Communications Subcommittee listened & talked almost 4 hours on Thursday (audio)

FM #1749 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 1749 in the series. 

This session shares the Town Council Communications Subcommittee Meeting. The meeting was held in the Council Chambers at the Municipal Building on Thursday, May 28, 2026.

 

Subcommittee Chair Caroline Griffith, members Jane Callaway-Tripp, Max Morrongiello, and Gene Grella also participated. Town Administrator Jamie Hellen, Operations Manager Julie McCann and Director of Communications & Community Engagement Liz Kalaijian participated.

The recording runs about 3 hours & 50 minutes, so let’s listen in.

Audio link - https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1749-town-council-communications-subcmte-mtg-05-28-26/

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Franklin TV video for replay - https://www.youtube.com/live/bUhHdEn119Q?&t=66 

Meeting agenda and supporting docs - https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05282026-2333  

Meeting recap - https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/05/communications-subcommittee-listened.html 

My notes in one PDF - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JmRSQOP0pbuQiaCVeMG5-Xla6eT8s_wz/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

• And if you have interest in reporting on meetings or events, please reach. We’ll share and show you what and how we do what we do

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"

Communications Subcommittee listened & talked almost 4 hours on Thursday (video)

The Town Council Communications Subcommittee met for almost four hours on Thursday, May 28, 2026. All four members were present in Council Chambers.

Franklin TV video for replay - https://www.youtube.com/live/bUhHdEn119Q?&t=66

Meeting agenda and supporting docs - https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05282026-2333 

Quick recap:

• Many departments presented on what they do to send out information, what newsletters, social tools, etc.
• Town Administrator Jamie Hellen outlined a brief history of the communications role previously held and now currently held by Liz Kalaijian
• 2 members of the School Committee Community Relations Subcommittee were present, one in person, one remote and participated in discussion on collaboration around joint meetings (as needed) and office hours (agreeing to different times and places)
• Discussion around the work plan and attempt to prioritize the items led to a repeated round of conversation about the process of Councilors replying to resident's emails. Draft of the tentative process to be reviewed and agreed to by subcommittee before bringing to the full Council at a future date
• Review of the job description of the Communications Director, which in may cases was already covered in the prior discussion

My notes in one PDF - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JmRSQOP0pbuQiaCVeMG5-Xla6eT8s_wz/view?usp=drive_link

What's happening in Franklin, MA: Thursday, May 28, 2026 ???

Thursday, May 28

• Curbside trash/recycling pickup schedule delayed one day due to holiday; what was Wednesday will be picked up Thursday

2:00pm Middle School Reunion (Franklin Middle School)

4:30pm School of Fish updated (Franklin Sculpture Park)

6:00pm The Little Shop | Food & Wine Tasting (Little Shop of Olive Oils)

For additional details on Library events ->  https://www.franklinma.gov/942/Calendar-of-Events

For additional details on Senior Center events ->   

https://www.franklinma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/9195/May-2026-Newsletter?bidId=

***   Town Meetings today   ***

Communications Subcommittee Meeting

Thursday, May 28 Time: 6:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05282026-2333 

ZBA Meeting- NO Meeting

Thursday, May 28 Time: 7:30 PM

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Find the full Community event calendar  https://bit.ly/FranklinCommunityCalendar

If you have an event to add to the calendar, you can use the form to submit it for publication:  https://bit.ly/Submit2Calendar

The Town meeting calendar is found  https://www.franklinma.gov/Calendar.aspx
The School district calendar is found  https://franklinpublicschooldistrictma.sites.thrillshare.com/o/fpsd/page/school-calendar

Town Council's Communication Subcmte meets for the first time Monday, April 27 (audio)

This session shares the Town Council Communications Subcommittee Meeting. The meeting was held in the 3rd floor training room at the Municipal Building on Monday, April 27, 2026.

