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 *
This past week Canada’s forest fires delivered this apocalyptic Martian sky that peaked in its orange intensity in early afternoon. As warmer dryer times promote the potential for more fires, will this dusty rusty haze become our new normal?
And on 495 at 9:00PM – noctilucent light scatter from well below the horizon.
"This morning, members of the Franklin Police Department and Franklin Fire Department stood in tribute during the procession of fallen Uxbridge Police Officer Stephen LaPorta from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner."
You are invited to two new opportunities to socialize. We hope you’ll join us:
Walking group:
St John’s Episcopal Church
Let’s get some fresh air and exercise together. Every Saturday at 10 AM, weather permitting, beginning May 17. Meet in the parking lot. Kids, dogs, and friends welcome.
Gather ‘round the fire:
Every Sunday at sunset, weather permitting, beginning May 18. Bring a chair, a beverage, something to cook on a stick, a musical instrument, a poem, or a friend. On the lawn at St John’s.
St John’s Episcopal Church, 237 Pleasant Street, Franklin
FM #1395 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 1395 in the series.
This session of the radio show shares the audio recording of my conversation with Gary Premo, Executive Director of the Metacomet Emergency Communication Center (MECC). We had our conversation at the MECC on Wednesday, February 26, 2025.
Gary provides his background
Operations at the MECC
What to expect when you call 911
Growth and possible expansion
The meeting runs about 20 minutes, so let’s listen to my conversation with Gary on emergency dispatch operations.
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"
Gary Premo talks about the growth and expansion of the MECC (audio)
"Together, on the Sunday before Christmas, parishioners at St. Mary’s Church in Franklin gather in the church basement for mass. Not their typical home of the stunning church upstairs, but it will be due for now. Back in October, the church was set on fire forcing them to have to make a temporary home here in the basement.
“There’re a lot of folks were confused and hurt and still a lot of pain from having their main church missing and it’s been a difficult hurdle,” said Father Bob Poitras.
Now the inside of this beautiful church looks like a construction zone almost unrecognizable after smoke and water damaged the inside. Investigators say the cause of the fire was arson. They are still trying to find out who did it. And why."
"Last week the Franklin Police Department completed joint tactics training with the Franklin Fire Department. Officers and Fire Fighters were trained in integrated rapid rescue and the formation of a rescue task force.
A rescue task force is the main team made up of police and fire charged with treating the wounded on-site and getting them to a collection point for victims. They will arrive on the scene of a critical incident and immediately begin assessing the severity of injuries and performing life-saving interventions."
To apply for a vacant position, please submit a resume and cover letter to apply@franklinma.gov. Please put the job title in the subject line of your email.
Due to the extensive damages from Saturday’s fire and the information we’ve gathered in the last 48 hours regarding the reopening process, the timeline to complete the necessary repairs would make it impossible to open our Family Pool Club in time for the 2023 summer season. We are deeply saddened by this fire and its devastation.
We are committed to the Club’s rebuild and creating the best member experience possible, opening in June 2024.
Family Pool Club members will receive full refunds on all fees paid by May 26th.
Thank you for your confidence in our YMCA – even in the face of adversity – to continue to deliver our mission to be here for our neighbors, serve our communities, and come back even stronger from this unfortunate incident.
The Finance Committee closed out their series of budget hearings on Thursday with insights from the public safety sector (police, fire, dispatch and inspections). Town Administrator Jamie Hellen closed the the session with an outline of how the Town can add to the School budget allocation approx. $800K to bring it to just above the average that the Town has provided, not counting all the other funds the School budget gets directly or indirectly.
He also provided the next steps for what the Town and School officials can do to address the systemic deficit that the school budget faces. Note the Town and School officials are the paid Town and School staff. The Town Council and School Committee members as non-paid volunteers are covered by the same restrictions in the event of an override vote that state law lays out for the paid employees.
The Finance Committee voted to approve the budget as proposed and discussed during the hearings. The Town Council will likely do the same at their May 24 & 25 hearings. During July/August, the additional funding can be added or shifted to the School budget to minimize the cuts the School District will need to make to bring their $3.3M request down to match the Town allocation of approx. $1.8M
Now while the attention may have been closing out on what to do with the school budget, the case for additional 4 police (first since increase in staff since 2000) was made in a compelling and convincing manner.
While this budget includes the additional 4 police officers, in the near future the case is already made for at least an additional 2, if not 4, to correct the scheduling impact.
On the Fire Dept side, they are adding an EMS captain and 1 fire fighter paramedic in a step toward adding a 3rd ambulance full time. This would allow for the 3rd ambulance to be staffed for the business hours five days a week. To fully staff the 3rd ambulance for all shifts would be an additional 8 (for a total of 10) which we currently can't afford.
Why do we need the 3rd ambulance? The call volume has been growing for years and exceeded 5,000 calls for the first time in 2022. 44% of the calls are medical and result in an ambulance transport of the patient to a hospital. The frequency of getting 2 calls at the same time has been increasing, the frequency of getting a 3rd call at the same time has also increased. Not a new issue but the time has come to take steps to address.
Jamie's slides with the plan for "next steps" for the School budget (presentation to be put on the Town page, in meantime, here are photo captures) -> https://photos.app.goo.gl/dMZ92X98eWdrABoS9
FM #933 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 933 in the series.
This session of the radio show is the audio recording of the Franklin, MA Capital Budget Subcommittee meeting conducted on Wednesday, February 1, 2023.
Present:
All four members of the subcommittee were present: Chair Debbie Pellegri, Vice Chair Bob Dellorco, Ted Cormier-leger, Brian Chandler. Town Administrator Jamie Hellen, Comptroller Chris Sandinni, Treasurer/Collector Kerri Bertone, and Finance Committee Chair George Conley were also present in the 3rd Floor Training Room.
Recap:
This was the second meeting on the first round of capital budgeting. The first meeting was not recorded or reported on. This second meeting was well attended by members of the Fire Dept, Police Dept, and DPW whose budget items were up for discussion.
Beginning on Page 4, item #12, each line item in the meeting agenda was reviewed, some questions and discussions were more detailed and involved than others. After some clarifications on each item, they were each approved in turn by 4-0 voice votes to recommend to the Town Council.
It was acknowledged at the beginning of the session that there was a philosophical question (raised last meeting) and continuing this meeting on some items currently on the “capital” budget that at least a couple of members of the subcommittee believe should be in the operational budget. Jamie indicated a couple of times during this session that for the regular budget discussions coming later this year, those items would be included in the operational budget to clearly show the impact.
The recording runs an hour and xx minutes, so let’s listen in. Audio file ->
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"
Capital Budget Subcommittee takes time reviewing details, ultimately approves what's requested (audio)
With the Town's Adopt-A-Hydrant program, you can select a hydrant near you to clear following a snow storm! By adopting a hydrant you can...
◼️ Assist the Fire Department in the event of an emergency by alleviating time spent searching for a clearing hydrants buried in snow.
◼️ Support your neighbors by letting DPW know if a hydrant is located near a neighbor who is unable to clear a hydrant on their property and we will label them as "high priority" on our adopt a hydrant webpage.
◼️ Earn community service hours for your community service group or as an individual.
Check out this link to learn more about our Adopt-A-Hydrant program!
Franklin Police (@franklinpolice) tweeted on Fri, Oct 07, 2022:
"Our Community Service Unit will be at the Church of Latter Day Saints for car seat installations and a first responder touch a truck tomorrow morning.
This event is free to all but organizers are asking for donations of diapers of all sizes https://t.co/dX7PFSc4w9"
