Conversation with Jeff Nutting; how he is keeping busy these days & his insights on override and school's plan (audio)

FM #1200 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 1200 in the series

This session shares my conversation with Jeff Nutting, former Franklin Town Administrator and now retired. Or really, having fun while ‘failing at retiring.’ We had our discussion at the Franklin TV Studios on Tuesday, May 7, 2024. He is keeping busy with interesting temporary municipal positions in a variety of communities.

Jeff Nutting

We talk about

●     His insights on the current Franklin situation

○     School redistricting plan

○     Override vote scheduled for June 11

○     Riding with Phat Tuesday in prep for his 18th Pan Mass Challenge

○     Various volunteer efforts

The recording runs about 47 minutes, so let’s listen in. Audio link -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1200-conversation-with-jeff-nutting-05-07-24

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Jeff Nutting’s PMC fundraising page -> www.pmc.org/jn0077

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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

●     If you don't like something here, please let me know

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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You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"

Town Council - Budget Hearings Recap - May 22-23, 2019

A disappointing performance by the Town Council in the two budget budget hearings. Why? They conducted a "public hearing" where they did not allow the public to speak on the first night. Is that really a public hearing? The first night was also marred by a series of questions by one councilor badgering a manager with whom he clearly has demonstrated a dislike. 

This was a budget hearing not a personnel performance discussion and totally inappropriate in the 'public forum'. That no one interceded to take it offline was also a disappointment.

The second night closed on a high note with the goodbyes and well wishes for the retiring Town Administrator Jeff Nutting. Jeff has been a professional and dedicated manager for the 12 plus years I have observed and reported on the town's business. I wish him well in his retirement.

Oh and yes, the budget as proposed was passed with two votes. The two votes were required to enable Councilor Glenn Jones to participate in almost all of the discussion and only recuse himself from the vote on the Tri-County portion of the budget. A sensible solution to a potential conflict of interest situation.

The schools will cut teachers, kindergarten aides, and high schoolers will pay for parking among the key take aways. Many of the critical needs prepared for by the schools in their initial budget will go unmet. It may be just this year but for the students, it is one year in school that they don't get to do over. 

The method of sharing the budget info is not one that works well. While the Council got their questions answered, they easily skipped over including the public in the discussion. Given the reality of tough budget decisions next year and more across the board than the road repair funds and schools, this should also be a consideration. How best to get the residents and voters involved with the budget details?

Links below provide the detailed notes reported during the meetings as well as links to the budget documents.


Wednesday, May 22

• Live Reporting: Legislation for Action to Closing
• https://www.franklinmatters.org/2019/05/live-reporting-legislation-for-action_22.html
• Live reporting: Town Council - May 22, 2019 - Budg...
• https://www.franklinmatters.org/2019/05/live-reporting-town-council-may-22-2019.html

Agenda for the first hearing
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2019/05/franklin-ma-town-council-agenda-may-22.html


Thursday, May 23

• Real time Reporting: Town Council - Budget Hearing...
• https://www.franklinmatters.org/2019/05/real-time-reporting-town-council-budget.html

Agenda for the second hearing
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2019/05/franklin-ma-town-council-agenda-may-23.html

Will be reporting remotely this evening for the Town Council meeting budget hearing #2 #tc0523 pic.twitter.com/0ExWrSvmOC

— Steve Sherlock (@FranklinMatters) May 23, 2019

With budget hearing scheduled to open at 7:10 looks like Council meeting won't be starting until then (albeit published for a 7 start) #tc0523 pic.twitter.com/I0DWC91vh9

— Steve Sherlock (@FranklinMatters) May 23, 2019

Kit Brady speaking for better funding for schools and our children. #tc0523 pic.twitter.com/DGORGq7KAP

— Steve Sherlock (@FranklinMatters) May 23, 2019

Two votes to pass the one FY 2020 town budget #tc0523 pic.twitter.com/w5eT3TN4Ze

— Steve Sherlock (@FranklinMatters) May 23, 2019

Town administrator Jeff Nutting makes his final report #tc0523 pic.twitter.com/TfTkY5YY90

