Via Senator Becca Rausch:
"Today’s local leader shout-out goes to Tina Powderly of !
Tina is a proven food equity and nutrition champion. She serves as Executive Director of the , managing a team of nearly 300 active volunteers and staff.
Thank you, Tina!"
#mapoli #WHM2024
Senator Becca Rausch recognizes Tina Powderly for Women's History Month
March 17, 2024 10:00 AMFirst Universalist Society in Franklin262 Chestnut Street Franklin MA
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| Does Food Count as a Basic Human Right? |
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| Tina Powderly, executive director of the Franklin Food Pantry, provides an update |
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| Homelessness Report - Amy Frigulietti, Deputy Town Administrator and Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) |
FM #1031 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 1031 in the series.
This session of the radio show shares my conversation with Tina Powderly, Executive Director, Franklin Food Pantry. We had our conversation in the new location of the Franklin Food Pantry at Edwin’s.
We talk about the happy news that the Food Pantry has their own home, finally. While they are appreciative of the space Rockland Trust has let them use for many years, their needs had outgrown the space.
Disclosure: during the conversation you will hear about my background with the Food Pantry and that I have committed to this capital campaign.
The recording runs about 25 minutes, so let’s listen to my conversation with Tina.
Audio file -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1031-franklin-food-pantry-launches-building-campaign
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The Franklin Food Pantry is here for you. If you need us, we are here with not only food, but useful programs and resources for individuals, seniors and families struggling with food insecurity. If you can support us, we thank you - visit franklinfoodpantry.org to explore volunteering, donating funds, donating food, or supporting our Capital Campaign to keep the lights on and the programs, from food elves to weekend backpack stuffing. It truly takes a village to keep our food pantry running and supporting the increasing demand, supporting our Franklin neighbors.
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We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm).
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 www.franklin.news or www.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!
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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"
Introducing The Topic, a new podcast from the Town of Franklin Health Department. Health Director Cathleen Liberty talks about food insecurity with Franklin Food Pantry Executive Director Tina Powderly.
001 - Tina Powderly - Franklin Food Pantry
Franklin Food Pantry website -> https://www.franklinfoodpantry.org/
We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm).
For additional information, please visit the Health Dept. page at www.Franklinma.gov
If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at cliberty@franklinma.gov
The music for the intro and exit is called “Positive and Fun” by Scott Holmes Music and is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Scott Holmes Music => https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Scott_Holmes
You can also subscribe and listen to TheTopic audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "TheTopic"
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| The Topic: 001 - Tina Powderly - Franklin Food Pantry (audio) |
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| 150 Emmons St, the building under discussion |
Friends and ColleaguesTomorrow is election day, and I respectfully ask you to VOTE YES on Question 1 to make the Treasurer/Collector position in Franklin an appointed position, not an elected position as it currently stands.Moving the position to an appointed position does not indicate a loss of faith or trust in the voters. The move recognizes that Franklin has grown to a $100 million+ business, with complex debt management and cash flows, and that an election does not necessarily allow one to properly vet candidates for such a critical position. The process for hiring our next Treasurer/Collector should include interviews, references, requirements for certifications, prior experience, assessment of ability to work with other Franklin departments, at a minimum. Indeed, the likes of General Motors or IBM or Pepsi do not choose their CFO based on a poll of their staff because although their staff may be well-informed and well-intentioned, the dynamics of an election do not automatically mean that a rigorous full review of the candidates takes place.Please note that our current Treasurer/Collector, Jim Dacey, has lobbied for a change to an Appointed position for years. He has done a phenomenal job for the Town and is the one most qualified to comment on the rigors of the position. Please read his editorial below for his reasoning, and note that last week Milford approved by Town Meeting this same change.Please support the Treasurer/Collector position as Appointed for the long-term financial health and stability of Franklin.Thank you.
Tina Powderly
Hello folks-
You are receiving this email either because you signed up for periodic updates on my web page or because I have corresponded with you individually on a particular issue. In this email, I will touch on:1. Proposed charter reviews2. Proposals under Planning Board consideration for new businesses in Franklin3. Waste management4. FY11 budget forecast5. Misc items
Proposed Charter Reviews-This is a very complicated process covering years of work, but I will try to briefly summarize what has happened and where we are now. There are two methods available to municipalities to change a charter. One method is with an elected Charter Commission (done in 1995) and one is with a citizens committee appointed by the Town Council. (done now). The current citizens group made a series of recommendations after significant research and discussion spanning over a year. A Town Council subcommittee was convened because the Citizens Committee made recommendations to the previous Town Council, who did not act on them. Given that 3 new members needed to be brought up to speed, the subcommittee was formed not only to pass along the citizen recommendations but to review said recommendations, as the citizens committee had no binding authority. At this point, there was much discussion about the process as well as each individual recommendation. Frankly, my personal feeling is that the discussion was not always productive and communication could have been better, but we are moving forward. The recommendations on which the Town Council has reached consensus almost exactly mirror the citizens group recommendations. Specifically, change the Treasure/Collector position from elected to appointed and make a number of technical updates to the charter to reflect changes that have occurred in the past 15 years. The Town Council has to formally approve the proposed changes and then send it to the Legislature for approval. The most important point here is that no proposed charter revisions are final until it is approved by voters. The hope is to get these changes on the November ballot. The bottom line: although the process may seem convoluted, many people with many different perspectives have weighed in on this discussion and you and me, as voters, have the absolute final say on whether to approve the proposed revisions.
Proposals under consideration by the Planning Board for new businesses in Franklin-I know there is a concern about the Big Y’s application to the Planning Board for a new store on the abandoned lot on 140. I have seen flyers circulated with some misinformation and would like to correct a few items. First, the Big Y has merely come before the Planning Board. Nothing is approved and the Planning Board has many concerns that need to be addressed. Second, there currently are no other applications before the Planning Board despite the rumors of a Price Chopper, Bertucci’s etc. These applications may eventually surface, but nothing is before the Board currently. Please voice any concerns, or simply learn about the process by attending or watching on cable the Planning Board meeting on March 22nd at 7pm in the Municipal Office Building.
Waste management-I have attached a link to an article in the Globe about recycling rates in MA. I spoke with some residents who had hoped that we could improve recycling (and both control/decrease costs and improve our environmental impact) within the current system. I think this article objectively articulates why the Recycling Committee, DPW, and the Town Council all agreed that this new system was the best way to meet our goals.
FY11 budget forecast –State aid figures are not finalized, but the Governor’s proposed budget and the Senate’s proposed budget are out. Franklin is estimated to be down $3.7M in state aid from FY09 to FY11. In my opinion, this will have a serious impact on the level of services that Franklin can continue to provide.
Misc items
- Town Council just voted to ease restrictions that make it difficult for biotechnology companies to locate here. We hope to attract biotech companies to vacant Industrial Park space and bring in additional revenue to the Town.
- Roads are in tough shape and this is a priority. Historically, road repair is funded by the state through Chapter 90. As you can imagine, these funds have decreased. Franklin will have to begin directing its own funds towards road upkeep, but it is exorbitantly expensive. Please continue to give feedback while we work to address this crisis.
- And just an FYI… Dean College’s graduation in Saturday, May 8th at noon. Please expect high traffic and temporary road closures downtown around this time.
As always, feel free to contact me with any questions. If you would prefer not to receive these emails, please let me know. Finally, please forward this information along to anyone you think might be interested and encourage others to sign up for updates at www.tinapowderly.com.
Thank you.Tina Powderly
