Franklin, MA: Town Council - Agenda - March 16, 2022

1. ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM THE CHAIR

a. This meeting is being recorded by Franklin TV and shown on Comcast channel 11 and Verizon Channel 29. This meeting may be recorded by others.

b. Chair to identify members participating remotely.

2. CITIZEN COMMENTS

a. Citizens are welcome to express their views for up to three minutes on a matter that is not on the agenda. The Council will not engage in a dialogue or comment on a matter raised during Citizen Comments. The Town Council will give remarks appropriate consideration and may ask the Town Administrator to review the matter.

3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

a. February 2, 2022 - 

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/uploads/february_2_2022_tc_meeting_minutes_-_draft_for_review_1.pdf

b. March 2, 2022 - 

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/uploads/3b._march_2_2022_tc_meeting_minutes_-draft_for_review.pdf

4. PROCLAMATIONS / RECOGNITIONS

a. Recognition / Promotion: Police Department - Sergeant Connor Crosman

b. Recognition / Promotion: Police Department - Detective Laura Canavan

5. APPOINTMENTS

a. New Hire: Police Department - Derek Mackey

6. HEARINGS - 7:00 pm - None Scheduled
7. LICENSE TRANSACTIONS - None Scheduled

8. PRESENTATIONS / DISCUSSIONS

a. Stormwater Utility - Brutus Cantoreggi, Department of Public Works 

 

i. Stormwater Presentation - Department of Public Works  - 

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/uploads/stormwater_utility_fee_presentation_2022.pdf 

 

ii. Stormwater Management Plan:

● Year 2 Update, July 3, 2020 - 393-page Federal Stormwater Permit 

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/uploads/franklin_swmp_year_2_update_7-3-20_for_town_with_appendicies.pdf

● July 2021 Update   

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/uploads/2021.06.29_franklin_py3_swmp_update.pdf 

 

iii. Department of Public Works:

● Stormwater Website  (https://www.franklinma.gov/stormwater-division) 

& Parcel Level Impervious Surface Map   

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/e45452a3047e4c83b27170a8f4f79aa5

9. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
a. Bylaw Amendment 22-876: Chapter 153 Stormwater Management - Corrective Legislation, First Reading (Motion to Move Bylaw Amendment 22-876 to Second Reading- Majority Vote)
b. Bylaw Amendment 22-877: Chapter 82, Municipal Service Fees, Amended at Section 82-6 Schedule of Service Fees, Subsection A. Administration: Stormwater Utility Fee - First Reading (Motion to Move Bylaw Amendment 22-877 to Second Reading- Majority Vote)
c. Bylaw Amendment 22-878: Chapter 82, Municipal Service Fees, Amended at Section 82-6 Schedule of Service Fees, Subsection A. Administration: Passport Photo Fee - First Reading (Motion to Move Bylaw Amendment 22-878 to Second Reading- Majority Vote)
d. Resolution 22-19: Gift Acceptance - Fire Department ($1,050) (Motion to Approve Resolution 22-19 - Majority Vote)
e. Resolution 22-20: Gift Acceptance - Veterans’ Services Department ($2,250) (Motion to Approve Resolution 22-20 - Majority Vote)
f. Resolution 22-21: FY22 Capital Improvement Plan (Motion to Approve Resolution 22-21 - Majority Vote)
g. Resolution 22-22: Free Cash to Stabilization Accounts Transfers (Motion to Approve Resolution 22-22 - Majority Vote)
h. Resolution 22-23: Authorizing the Borrowing of Money to Pay Costs of Repairs for Horace Mann School (Motion to Approve Resolution 22-23 - Two Thirds Majority Vote)

10. TOWN ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT
a. Preliminary FY23 Budget Model - https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/uploads/8a._preliminary_fy23_budget_model.pdf

11. SUBCOMMITTEE & AD HOC COMMITTEE REPORTS
a. Capital Budget Subcommittee
b. Budget Subcommittee
c. Economic Development Subcommittee

12. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS

13. COUNCIL COMMENTS

14. EXECUTIVE SESSION

15. ADJOURN

Note:
Two-Thirds Vote: requires 6 votes
Majority Vote: requires majority of members present and voting

Agenda doc including released documents

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/agendas/march_16_2022_town_council_agenda.pdf

Franklin, MA: Town Council - Agenda - March 16, 2022

Finance Committee gets a deep dive into all things DPW - March 9, 2022 (audio & transcript)

FM #750 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 750 in the series. 

