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| DelCarte - the northern pond Saturday, April 22 |
"The town removed the equipment at the popular DelCarte playground this week, with hopes of replacing it shortly.
Local officials announced in early March that they would be removing the playground equipment at the 136-acre DelCarte Recreation & Conservation Area because of continued integrity problems with the fiberglass-reinforced structure.
Recreation Director Ryan Jette said the contractor, GameTime, completed the equipment removal on Wednesday, and completed excavations in preparation for installing the new playground."
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| Work to remove the troubled unit was underway when the photo was captured this past weekend |
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| did you know there was a disc golf course at Dacey Fields? |
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| even on a grey day in March, there is a quiet beauty at DelCarte |
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| Story Walk - At DelCarte Park - Saturday April 15, 10:30 AM. |
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| invasive species in the water at DelCarte |
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| playground at DelCarte will be removed and replaced with a new unit of more standard materials |
"The town will replace the popular DelCarte playground because of continuing problems with the equipment's structural integrity, officials announced this week.
Town Administrator Jeffrey Nutting raised the matter at Wednesday's Town Council meeting, saying a recent check of the playground equipment revealed new cracks. That discovery, he said, prompted the Recreation Department to call in the contractor that installed the equipment.
"We asked them to replace the entire playground with something more traditional - something we can use throughout the year," he said.
The contractor agreed to replace the playground and provide credit toward a future project, he said. Nutting said the contractor could not determine the problem - installations using the same material had worked well in other locations."
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| the white bundle will be uncovered and removed. The process of replacement will take several weeks |
| K. Town Administrator's Report | (updates provided during meeting) DelCarte playground still having a problem even after coverage did a deal with the company to get a total replacement with a new one and coverage for another unit if needed Company will replace at their expense, no cost to Franklin concern about the timing of the replacement given their record the current tree was formed from a special concrete and just not lasting |
| L. Future Agenda Items | would like opportunity to revisit wording of the online training section of the TIp training |
| M. Council Comments | when I made my comments on the COrnetta's application, it was a nice clean job, very complete purchase of property on Union and Cottage St Vallee curious on how this came up again? the propoerty is apparently under a purchase agreement before it was a five acre lot, and now it is less could not do much with it if we got it anyway Jones Franklin Almanac episode 3 all poles to be installed at PIsani Field, lights were donated to and they are coming high school fields are on schedule, will be ready to go April 1 ' compliments on the hard work to get all the work done and ready for Spring Dellorco great job on the fields Bissanti great job on the Senior Center inspired by the attendence and turn out Pfefffer had an article the day before, but missed the day of wonderful programs, blood pressure, games, chair exercises new parking lot, furnature and colors are bright and cheerful Kelly Secretary of Elders Affairs appeared acknowledged everyone wants a senior center like ours, how do we do it? we are taking good care of our seniors |
| N. Executive Session | (not scheduled) |
| O. Adjourn motion to adjourn, passed 8-0 |
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| the cover did not help this winter, as noted in the meeting, the whole playground unit at DelCarte unit is to be removed and replaced by the vendor with no cost to the Town |
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| The northern pond at DelCarte in winter |
"School officials are targeting a February date to debut a smart phone panic button program to better alert faculty, staff, students and families in the event of an emergency.
The Rave Mobile Safety program will be implemented sometime in late winter, said Superintendent Kevin McIntyre at Thursday's School Committee meeting.
IT Director Matthew Joseph has taken on the rollout of the program, working "hand-in-hand" with the Police Department and Chief Tom O'Loughlin.
Joseph, O'Loughlin and school administrators have been working throughout the school year on the program, which is essentially a smart phone app that allows a faculty member to alert authorities with the click of a button."
"Town officials said Franklin has made good progress over the past year toward its master plan goals, but the town still needs less costly housing.
The Town Council considered the matter at its Wednesday night meeting as part of a yearly review.
Town Administrator Jeffrey Nutting said one of the highlights of the town's 2016 efforts involved improving the DelCarte Conservation Property, which helps fulfill a goal that the town protect natural resources.
"A management study for the DelCarte property is out," he said, adding that the town was beginning its efforts to combat invasive weeds in the ponds there."
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| frozen pond at DelCarte |
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| the DelCarte playground will be covered up during the winter |
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| on the northern pond at DelCarte |
"The town has released the final version of a study of ponds at the DelCarte property as conservation efforts move forward.
The study was conducted by Rhode Island firm ESS Group and examines the four ponds on the conservation property. Its draft - which stated that invasive plant and fish species pose a threat to the ponds - was released in February.
