Mass. Municipal Assn: "Select board group discusses the future of public meetings"

Mass. Municipal Assn (@massmunicipal) tweeted on Fri, Jul 30, 2021:

Mass. Select Board Assn concluded its annual Leadership Conference series with a webinar on the future of public meetings w/ @TOFranklinMA Town Administrator Jamie Hellen & #Stow Town Administrator Denise Dembkoski.  https://t.co/6GTFYf0aCl 

"The future of public meetings was the topic of the fourth and final webinar in the Massachusetts Select Board Association’s Leadership Conference series today.

Franklin Town Administrator Jamie Hellen kicked off the meeting with a discussion about how the town has transitioned from all-virtual to hybrid board and committee meetings that allow for a combination of virtual and in-person participation. Hellen showed how Franklin’s Town Council chambers have been set up to allow the council, staff, presenters and meeting participants to attend meetings in-person while the public joins remotely.

Hellen covered important aspects of the set up, such as room layout and the necessary technology, as well as the town’s partnership with its local access TV provider, Franklin TV. He also emphasized the importance of trial and error in order to develop a system that works best for the community."

Continue reading the article online
https://www.mma.org/select-board-group-discusses-the-future-of-public-meetings/ 

Mass. Municipal Assn: "Select board group discusses the future of public meetings"

Reminder: Community Conversations - Housing and Race - July 14 - 7 PM (via Zoom)

Housing and Race - July 14 - 7 PM

The Franklin Area Against Racism group (FAAR) is holding the second segment of its Community Conversations series, this time on Housing and Race next Wednesday, July 14th at 7:00PM. 

We invited Jim Johnston (longtime Franklin resident and historian), Bryan Taberner (Franklin Director of Planning and Community Development), and Jesse Kanson-Benanav (Executive Director of Abundant Housing MA) to discuss how how Franklin's housing policies and practices have fostered socio-economic inequities and worked to reduce diversity in the community.

Zoom info contained in the image

Background on Jesse Kanson-Benanav

https://abundanthousingma.org/2021/03/29/ahma-announces-executive-director/ 

Franklin TV: Somewhere In Between Or – Why Do I Feel Undressed?

Via Pete Fasciano - 06-13-2021

As I approach [Store Name – Home Depot, Target, CVS] I stop halfway across the parking lot. Turn around and head back to the car. Again.

Forgot my mask. We are at an in-between time where COVID mandates and rules have softened to become guidelines, recommendations – courtesies. While things are getting better and optimism is on the rise, so is confusion. Do I still mask?

To mask, or not to mask – that – is the question:

Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer 

the slings and arrows of outrageous infection, 

Or to take arms against a sea of virus

And by masking – end them.

To live— to weep

for those now lost upon the shoals of sorry happenstance 

and doubt in science that hath shielded us

as guide – to light our pathway out.

We are in the churlish waters of change as our new normal envelopes us. Although I’m fully vaxxed, I keep a mask with me – as a courtesy where socially appropriate. If it makes others feel more comfortable, I’m good with it. A social grace.

We’re continuing to rework our facility to better accommodate how programs will be produced in a future that still carries some unknowns, and we continue to adapt. We adapted our way in. We adapt our way back out. Reopening does not mean simply unlocking the front door. Our Community room will now support hybrid Zoom meetings as an option for our guest groups. Our radio programs will as well. There will also be production practices yet to be defined in our TV studios.

The world is forever changed. We’re just not quite certain as to how. But, with change comes opportunity. We intend to find it and seize it. At the moment, we may be ‘in between’, but we are looking and leaning forward.

And –  as always –

Thank you for listening to wfpr●fm.

And, thank you for watching. 

Get this week's program guide for Franklin TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) online

http://franklin.tv/programguide.pdf  or for archive purposes

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Iqpyhn4Gj022BrfvWB7y3MtkXIgVmLkl/view?usp=sharing

Franklin TV: Somewhere In Between Or –  Why Do I Feel Undressed?  

