Franklin Matters

Balances as of 9/30/10
Gen Stab 4,689,302
PW Stab 74,656
Debt Stab 179,980
Traffic Stab 4,529
Overlay Surplus -0-
Free Cash 2,133,006

Call to Order
Citizens Comments
Approval of Minutes

Action Items:

2011 Capital Budget:

Roads - $200,000 (FY 11 Hotel/Motel tax)
Fire Truck - $180,000 (Debt Stabilization)
Water Improvements - $1,200,000 (Water Retained Earnings)
Sewer I & I Improvements - $300,000 (Sewer Retained Earnings)
Departmental Capital - $833,000 (Free Cash)

Bond Authorizations:

School Repairs - $2,000,000
Water Improvements - $7,500,000

Discussion Items:

Jeff Nutting – Current Financial Policies
Proposed General Fund Operational Policies
Proposed Enterprise Account Policies
Future Capital Projects
Tax hearing

Old Business
New Business
Adjournment

Franklin, MA

Printsmart Office Products

Catching up to the photos that I took during the visit to the new location of Printsmart Office Products during their Grand Opening:

If you haven't seen the video tour provided by Joel Carerra, follow this link.

Note: email subscribers will need to click through to Franklin MAtters to view the photos

Franklin, MA

Downtown Zoning/Bylaw Proposal

The proposed bylaw changes for the downtown zoning and sign changes were discussed on Nov 17th at the Town Council meeting. Here is the handout format for the presentation by Bryan Taberner that night.

TC 11-17-10 Downtown Bylaw Changes Presentation

This will also be located in the original posting for the meeting that night.

Franklin, MA

In the News - kidney donation, capital budget

Franklin woman donates kidney to her neighbor

from The Milford Daily News News RSS by Brian Benson/Daily News staff

Franklin FinCom to discuss capital projects tomorrow night

from The Milford Daily News News RSS by GateHouse Media, Inc.

Actually since this was posted to MDN website on Monday, the meeting is Tuesday.

Franklin, MA

Monday, November 29, 2010

Franklin, MA: Town Council - Agenda - 12/1/10

A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – November 3, 2010

B. ANNOUNCEMENTS -Meetings of the Town Council are Recorded

C. PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS

D. CITIZEN COMMENTS

E. APPOINTMENTS
Franklin Disability Commission - Ronald Wainrib

F. HEARINGS

G. LICENSE TRANSACTIONS
Transfer of Package Store License to Union Street Wine & Liquors

H. PRESENTATIONS/DISCUSSIONS

I. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS

J. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
1. Resolution 10-64: Appropriation – Sewer Enterprise Retained Earnings
2. Resolution 10-65: Appropriation – Water Enterprise Retained Earnings
3. Resolution 10-66: Authorization to Borrow-Water Infrastructure Improvements
4. Resolution 10-67: Appropriation – Recreation Gift Account
5. Resolution 10-68: Appropriation – Road, Sidewalk, Drainage Improvements
6. Bylaw Amendment 10-651: Chapter 170, Vehicles and Traffic- 2nd Reading

K. TOWN ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT

L. OLD BUSINESS

M. NEW BUSINESS

N. COUNCIL COMMENTS

O. EXECUTIVE SESSION – Negotiations, Litigation, Real Property, as May Be Required

P. ADJOURN

Franklin, MA

Santa arrives on the Franklin Town Common - photos

In addition to the brief video posted Sunday, here are some photos of Santa on the Town Common:

Note: email subscribers will need to click through to Franklin MAtters to view the photos

Franklin, MA

Picture Added:

I finally got a round to adding the picture to the Remington Teacher recognition from the last School Committee meeting.

From Left to Right:: Joe O’Halloran, Jeff Roy, Mary Kass, and Paul Peri

This was originally posted (minus the picture) during the School Committee meeting on 11/16/10

Franklin, MA

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Santa arrives on the Franklin Town Common - video

Yes, Santa did arrive via fire truck to the Franklin Town Common Sunday afternoon, just after 4:00 PM.

The video is a little choppy until Santa gets in his chair.

What are you going to wish for Christmas?

Note: email subscribers will need to click through to Franklin MAtters to view the video

Franklin, MA

Town Council - Agenda - 12/01/10 - documents

The full agenda and associated documents for the Town Council meeting scheduled for Weds, Dec 1, 2010

TC_20101201_agenda

Franklin, MA

In the News - recycling system

All signs point to success for Franklin's new recycling system

from The Milford Daily News News RSS by Brian Benson/Daily News staff

Franklin, MA

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Content, conversation, community, and conversion!

I have referenced the three C's (content, conversation and community) many times. Todd and Ted cover them in this interview and show how they lead into the fourth C - conversion. I think this presents a great opportunity for us here in Franklin. Only 25 minutes!

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Our Message to Skeptical CMOs: Fresh Ground #25

via The Fresh Ground Podcast by freshground on 11/17/10

Ed Gaskin interviewed Fresh Ground co-founder Todd Van Hoosear for his "Up Close with CMOs" segment on The Pulse Network. Todd gives an overview of how Fresh Ground helps with the Four Cs: Content, Community, Conversation and Conversion. Ed does a great job at playing the skeptical CMO, and what results is, I think, an interesting discussion on social media marketing. We hope you like it.

