a. Town Administrator, Jamie Hellen and Superintendent of Schools, Lucas Giguere
a. To discuss the public opinion of an operational override
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 *
a. Town Administrator, Jamie Hellen and Superintendent of Schools, Lucas Giguere
a. To discuss the public opinion of an operational override
This session of the radio show shares our “Town Council Quarterbacking” with Town Council Chair Tom Mercer. We had our conversation via the Zoom Conference Bridge on Thursday, February 29, 2023.
• ok, what just happened?
• What does it mean for Franklin residents and taxpayers?
Topics for this session
Brownie troop 64085 led the pledge as part of their work on the Democracy badge
Zoning change from residential to business, two hours, “No action”
Procedural move to refer back to the Planning Board for their ‘full’ assessment & recommendation
The OPEB financial report was presented and reviewed, we are in a better position than we were previously
FY24 Capital Improvement Plan was approved
Gift Acceptance - Veterans’ Services Dept. ($2,900), Senior Center ($200), Police Dept. ($50) were approved with thanks
Cable Funds in Support of PEG Service and Programming per MGL Ch. 44, §53F3/4 actually 2 resolutions were approved.
Joint Budget SubCmte meeting on March 6 will begin work on how to resolve a $10.1M budget deficit across town and school budgets. Agenda and budget details to be released Friday March 1
Council entered executive session to not return to open meeting for discussion of a matter regarding a real estate purchase
The recording runs about 39 minutes. Let’s listen to my conversation with Tom on Thursday, February 29, 2024. Audio link -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1148-town-council-quarterbacking-02-29-24
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Town Council agenda for Feb 28, 2024 meeting -> https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/agendas/town_council_agenda_2.28.24.pdf
Town Council recap & video link ->
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2024/02/town-council-spends-2-hours-and-takes.html
My notes captured via Twitter and collected in one PDF -> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CBubvtPzSJSvQakhmMx1X7M44cCPu7W_/view?usp=drive_link
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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!
------------------
You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"
"THE COMMONWEALTH HAS established itself as a national leader in addressing climate change by setting an aggressive goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. A host of strategies have been adopted and proposed to move us forward in meeting this goal. This is cause for celebration given that leaders in some states refuse to acknowledge climate change and are blocking any attempts to address it.One such proposal is Senate bill 2218, filed by Sen. Brendan Crighton, calling for 100 percent of new vehicles purchased by the Commonwealth to be electric by 2026 and 100 percent use of zero emissions vehicles by public entities by 2035. The Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus Program is offering $5 billion in grants and rebates over five years to schools to electrify their bus fleets. (Five Massachusetts school districts received rebates through this program in 2022.)Electrifying school buses as an immediate first step should be a no-brainer. They travel a known distance each day and are parked in a central location overnight, easing the logistics of route planning and charging. What’s more, electric buses are quieter and reduce students’ exposure to tailpipe emissions, which has been shown to be a leading cause of asthma.However, current laws do not make this so easy. The heart of the challenge facing school districts is the requirement under current law that they procure fuel sources separately from vehicles. While that may seem like a minor bureaucratic detail, it runs the risk of greatly complicating districts’ move to cleaner bus transportation, and could lead to violations of procurement regulations and law."
(Photo via Creative Commons/Flickr by ThoseGuys119) |
"ONE OF THE BIGGEST prizes of the emerging offshore wind industry – an onshore subsea cable manufacturing facility providing jobs, tax revenue, and the beginnings of a US supply chain – is in danger of slipping away at Somerset’s Brayton Point because of a dispute over a zoning condition.Prysmian Group, based in Italy, is proposing to build a $250 million factory employing nearly 300 people and generating local taxes of $9 million, which would represent about 12 percent of Somerset’s current budget. The factory would supply transmission cables to offshore wind farms up and down the Atlantic Coast and help reduce the nation’s reliance on fossil fuels.President Biden recognized the symbolic importance of the Prysmian facility in July 2022, when he used Brayton Point – the former site of one of New England’s largest coal-fired power plants — as the backdrop for a speech outlining his vision for addressing climate change. He described Brayton Point and the Prysmian cable manufacturing plant as being “on the frontier of clean energy in America.”
A rendering of the Prysmian subsea cable manufacturing facility proposed for Brayton Point in Somerset. |
one of the FPS slides used for the budget update |
Cable Cord-Cutting Continues
On July-27 Alan Earls penned an insightful report in The Franklin Observer about cord-cutting and the state’s legislative efforts to ensure the viability of local media studios like Franklin●TV.
As subscribers cancel their cable subscriptions, we see our revenues drop off. Currently, Franklin.TV has seen a 15% drop in revenue over the last 5 years. We also must contend with all the same inflationary costs that everyone faces.
Crafting such legislation is a Solomonic task. The Massachusetts House and Senate have bills currently being considered on Beacon Hill. The “Act to Modernize Funding for Community Media Programming” has a version in the House, H.74. A similar measure, S.34, is moving in the Senate. The bills seek to ensure that streaming services (Netflix, Apple+, Prime, Paramount, et al) meet the same financial obligation to support local media that the cable companies (Comcast, Verizon) currently do.
