Franklin Matters

Friday, December 27, 2019

Lifelong Community Learning: 2020 Winter / Spring Registration Open

Registration is open for winter/spring classes at Lifelong Community Learning. Classes begin in January and continue through the spring months.

Participation is open to individuals, organizations, and businesses alike in Franklin and the surrounding region towns. Classes include everything from arts and crafts to child care education and various food and wine offerings.

February and April vacations will include babysitting certification classes held in partnership with the Hockomock Area YMCA in Franklin. For children, the Kids’ Corner programs include cooking, language, coding with JavaScript, family paint night, and so much more!

This spring, participants will also find as many exercise and sports programs as ever, including yoga, Zumba, and community walking. Badminton is back along with men’s basketball and coed volleyball classes rounding out the field.

Looking ahead to late spring, Enhancing Your Economic Security, a special one-night expert panel discussion will take place on May 7. This is a free event BUT registration is required.

For more information, go to www.FranklinLifelongLearning.com and click on Lifelong Community Learning. Or call Lifelong Community Learning at 508-613-1480.

ABOUT US: Lifelong Community Learning is a program of the Franklin Public Schools Lifelong Learning Institute, dedicated to providing diverse and enriched education and experiences for all area residents and children – a resource for all ages.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0wjbnXDBhczV2R1V1E3LW5IRDJHTXJwamFXS3hnSVBtQ2hz/view?usp=sharing

Lifelong Community Learning: 2020 Winter / Spring Registration Open

Thursday, December 26, 2019

"Community Arts will be adding another layer"

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

"You won’t need 20/20 vision to see the artistry of Franklin next year when the town launches its first visual art installation project, painting its town buildings with collaborative art pieces created by residents of all ages.

The end product – which will be a surprise up until it’s mounted – will reflect the culture and character of Franklin, said Anne Marie Tracey, Marketing and Communications Specialist at Franklin Public Schools (FHS) and the town of Franklin.

Late last week, the town of Franklin announced the project – called Franklin Community Arts – with the goal to permanently display at least five pieces of collaborative artwork around in town buildings, like the Town Hall, library, and the Senior Center, said Tracey. Each two-dimensional painting or mixed-media piece will involve 32 to 40 participants, and once combined, mounted and framed, the final image will result in a large-scale visual piece with the subject matter relating to Franklin and/or its artists.

Each project will require two workshops to complete, said Tracey. The first workshops are scheduled in January and will be geared towards children ages 10-14. The workshops are free and are filled on a first-come, first-serve basis. Another set of workshops will be scheduled for late February/early March and will involve a different age group of artists working on another collaborative piece for display in a different location, she said, the trend continuing with each piece."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20191225/visual-arts-installation-project-coming-next-year-to-franklin

https://franklinrecreation.activityreg.com/selectactivity_t2.wcs

Step by step process for the website navigation:

Step by step process for the website navigation

https://www.franklinma.gov/home/pages/franklin-community-arts-project

Franklin Downtown Partnership 2020 Calendar of events

Time to set some events on the calendar as we get closer to 2020. Here is the Franklin Downtown Partnership listing of the major events (Strawberry Stroll, Harvest Festival) and minor events (general meetings, networking breakfasts, etc.) to put on your planning calendar.

Residents can join the Partnership for only $25/year, students and senior citizens for only $15/year. For more about the Downtown Partnership, visit their web page https://www.franklindowntownpartnership.org/

Franklin Downtown Partnership 2020 Calendar of events

Disclosure: I am proud to be a member of the Downtown Partnership since 2010

“We need a commitment to start it"

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

"State Sen. Eric Lesser, D-Longmeadow, sits in his office gesturing at a table with maps of high-speed rail in Massachusetts. In 2014, the former Obama White House staffer came home and ran for state Senate – his pitch to voters included plans for an ambitious infrastructure project.

Five years later, he has large printouts of the final six options the Massachusetts Department of Transportation has come up with.

A feasibility study – which failed to pass the House in 2015, was vetoed in 2016, and didn’t pass again in 2017 – is finally expected to be completed next spring. Lesser wants to create an economic corridor that will equalize quality of life and housing across the state and take cars off the road, despite roadblocks such as building through mountains.

“The technology is not the issue, the logistics are not the issue, the issue is building the political will,” he said. “For us in western Massachusetts that’s always been the challenge because we have a relatively small share of the state’s population so getting attention and investment and focus on western Mass. projects has always been a challenge.”

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20191225/how-will-high-speed-rail-service-get-from-pittsfield-to-boston

More from MA DOT on the high-speed rail study
https://www.mass.gov/east-west-passenger-rail-study

MassDOT is conducting a study to examine the costs, benefits, and investments necessary to implement passenger rail service from Boston to Springfield and Pittsfield

Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Merry Christmas

Amid the darkness of winter, there is more light each day. I hope you are all able to spend some quality time with family and friends.

If you need some additional reading, feel free to cruise through the archives. The archives contain over 21,000 posts going back to 2007.

If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors.
If you don't like this, please let me know.

Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements.

Merry Christmas

Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Trash delayed one day this week for those scheduled for Wed-Thu-Fri

Christmas falls on Wednesday so those with trash/recycle pick up (like at my house) get delayed one day along with those scheduled for Thursday and Friday.

Trash delayed one day this week for those scheduled for Wed-Thu-Fri (Franklin DPW Facebook photo)

Town Council recap for Dec 18 - plastic bag waste reduction moves forward

The FHS student group working on the plastic bag reduction plan achieved a milestone after several meetings with the Economic Development Subcommittee to prepare, the Town Council agreed to move the measure forward to be developed as a bylaw. The draft language previously discussed in the EDC meetings will be tweaked and brought forward to the Council for the first of two public readings, a public hearing and eventual vote.

Several items on the alcohol license front:

La Cantina received a license for the Farmers Market
Acupalco's move from downtown to Union St was approved
The Chateau corrected their operating hours changing them slightly
Glen Pharma Distillery gained approval for their tasting license
The yearly batch of license renewals was approved

The Actions Taken document has not yet been published. Once it has that link will be added.

Additional details can be found in my notes recorded live during the meeting