— Steve Sherlock (@FranklinMatters) May 23, 2019

New town administrator Jamie Hellen making his thanks for Jeff and getting ready for what comes #tc0523 pic.twitter.com/KyaiKlOE1v

— Steve Sherlock (@FranklinMatters) May 23, 2019

Rep Jeff Roy presents a resolution from the MA House to recognize Jeff Nutting for his many years of service finishing in Franklin #tc0523 pic.twitter.com/BHYdpRIFvN

— Steve Sherlock (@FranklinMatters) May 23, 2019

New Town Administrator Jamie Hellen makes his remarks thanking
Jeff Nutting for his service and guidance 

"I ask the citizens to thank the employees for the work they do"

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:

"As the Town Council wraps up the fiscal 2020 budget, a prominent town official is wrapping up his career. 

Town Administrator Jeff Nutting attended his last Town Council meeting on Thursday night. He is officially entering retirement after 18 years in Franklin. 

During a farewell speech, he gave some insight into himself and how much he loved his job. He also offered some advice for the future and reminded everyone he’s still just a phone call away. 

Over a 43-year career working for multiple municipalities in a variety of positions, he said he was guided by countless mentors."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20190525/franklin-town-administrator-jeff-nutting-says-farewell

after stepping down from the Administrator's seat, Jeff sat in the front row to listen to the
accolades from the Town Council members

"I’ll always try to do my best"

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:

"The Town Council voted unanimously last week to negotiate with Deputy Town Administrator Jamie Hellen to take over for Town Administrator Jeff Nutting who retires before next summer. 

“I honestly look forward to coming to work every single day,” Hellen said during the Nov. 28 council meeting. “I want to thank the tremendous, dedicated staff we have here in Franklin, on both the town and school side, for their hard work in making this an organization second to none.” 

Hellen will soon enter into negotiations with the nine-member Town Council on a contract. 

In a letter to the council in September, Nutting announced he would be retiring no later than June 30. He recommended Hellen to replace him."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20181206/franklin-town-council-set-to-negotiate-with-jamie-hellen

This recording is the only one available for the Town Council meeting held Wednesday, Nov 28, 2018. Due to technical difficulties, Franklin TV was not able to record or broadcast the meeting.

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2018/11/fm-153-town-council-meeting-nov-28-2018.html

L-R Attny Mark Cerel, Deputy Admin Jamie Hellen, Town Administrator Jeff Nutting

FM #153 - Town Council Meeting - Nov 28, 2018 (audio)

FM #153

This internet radio show or podcast is number 153 in the series for Franklin Matters.

This recording is the only one available for the Town Council meeting held Wednesday, Nov 28, 2018. Due to technical difficulties, Franklin TV was not able to record or broadcast the meeting.

You can follow along with the agenda that can be found online
https://www.franklinma.gov/town-council/agenda/november-28-town-council-agenda

Or you can use my notes taken live during the meeting that can also be found online:

• Opening - citizens comments and two new fire chiefs sworn in

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2018/11/live-reporting-town-council-november-28.html

• Tax rate hearing and approval for rate set at 14.66 an increase of .01 from the 14.65 rate set for FY 2018

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2018/11/live-reporting-tax-classification.html

• The Snow Report provided by the DPW. They highlighted that a shortage of contractors may affect the timeliness of snow clearing operations this winter.

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2018/11/live-reporting-snow-report.html

• Legislation for action including the approval of offer for Town Administrator to the current Deputy, Jamie Hellen

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2018/11/live-reporting-legislation-for-action_28.html

• From the Town Administrators report to closing of the meeting

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2018/11/live-reporting-administrators-report-to_28.html

The total meeting recording runs just about 2 hours. Without further ado, here is the audio recording.




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This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but I can't do it alone. I can use your help.

How can you help?

In particular, if you have an interest in real estate, zoning or construction, I would like someone to follow the Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals and Conservation Commission meetings. I’ll provide the guidance on note taking and sharing. You need to bring an inquisitive and open mind and willingness to learn and share.

Overall:

• If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors.
• If you don't like this, please let me know.

Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements.
Thank you for listening.

For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/
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 and Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.

I hope you enjoy!


