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| Rescue Task Force training at the former Davis Thayer Elementary School conducted Apr 28-29 |
Providing accurate and timely information about what matters in Franklin, MA since 2007. * Working in collaboration with Franklin TV and Radio (wfpr.fm) since October 2019 *
Friday, May 1, 2026
Rescue Task Force training at the former Davis Thayer Elementary School conducted Apr 28-29, 2026
Sunday, February 1, 2026
Agenda for the Franklin (MA) Town Council Meeting Weds, Feb 4, 2026
a. This meeting is being recorded by Franklin TV and shown on Comcast channel 9 and Verizon Channel 29. This meeting may be recorded by others.b. Chair to identify members participating remotely.c. Upcoming Town Sponsored Community Events.
a. Citizens are welcome to express their views for up to three minutes on a matter that is not on the agenda. In compliance with G.L. Chapter 30A, Section 20 et seq, the Open Meeting Law, the Council cannot engage in a dialogue or comment on a matter raised during Citizen Comments. The Council may ask the Town Administrator to review the matter. Nothing herein shall prevent the Town Administrator from correcting a misstatement of fact.
a. Discussion: 2026-2027 Town Council-Town Administrator Goals
- i. Town Administrator Memo https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/DocumentCenter/View/8244/8a-1---MEMO---2026-27-TC_TA-Goals-Setting-Session
- ii. Draft Town Council-Town Administrator Preliminary List of Goals https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/DocumentCenter/View/8254/8a-2---2026-2027-Town-Council-and-Town-Administration-Goals-January-2026---Google-Docs
iii. Discussion: Town and School Strategic Planning
1. Town of Wrentham Strategic Planning Presentationhttps://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/DocumentCenter/View/8241/8aiii---1---Updated-Board-Presentation-12026---Wrentham---Copy2. Town of Westford Strategic Planning
a. Resolution 26-08: Adoption of Amendment to the Procedures Manual of the Franklin Town Council (Motion to Approve Resolution 26-08 - Majority Vote) https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/DocumentCenter/View/8256/9a-Rules-of-Procedure
a. Exemption #6: Considering the purchase, exchange, lease or value of real property, because an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the negotiating position of the Public Body:
- i. Former Davis-Thayer Elementary School
- ii. Former Parmenter Elementary School
- iii. “Other Property” potentially available for Town purchase/acquisition
Friday, January 9, 2026
Town Council approves an amended Friendly 40b policy in another long 4 hour session (video)
The Town Council meet for the first time in 2026 for another long 4 hour session with all 9 members present in Council Chambers.
Franklin TV video -> https://www.youtube.com/live/07Ywvi5WtP8?&t=487
- The longest discussion on a single appointment in my time reporting ultimately resulted in a unanimous vote to approve Mark Minnichelli to the Municipal Affordable Housing Trust. Kudos to Mark for his careful and confident responses to the questions.
- Town and School Facilities Presentation - Kevin Harn, Facilities Director https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/DocumentCenter/View/8040/8a-1---MEMO---Facilities-Presentation
- This discussion was extensive as Facilities and the potential issues facing the Town are something this Council is going to need to get up to speed quickly on to make the decisions and determine the direction to go, all of which ultimately gets to funding and resources
- The Davis Thayer (DT) building future has been the Council's hands since the Advisory committee did its work. On Tuesday (Jan 6, 26) the Police Station Building Comte determined Parmenter was the best site freeing up DT for a decision on what it's future is
- The combination of the Washington St renovations, Middle School roof, and the Police Station would be approx. $50M. To do and how to fund remain questions before the Council
- The presentation doc is not on the Town page or within the Council agenda but pictures of the slides shared can be found in one album -> https://photos.app.goo.gl/1FpYnuiED36kPumw8
- 2 Zoning Bylaw amendments were referred to the Planning Board. There is likely to be an extensive discussion on these when they return as the Council was not familiar with the bylaw process (usually starting with Planning Dept (as in this case), discussion before Economic Development Subcmte (not yet in place), referral to Planning Board, and then return to Council for decision). As these 2 measure are the 'final' points to bring the Town in compliance with the MBTA Community requirements, the potential for discussion before this new Council is great
- The friendly 40b policy came back on the agenda for this Council and they juggled their agenda to get the above items out of the way before settling into this lengthy discussion. Ultimately, 2 amendments to the wording were approved first one by a 5-4 vote to require an annual review of the policy, the second to fix the confusing wording in a sentence by a 9-0 vote, and then the overall measure passed by a 9-0 vote
- Multiple personnel changes were announced in Town Administrator Jamie Hellen's report. Of note, the Council also gave the go ahead to the hiring request they had approved at the tax rate hearing and then also asked to put on hold. The Town Administrator's office which used to be 4 people is only 2, and one was sick this week. If the Council wants the Town to get work done, these resources are required. Fortunately, the Council agreed
