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 *
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Franklin, MA: utility wires to go underground - clarifications
A couple of things to be clear about:
1 - SOME of the utilities are going underground per the project funding anyway. That is shown in the green area on the map. The question is do we, Franklin, choose to pay for the 'red' section to also go underground at the same time (to save money as it would be cheaper with the road work already underway) or not.
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/08/franklin-ma-underground-utilities.html
2 - The issue of one way versus two way traffic is open and separate from the utilities. I'll be doing another survey on that aspect once this one finishes.
3 - Yes, the Federal and State grants ultimately came from our pockets. The difference is the money is already here in our Franklin account, collecting interest until spent on this project. The question being resolved by the planning process is to determine exactly how this money is to be spent downtown.
Does that help? If not, please let me know.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Franklin, MA: Underground Utilities - survey
- The Downtown Revitalization Project is funded by state and federal grants. It is not funded by local taxpayer money. The grant funds are restricted to use in the Downtown District.
- Electric wiring near the bridge and that related to street lights along Main St will be going underground regardless as part of the streetscape work in the Downtown District.
- The additional stretch of utility wiring that is being considered for putting the utility wires underground is outside the Downtown District according to the grant funding. This area is from the bridge along East Central to approximately Simons Furniture store. This stretch is proposed to be paid for by surcharge fees from the utility companies and paid by their customers (ultimately those of us in Franklin).
- The ESTIMATED fees for the average residential customer would be a total surcharge of approximately $65-75. Because multiple companies are involved (electric, and two cable), the specific details on the timing of the surcharge remain to be worked out. The companies would spread the surcharge amount out over time to minimize the effect on an individual utility bill. We would see the minor increase in both the electric and cable bills. The surcharges are finite and will end after being paid in full.
- Putting the utilities underground now is drastically cheaper than normal due to the proposed road construction. If the utilities aren’t put underground now, it likely will not be considered until the next major road repair of the area (ideally decades from now).
Additional information on the project can be found here:
http://www.milforddailynews.com/topstories/x1452735553/Franklin-council-to-discuss-placing-utility-lines-underground
The Downtown Improvement Project review meeting held on May 12 was broadcast and recorded for review here:
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/05/downtown-improvement-project-live.html
The poll question can be found in the center column on the top of the Franklin Matters web page. The question asks "Would you pay approx. $70 to put the utilities underground?" and takes a Yes or No answer.
Feel free to leave a comment here or send me an email. The Town Council email addresses can be found on the Franklin web page here:
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_Council/index
My thanks to Tina Powderly for help in crafting this posting.
Updated 8/29/10
The survey results were Yes - 22, No - 44.
"should be done to benefit the aesthetics of downtown"
... the recession creates obstacles, Nutting said.
"In the present, we're in a different situation. We have to look at it differently," he said. "We want to make sure we do our due diligence and give citizens and business owners the opportunity to come in and ask questions and have their voices be heard before we make any kind of decision."
But the decision has to be made relatively soon, as downtown construction to widen sidewalks, raise crosswalks, reroute traffic and other improvements are planned to begin next year.
"We have a bylaw in town that says when we re-pave a road, we can't reopen it for five years," Mason said. "We either do it during reconstruction or forget about it."
Franklin council to discuss placing utility lines underground
Franklin, MA
Monday, August 3, 2009
"an issue for the new council to work on"
Nutting said he will wait to see the cost before deciding whether he feels as strongly as Vallee about burying the utilities.
Town Council filed special legislation months ago that will allow them to borrow money for the work, and Nutting said he expects the special legislation to be voted on by year's end.
Read the full article about this aspect of the planned improvements for downtown Franklin in the Milford Daily News here.
Picking up from the headline this is just one of many items that the "new" council will work on. The "new" council is one that will be elected on November 3rd. Who of the current council is running and who else will be on the ballot remains to be seen. As noted here previously, papers will be available from the Town Clerk next week (Aug 10th) and are due back to the Town Clerk by Sep 15th.
Please stay current with what is happening in Franklin. We will need to cast an informed vote in November to handle the major items that are facing Franklin.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Red flag
found this pole near the corner of Wachusetts and Arlington streets
Saturday, April 12, 2008
FINCOM: Facilities - Demand/Response opportunity (audio)
Time: 3 minutes, 22 seconds
MP3 File
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Approval for Summer St Paving (audio)
Time: 7 minutes, 35 seconds
MP3 File