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You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes = search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"

subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters on iTunes

In the News: Hellen proposed to replace Nutting; Bob's Store in Franklin to close

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:

"The Town Council will discuss on Wednesday the possibility of Deputy Town Administrator Jaime Hellen taking over for Town Administrator Jeff Nutting once Nutting retires next year. 

A letter sent to town officials in September indicated that Nutting would be retiring no later than June 30. Nutting’s suggestion is to bring Hellen into the captain’s chair. 

A search committee was organized earlier this year to decide how the town would go about choosing a new town administrator, but the group decided it would best for Hellen to take over the top job. 

“After some discussion, they (the search committee) openly decided that he should be the next TA (town administrator),” Nutting said."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20181127/franklin-town-council-to-discuss-promoting-hellen-to-replace-retiring-administrator-nutting

The Search Committee meeting at which the discussion and recommendation was made, was recorded and is available for replay
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2018/11/town-administrator-search-subcommittee.html

subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters on iTunes

"The Bob’s Stores location at the Horace Mann Plaza will soon be closing, although it’s not clear exactly when. 

A large red banner reading “Store Closing - This Location Only” appeared on the Bob’s Stores facade at 303 East Central St., shortly before Black Friday. Store employees referred requests for comment to Bob’s corporate offices in Meriden, Connecticut, but calls placed there by The Daily News were not returned. 

Town officials from Franklin did not have information as to why the store is closing."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20181128/bobs-store-in-franklin-to-close

Town Administrator Search Subcommittee - Meeting Nov 14, 2018 - audio

FM #152

This internet radio show or podcast is number 152 in the series for Franklin Matters.

This recording is the of the Town Administrator Search Subcommittee held Wednesday, Nov 14, 2018. The subcommittee is comprised of Town Councilors Matt Kelly, Tom Mercer, Melanie Hamblen, and Debbie Pellegri. Karen Bratt, Human Resources Director for the Town of Franklin also participated.

The position was posted in several places from Oct 18 to Nov 13. 24 applications were received. All met the minimum BA requirement. 18 met the minimum of 3 years of town administration experience but only 4 were directly in that role. One additional candidate held a deputy role. This would provide a pool of five candidates to work with.

The discussion around the unique qualifications of the Franklin role and form of government lead into the qualifications of the current Deputy Administrator Jamie Hellen. Jamie started in Jan 2016 and has been working to learn the role for almost three years.

The committee moved to bring Hellen forward as the candidate for replacing Jeff Nutting upon his retirement to the full Town Council. Jeff had previously announced his retirement to begin sometime in 2019. If the Council does not agree with this approach, the subcommittee can return to work with the pool of candidates gathered thus far.

The session recording runs just approximately 33 minutes. Without further ado, here is the audio recording.





-------------


This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but I can't do it alone. I can use your help.

How can you help?

In particular, if you have an interest in real estate, zoning or construction, I would like someone to follow the Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals and Conservation Commission meetings. I’ll provide the guidance on note taking and sharing. You need to bring an inquisitive and open mind and willingness to learn and share.

Overall:

• If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors.
• If you don't like this, please let me know.

Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements.
Thank you for listening.

For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/
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 and Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.

I hope you enjoy!

------------------

You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes = search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"

subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters on iTunes

Annual Report 2017: Town Administrator

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.

The following is a text representation of the printed page 16-17 (actually 23-24 of 264)


"ANNUAL REPORT OF THE TOWN ADMINISTRATOR

The Town Administration works with the Town Council together to support the quality of life of our residents. We are diligent in balancing the budget and keeping an eye on the Town’s future needs and maintaining its assets.

Accomplishments in FY 17 include:

Renovation and expansion projects for the Library and Senior Center are completed.

The defective playground at DelCarte Recreation Area was replaced with a new modern playground at no cost to the Town.

We continue to support the Cultural District and are in the process of forming a Cultural District Committee. We’ve begun the process of creating an Agricultural Commission in an effort to support the area farms.

We’ve begun the process for upgrading the streetlights to LED.

We worked with the purchaser of Glen Meadow Apartments and with the addition of the 287 apartments to our Subsidized Housing Inventory, we are now over 10% with 11.89% of our housing stock considered affordable by State law.