Subcommittee Chair Caroline Griffith, members Jane Callaway-Tripp, Max Morrongiello, and Gene Grella (remote) also participated. Operations Manager Julie McCann and Director of Communications & Community Engagement Liz Kalaijian participated.

The recording runs about 1 hour & 20 minutes, so let’s listen in.

Audio link - https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1740-town-council-communications-subcmte-mtg-04-27-26/

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Franklin TV video = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouZWNXNKTd8 

Meeting agenda - https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_04272026-2270  

My set of notes from the meeting in one PDF - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JiB0YpZXFHfWRnnMBQM7u26r8qx6cOiJ/view?usp=drive_link

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

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

• And if you have interest in reporting on meetings or events, please reach. We’ll share and show you what and how we do what we do

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"

Town Council's Communication Subcmte meets for the first time Monday, April 27 (video)

The Town Council's Communication Subcmte met for the first time on Monday, April 27, 2026 as scheduled at noon. All four members participated, 3 in the 3rd floor training room, 1 remote (Grella).

Chair Caroline Griffith opened the session. She opened for comments from the committee members on what their ideas were. Councilor Max Morrongiello, then Councilor Jane Callaway-Tripp and Councilor Gene Grella shared their ideas before Chair Griffith completed the round.

Liz Kalaijian, Director of Communications & Community Engagement as well as Julie McCann, Operations Manager participated.

Franklin TV video = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouZWNXNKTd8

Meeting agenda - https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_04272026-2270 

My set of notes from the meeting in one PDF - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JiB0YpZXFHfWRnnMBQM7u26r8qx6cOiJ/view?usp=drive_link

Town Council Communications Subcmte Meeting - Monday, April 27 at noon

Town Council Communications Subcmte
Meeting - Monday, April 27 at noon

Upcoming Communications Subcommittee Meeting Next Week

Monday, April 27, 2026 = 12:00 PM

Franklin Municipal Building, 3rd Floor Training Room

View the agenda: https://buff.ly/xMpUB3V

Residents are welcome to attend in person, or participate remotely:

• Watch live on Franklin Town Hall TV YouTube - https://bit.ly/FTV-TownHall
• Join via Zoom: https://buff.ly/xR6uw8E

School Committee Community Relations Subcommittee meeting audio for March 16, 2026 session (audio)

FM #1691 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 1691 in the series. 

This session shares the Franklin, MA School Committee Community Relations Subcommittee meeting held on Monday, March 16, 2026. 

The meeting agenda had placed the session in the 3rd floor conf room so I was there. Subcommittee Chair Al Charles, member Nadia Mausolf and Operations Director Colin Boisvert were remote. Member Stephen Karunakaran was caught in another meeting and didn’t make it. Future meetings are intended to be virtual unless otherwise noted. 

The agenda topics:

● Website Usage Metrics

● Quarterly Community Engagement Update

● Senior Center Visit / Monthly Q&A Session

● Strawberry Stroll Planning

● Newsletter Planning

The recording runs about 44 minutes, so let’s listen to the Community Relations Subcommittee meeting of March 16, 2026.

Audio link - https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1691-schcmte-community-relations-subcmte-mtg-03-16-26/

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School Committee Subcommittee assignments

https://www.franklinps.net/o/fpsd/page/subcommittees-and-liaisons 

Subcommittee agenda

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_03162026-2181 

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

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

• And if you have interest in reporting on meetings or events, please reach out. We’ll share and show you what and how we do what we do

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

 

For additional information, please visit www.franklin.news or  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 & 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"

In this "Talk Franklin" episode Jamie & I welcome Liz, get updates, and dive into MMA (audio)

A new episode of the Talk Franklin podcast with Town Administrator Jamie Hellen is now available! 

In this "Talk Franklin" episode Jamie & I
welcome Liz, get updates, and dive into MMA (audio)

Produced in collaboration with Franklin TV and Franklin Public Radio, this conversation covers Town updates and community topics.