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| The combination of the Washington St renovations, Middle School roof, and the Police Station would be approx. $50M |
Thursday, December 19, 2024
Community Preservation Cmte gets update on project status, funding status, sets next meeting for Feb 5 (video)
- Town Administrator Jamie Hellen providing an update, introduces Evan Lacasse as Deputy Financial Officer and budget analyst who will be picking up the details of CPA as things go forward
- Updates on current CPA funded projects:
- Cupola out for bid, should start next year some time
- Franklin Ridge about half financed at this point, starting infrastructure work in 2025
- Rod & Gun club didn't get funding, apparently did get their own funding
- Q on Davis Thayer, (old high school), Police Station Building Cmte hired architect, open house planned for current station, architect hired. Middle of 2025 should get to site selection. There are some issues with Parmenter, and with DT, so it will an interesting decision. DT page has the reports and expression of interests proposal, zoning would also be needed for most other uses (https://www.franklinma.gov/davis-thayer-building-reuse-advisory-committee). W Batchelor not liking the police station at Parmenter (not yet a decision). "no one can convince me otherwise"
- CPA funds could be used for historical preservation of Davis Thayer
- Review of the CPA fund status provided in the agenda doc
- Walking thru the 2nd page which shows the balances by category, expenses, encumbered amounts, etc. So we have at least $2M available
- Discussion on next meeting, Feb 5, 5 PM target for public hearing
- Money is one thing but town bandwidth is an issue
- Motion to adjourn, passes 9-0
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| Community Preservation Committee: Agenda for Meeting Weds Dec 18 at 5 PM |
Saturday, October 26, 2024
School Committee votes to allow 54 former DT students & siblings not to redistrict at a cost of $75K (audio)
FM #1295= This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 1295 in the series.
This session shares the Franklin (MA) School Committee meeting held on Tuesday, Oct 22, 2024. All 7 members participated in Council Chambers.
Quick recap:
Decision on the overall redistricting proposal was approved at their last meeting but one aspect of that 'tabled' to this meeting: the choice on how to include the former Davis Thayer students. The motion had been amended and then tabled for further clarification on the total number of students involved. The number grew in the time between meetings so if the parents of former DT students choose to stay with Keller rather than move to the new district, they (1) provide their own transportation for the duration of their students' elementary education (2) the district comes up with a net new teacher for one year (approx. $75K) to pay for the increase in enrollment in the new north elementary rather than the south. With the approval (by a 4-3 vote) tonight, the District will now be contacting those affected parents who will need to make a decision in the next couple of weeks. The numbers provided for students covered by this opportunity are if all choose to take it. One would think that providing the extra transportation (rather than taking advantage of the district busing) would result in not all taking this choice. We'll see how it works out.
A change to the calendar for this school year was approved to add 3 half days in June to provide a block of 4 half days to enable the teachers and other personnel time to pack for the move before the school year ends. As the override failed, this is one of the consequences of the lack of money the district has to operate. The vote to approve was passed by 6-1 after a motion to 'table' the decision for 1 meeting failed by a 3-4 vote.
Approval of the goals for the superintendent passed by a 7-0 vote.
Consent agenda was passed by a 7-0 vote.
The recording runs about 2 hours & 55 minutes, so let’s listen in. Audio link -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1295-franklin-ma-school-cmte-mtg-10-22-24/
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Franklin TV -> https://www.youtube.com/live/ff3Vn-2hi0g?si=0REBBEJdliJoXiyW&t=186
School Committee agenda -> https://core-docs.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/4780/FPSD/4941932/SCAGENDA_10-22-24.pdf
My notes for the full session are captured in one PDF file -> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1F633bBHQYfntqvuKD_XocZBsiRQouF1j/view?usp=drive_link
Photos of the Davis Thayer decision information can be found in one album ->
https://photos.app.goo.gl/ow3w1ZoXM7dDrMD88
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We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) or 102.9 on the Franklin area radio dial.
This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help.
How can you help?
If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors
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Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.
For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/ or www.franklin.news
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!