We continue to update the Town’s website and information technology. Agendas and Minutes of all
boards and committees are now web-based and can be found on the boards and committees’ pages on our website. You can follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and You Tube for up to the minute information and happenings. Visit our website at www.franklinma.gov.

Personnel
New Human Resources Director, Karen Bratt replaced retired HR Director, Stephanie McNeill Lutz.
New Assistant Treasurer Collector, Kerri Bertone was appointed in September of 2016.

Other
The Town Administrator’s Office is the Passport Acceptance Facility in Franklin. You can apply for your passport here by appointment on Monday, Wednesday or Friday.

Our goal is to deliver high quality customer service while keeping costs under control. There will be difficult challenges to our budget in the coming year; but you can be assured that the Town Administration and Town Council will work together to solve budgetary issues.

It is my pleasure to submit the annual report of the Town Administrator for your review, and please feel free to write, e-mail, or stop by with any questions, concerns, or comments.

Respectfully submitted,

Jeffrey Nutting,
Town Administrator"

The playground equipment was replaced by the manufacturer at no cost to the Town

You can find the online copy at the Town of Franklin webpage
http://www.franklinma.gov/town-clerk/pages/annual-reports

and specifically for 2017
http://www.franklinma.gov/town-clerk/files/town-annual-report-2017-revised

Town of Franklin exceeds the 10% affordable housing threshold

In a letter to the Town Council, the Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals, Jeff Nutting announced that Franklin had risen back above the critical 10% for Subsidized Housing Inventory (SHI).

1. The 288 Glen Meadow apartments were recently purchased by a new investor. He was successful in obtaining funding from MassHousing to do some updates to the property. The purchase was recently completed; hence, all of the Glen Meadow apartments were added back into the SHI. 

2. As you will see, the Town has 11.89% of its housing stock as affordable by the state. until this number drops below 10% again, the Town will not be susceptible to proposals that seek to override local zoning. 

3. It is important to note any 40B proposal that has already been filed previous to Friday, June 23, 2017 will continue to through the process. 

As many of you know, the Town has bumped up and down over the 10% line for many years. Today's announcement is a compliment to the Town, including the hard, proactive work of the Municipal Affordable Housing Trust and the town's overall receptiveness to having a diverse housing stock for families of all incomes. 

Jamie and I are available for any questions you may have.

the stage on the Town Common in the rain

You can find the full memo and inventory listing on the Town of Franklin page
http://www.franklinma.gov/sites/franklinma/files/news/2017-06-26_franklin_shi_update_and_memo.pdf

Franklin Residents/Taxpayers, you'll be tested on this

Aside from the budget, this is the single most important document that every Franklin resident and taxpayer should be familiar with. After the only operational override passed in 2007, there was another attempt in 2008 that failed. One of the outcomes of the failure was the establishment of the Long Range Financial Planning Committee. 

The committee began with representatives from the Town Council (3), School Committee (2), and Finance Committee (2). In December 2010, it was reformed as a committee completely made up of 'citizens' - that is residents with no other direct board membership.

Vision The Long Range Finance Committee is a citizen advisory group tasked with helping citizens and Town officials better understand Franklin’s long-term financial outlook and the various courses of action available to secure Franklin’s financial future. 

Mission The Committee will achieve this vision by (i) evaluating and reporting on the Town’s five-year financial projection, (ii) assessing the nature and potential magnitude of the Town’s significant financial risks, particularly those that give rise to a structural deficit, and (iii) recommending steps to close the gap between future expected revenues and expenditures in an effort ultimately to achieve fiscal sustainability.

The Committee produced their final report in June 2012. Since that time, the Town Administrator has been updating the long range financial plan each year.

The current report was just posted to the Town of Franklin webpage and is copied here for your reading pleasure.

The introduction from Town Administrator Jeff Nutting:

"Each year we look into the crystal ball and try to project the long term fiscal health of the community. We look at trends over the last five years, adjust for one time issues or "bumps" in the road and then try to predict the fiscal future. Looking ahead a couple of years is not that difficult while projecting five years ahead is a "best guess' of what may affect local government beyond the "normal revenue and expenses" We do not know today how the economy, Federal and State budgets, changing demographics, growing population, unknown mandates, health care, etc. will affect our fiscal health in the future. 