This session of the radio show shares the Finance Committee meeting held Wednesday, March 9, 2022. 

Most of the meeting was the presentation and discussion on the overview of the DPW presentation and discussion. While Director Robert (Brutus) Cantoreggi did not present this time, his team: 

• Derek Adams - Environmental Supervisor

• Doug Martin - Water/Sewer Supervisor

• Kathy Mooradd - Admin & Budget Manager

did more than cover for him. They expertly presented and answered questions providing a level of detail (without notes in many cases) such that was clear they knew what they were doing. 

NEW: A transcript of the recording is available. The transcript is part of a pilot by Franklin Matters using the transcription service provided by Otter.ai https://otter.ai/ 

The meeting opened at 6:30 PM and ran an hour and 10 minutes.

Audio file -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-750-finance-committee-mtg-03-09-22

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Meeting agenda and presentation document ->

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/agendas/3-9-22_fin_com_meeting_agenda_0.pdf

Meeting transcript -> 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XClkmA0iMWJtFkA6ca5McbuhoFLcK1V4/view?usp=sharing 

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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 iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"

 

Finance Committee Agenda - March 9, 2022

Finance Committee Agenda - March 9, 2022 - 6:30 PM

Finance Committee Meeting

Agenda & Meeting Packet

March 9th, 2022 - 6:30 PM

Agenda

1. Call to Order

2. Public Comment

3. Approval of Minutes

a. February 9, 2022

4. Presentation: Department of Public Works

5. Stabilization Fund Balances as of 3-2-2022

6. Adjourn

Agenda doc with remote connection info ->   https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/agendas/3-9-22_fin_com_meeting_agenda_0.pdf

Finance Committee Agenda - March 9, 2022 - 6:30 PM

Sorry we missed you: How can Franklin Build Climate Resilience? (video)

"So sorry that you missed our presentation last evening "How can Franklin Build Climate Resilience?". You can find a recording of the presentation on our YouTube Channel and slides on our website. 

Additionally I wanted to share our Climate Resilience Toolkit which is located on our website and includes different policy solutions to help increase climate resilience. "

Best,

Robert

--

Robert Kearns
Climate Resilience Specialist
Charles River Watershed Association
41 West St. Suite 800

Boston, MA 02111
t 617.540.5650 x 1075
He, Him, His

www.crwa.org/support

Recap - FinComm - Budget Hearing #3 - All DPW, and we find they they lose 2 positions in FY 2022

Quick Recap:

• Interesting twist instead of the formal line by line budget discussion of prior nights, DPW taking 2 people out of budget to bring in a balanced line as the stormwater fee apparently is NOT being considered for next year
• 3rd party peer review for Beaver St interceptor being funded to make sure costs and plans are good
• State target for per capita water usage 65 gals per person per day, we're at 42 and doing well
• Even with new pump station coming online, the DEP permit will still require water conservation measures. And that is not considering the drought status

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As with most meetings in this pandemic period, I took my notes via Twitter during the meeting reporting in real-time via the virtual session.