FYI - Zoom update that users will notice

Recorded and livestreamed meetings

"In the latest product update, users will be notified when a meeting they are in is being recorded or livestreamed, along with information about who can see and share the recording and livestream. The user can consent to stay in the meeting or to leave the meeting if they wish.

In addition, users joining a recorded meeting in progress will have their audio and video automatically muted until they click “continue” in the dialog box. These notices will be displayed to all guests joining a meeting or livestream outside the account’s organization, regardless of the account owner’s settings."

There are additional updates but from a user joining a Town meeting, this is the most common. For the full listing visit the Zoom page  https://blog.zoom.us/zoom-expands-in-product-privacy-notifications/

 

Recorded and livestreamed meetings

 

"Finding Easy Walks Wherever You Are" via Senior Center Zoom session - May 21

Join Marjorie Turner Hollman as she discusses "Finding Easy Walks Wherever You Are" via Zoom. Marjorie is a Personal Historian / FreelanceWriter and Author who forges connections between generations. 

 

When: Friday, May 21, 2021 at 12:30 PM

 

You must register to attend this free event by emailing adoggett@franklinma.gov

 

For more information on Marjorie you can go to her website:
www.marjorieturner.com

 
marjorie@marjorieturner.com
https://www.amazon.com/author/marjorieturnerhollman 

 

Shared from the Senior Center Facebook page: https://fb.me/e/EL9UqGqD

From the archives: Marjorie did an interview in 2020 that you can listen to here

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/09/fm-342-easy-walks-with-marjorie-turner.html 

Marjorie Turner  Hollman

Housing Choice in Your Community - Webinar - May 6

"#HousingChoice: what are the details of the law, what state guidance has been shared, what decisions still need to be made - join us, @MAPCMetroBoston, and @mhphousing on May 6th for answers to these questions and more!"

Register here -> https://t.co/Iwjpmsn4MN 

Shared from Twitter: https://t.co/y1b0ovL1SI

Housing Choice in Your Community - Webinar - May 6

Franklin TV: "Owl-cam Sees All! Necessity is the mother of invention."

by Pete Fasciano, Executive Director 04/25/2021

We have all been reprogrammed by ‘Le Virus’. What was is no more, and we are headed toward our new normal, whatever that might be. The term ‘new normal’ has become part of our viral lexicon. We say it, but what is it? No one can fully know. That said, we are already living some part of it in our day-to-day. Specifically, we have changed the way we connect and communicate, and IMHO, some of that change is here to stay. I’ve opined in past scribblings on this page that Zoom is here to stay. I still believe that.

Before: Me? On a video? OMG! No way! My hair! My house! I’m a mess.
After: Zoom?  Yeh, fine.  Let’s hang out. Casual athleisure attire is de rigueur.

While laptop cams are pretty good for one-on-ones, they fall short for whole family shots and groups. Enter Owl-cam. It’s a smart camera. It’s wikkid soopa-smaht!

Owl-cam Sees All!

The Meeting Owl is a webcam. Like a webcam, it sees you; it also hears your voice. It has a built-in speaker system. Camera-microphone-speaker, all-in-one, and all connect to your computer with one standard USB cable. No fuss. No muss.

Owl-cam knows who is speaking in a group and shows only that person or persons to the other participants at the far end of the Zoom meeting. What is Owl-cam, and how does it work this magic? It has not 1, but 8 built-in directional microphones arranged in a circle inside its vaguely owl-like casing. Hence, its round shape.

The dome camera is actually at the top, but looks sideways for a 360-degree panorama view. The microphones inform the camera where the person speaking is seated. The camera pulls that person from the panorama image.  When two people speak, it does a side-by-side split-screen image of both.

You’ll see Owl-cams in action in the days ahead. We’re installing some in Town Hall, the Senior Center, our own community room, and wherever future groups gather to conduct hybrid Zoom meets in our new normal.

And – as always –
Thank you for listening to wfpr●fm. 
And, thank you for watching.

 

Get this week's program guide for Franklin TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) online

http://franklin.tv/programguide.pdf  or for archive purposes

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EDxLKpRhX5qRnUkh_l2g5gEkUXyfKICF/view?usp=sharing