposed parking spaces
calculation requires 82 spaces, desire to balance impervious and water area looking to get approval for the 2 space reduction in parking

rain garden design proposed for the rear parking area to help with the DEP storm water treatment
designed to treat 1" run off

will need to add to the existing septic and file appropriate documentation accordingly
looking to minimize the cost of some shade trees required, willing to work with the board

no anticipation for need to light at night time, depending upon grow over the years could use them

Town engineer comments:
81p plan being submitted
currently Town handicap parking req'd at 9' but ADA requires 8'
should keep the 9' until such time as the bylaw is changed

suggestions 'quite reasonable'

request to reduce parking by two doesn't seem unreasonable
reviewed plantings with best development guidebook, reviewed with Conservation agents and they are acceptable

congregation of 125 currently

for the first par tof the service, the whole congregation is together, then the children split from the adults for the second part so all are in the calculation for what is called for, not a new set of folks to use the separate floor.

to be continued Apr 5th 7:15 PM


Franklin, MA


Live reporting - Planning Board

I did not hear that this officially went into a recess but there certainly has not been any action for a bit. Quite a few side discussions underway.

Stay tuned for the continuation when it happens!



Franklin, MA

Live reporting - 248 East Central/Big Y

opening special permit and continuing hearing for 248 East Central/Big Y

Halligan has recused himself

special permit req'd for shopping in excess of 25,000 SQ FT.

met with Conservation Commission twice and continued to March 25th
filed with Design Review committee, scheduled for April 13th

5.7 Acre site across the street from the Municipal Bldg, C2 commercial zoning
proposal meets all zoning requirements of the C2 zoning

looking to construct a 57,000 sq ft bldg, 233 vehicle parking for operations (originally 234)
right in only entrance proposed for east bound traffic

determination of space utilized to calculate the parking required

1 per 200 sq ft = 213 total
1 for office
13 for warehouse

reworking the plan to resubmit with the 'final' numbers on the calculations for parking

Conservation Commission discussion lead to some revisions on the natural area/retention basin to meet needs/requirements (combination of detention/retention basin)

East Central St is under State jurisdiction, needs state permit, met with them recently.
Looking into The Mann Plaza and the King St intersection, and to include the Chestnut Ridge property (although not submitted at this time)

state work looked into justification of need for signal, signal is needed, would be synchronized with the Mann Plaza intersection

would widen RT 140 both ways, would allow cars turning into McDonald's to still proceed
planning shows this moving from D/C range to a C level of service, an improvement in level of services

Issues being raised by Town Engineer
traffic turn in, right turn only out
entrance/exit from Municipal Lot would be widen to meet the intersection
synchronzing with Mann Pl
need to study left turn from Chestnut St, has that been done
can not recharge from a metal roof into C2, therefore building can't be a metal roof
might need a study funded to see impact of Well #7 which is in the back part of the lot
need to know where the high ground water level is, then design a treatment system for that level
what impact does this have on the design
the new DEP storm water treatment puts this in a critical area
water needs to get into the ground, the water going into the ground needs to be treated

needs more study and more thought

need a hydrogeologist to perform the study

Applicant looking to clarify that the ZBA ruling of 1996 is in fact the determining
if we don't need to back to the ZBA we won't, yes we will work to provide the hyrdogeologist

DEP, redevelopment and Town requirements are intersecting in this area and we are working through these items.

should be around 286 parking spaces and they have not reached that level

Communities are moving away from 5 parking spots per thousand to 4, we will look at that the specific operation at the other areas and see how that applies here.

With a signal at the Town Hall, there will be gaps in the traffic.

Jordan Road is a growing traffic problem and we need to do something with alleviating the problem

There is an air quality consultant on board an it will be part of the traffic analysis.
estimated to be 2800 vehicles per day to the operation, some of the traffic is already here shopping elsewhere along the road, some will be coming

The company has done a market analysis to determine if there can be another market.
We can't address any other proposal as it has not been filed yet.

Concerned about the amount of traffic that this and the other might bring.
Folks on the street fear for their safety getting in getting mail from their mailbox.

There will be something to bring traffic to RT 140
There needs to be progress, we can't remain dormant
It is only a matter of time before you get bigger roads.

Reiterating all the frustration that has been said earlier
When is the study going to be public to us for review?
If this happens, the value of our homes plummets?

The traffic analysis has been filed with the Town, it is a public record

I was in favor of this at the last meeting, but if I heard correctly, I may have spoken too earlier.
I am opposed to this if there is the chance of another supermarket

If you are going to put in another grocery store, put in a Trader Joe's
let's get more local diversity in the town

Has Franklin ever done a master plan? Yes, it has been done.

I am going for this, the shopping here has gotten so expensive I go elsewhere to get savings.
I am looking for the increase in jobs, that is a good thing.

What does this end up doing to traffic and to quality of life?
Big Y is a volume business, that is how they make their money
issues with emergency vehicles, Jordan Road is dangerous today,
it will get worse, do we need to get someone killed

Jordan Road is a scenic road, there are a lot of pre-exisitng problems with the road today

If there is such traffic backed up on a Friday or Saturday afternoon, how will a fire truck get through when the traffic is already at a standstill?