 

The Twitter hashtag can be found online  #fincom0429

https://twitter.com/search?q=%23fincom0429&src=typed_query 

Photos captured during the meeting and shared via Twitter can be found in one album https://photos.app.goo.gl/b2kW9RphygWgWoxZ6

The agenda for this meeting can be found

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/agendas/_2021-04-29_finance_committee_agenda_.pdf 

• Finance Committee meeting coming up at 6:30 - Part 3 of 4 - Time for all things  Dept of Public Works; Highway, Grounds, Central Motors, Solid Waste and Stormwater!  https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/agendas/_2021-04-29_finance_committee_agenda_.pdf   #fincom0429
• To follow along, page 75 of Appendix A1 for DPW and all it does! #fincom0429 
• Finding out that the DPW is cutting personnel in their budget - that wasn't clear in anything heard previously!
• Interesting twist instead of the formal line by line budget discussion of prior nights, a few eye openers #fincom0429 DPW taking 2 people out of budget to bring in a balance line as the stormwater fee apparently is NOT being considered for next year
• #fincom0429 instead of making it about big bad phosphorus, or the Charles (isn't that in Boston). Street sweeping, catch basin cleaning, lots of really glamorous work is required to handle the stormwater and better ground water as we are a ground water aquifer user
• This is infrastructure, we need it, don't we really have bigger 'fish to fry?' #fincom0429 current nonprofit entities (Dean College) don't pay anything, government (Post office) don't pay, both would pay their "fair" share under the utility fee (sometime)
• Long discussion, can't reasonably do justice via this format. #fincom0429  George calculated $14/q and Franklin Village would be roughly $4,000/q... Will go back to the Jan 2020 meeting recording to help remind folks of what they said then.
• Stormwater conversation ends (finally) #fincom0429 now going to the DPW line by line street lights, p 86; solid waste p 87 (actually the recycling center) the remainder of solid waste is an enterprise fund
• Recycling needs to be looked at, it may be cheaper to burn as opposed to years a go recycling would earn us money #fincom0429 3rd party peer review for Beaver St interceptor being funded to make sure costs and plans are good. Per capita 65 gals per person per day, we're at 42
• Request for additional percentage amounts Motion to adjourn, second, passes 7-0   That's all for tonight, catch you next Tue, May 4 for the schools budget #fincom0429
• Oops forgot to add #fincom0429

 

FinCom member Susan Dewsnap

DPW loses two positions in FY 2022 budget due to Town Council inaction on Stormwater utility proposal

Why Town Council inaction?

You should ask them individually. I have been reporting on their meetings and while there is a lack of understanding around the reality of stormwater for some of the members, and how to best fund it, I had been lead to believe that this discussion was coming in the budget discussions. 

I found out during the Finance Committee hearing Thursday evening, that adjustments were made to 'get by' in anticipation that the Town Council would not approve the utility fee. So the DPW gets cuts now. There is still time for the stormwater discussion to happen. The Council has their budget hearings May 27-28 at which they will approve the budget for FY 2022.

• The stormwater story summarizes the development since the stormwater bylaw was passed in 2007.

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2021/04/the-stormwater-story-summary-for.html

The stormwater utility fee was established as a mechanism to fund stormwater by a Unanimous vote in Jan 2020. It was created then to provide time for the MUNIS system to be adjusted to actually enable the billing. The software work required seems to be done as the billing does show stormwater utility with $0

All that is required now is for the Council to (1) actually create the fee so (2) the other detailed items can help establish it (credit items, credit process, etc.) and potentially restore the two positions to the DPW for FY 2022.

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From the DPW section of the Town of Franklin FY 2022 budget narrative:

 (bold text indicates my change for emphasis to show where the cuts were 'buried' in the text.)

FY22 Budget Modifications, Increases & Reductions

It is important to note the shifting funding amounts and location of costs in the DPW Budget. The issue of stormwater affects the FY22 budget for DPW and will continue in future fiscal years.

Going forward, the DPW will see significant budgetary changes that will affect the services they perform. The effects of the pandemic and economy will only expedite the process.  The most notable impact being the implementation of EPA’s federally required stormwater permit and how to pay for it.  The new mandated requirements of this permit are unfunded (yes, an“unfunded mandate”).  In order to implement these legal requirements, staff have to propose shifting funds from other areas of DPW to a new stormwater division. The amount of funds required in FY22 are only the beginning,over the next two years cost increases due to theMS4 are anticipated to be at least another $200,000annually. Over time, this will “eat up” operating capacity in the budget which, in turn, will reduce other services and improvements we provide.