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Franklin, MA

Friday, November 26, 2010

FM #78 - MCAS 2010 - Franklin, MA

This is #78 in the series of internet radio shows or podcast for Franklin Matters.

This podcast is linked to the presentation made by the District Leadership Team at the Franklin, MA School Committee meeting on Tuesday, November 16, 2010 to create a slidecast.

The agenda item is introduced by School Committee Chair, Jeff Roy. The group presenting is introduced by Michelle Kingsland-Smith. Several members of the Leadership Team take part in the presentation and they announce themselves as they begin each section.

At the end of the presentation (about 50 mins), there is a Q&A section (approx 22 mins) with the School Committee. To help you listen and follow along, I have duplicated each slide that was the subject of the question as it was asked. Hence, the overall presentation document is longer than the original which can also be found online at the link included.

2010 MCAS - Franklin, MA

View more webinars from Franklin Matters.

I'll concur with the comments about the quality of the presentation, this is one of the better ones I have seen. The data is clear, well organized and while it does raise some questions (deliberately in some cases), answers to the questions were well prepared for.

As I close this session this week, let me remind you that

If you like what I am doing here, please tell your friends and neighbors
If you don’t like something, please tell me

Thank you for listening!

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 and Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission

I hope you enjoy!

Note: email subscribers will need to click through to Franklin Matters to view this slidecast.

The presentation as reported on live during the meeting:

The original copy of the presentation:
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/11/franklin-ma-mcas-2010-presentation.html

Franklin, MA

"Let’s Talk about Cyberbullying"

Thursday, December 9, 2010

7:00PM – 8:30PM

Dean College

Campus Center Multi-Purpose Room

We are all reading about cyberbullying in the news. Now Franklin’s own home-grown expert Teenangels and their founder, cybersafety expert and head of StopCyberbullying.org, will help the Franklin community understand how it works, how big a problem it is and what we can do about it. The Teenangels are teens who train under Dr. Aftab for 2 years to become cybersafety experts in their own right. They are sought after by the media, governmental agencies and Congress for what they know and their practical approach to addressing cyber-risks.

Parry Aftab is Executive Director of WiredSafety.org, the largest online safety and educational program and the cybersafety contributor to the Today Show, Good Morning America, Dr. Phil, CNN and MSNBC. She is best known for empowering families to use digital technologies more safely and responsibly. She is a member of Facebook’s five member international safety advisory board and MTV’s advisory board.

This event is sponsored by: Franklin WiredTeens Club, Franklin Community Health Council, and the Franklin Anti-Bullying Task Force.

The flyer for the event can be found here:

Aftab Cyber Bullying Event 12-9-10

Related posts on Cyberbullying
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/11/bullying-plan-presentation.html

http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/11/bullying-plan-comments-wanted.html

Franklin, MA

Franklin, MA: Police toy drive

The Franklin Police will be conducting their annual toy drive. Details in the flyer below

FranklinPolice_toydrive_2010

Franklin, MA

Thursday, November 25, 2010

A Thanksgiving Tradition

One of our family traditions on Thanksgiving is to listen to this on our way to the family gathering.

If you're traveling, drive safely.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Thanks to WriterJax for the link to the video

Franklin, MA

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Why We Shouldn't Cut Food Stamps to Pay for School Lunch

The food stamp program is officially called SNAP—the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. In March 2009 the average monthly SNAP benefit per recipient was $115. After the stimulus money began to flow in April 2009, it rose to between $133 and $134 (PDF). This may sound paltry, but for households on the poverty line, it's vital. A food secure household spends $200 a month on food for each household member. A food insecure household spends on average $55 less than that per person per month. In helping to bridge that gap, the food stamp boost made an immense difference. And it was an example of stimulus funding that was universally acclaimed—it led directly to higher productivity, jobs, and community multiplier effects. (Every dollar spent on food stamps leads to $1.73 in economic growth, compared to, say, $0.32 for making the Bush-era income tax cuts permanent.)

Today, the poorest Americans are being threatened with a one-two punch. First, congress has failed to extend unemployment benefits for the 99ers—those who have run out of the 99 weeks of unemployment benefits, meaning that there are going to be many more families depending on food stamps in the future. Yet it is precisely these entitlements that the Senate has put on the block. Although many groups and large parts of the food industry think it's worth pushing for the Child Nutrition Bill this way, a few groups, such as the Food Research and Action Center, think it's short-sighted to let congress get away with robbing families' entitlements to feed their children. FRAC is right.

Read the full posting on the website of The Atlantic
http://www.theatlantic.com/food/archive/2010/11/why-we-shouldnt-cut-food-stamps-to-pay-for-school-lunch/66913/

The Franklin Food Pantry website is http://franklinfoodpantry.org/

Franklin, MA

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Tuesday, November 30, 2010