Per State Rep. Jeff Roy, H. 74, “is a bill that is worth considering as it would bolster accessibility, civic engagement, and transparency of government operations,”. At a time of dwindling newspaper coverage, this legislation would help municipal TV studios to continue covering and broadcasting matters of great interest to citizens. “It would simply replace the current fees on cable companies and requiring streaming services to step up to the plate,” he continued. “I look forward to reviewing the committee’s report on the proposal,” he added.
The City of Chicago successfully enacted similar legislation 5 years ago in an effort to keep pace with changing times and technology.
We applaud the work of the Massachusetts Telecom Committee, the House and Senate and their efforts to timely and reasonably address the needs of local media centers. Without this legislation, smaller communities are at risk of seeing their local PEG media services merge into regional centers (less local) or vanish entirely.
And – as always –
Thank you for listening to wfpr●fm.
And, thank you for watching.
5:00 PM - Board of Health Meeting (audio recording)5:45 PM - EDC Meeting Franklin TV6:00 PM - School Committee Budget Subcommittee (audio recording)7:00 PM - Town Council Meeting Franklin TV
The audio recordings should be available for listening Friday or Saturday at the latest.
Agendas for these meetings
Meeting coverage for Wednesday, Jan 4, 2023 |
Via Temple Etz Chaim:
"December 11, 2022 at 7:00 PM. Come attend a special presentation at 900 Washington St in Franklin.
Rabbi Alpert will be among those presenting."
A Conversation of Hope: Black & Jewish Voices in Harmony - Dec 11 at 7 PM |
1. Discussion: Zoning
a. Inclusionary Zoning Bylaw
Yes, it is the same broadcast starting on Zoom, then feeding out to the various channels of delivery to you at home or wherever on your device.
Yes, it would have been nice to have the recommendations in advance to review and prepare questions & comments. That has not happened; little will change that at this point. What we can do is be patient to listen to what is revealed as a recommendation or recommendations.
Whatever is revealed may take time to digest.
The best response may well be quiet, thoughtful absorption of what they reveal.
As mentioned in other meetings, whatever is recommended will be digested and discussed at future Economic Development meetings.
It will take time to determine what if any changes will be made to the downtown zoning. Those zoning changes also will take time.
How much time will it take?
The Town will need
So it will be good to see what MAPC proposes but this is really the START of the process if anything will change.
How to comment or watch the Franklin For All event today |
And – as always –
Thank you for listening to wfpr●fm.
And, thank you for watching.
The Franklin School Committee has two meetings back to back on Tuesday evening. The first will be the deliberation on the one internal candidate they interviewed last week for Superintendent. The second is the normally scheduled 2nd meeting of the month.
First meeting - Apr 26, 2022 - 6 PM
How did the school committee get to this deliberation decision?
Back to back School Committee meetings Tuesday, April 26 |
And – as always –Thank you for listening to wfpr●fm.And, thank you for watching.
Franklin.TV: Yes. It is – Complicated (part of the crew producing Critical Conversations) |
FM #744 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 744 in the series.
This shares my conversation with Town Council Chair Tom Mercer. This is one of a series of conversations meant to provide a recap of the prior Council meeting. Akin to one of the many sports post-game analysis broadcasts we are familiar with in New England, this would be a discussion focused on the Franklin Town Council meeting of March 3, 2022:
ok, what just happened?
What does it mean for Franklin residents and taxpayers?
We cover the following key topics
PRESENTATIONS / DISCUSSIONS
a. Presentation: Other Post-Employment Benefits - Dan Sherman, Sherman Actuarial Services
9. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
a. Resolution 22-15: Direction for Issuance of Request for Expressions of Interest for Town Property Containing “South Franklin Congregational Meeting House” Located at 762 Washington Street (Motion to Approve Resolution 22-15 - Majority Vote)
b. Resolution 22-16: Authorization for Town Administrator to Negotiate and Execute New Agreement Between Town and Franklin Community Cable Access, Inc. for PEG Programming and Access Services (Motion to Approve Resolution 22-16 - Majority Vote)
Subcommittee Reports
a. Capital Budget Subcommittee – Mar 3, then to full Council likely March 16
b. Budget Subcommittee – Joint meeting – Mar 10 (Finance Cmte meeting - March 9)
c. Economic Development Subcommittee – met Weds before Council meeting, Franklin For All forum Mar 7
Links to the meeting agenda and associated documents released for this meeting are included in the show notes. The recording runs about 25 minutes.
Let’s listen to this recording of Town Council Quarterbacking Mar 3, 2022
Audio file -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-744-town-council-quarterbacking-with-tom-mercer-03-03-22--------------
Town Council Agenda document ->
My notes for the meeting ->
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1V68RACg-cfE7DL80uaXkOSwQhTPWL2yC/view?usp=sharing
--------------
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!
------------------
You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"
OPEB consultant Dan Sherman participated remotely |