In order to continue to meet the needs of our residents,address changes in regulatory requirements, and staffing concerns next year, the following list outlines the major changes in the Franklin Public Works Budget.While there are nominal increases in some areas, the majority of changes are just shifting funds from specific lines to areas that are of a higher priority.

Once again, the most pressing issue is funding the new MS4 permit requirements that are mandated by the recent settlement with the EPA, but have not been appropriately funded in the past.

In order to accurately reflect the cost of the ongoing required stormwater efforts, we have to create a Stormwater Division within the DPW General Fund with a budget of $867,545. Specifically, $265,545 in personnel salaries and $602,000 in expenses.

The salary costs of $265k are a reallocation of current staff from other DPW divisions to reflect their current efforts in stormwater the town has been doing for years. In other words, these monies have not changed, they have just moved from one division in the DPW to another.

Therefore, the additional funding needed to meet the requirements in FY22 is $602,000 over what the Town already does for stormwater work. To make up for the deficit caused by these additional costs, many cuts and reallocations of funds were made in other DPW Divisions. The most pressing concerns include cutting two labor positions, one from our highway and one from our grounds crews, which will affect our response to daily duties but more importantly to emergency situations like snow and ice operations.  Expense line items were cut across the board as deemed the most appropriate.In addition to these cuts, requests for increases in various service areas were forgone, most notably in road construction and tree maintenance.

Overall the DPW General Fund budget did go up $338,000. This includes a cut of ($22,000) on the salary side and an overall increase of $360,000 of expense items.

The majority of the salary change includes, cutting two positions from our crew, adding a GIS position to accommodate town wide needs, adding staff hours to meet increased demand at the Recycling Center, and required payroll increases due to the collective bargaining agreement, COLA costs for non-union employees and the minimum wage increase in Massachusetts.  Many of the salary and personnel decisions revolve around current and future stormwater requirements. We have also reallocated a portion of the salaries of our Stormwater Manager, Management Staff, Administrative staff, and two DPW Crew Members to the new Stormwater Division.

With the retirement of our Deputy Director of Operations in FY21, we made a change to our management structure by eliminating the position  and hiring an  Assistant Highway & Grounds Superintendent and an Assistant Water & Sewer Superintendent instead. Due to the growing needs of our department, this transition has been very successful and we plan to continue this setup in FY22.  The Town did not fill the Deputy Director of Operations position.

 

You can find this section beginning page 64

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/uploads/2021-04-16_fy_2022_budget_message_narrative_working_document_1.pdf

You can also find the DPW section (extracted from the full doc here)  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WqhlP0LsIHcAY3HKTngU1gSRGQgSVnFo/view?usp=sharing  

Check out the impervious coverage map for your property -> https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/e45452a3047e4c83b27170a8f4f79aa5

The stormwater story summary for Franklin

One of the key items in all of the budget discussions is going to be the stormwater utility question. This has been a topic that has developed since 2007 when the initial storm water bylaw was passed. The EPA and Mass DEP have continued to add requirements to how storm water should be managed. The costs for such mitigations have grown over the years. The introduction of the storm water utility fee would allow the Town to better manage the impact on the Town budget.

Why must we manage storm water?

We are part of the area feeding into the Charles River and hence are under the provisions as outlined in the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4) permit. We have an extensive outflow system to catch and manage storm water. Check out the map here -> https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/uploads/outfall_map.pdf 

Did the Town of Franklin sue the EPA?

Yes, and while we ultimately ‘lost’ the case, we did gain concessions on the implementation timeline that benefit all under the MS4 permit requirements.

When did the storm water bylaw pass?

The Storm water bylaw originally passed in 2007. Check out the bylaw language here -> https://ecode360.com/10434264

What is the storm water utility fee?

Article IV - storm water utility was added in Jan 2020. Bylaw #19-846 approved 9-0 vote. Check out the language here -> https://ecode360.com/FR1096/laws/LF1135684.pdf 

What is the MS4? 

Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems or by the shorter name MS4. The current storm water mitigation plan - updated in 2020 ->  Stormwater Management Plan (revised 2020)

Can I find out what my impervious coverage is?

