This Town Council "Quarterbacking" session condenses the 11/30/22 meeting to about 28 minutes (audio)

FM #891 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 891 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 Nov 30, 2022: 

• ok, what just happened? 

• What does it mean for Franklin residents and taxpayers?

We cover the following key topics

8. PRESENTATIONS / DISCUSSION

a. Presentation: Elks Riders Donation to Veterans’ Services Department

6. HEARINGS - 7:00 pm

a. Franklin Tax Classification Hearing

b. Resolution 22-77: Tax Classification Residential Factor

c. Resolution 22-78: Tax Classification Open Space Exemption

d. Resolution 22-79: Tax Classification Small Business Exemption

e. Resolution 22-80: Tax Classification Residential Property Exemption

f. Resolution 22-81: Tax Classification Senior Means Tested Exemption

g. Resolution 22-82: Declaration of Town-owned Property Containing “South Franklin Congregational Meeting House” Located at 762 Washington Street as Surplus and Authorization for Disposition (Sale) to Old Colony Habitat for Humanity

h. Resolution 22-83: Downtown Parking Lot Kiosks Authorization  

i. Resolution 22-84: 2023 Town Council Meeting Schedule

k. Resolution 22-85: Public Property Naming & Memorial Installation Policy

Our conversation runs about 28 minutes:

Links to the meeting agenda and associated documents released for this meeting are included in the show notes. 

Let’s listen to this session of Town Council Quarterbacking recorded Dec 1, 2022

Audio file -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-891-town-council-quarterbacking-12-01-22

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Meeting agenda and documents released for this session ->

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/agendas/nov_30_town_council_agenda.pdf

Watch the Franklin.TV video replay on YouTube -> https://youtu.be/FXWkMcix63s

My notes in one threaded PDF document

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uTxaQe3MXLug8od6xq5C_bqLzbDLoEjY/view?usp=share_link 

My 4 key tax rate charts as discussed in this session

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2022/11/good-news-tax-rate-is-going-down.html

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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!

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You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"

South Franklin Congregational Meeting House

Town Council accepts Elk Riders donation, sets tax rate, approves sale of South Meeting House and more (audio)

FM #890 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 890 in the series. 

This session of the radio show shares the Town Council meeting held in Council Chambers on Wednesday, November 30, 2022. 7 members of the Council were present in the Council Chambers, one member remote (Pellegri) and one member absent (Dellorco), hence all votes were via roll call.

Quick summary of meeting:

• Accepted donation from Elks Riders for the Veterans Services and Veterans Fund

• Held the Tax Classification Public Hearing prior to approving the single rate at 12.58%. Overall residential assessments rose approx 17% resulting in the drop of the rate from 14.05 to 12.58. There were a series of votes to complete the formal process to set the rate for this Fiscal Year 2023

• Approval to sell the Old South Meeting House to the Habitat for Humanity to convert to a single family affordable housing was granted by the Town Council to allow the Town Administrator to complete the paperwork and actions for the transaction

• Formal approval to purchase the new kiosks to be used in the town parking lots to implement the parking bylaw changes approved in the prior meetings was granted

• The Town Council approved as amended the calendar year 2023 meeting schedule. The one change was from Apr 9 to Apr 26. The document also included the Finance Committee and Community Preservation Committee proposed meeting schedules for reference. Those groups need to respectfully approve their own schedule

• The policy to formally call out the process and approvals required for naming any public property was approved. It had been referenced many times that such a policy existed but when it was looked for it could not be found, hence this is now in place.  

The recording runs about 1 hour and 50 minutes, so let’s listen to the Town Council meeting on November 30, 2022.

Audio file ->  https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-890-town-council-mtg-11-30-22

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

Meeting agenda and documents released for this session ->

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/agendas/nov_30_town_council_agenda.pdf

Watch the Franklin.TV video replay on YouTube -> https://youtu.be/FXWkMcix63s

My notes in one threaded PDF document (one correction, on the vote for the single tax rate my notes said the no vote was cast by Chandler when it was really Sheridan. Twitter doesn’t allow for editing tweets hence this note of acknowledgment.)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uTxaQe3MXLug8od6xq5C_bqLzbDLoEjY/view?usp=share_link 

My 4 key tax rate charts as discussed in this session

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2022/11/good-news-tax-rate-is-going-down.html

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

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"

Members of the Elks Riders presented a donation to the Veterans Fund

CommonWealth Magazine "Should state parks be funded with user fees or tax dollars?"

 

"STATE FUNDING for the agency that oversees parks fell by $4.5 million over the last 12 years, even as expenses kept growing. To make ends meet, the Department of Conservation and Recreation has had to capitalize on its assets, collecting more and more revenue from those who use the parks or lease space in them.

Two recent examples illustrate the trend. DCR recently began moving ahead with plans to start charging for parking along roadways it owns in Revere and Cambridge. Most of the new parking meters were installed along Revere Beach Parkway, which abuts the nation’s oldest public beach.

