Franklin Dog Park Event - July 10

Hello dog lovers. Pet Supplies Plus of Franklin is having an event at the Franklin dog park on Saturday, July 10 from 10 AM to 1 PM. 

There will be free doggie ice cream, frisbees and tennis balls for our furry friends while supply last. 

We will have donations jars for the Franklin Lions Club. Bring your furry friend and enjoy the ice cream.

Thank you,

Gennarino D'Onofrio, President  

Furry Friends of The Franklin Dog Park

dog park at Dacey Field on a sunny summer day

Fiscal Year 2022 First Quarter Real Estate and Personal Property Tax Bills

Treasurer Collector, Kerri Bertone has mailed the Fiscal 2022 first quarter real estate and personal property tax bills.  

Payments are due by August 2, 2021.  

Payments received after the due date are charged 14% interest.

Shared from the Town of Franklin page

https://www.franklinma.gov/home/news/fiscal-year-2022-first-quarter-real-estate-and-personal-property-tax-bills

Fiscal Year 2022 First Quarter Real Estate and Personal Property Tax Bills

Guitar Instructors Needed for Veteran's "Tune it Out" Program

Guitar Instructors Needed!

New TUNE IT OUT Program

We are introducing the TUNE IT OUT program and are looking for VOLUNTEER GUITAR INSTRUCTORS to teach veterans to play acoustic guitar in a group setting. Research suggests that active music engagement reduces anxiety, increases relaxation levels and improves overall well-being.

Please contact the Veterans' Services Office at: (508) 613-1315 for more information.

Shared from the Town of Franklin page
https://www.franklinma.gov/veterans-services/news/guitar-instructors-needed

Guitar Instructors Needed for Veteran's "Tune it Out" Program

Franklin residents: Recycling Pick-up Update - July 7

Recycling Pick-up

The attached recycle route will not be completed today (7-7-21), Waste Management will be staffing an extra truck in Franklin tomorrow (7-8-21) to recover any recycling not picked up today. 

Shared from the Town of Franklin page
https://www.franklinma.gov/home/news/recycling-pick

Update From Waste Management ~ Wednesday, July 7

Franklin Annual Report - 2020: Franklin Conservation Commission

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CONSERVATION COMMISSION

Franklin Conservation Commission is responsible for promoting and protecting the Town of Franklin’s natural resources, and protecting the Town’s wetlands resources.

The Commission is comprised of seven volunteer residents appointed for three year terms by the Town Administrator. Current Commission members have diverse professional experience related to environmental science, biology, engineering, and project management. Because of their different backgrounds, each commissioner is able to offer a different perspective during the review of applications for a wetland permit that ultimately benefits Franklin.

Franklin has continuously been represented at the annual conference of the Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissions each March, with Commissioners attending classes and workshops and talking with other Commissioners from across the state as well as lawyers, ecologists and engineers active in conservation.

The Department of Planning and Community Development (DPCD) provides administrative and technical support to the Commission.

Permitting of Work Within or Adjacent to Wetlands Resources
The majority of the Commission’s attention is directed to administering Massachusetts and Franklin wetland protection laws and regulations. Those laws and regulations require Conservation Commission permits to work in or within 100 feet of a wetland, in the 100 year flood hazard zone, or within 200 feet of a perennial stream.

During the first quarter of FY20 the Commission voted to accept fast tracking NOI/ANRAD peer review consultant services as recommended by the Conservation Agent and DPCD. This change has helped move big projects along the permitting process more quickly.

During FY20 the Conservation Agent reviewed and administratively approved 15 minor buffer zone applications.

During FY20 the Conservation Commission received 46 permit applications to work within areas under their permitting jurisdiction. In addition the Commission issued Certificates of Compliance for previously permitted projects, and granted permit extensions to allow projects to finish. The table below is a summary of Conservation Commission activity during the 2020 Fiscal Year.

Some of the more interesting project applications before the Commission during FY20 include construction of a marijuana cultivation and production facility at 160 Grove Street and the Town’s projects off Meadowlark Lane and Griffin Road to improve water quality and reduce pollutant loading in the Chicken Brook-Charles River sub-watershed.

DelCarte Conservation Area 
The Commission continues to work on the DelCarte Area (aka the Franklin Reservoirs) off of Pleasant Street. There are a series of seven “structures” (six dams that had been originally used for cranberry farming and a stone wall that beavers had dammed) along Miller brook thru the 100+ acre DelCarte Area.
 

