Franklin Matters: Annual Report 2017: Town Council

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

Annual Report 2017: Town Council

The Annual Report is compiled and published each year to be ready for voters to obtain at the November election. A PDF copy is also posted online and available for viewing our downloading. I'll highlight some key sections from the current report over the next week or so starting with the Town Council.

The following is a text representation of the printed page 16 (actually 23 of 264)

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE TOWN COUNCIL

The Town Council is the holder of all general, corporate, legislative, and appropriations powers of the Town of Franklin. On behalf of the Town Council I submit our annual report for the fiscal year 7/1/2016 to 6/30/2017.

Economic Development
The Town Council voted to sell land on Pond Street to a developer who is building 96 Condominiums.

Zoning for economic development included voting to create a zone for Breweries, Distilleries and Wineries with tasting rooms, a Rural Business zone, storage facilities from C2 to Industrial and a portion of land off of Dean Avenue to R5. Additionally, we voted to zone for marijuana manufacturing and sales that also included a 2% local tax.

Facilities
Facilities improvements included new space at the recreation complex on Beaver Street, the Senior Center, as well as the renovation and expansion of the Franklin Public Library.

Recreation and Open Space
The Town exercised its first refusal option to purchase 12 acres of land on Washington Street. The Town accepted 20 acres of land next to the Keller Sullivan School and a parcel of land on Prospect Street.

We voted $100,000 for weed control at the DelCarte pond.

We voted to appropriate funds for the expansion of field space at Beaver Street Recreation complex and two new turf fields and a new track at the High School.

Downtown
The long term downtown construction project was completed in 2016 and a new parking plan for downtown was finalized. Parking meters were removed to allow more access to downtown businesses.

The new Horace Mann statue at the corner of Emmons Street and West Central Street was completed and dedicated.

Other
The Council voted to transfer 17 acres of land behind the High School to the Affordable Housing Trust. The Trust will use the land for construction of new senior housing.

Abatements for qualified citizens were increased from $750 to $1,000 and the senior tax workout amount increased from $9 to $10 per hour. We also adopted a Veterans Assistance Fund to help assist veterans in need of fuel, food, or transportation assistance.

The Council appropriated $600,000 for a new fire truck.

The Council voted to request legislation to establish an Agricultural Commission.

Alcohol regulations were amended to require all employees of an establishment to have TIPS training.

Finally, we continued improvements to the Town Common by increasing the seasonal lights for the Holiday display and also voted to replace the stage.

It is a pleasure to serve my fellow citizens and to submit this annual report on behalf of the Franklin Town Council for your review.

Respectfully submitted,

Matthew T. Kelly
Chairman, Franklin Town Council