Check out the impervious coverage map for your property -> https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/e45452a3047e4c83b27170a8f4f79aa5

Finance Committee budget hearing scheduled to continue this discussion

• April 29 Agenda  = Dept of Public Works 

 https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/agendas/_2021-04-29_finance_committee_agenda_.pdf

 

How did we get here?

Soak it up Franklin site introduced in 2014   https://www.franklinmatters.org/2014/03/soak-it-up-franklin.html 

Find the “Soak it up Franklin” page here ->  https://www.soakitupfranklinma.org/

Storm water mitigated by rain gardens https://www.soakitupfranklinma.org/residential-rain-garden-project.html 

The storm water utility was mentioned in the EPA response in 2015

“Full compliance with the 2014 Draft MS4 Permit is an additional significant effort that cannot be currently supported with the Town' s existing resources and funding within the next permit cycle, as specified in the draft permit. The Town wishes to continue improving stormwater management and water quality, but this effort needs to take into consideration the progress made to date and be balanced with future infrastructure demands town-wide and economic conditions. Additionally, the town feels that the most cost-effective approach for stormwater improvements is integration with redevelopment and capital projects as infrastructure needs to be upgraded and/or replaced.

 

Similar to many other communities, Franklin has considered creating a stormwater utility to meet the current and proposed additional costs associated with the updated MS4 permit. Attached are working budget sheets that are based on current costs to meet the existing MS4 permit compared to estimated short-term EPA proposed MS4 stonn water activities. These worksheets clearly show that the additional tasks proposed by the new MS4 permit would go up over l00%!

 

Presently the Public Work's General Fund Operational Budget (GFOB) is $3,996,424.00. It is estimated that 14% or $559,499.00 of the GFOB is used for  only stormwater tasks.  lf the new MS4 permit becomes effective as proposed, it is estimated that the stormwater program effort in Franklin would require an increase to 26% or $1,039,070.00 of the GFOB”

 

Find the full doc with this quote here ->

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/uploads/2014_draft_massachusetts_small_ms4_general_permit.pdf 

Storm water info mailer in 2018

https://drive.google.com/file/d/11hl1hOGir3MwAoFwmFBTprKXC2lBL25C/view?usp=drivesdk 

The bylaw was discussed in Nov 2019 TC meeting

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2019/11/live-reporting-presentations-open.html

Received first reading and approval to second reading 

Actions taken Dec 4 move to 2nd reading

https://www.franklinma.gov/town-council/files/tc-actions-taken-12-4-19

Dec 2019 TC meeting

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2019/12/live-reporting-legislation-for-action.html

Stormwater Utility fee structure was approved by 9-0 in Jan 2020

Actions taken Jan 8 2020 - approval to set the process for the MUNIS adjustments required to bill for an actual fee (to be determined later). https://www.franklinma.gov/town-council/files/1-8-2020-tc-actions-taken

Info session doc 3/11/20

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1I2WQBG4XgPRjak-b4athnfqal6h1xMR-/view?usp=drivesdk 

Town council goals midterm

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/11/franklin-residents-town-council-goals.html

You ask, we answer

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/03/you-ask-we-answer-tax-our-driveways.html

MS4 info session summary

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/05/the-ms4-permit-is-important-step-to.html

Finance Committee meeting in June 2020

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/06/franklin-ma-finance-committee-budget_6.html

Town Council Budget hearing June 2020

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/06/town-council-budget-hearing-2-recap.html

Storm water ad-hoc committee meeting Aug 2020 (audio)

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/08/fm-327-stormwater-subcomm-mtg-80520.html

Storm water ad-hoc committee meeting Sep 2020 (audio)

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/09/fm-346-stormwater-ad-hoc-subcomm-mtg.html

Finance Committee meeting Jan 13, 2021 (Audio)

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2021/01/fm-435-finance-committee-mtg-011321.html

Town council Jan 20, 2021 (audio)

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2021/01/fm-444-town-council-mtg-p2-of-2-012021.html

 

The stormwater story summary for Franklin