Town Conservation Agent George Russell said the final version of the document was unchanged from the draft. Town officials, he said, had reviewed the study and determined that no changes to its text were needed."
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| the fall foliage along the DelCarte property |
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| A recent photo shows the spread of water lilies and other plants over the water surface at DelCarte |
Rain has delayed repair work on the playground at the DelCarte conservation property, town officials said.
Workers were slated to perform structural repairs to the equipment at the end of last week, but the poor weather has halted the project.
Deputy Town Administrator Jamie Hellen said, since a portion of the work involves pouring concrete, the rain led to delays. Work will likely begin when more sunny days are in the forecast.
At a recent Town Council meeting, Town Administrator Jeffrey Nutting said the project itself will likely take two to three days. After the concrete is poured and the playground structure is welded, the Department of Public Works will place mulch at its base.
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| the kids playground at DelCarte is currently closed for repairs |
A microgravity scale designed by students at Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical High School received second-place honors in the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) Future Innovator Award competition.
Engineering Technology seniors Kevin Kohls, of Millis, Tyler Thomas, of North Attleborough, and Thomas Vagnini, of Medfield, traveled to St. Louis on April 28 to represent their classmates as finalists in the national competition.
The FIRST Future Innovator Award is open to all FIRST Robotics teams. The award recognizes students who invent a product that effectively solves a real-world, complex problem. Competitors were asked to submit a summary of the problem and an explanation of their invention. Submissions were judged based on the complexity of the problem and effectiveness of the invention in solving that problem.
FMC Ice Sports’ Pirelli Veterans Arena, 910 Panthers Way, Franklin, will present summer skating academies Aug. 1-5.
The academies will bundle practice and instruction to provide every skater the opportunity to experience various skating disciplines while focusing on the overall development of the skater. Each day will offer 4 hours of on-ice class instruction and 1 hour of off-ice teaching with the arena’s team of experienced instructors.
Participants must be at least 6 years of age by July 1, and have passed the Ice Skating Institute Alpha test or U.S. Figure Skating pre-preliminary test. Skaters will be grouped by ability and age and should bring skates, bottled water, clothing for on-ice activities, sneakers for off-ice training and lunch.
To register or for more information, visit http://fmcicesports.com/program/advanced-figure-skating-academy.
"The town held a volunteer cleanup of its DelCarte Conservation Property on Saturday in what officials hope will become an annual tradition.
The event - which ran from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Pleasant Street property - had people picking up trash, planting and raking.
Conservation Commission member Tara Henrichon, who helped organize the cleanup, said the event was going "amazingly well."
"We have about 20 to 25 people so far," she said. "There are a bunch of projects - we're adding natural plants to the rain garden and about 10 to 12 people are out on the trails... We're also clearing out invasive plants."Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
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| Folks out and about cleaning up at DelCarte |
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| The ladies from Starbucks with full trash bags |
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| Deputy Town Administrator Jamie Hellen helped to knock down and spread out a pile of mulch |
"The School Committee heard an extensive presentation on district counseling efforts this week.
The committee at its Tuesday night meeting listened to several members of the counseling staff - as well as some students - as they outlined initiatives at the elementary, middle school and high school levels.
Committee Chairman Kevin O'Malley said the role of school counselors had changed dramatically from the days when the focus was college and job preparedness.
"School counseling is not what it used to be," he said. "It has never been more involved or far-reaching."
"Attorney General Maura Healey calculates that she could have purchased 1 million cups of coffee with the additional wages she would have earned if she were paid the same as her male co-workers.
“It is long past the time to get this done,” said Healey, who joined with state Treasurer Deborah Goldberg, State Auditor Suzanne Bump and dozens of male and female legislators by the Statehouse’s Grand Staircase for Equal Pay Day, which was Tuesday.
Chief among the topics was a pay equity bill (S 983) that prohibits employers from discriminating on wages based on gender.
The bill would make it illegal for a company to ask what a job applicant made in a previous job, which Healey said often used as a way to keep women’s salaries down. The legislation would also bar any prohibitions against employees discussing their wages with each other."
"The Conservation Commission is seeking volunteers for a cleanup of the DelCarte Conservation property next weekend.
The cleanup - scheduled for 8 to 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 23 - is the first such event at the 136-acre Pleasant Street property, which the town has opened up for recreational uses.
Town Conservation Agent George Russell said the work that day would likely involve mostly trash pick-up.
"It's more a maintenance issue than anything," he said, adding that the work would take place along the property's trails and picnic areas."
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| the playground at DelCarte is currently closed for repair but scheduled to be re-opened for May |