------------------
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| School Committee votes to allow 54 former DT students & siblings not to redistrict (audio) |
Wednesday, October 23, 2024
School Committee votes to allow 54 former DT students & siblings not to redistrict at a cost of $75K (video)
- Decision on the overall redistricting proposal was approved at their last meeting but one aspect of that 'tabled' to this meeting: the choice on how to include the former Davis Thayer students. The motion had been amended and then tabled for further clarification on the total number of students involved. The number grew in the time between meetings so if the parents of former DT students choose to stay with Keller rather than move to the new district, they (1) provide their own transportation for the duration of their students elementary education (2) the district comes up with a net new teacher for one year (approx. $75K) to pay for the increase in enrollment in the new north elementary rather than the south. With the approval (by a 4-3 vote) tonight, the District will now be contacting those affected parents who will need to make a decision in the next couple of weeks. The numbers provided for students covered by this opportunity are if all choose to take it. One would think that providing the extra transportation (rather than taking advantage of the district busing) would result in not all taking this choice. We'll see how it works out.
- A change to the calendar for this school year was approved to add 3 half days in June to provide a block of 4 half days to enable the teachers and other personnel time to pack for the move before the school year ends. As the override failed, this is one of the consequences of the lack of money the district has to operate. The vote to approve was passed by 6-1 after a motion to 'table' the decision for 1 meeting failed by a 3-4 vote.
- Approval of the goals for the superintendent passed by a 7-0 vote.
- Consent agenda was passed by a 7-0 vote.
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| School Committee votes to allow 54 former DT students & siblings not to redistrict (video) |
Monday, October 21, 2024
Franklin, MA: School Committee agenda for meeting Tuesday, Oct 22, 2024 at 7 PM
“The listing of matters are those reasonably anticipated by the Chair which may be discussed at the meeting. Not all items listed may in fact be discussed and other items not listed may also be brought up for discussion to the extent permitted by law.”
● AC - Nondiscrimination● ACAB - Harassment, Including Sexual Harassmenthttps://core-docs.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/4780/FPSD/4942836/Discussion_Action_E_-_Policy.pdf
Sunday, September 1, 2024
Franklin, MA: Town Council meeting agenda for Wednesday, Sep 4 at 7 PM
a. This meeting is being recorded by Franklin TV and shown on Comcast channel 9 and Verizon Channel 29. This meeting may be recorded by others.b. Chair to identify members participating remotely.c. Upcoming Town Sponsored Community Events.
a. Citizens are welcome to express their views for up to three minutes on a matter that is not on the agenda. The Council will not engage in a dialogue or comment on a matter raised during Citizen Comments. The Town Council will give remarks appropriate consideration and may ask the Town Administrator to review the matter.
a. August 14, 2024
a. Conservation Commission: Lui Puga (term expiration correction to 2026)b. Council on Aging: Tina Powderlyc. Finance Committee: Ken Ojukwud. Franklin TV Board of Directors
i. Anne Bergenii. William “Ken” Norman
a. Vote to reopen the June 26, 2024 Public Hearing: Transfer, Change of Location, Pledge of Collateral and Approval of Manager of a Section 15 Wine and Malt Beverages Package Store License: Rye's Wine Incorporated d/b/a Pour Richard’s Wine & Provisions Located at 835 West Central Street, Suite 2, Franklin, MA 02038i. License Transaction #7ab. Vote to reopen the June 26, 2024 Public Hearing: Transfer, Change of Location and Approval of Manager of a Section 15 All Alcoholic Beverages Package Store License: Mormax Corporation d/b/a BJ’s Wholesale Club Located at 100 Corporate Drive, Franklin, MA 02038
a. Transfer, Change of Location, Pledge of Collateral and Approval of Manager of a Section 15 Wine and Malt Beverages Package Store License: Rye's Wine Incorporated d/b/a Pour Richard’s Wine & Provisions Located at 835 West Central Street, Suite 2, Franklin, MA 02038b. Transfer, Change of Location and Approval of Manager of a Section 15 All Alcoholic Beverages Package Store License: Mormax Corporation d/b/a BJ’s Wholesale Club Located at 100 Corporate Drive, Franklin, MA 02038
i. Legislation for Action #s 9a & 9b
a. Capital Budget Subcommitteeb. Economic Development Subcommitteec. Budget Subcommitteed. Master Plan Committeee. Davis-Thayer Reuse Advisory Committeef. Police Station Building Committeeg. GATRA Advisory Board
Friday, July 19, 2024
Davis Thayer Reuse Advisory Subcommittee met to approve meeting minutes with 6-0-3 vote via roll call (audio)
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