The agency also hiked nightly camping fees for out-of-state visitors to the state’s parks. The camping fee for out-of-state visitors to the state’s premier parks jumped temporarily from $35 to $75 last year and was made permanent this year.

Both moves make political and practical sense. Charging for parking is a way of making users share in the upkeep of beaches and parks. Charging out-of-state residents far more than in-state residents for campsites is a way of pushing the cost of upkeep on to those who don’t vote here and whose complaints are likely to fall on deaf ears."

Continue reading online ->

https://commonwealthmagazine.org/state-government/should-state-parks-be-funded-with-user-fees-or-tax-dollars/

 

 

Franklin, MA: Coronavirus Update - Public Facilities Closure through May 4

To: Town of Franklin Residents, Businesses & Visitors
From: Jamie Hellen, Town Administrator
Re: Coronavirus Update - Public Facilities Closure through May 4th


Based on the information provided in Governor Baker’s press conference announcing the further closure of public schools, the Town of Franklin is announcing the continued closure of all municipal buildings to the public and employees through May 4th, 2020. These buildings include the Municipal Building at 355 East Central Street, Public Library, Senior Center, Recreation Building, DPW Administration Building, Facilities Administration Building, and Historical Museum. Public safety buildings will remain open for staff and first responders only. Playgrounds will remain closed until further notice.

While the Municipal Building and other departments are closed for direct, in-person service, staff are available for all regular business activities via phone, email and our online services center at www.franklinma.gov. Residents can contact any staff in any department, pay bills, and apply for permits and so forth. Check the Town Coronavirus Portal for a department by department listing of service updates and other resources.

For those without computer access, the Town is continuing checking the white drop box for town bill pay and Census forms at the Municipal Building at 355 East Central Street. It is important to fill out your census forms and send them in as soon as you can. Anyone may continue to use the good ol’ fashioned mail for any Town business or bill payments, as the Town continues to work with the Post Office to process our mail.

Employees are expected to continue to work remotely on their remote works plans that have been approved by each department.

We encourage every resident, business and visitor of Franklin to continue to check our online portal daily at www.franklinma.gov with the most up to date information in town updates, unemployment resources, staff contacts and directories, state announcements and more.

https://www.franklinma.gov/home/urgent-alerts/coronavirus-information-portal-updates-here

Franklin, MA: Coronavirus Update - Public Facilities Closure through May 4

"students learn the formal process behind applying, budgeting and proposing public art projects"

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:

"Brightly-colored PVC pipes, juxtaposed against a patch of dead trees sticking out from the small pond at Franklin’s Sculpture Park, were quickly noticed by passersby last week. 

After complications with permitting, a new sculpture, “The Trees of Life,” was installed earlier this month by students from Wheaton College. Many residents took to Facebook to express excitement about the new art installment at the popular park. 

Hyunmin Bae, an artist and recent graduate of Wheaton, designed the project in 2017. With the help of fellow artists, she put the display together last week. 

Kelly Goff, an assistant professor of art and art history at Wheaton, said after walking through the park for inspiration, Bae noticed an existing bright blue pipe sticking up from the pond. She saw the lone pipe sitting among the dying trees with its top protruding above the water and knew what she wanted to do."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20190528/colorful-display-brightens-franklins-sculpture-park

the "Trees of Life" at the Sculpture Park, Panther Way

Public Skating Times - Pirelli Arena

Veteran’s Arena, 910 Panther Way, released a schedule of public skating times during school vacation week, Dec. 24 through Jan. 3, 2016.

• Dec. 24: from 12:30 to 2:20 p.m.
• Dec. 25: Closed.
• Dec. 26: from 2:30 to 4:20 p.m.
• Dec. 27: from 2 to 3:50 p.m.
• Dec. 28: from 12:30 to 2:20 p.m.
• Dec. 29: from 12:30 to 2:20 p.m.
• Dec. 30: from 12:30 to 2:20 p.m.
• Dec. 31: from 12:30 to 2:20 p.m.
• Jan. 1: from 12:30 to 2:20 p.m.; and from 8 to 9:50 p.m.
• Jan. 2: from 2:30 to 4:20 p.m.
• Jan. 3: from 2 to 3:50 p.m.

Admission costs $5, and rental skates are available for $5 on a first-come, first-served basis. For a list of all the updated daily public skating locations and times, visit fmcicesports.com/public-skating.



This was shared from the Milford Daily News
http://www.milforddailynews.com/article/20151220/NEWS/151229856/1994/NEWS

"As If It Were Already Here”

I have been traveling into Boston regularly and took the time to walk by the new aerial sculpture.

taken from just at the edge of the sculpture, every where you stand you get a different view

From the Boston Innovation page I find and share:

The Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy announced that Janet Echelman has named her aerial sculpture, currently sitting pretty above the park, "As If It Were Already Here” in reference to Boston's industrial past. The industriousness that it took for Echelman to pull off the art installation though is aptly reflected in the statistics. 