We do know that: 

• Our population has increased from 29,738 in 2001 to over 34,000 in 2017 and it will continue to increase. Currently there are over 800 potential housing units under construction, in the "pipeline or proposed by developers with more to come. 

• Health care costs continue to be a concern. 

• Our unfunded retiree health insurance obligation is $93,000,000 (2015). 

• Our unfunded pension liability is $41,346,000 (2016). 

• The FY 18 School budgets will use one time revenues to balance the budget and beyond that they will have few reserves left. 

Franklin is in generally good financial shape today but we will continue to struggle to maintain high quality school and municipal services given the fiscal constraints that we operate under.

I believe we can continue a "level service" budget in fiscal year FY 18. The trend suggests that in FY 19 we will need to use school and town reserves to maintain services. 

Starting in FY 20 the forecast strongly suggests we will face service cuts and/or a tax increase. 

While many departments would like to add employees to better serve the citizens the available revenues leave very few options for expanding the work force with recurring revenues. 

In order to have trne fiscal stability there would need to be a great deal of change in Federal and Sate laws and regulations that drive up the cost of doing business. I do not see any political will to make major changes for the foreseeable future. 

We will continue to do are very best on behalf of all the citizens of Franklin to maintain a high quality of life while trying to control costs to the taxpayers."

Long Range Financial Planning Committee Meeting notes for their 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 sessions can be found in the meeting archive
http://www.franklinmatters.org/p/meeting-notes.html

The 5 year financial plan published in 2012
http://www.franklinma.gov/sites/franklinma/files/uploads/report.pdf

Information provided to candiates for the Town election in Nov 2011
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2012/01/franklin-ma-long-range-financial.html

road sign on Pleasant St is rather appropriate for this posting, the financial plan contains many hazards

Annual Report 2016: Town Administrator

The Town Administration works with the Town Council together to make improvements to the quality of life of our residents. While we are diligent in continuing to balance the budget and practice fiscal prudence, we also keep an eye on the Town’s future needs and maintaining its assets.

Accomplishments in FY 16 include:
• Requested the Town Council to transfer 17 acres of land behind the High School to the Municipal Affordable Housing Trust for the purpose of building new senior housing. The project will take approximately 5 years to complete.
• The Town began the legal process to bulk purchase electricity rates through a Municipal Electric Aggregation program, expected to be in place for winter 2016.
• Renovation and expansion projects for the Library and Senior Center were started and should be completed in 2017.
• The Library was temporarily moved to 25 Kenwood Circle during construction and is open regular hours. The Senior Center remains open during construction.
• The downtown revitalization project, after almost a decade, is complete. Two-way traffic is in effect in the downtown area on Emmons, Main and East Central Streets. The project has numerous public benefits including new sidewalks, new and better pedestrian friendly streets and many beautification elements. The parking meters have been removed to add free parking downtown. New parking regulations have also been established.
• We have also supported the creation of a downtown cultural district.
• Additional improvements were made to the DelCarte property by investing $100,000 to remove the invasive weeds from the pond, helping restore the ecosystem to its natural habitat.
• We added new holiday lights to the Town Common holiday display.

Personnel
Chief of Police, Stephan Semerjian, retired in June 2016 after 39 years of dedicated service to the Franklin Police Department. The Town hired a new Chief of Police, Thomas J. Lynch who took over July 1. New Deputy Police Chief James Mill was also appointed.

The Town Administrator’s office restored a Deputy Town Administrator position by hiring Jamie Hellen to help begin succession planning for the wave of retirees facing the town government. Among other things, Jamie has developed a citizen engagement program, utilizing new technology, including Twitter, Facebook and You Tube to enhance the flow of public information to the citizens.

The Town Administrator’s Office continues to be busy as the Passport Acceptance facility. You can apply for your passport here with an appointment on Monday, Wednesday or Friday.

We continually strive to provide high quality customer services at the lowest possible cost to the tax payer. With continued pressure on our budget, there will be challenges ahead. The strong leadership of the Town Council and the dedicated staff will respond to every challenge.

It is my pleasure to submit the annual report of the Town Administrator for your review, and please feel free to write, e-mail, or stop by with any questions, concerns, or comments.