Is there another option to a grocery store? Can we explore other options?

Consider making it easier to go down Chestnut?

I'd love to know what we can do to address Jordan Road?
Officer Spillane - would be the proper person for traffic safety

We are here to see that you are representing the people and not the interests of the business
Anything that promotes a safer community is what we're looking for

To be continued May 3rd. 7:30 PM


We don't pick and choose what businesses come here. It does create tax revenue. It does create jobs.
It has been empty for sometime.


Franklin, MA

Live reporting - hearing: 691 East Central - Van Roon Chiropractic

Opening hearing - Van Roon Chiropractic looking to expand their business by converting a single family home into an office space, expanding the land to accommodate parking, etc. The house is facing on East Central, the driveway comes in from Jordan Road.

Design Review suggested landscaping and sign changes

This will need to go to the Zoning Board as the current plan requirements should not exceed 15% impervious and while they are reducing it from 19.6 to 18.4, it still exceeds 15%.

Town Engineer would rather have the paving removed and have a smaller walk way put into place to reduce the impervious way. The septic system is inadequate and should be addressed. Letters to ZBA and Board of Health will raise these issues.

Hearing on Special Permit for Big Y, and continued hearing on Site Plan for Big Y were announced to be open after the Van Roon hearing completes

Hours of operation - 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM

Discussion on where the water drains to, trying to reduce the drain to Jordan Road. Other spots on the property drain into the grass and that is okay.

Resident on Jordan Road across from the property. The property looks green from her yard today and would change to that of cars in the parking lot. The lighting for night should stay within the Chiropractic property

Jordan Road is a scenic road and having a business entrance on a scenic road goes against what the road designation is for.

Traffic is already dangerous and screened on Jordan at RT 140, good idea to move the entrance to RT 140 where there is more visibility.

Mass Highway would likely object to a curb cut on RT 140 with the existing curb cut on the side street already available.

Continued to 7:15 PM on May 3rd

5 minute recess 

Franklin, MA

Live reporting - Planning Board

Present: John Carroll, Mark Denommee, Ronald Calabrese, Tony Padula, Joseph Halligan,
Bill Yadsernia, Beth Dahlstrom,  Brian Taberner


Request for Uncas Ave Extension, notion to approve extension for one year to April 5, 2010. passed unanimously

Approval of Planning Board meeting minutes, Feb 8, 2010, motion to approve, passed unaniously

recessed until 7:15 for hearing on 691 East Central, Van Ron Chiropractic


Franklin, MA

Franklin, MA: Finance Committee - agenda, 3/23/10

Town of Franklin
Finance Committee Agenda
Tuesday  March 23, 2010
7:00 PM
Municipal Building Third Floor Training Room
               

Balances as of January 2010

Gen Stab        4,611,121              
PW Stab           129,430
Debt Stab           379,144
Traffic Stab             21,391
Overlay Surplus         40,000      
    Free Cash                    2,173,842
          

Call to Order

Citizens Comments

Approval of Minutes

Action Items:

Appropriation:

Assessors - Triennial Property Revaluation - $19,200, Source of Funds:  Overlay Surplus
                   Personal Property Revaluation -  $12,000, Source of Funds:  Overlay Surplus

Facilities – Parmenter School Solar panels - $10,000 Source of Funds:  Free Cash

Capital Improvement Plan - $2,119,000
  

Old Business

New Business

Adjournment



Franklin, MA

"There is something wrong with it"

Do this now.
You can take 3 minutes.
More rewarding that radio
or that Facebook update in your email

Sir Ken Robinson in a short three minute video:



Attending the Finance Committee meeting doesn't mean I don't believe that the School Committee meeting isn't important.

The School Committee meeting is important.
Multiple worthy recognitions will be awarded.
Good things will occur that will reward the effort and time put into them.

I'll "follow the money" in this case to see what will happen in the Finance Committee meeting.

Note: email subscribers will need to click through to Franklin Matters to view this video clip.

Franklin, MA

Busy Tuesday

There are three meetings scheduled for the same time (7:00 PM) in different rooms at the Municipal Bldg Tuesday evening.

The School Committee meeting is in the Council Chambers at 7:00 PM. This will be broadcast via cable and the internet. The agenda is available on the Schools page and here on Franklin Matters.

The Design Review Committee is also scheduled to meet at Room 205 next to the Council Chambers on the 2nd floor. This group is part of the review process for the Big Y application. The Town website provides a schedule of their meetings and when applications are due but no agenda.

The Finance Committee is also scheduled to meet in the Training Room on the 3rd floor. No agenda is currently available on the Town website to confirm what will be discussed.

Given the likelihood of the FY 2011 budget being art of the Finance Committee meeting, I'll attend that one and attempt to broadcast it via the internet. Assuming I am successful, you can return here on Tuesday night and find a link to view the broadcast. The broadcast should also be available after the meeting for review on demand.

Updated 3/22/10 - 7:35 AM
I just received a copy of the Finance Committee agenda. The Capital Budget will be the major item for Tuesday's agenda.
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/03/franklin-ma-finance-committee-agenda.html



Franklin, MA