🎧 Listen here: https://buff.ly/0eTqtVi

This session of the radio show shares our “Talk Franklin” discussion with Town Administrator Jamie Hellen and Liz Kalaijian, the new Director of Communications and Community Engagement for the Town of Franklin. We recorded our conversation in the Franklin TV & Radio Studio on Monday, March 2, 2026.

Key topics

• Welcome Liz
• Quick updates on Town business
• Deep dive on Mass Municipal Association (MMA)
• Close with some musical fun (songs about communications)

The recording runs about  59 minutes. Let’s listen to our conversation.

Reflections on the 8th Grade Winter 2026 Capstone Project Presentations

I had the opportunity to witness some of the 8th grade Capstone Project presentations at Benjamin Franklin Classical Charter School recently. 49 presentations in about 4 hours over 2 sessions. 

Some of the 8th graders were nervous about speaking to the large gathering of parents, teachers, guests, and fellow students. Some spoke rapidly to get it over with. Some proceeded more calmly presenting on their project.

Their project topics ranged across a large variety of topics. Some close to home 

• Picnic tables for the teachers

• Flowers at the school entrances

• Animal crossing signs on a local road

• Air filters for classrooms

 

BFCCPS Capstone Project Presentation Schedule

Some issues with a broader reach

• Food insecurity

• Comfort kits for hospital patients, including children

• Support for the homeless

• Support for animal rescue

And some with an even broader reach

• Light pollution

• Marine animal health

• Genetic disorders

• Teen suicide

This selection can only highlight the breadth of the issues their projects researched.

Unlike the diversity of the projects, the student project experiences were similar. Many faced procrastination issues, and were hindered by a lack of response from key contacts at the subject organizations. Many adjusted their scope to complete the project, many learned better time management, and many built confidence from repeating the explanation of what their project was about.

A common theme I found was that a small effort can have a big impact. Some learned that better messaging could get the attention of the adults in authority at the organizations. Students also learned that while it is unfortunate, some political views do hinder making progress on really human issues.

Given that many of the students faced constraints with lack of resource time (much of it their own), a future consideration might be to enable collaboration among 2 or 3 students. Working together on their similar interests, they could perhaps accomplish more, and learn the keys to successful collaboration. This alone would be a good skill for life beyond 8th grade.

The students were not bashful in thanking all those who helped them along the way, teachers, family members, and friends. It does take a village.

Franklin Town Councilor Stephen Malloy was in one session with me and shared his reflection:

“Congratulations to the BFCCPS eight graders for completing their Capstone projects.  I was able to attend three sessions and was very impressed at the range of organizations that were helped, the resiliency shown by the students during their year plus long efforts, and the quality of the public presentations.  This is a fantastic program.  Great job everyone.”

Town Councilor Max Morrongiello shared his reflection:

"I'm impressed by Benjamin Franklin Charter Schools commitment to educating well rounded citizens. I was also impressed with the amount of students who prioritized self- improvement and self-care, which is critically important in these trying times."

State Representative Jeff Roy shared his reflection:

"It was a profound honor to witness the dignity and professionalism displayed by the 8th graders at Benjamin Franklin Classical Charter Public School during their superb Capstone presentations," said Rep. Jeffrey Roy (D-Franklin). "From tackling the complexities of cancer research and suicide awareness to advocating for animal protection, food insecurity and so much more, these students addressed our world’s most pressing challenges with remarkable maturity. The depth of research and the poise with which these students presented their findings reflect the high standards of the BFCCPS community and left no doubt that they are not just future leaders, but powerful voices for change today."

Additional info on the Capstone projects was shared earlier

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/02/benjamin-franklin-classical-charter.html

Josh Shearer and I had a conversation about his project in November 2025. You can listen to it here

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/11/joshua-talks-about-his-capstone-project.html

While we are at it, another project is conducting a circus show on Sunday Feb 22. More info from Nora Clement can be found here

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/02/bfccps-capstone-project-conducts-circus.html