The Commission retained the services of ESS, Inc. to undertake an ecological study to ascertain the flora and fauna viability in the pond and develop a long term management plan. This study, completed in 2015-2016 has given the Town a comprehensive understanding of exactly “what is there” and includes a management plan to help keep the area viable as a true recreational jewel. The first two phases of the plan’s recommendations, the treatment of invasive plant species, was undertaken in the spring/summer of 2017-2019. The Town appropriated Capital Improvement funds to help implement the next phases of this study in 2019-2020. The pond’s invasive species were treated again throughout the summer of 2020.

In addition the funds are being used to implement the ADA recommendations under the master plan developed for DelCarte. This plan, developed for the Town by Mass Audubon was presented to the Commission in the fall of 2017. The Commission began to undertake improvements to the DelCarte Recreation Area in the late summer/early fall of 2018 to bring access to the trails and the water bodies up to ADA standards and improve the overall aesthetics of the area. This portion of the improvements was completed in the spring/summer 2019.

Continue reading the report from the Conservation Commission

https://www.franklinma.gov/town-clerk/files/town-franklin-annual-report-2020

Prior Annual Reports can be found online

https://www.franklinma.gov/town-clerk/pages/annual-reports

Franklin Annual Report - 2020: Franklin Conservation Commission

Senior Story Hour: April 2021 (audio)

The Franklin Senior Center reads short stories, essays, poems and more. This episode aired on Franklin Public Radio for April 2021. 

Audio link = https://player.captivate.fm/episode/e93d98b9-5ba6-4146-83ea-842209526130

Friday: 11 AM, 2 PM, and 8 PM = “Senior Story Hour” – Senior Center Scribblers Group Original writing presented by the authors  Listen each week on the air at 102.9 FM, and online at our website, wfpr.fm

Subscribe via Google Podcast (or your favorite podcast app)

https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9zZW5pb3Itc2NyaWJibGVycy5jYXB0aXZhdGUuZm0vcnNzZmVlZA?sa=X&ved=0CAMQ4aUDahcKEwiw1vuEwanxAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQIg 

Franklin, MA: Past & Present Part 3 (video)

This is a video that highlights images of Franklin's past as compared to pictures that were taken from those same locations today. 

Video link = https://youtu.be/UKnlOOCT43s

Franklin Annual Report - 2020: Charles River Pollution Control District

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CHARLES RIVER POLLUTION CONTROL DISTRICT

During Fiscal Year 2020, the Charles River Pollution Control District’s (District) regional advanced wastewater treatment facility received and treated approximately 1,730 million gallons (4.74 million gallons per day) of raw wastewater, including 9.2 million gallons of septage from the District’s member and customer towns before discharge to the Charles River.

As part of the District’s infiltration and inflow program, the District will be inspecting the Mine Brook Interceptor Subsystem. The District will be inspecting 99 manholes, and performing closed-circuit television camera (CCTV) and multi-sensor inspections of 28,400 linear feet of pipe for signs of infiltration and inflow. This work is to be completed during FY 2021.

In late 2015, the District entered into a Power Purchase Agreement to receive net-metering credits from a solar array in Carver, Massachusetts. The array has been online since December 2015 and to-date the District has received over $350,000 in net-metering credits.

The District’s Fiscal Year 2021 budget is 1.9% lower than the previous years’ budget. The District’s FY 2021 budget for operations and maintenance is $3,743,860, while the capital projects budget is $2,217,930. Franklin’s share of the operation and maintenance and capital projects budgets are estimated to be $2,186,750 and $1,286,440, respectively.

more information on the District please check out our website at https://www.charlesriverpcd.org/.

submitted
Douglas M. Downing, Chairman (Medway) 

David Formato, Vice Chairman (Franklin) 

Mark Cataldo, Clerk (Franklin)
Michael Callahan (Medway) 

Richard Johnson (Franklin)

CRPCD Officers:
Elizabeth Taglieri, P.E., Executive Director 
John D. Foster, Treasurer
Barbara Maffeo, Executive Secretary 

The full Annual Report for 2020 can be found online
https://www.franklinma.gov/town-clerk/files/town-franklin-annual-report-2020

Prior Annual Reports can be found online

https://www.franklinma.gov/town-clerk/pages/annual-reports

Franklin Annual Report - 2020: Charles River Pollution Control District

Senior Story Hour: March 2021 (audio)

The Franklin Senior Center reads short stories, essays, poems and more. This episode aired on Franklin Public Radio for March 2021. 