Respectfully submitted,

Jeffrey Nutting,
Town Administrator

Town workers clearing brush along the connector between Chestnut and Pleasant Sts

Download and read the full Annual Report for the Town of Franklin FY 2016

http://franklinma.gov/administrator/files/franklin-2016-town-report

Prior year annual reports can be found

http://www.franklinma.gov/administrator/pages/annual-reports

Jeff Nutting's Letter to the Town Council - Housing Growth Summary

Lately, I have been approached by landowners/developers (L/D) seeking my opinion on whether the Town will provide a zoning change so they can develop their land into Condos, Apartments and Zone 7 (which allows 4 times the density of Rural Residential zoning). All the requests require a zoning change for the L/D. While a project may offer some benefit, it is the Town Council that needs to decide on zoning and the pace of development you want for Franklin.

The Town Council adopted an updated Master Plan in 2013 as a road map to continued improvements for the citizens of Franklin. The plan covered a wide range of topics many which the Council have embraced to date, most notably zoning changes, sidewalk construction, as well as open space /recreation issues.

Currently, the economy seems to be in good shape and the demand for housing in Franklin is higher than it has been in a long time. You will recall the tremendous growth of the 1990's and the various steps Town Council took to reign in the growth. They rezoned residential land to industrial land, adopted over-55 housing, bought open space when available, adopt the water and sewer extension bylaws, a growth control bylaw, the so-called circle bylaw, etc. Further, the Council voted for an impact fee on new homes that was rejected by the Court. All the efforts to control development happened after the spike in housing production of the mid- 1990's and the fast growth created problems that we are still dealing with today. Housing starts continued in the early 2000's at a slower pace and then the recession of 2008 reduced development further.

In review, dwelling units created in the last five years by the Building Commissioner reports the following dwelling units:

• 2011 - 20 units
• 2012 - 57 units
• 2013 - 48 units
• 2014 - 47 units
• 2015 - 38 units

This does not count the two developments on King Street and East Central Street with a total of over 250 units for elderly citizens.

Since 2012, we are averaging about 48 units a year. This seems to be a reasonable and steady growth. Franklin is now at a crossroad again concerning proposed dwelling units. Currently, there are over 800 units in various stages of development.

Under Construction (Various Stages)

• Weston Woods - 40B Apartments - 280
• Lorraine Metcalf – Subdivision - 4
• Cooks Farm - Condos  - 55
• Lincoln Street - Subdivision - 9
• County Side Estates - Subdivision - 8
• Franklin Heights - Condos - 7
• Winter Gardens- Subdivision - 5

Approved

• Uncas Ave - Subdivision - 18
• Upper Union Street - Subdivision - 7
• East Central Street - Apts. - 7
• Chestnut Street - Over 55 - 10

Before Planning Board

• Maple Street - Subdivision 10

In the Works

• Madeline Village -  40B  =  30-40 Decision by ZBA by end of year  
• Pond Street  - Condos  =  96 Expects to file prior to end of year
• At the end of Dean Ave - Apartments = 250 - Expects to file prior to the end of year
• West Central Street - Condos =  30 ?? Recently rezoned 
• Others units that are currently approved = 20 +/-  or under construction

Total possible Dwelling Units 800 +/-


While not all of these units will be constructed at once, we could see well over 600 units in the next 3 years. Further, we do not know how many other "as of right" dwelling units may be proposed in the next couple of years.

The housing development speaks well to Franklin's quality of life and all the improvements that have happen over the last 15 years under the leadership of the various Town Councils that make Franklin a desirable community to live.

Does the Town Council want to maintain the zoning plan adopted in the Master Plan or make changes to the plan? Providing a clear message to L/D's makes a lot more sense than dealing with zoning on a case-by-case basis. It is hard to say yes to one person and no to the next if you do not have an overall game plan.

I suggest this topic be put on a Council agenda or workshop in the near future. I am happy to answer any questions.

Jeff Nutting

new Cook's Farm being built under the Residential 7 bylaw on RT 140

• Additional info is contained in the full PDF

http://town.franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_Council/October%2019,%202016/R7%20HANDOUTS%201%20AND%202.pdf