According to the Greenway Conservancy:

• The sculpture includes over 100 miles of rope

• There are over half a million knots (~542,500)

• The sculpture weighs approximately 1 ton

• The sculpture can exert over 100 tons of force

• Longest span is 600 ft

• The sculpture is 365 ft at its highest point

• Projected plan area of the sculpture is 20,250 sq. ft. or almost half an acre

• Illuminated by 32 individually programmed LED lights

The time lapse video of the effort to put it up is impressive!




http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2015/05/06/greenway-art-boston-time-lapse-video-of-aerial-art-sculpture/

"You tap into your humanity. I mean, would you want to go there?"

Franklin's discussion about what to do with Emmons St is not a unique discussion. Other communities have this discussion around development vs. green space or community space. Amanda Burden the former New York City urban planner spoke at the TED Conference in March. Right about the same time as the Town Council hosted the second discussion on Emmons St.

"When we think of cities, we think of buildings and skyscrapers and stray cats. For Amanda Burden, who spent 12 years as New York City’s director of urban planning, they’re primarily about people. They’re about where people go and where they meet – that’s the core of how cities work. And for the people, even more important than the buildings are the public spaces in between them. Those, to Burden, are what makes the cities come alive. 

The central question she asks is, “What makes a public space work? What is it about unsuccessful places that keeps people away?” Burden, it turns out, was trained as an animal behaviorist, but she uses those skills to study how people interact with their spaces."

From the TED blog
http://blog.ted.com/2014/03/18/public-spaces-have-power-amanda-burden-at-ted2014/


Spend about 18 minutes with Amanda and listen to what she has to say about city spaces and what they can do for people. What she says about New York translates well to what we can and should do here in Franklin.





Good quotes:

Now, open spaces in cities are opportunities. Yes, they are opportunities for commercial investment, but they are also opportunities for the common good of the city, and those two goals are often not aligned with one another, and therein lies the conflict.

So how was I going to get this done? By listening. So I began listening, in fact, thousands of hours of listening just to establish trust. You know, communities can tell whether or not you understand their neighborhoods. It's not something you can just fake. And so I began walking. I can't tell you how many blocks I walked, in sweltering summers, in freezing winters, year after year, just so I could get to understand the DNA of each neighborhood and know what each street felt like. I became an incredibly geeky zoning expert, finding ways that zoning could address communities' concerns.

So what's the trick? How do you turn a park into a place that people want to be? Well, it's up to you, not as a city planner but as a human being. You don't tap into your design expertise. You tap into your humanity. I mean, would you want to go there? Would you want to stay there? Can you see into it and out of it? Are there other people there? Does it seem green and friendly? Can you find your very own seat?

These and other quotes from directly from the transcript
http://www.ted.com/talks/amanda_burden_how_public_spaces_make_cities_work/transcript


So how does the discussion on Emmons St continue? Should the Town Council issue the "Expression of Interest"?

DIRECTION FOR ISSUANCE OF REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF
INTEREST FOR TOWN PROPERTY AT 150 EMMONS STREET 

WHEREAS, the Town owns improved property at 150 Emmons Street which
previously housed the municipal administrative offices (hereinafter “Property”), and 

WHEREAS, the Franklin Town Council, by Resolution 04-75, previously declared
Property to be surplus and available for disposition, and 

WHEREAS, Town, pursuant to said resolution, issued a Request for Proposals
with a minimum bid price, but failed to receive any responsive proposals, and 

WHEREAS, the Town Council is cognizant of public interest in and concern for
reuse and/or redevelopment of Property as a “Gateway” to and integral part of the
Downtown, and has held public hearings to solicit public comments, and 

WHEREAS, Town Council remains desirous of disposing of Property and seeks
additional input as to potential reuse and/or redevelopment to provide it with guidance in
the preparation of a new Request for Proposals, 

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Town of Franklin acting by and
through its Town Council: 

1. Directs the Town Administrator to cause a Request for Expressions of
Interest be prepared and issued for Property with responses due no
later than July 31, 2014. 

2. Directs the Economic Development Committee to review and evaluate
all responses and to provide the Town Council with a written report of
its evaluation at the Council’s first meeting this coming September.

 This resolution is on the agenda for the Town Council meeting Wednesday, Apr 16

Emmons St building

Real property values are positively affected

Two other sources of information on how public spaces can help the economic development of communities were shared by the Dept of Community Development and Planning.

Key Point #1
Real property values are positively affected. 

Key Point #2
Municipal revenues are increased.

There are additional points made in this paper but for me, the additional revenue is key. Read the full article here:




In the Introduction to this paper we read:

"Too often we hear that communities cannot afford to “grow smart” by conserving open space. But accumulating evidence indicates that open space conservation is not an expense but an investment that produces important economic benefits."

Why are these papers shared? Good information to have for the Emmons St building discussion

Emmons St this past winter