Audio link = https://player.captivate.fm/episode/ae5d74e9-5862-4223-86c5-f3665477b467

Friday: 11 AM, 2 PM, and 8 PM = “Senior Story Hour” – Senior Center Scribblers Group Original writing presented by the authors  Listen each week on the air at 102.9 FM, and online at our website, wfpr.fm

Subscribe via Google Podcast (or your favorite podcast app)
https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9zZW5pb3Itc2NyaWJibGVycy5jYXB0aXZhdGUuZm0vcnNzZmVlZA?sa=X&ved=0CAMQ4aUDahcKEwiw1vuEwanxAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQIg

Franklin, MA: Past & Present Part 2 (video)

This is a video that highlights images of Franklin's past as compared to pictures that were taken from these same locations today. 

Video link = https://youtu.be/L7sy7yY2B0w

Franklin Annual Report - 2020: Building Inspection Department

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BUILDING INSPECTION DEPARTMENT

The Building Inspection Department is a multi-functional office responsible for the construction, demolition, alteration, repair and occupancy of all residential, commercial, business and industrial uses for both existing and new construction in accordance with the Massachusetts Building Code. 

The department is responsible for the administration, interpretation and enforcement of the following codes:

• Massachusetts State Building Code - 780CMR 
• Town of Franklin Code - Zoning – CH 185 
• Mass. Electrical Code – 527 CMR
• Mass. Plumbing & Gas Code – 248 CMR 
• National Fuel Gas Code – NFPA 54-2002 
• Sealer of Weights and Measure – G.L. CH 98 
• Architectural Access Board – 521 CMR

Hours of Operation

The Building Inspection Department’s hours are Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday 8:00a.m.-4:00p.m., Wednesday 8:00a.m.-6:00p.m. and Friday 8:00a.m.- 1:00p.m.
For your convenience, you may visit our website: at www.franklinma.gov this site contains a series of forms easily accessible and available to download. The website provides permit applications, sample plot plans, sign regulations, swimming pool instruction manuals, shed/barn instruction manuals, zoning criteria and other information necessary to process a permit or to simply provide information to the public.

Building Department Staff
Building Commissioner/Zoning Officer: Lloyd Brown
Inspectors:
Inspector of Wires: Bernard Mullaney 

Asst Wiring Inspector: James Loughlin 

Plumbing/Gas Inspector: Richard Cornetta
Asst Plumb/Gas Inspector: Richard McCormick 

Local Building Inspector: Stephen O’Neill 

Sealer of Weights & Measurers: Comm. of Mass. /Div. of Standards

Staff Assistants
Judy Demers
Melissa Kiriacopoulos/Zoning Tyler Paslaski

Lloyd Brown, Commissioner of Buildings, is responsible for all construction trade inspectors, municipal maintenance and supervision of all construction, zoning interpretation and determination, pre-planning and review of all subdivisions and proposed construction and improvements and general input for all other municipal departments and construction-related inquiries.
 
FY 2020 started off with the promise of moving into online permitting and it didn’t disappoint. In short, our permit module Viewpoint was as smooth a transition as you could ask for. Our ZBA clerk Leeanne Kerwin worked with Chrissy Welton and IT to bring a much anticipated tool to the table. Leeanne moved onto a Job in the Town of Dighton and is sorely missed, as she was an outstanding employee.

Barbara Curran also a long time ZBA clerk for us retired at the beginning of the year. Barbara was as good as they get with over 20 years of service to the town. Melissa Kiriacopoulos was hired in January as ZBA clerk and has excelled as permit clerk as has Tyler Paslaski our latest hire.

Continue reading about the Building Inspection Department

https://www.franklinma.gov/town-clerk/files/town-franklin-annual-report-2020

Prior Annual Reports can be found online

https://www.franklinma.gov/town-clerk/pages/annual-reports

Franklin Annual Report - 2020:  Building Inspection Department

 

SAFE Radio: Marijuana Regulation (audio)

In this episode, Jim Derrick and Dr. Anne Bergen talk about marijuana use disorder, the high amounts of THC in modern marijuana strains, and the bills being prepared to help regulate THC levels in medical marijuana. 

Audio file = https://player.captivate.fm/episode/219dcc30-0022-4dec-b14e-e7a8c9fbebd5

Listen to SAFE Radio at 102.9 or wfpr.fm on Tuesdays at 11 AM, 2 PM, and 8 PM

Subscribe for other episodes via Google Podcast (or your favorite app)

https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5jYXB0aXZhdGUuZm0vc2FmZS8 

Franklin, MA: Past & Present Part 1 (video)

This is a video that highlights images of Franklin's past as compared to pictures that were taken from those same locations today 

Video link = https://youtu.be/t_7iyGmbrCU

4th of July Celebration - Sunday, July 4 - Schedule

Franklin 4th of July Celebration 

Sunday, July 4

12-5 pm: Rides and food booths open (WRIST BANDS FROM 12-5PM)

12-1 pm: Michael Rivelis (solo acoustic)

1:30-3 pm: Granite Brass (bringing spirited music to those who served our country)

3:30-4:30 pm: Jamie Barrett (solo acoustic)

 

Check July 4th Coalition Facebook page for schedule updates 

https://www.facebook.com/franklin4th/

Visit the July 4th Coalition page to donate and for other information

https://www.franklin4th.com/

Franklin July 4th Coalition

carnival ride from 2018 4th of July celebration

 

Franklin Annual Report - 2020: Board of Assessors

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BOARD OF ASSESSORS

Interim Revaluation
The interim revaluation of all real and personal property in the Town of Franklin was completed Fall 2019 in preparation for Actual Fiscal Year 2020 3rd quarter tax bills. Following is a brief review of that achievement.

Data Collection
Eighteen years have now passed since we installed the real estate valuation and assessment administration software developed by Patriot Properties, Inc. Because our start-up data was from a different form of valuation system and most of our data had not been refreshed in nearly ten years, it was necessary to complete a town- wide data recollection program prior to finalizing the FY 2005 valuations. Patriot Properties was hired for this task. Over the past 15 years, our appraisal staff has performed the on-going property exterior measuring and interior inspecting for all real estate classes. Such reviews are done for the Department of Revenue (DOR) required cyclical program, as well as for building permitted changes, pre-appraisal, abatement and sales verifications.

Field Review
In addition to individual property on-site review, field reviews are required periodically to check for obvious data accuracy and consistency. This drive-by review provides another level of assurance that when valuation schedules are applied, the results will be “Fair and Equitable”.

Commercial/Industrial/Apartment Valuations 

Annually there are analyses of sales data as well as income & expense market data. The Board contracted Patriot to work with our Director to establish an income approach to value for each property. All requirements of the Massachusetts Department of Revenue were met through final approval of the FY 2020 valuations.

Sales Analysis
The majority of the sales analysis was completed by September 2019, and the interpretation of sales continued through the next two stages of valuation. The town-wide program resulted in a valuation system that was applied uniformly throughout the town, while reflecting all the adjustments warranted individually and by neighborhood, to result in “Full and Fair Cash Values” as per Massachusetts General Law.

Value Generation
A system of valuation was established based on valid property sales and where applicable the income approach to value. These schedules
concluded from the market were then uniformly applied to all taxable and exempt real property.
 
Final Value Review
Final reviews were completed in preparation for the DOR review. These include studies of various computer- generated reports to check for value consistency, final field checks required, and for DOR documentation and its analyses.

DOR Review & Final Approval
Any on-site and statistical reviews by the DOR took place from April to September 2019. The appraisal staff provided files, generated property records, answered questions and addressed any concerns. At the conclusion of the DOR review, we were granted approval authorizing public disclosure.

Public Disclosure
The DOR approved valuations were available for disclosure to the property owners. While the administrative staff provided property record cards and general data reviews, the appraisers conducted informal hearings on valuations.

Personal Property
Business assets and those of utilities are reviewed for valuation as taxable Personal Property. For nineteen fiscal years we have engaged the specialized services of Real Estate Research Consultants (RRC) in the discovery and valuation of these accounts. These services have served us well, resulting in DOR approval and consistently defendable valuations. Also, considerable new growth has been certified annually. Additionally, the RRC Personal Property Software installed in our office has benefited us. The personal property valuation formulas are very straightforward, and the administrative capabilities have met our needs.

Classification Hearing & Tax Commitment
Following some discussion and a few presentations relative to single versus split tax rates, the Council approved a single tax rate at $14.51 per $1,000 of taxable value as calculated by the Board for all property classes. The tax commitment and mailing were timely for an actual 3rd quarter tax bill.

Abatement Reviews
Upon mailing of the tax bills and on or before the due date of the first actual bill, property owners have an opportunity to file an Abatement Application on the basis of overvaluation or misclassification. 60 abatements applications were filed of 11,681 taxable accounts, or just over 1/2 of 1%. Generally those with merit were resolved through our conducting a complete on-site exterior measuring and interior inspection. Usually a valuation discrepancy is the result of a data error or as a result of an inspection appointment not being arranged and thus the property data having been “estimated”.

Continue reading about the Board of Assessors

https://www.franklinma.gov/town-clerk/files/town-franklin-annual-report-2020

Prior Annual Reports can be found online

https://www.franklinma.gov/town-clerk/pages/annual-reports

Franklin Annual Report - 2020: Board of Assessors