Sunday, September 16, 2012
Franklin, MA: Town Council - Agenda - Sep 19, 2012
A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – August 8, 2012
B. ANNOUNCEMENTS
This meeting is being recorded by Verizon, Comcast, and Franklin Matters
C. PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS
Public Service Award
D. CITIZEN COMMENTS
E. APPOINTMENTS
Constable
F. HEARINGS
G. LICENSE TRANSACTIONS
Transfer of Liquor License – NDO Enterprises LLC…
H. PRESENTATIONS/DISCUSSIONS
Dean College
David McKearney – Board of Health
I. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS
J. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
1. Resolution 12-64:Order of Betterment Assessment – Summer Street Sewer Improvement
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
The full set of documents released with the agenda for this meeting can be found on the Franklin webpage
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_CouncilAgendas/2012%20docs/091912.pdf
Needle disposal kiosk relocated
The town’s new needle/syringe disposal kiosk has been relocated to the lobby of the DPW office at 257 Fisher Street. The kiosk will be available to residents during normal DPW business hours.
To protect the health of personnel servicing the kiosk, absolutely no needles/syringes or lancets will be accepted unless they are inside an approved sharps container. Laundry detergent containers, cardboard boxes and plastic bags are not acceptable. Also the needle kiosk is not for the disposal of medications. The Franklin Police Department has a collection bin for residents to dispose of medications.
Residents may purchase small sharps containers from Wal-Mart, Rite Aid, Walgreens and Target for a nominal fee. The Town of Franklin does not provide sharps containers to residents.
In July, a new state mandate requires disposal of medical needles and sharps in a secure manner. They are no longer allowed to be put into the normal trash. On the practical side, how this will actually be enforced is another matter. Franklin has established a kiosk where residents can dispose of their needles and sharps. It was originally at the fire station downtown and now has been relocated to the DPW office.
Related post from July
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2012/07/what-do-i-do-with-needles-now.html
The relocation announcement on the Franklin webpage
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_News/01966754-000F8513
Where is the DPW office in Franklin?
View Larger Map
"having a friend with you is pretty cool"
The Milford Daily News has a good article about two classmates who have kept in touch since they met at the Kennedy Elementary school and then again more recently in Afghanistan.
Read more: http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x1606945825/Franklin-elementary-school-friends-reunite-in-Afghanistan#ixzz26d1LSt8O
In September 2011, Schepis was set to deploy to Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan. By that time, he had learned through Facebook that Cimon worked on planes in the Air Force.
But he didn’t know that Cimon was already in Afghanistan and had been for several months.
Shortly before shipping out from Fort Bragg in North Carolina, Schepis posted on Facebook about his deployment. Cimon responded.
They decided to meet at the center of Kandahar’s canteen a few days after Schepis arrived.
Read more: http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x1606945825/Franklin-elementary-school-friends-reunite-in-Afghanistan#ixzz26d1LSt8O
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Update: Parmenter modular units - 1 gone, 3 to go
The Parmenter modular units are indeed moving out. They were mounted upon wheels on Thursday/Friday and one of the units is off the property. The other three are positioned to be hauled away.
The DPW is busy this morning cleaning up the space where the units had been sitting for the past 10+ years. I should have some photos of the finished landscaping work for Sunday or Monday.
Related posts and pictures on the Parmenter modular units
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2012/09/parmenter-modular-update.html
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2012/09/parmenter-modular-removal-underway.html
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2012/08/parmenter-modular-units.html
The DPW is busy this morning cleaning up the space where the units had been sitting for the past 10+ years. I should have some photos of the finished landscaping work for Sunday or Monday.
Related posts and pictures on the Parmenter modular units
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2012/09/parmenter-modular-update.html
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2012/09/parmenter-modular-removal-underway.html
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2012/08/parmenter-modular-units.html
Circle of Friends Coffeehouse: Tom Rush
Tom Rush is playing at the Circle of Friends Coffeehouse Saturday night, 8:00 PM.
To listen to "a guy with a guitar", there is no better place. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased via the Circle of Friends webpage (tickets will be held at the door for you).
To get a flavor of Tom this almost 10 minute video gives a good sample:
Oh, I don't think I mentioned that the coffeehouse does serve home cooked desserts that are absolutely delicious! When we go, this is our dessert theater!
For more about Tom visit his webpage: http://tomrush.com/
For ticket to the concert at Circle of Friends, visit their webpage: http://circlefolk.org/
To listen to "a guy with a guitar", there is no better place. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased via the Circle of Friends webpage (tickets will be held at the door for you).
To get a flavor of Tom this almost 10 minute video gives a good sample:
Oh, I don't think I mentioned that the coffeehouse does serve home cooked desserts that are absolutely delicious! When we go, this is our dessert theater!
For more about Tom visit his webpage: http://tomrush.com/
For ticket to the concert at Circle of Friends, visit their webpage: http://circlefolk.org/
"service like that is expected"
The Milford Daily News has an article about Robert Pirelli, father of Robert Ryan Pirelli, who passed away this week.
Read more: http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x764815505/A-Elks-last-wish-Help-the-troops#ixzz26XEkCwFs
Pirelli died on Tuesday, after a long battle with stomach cancer. He was 60, and leaves his former wife, Nancy Sullivan of Franklin, his son, Shawn, 28, a graduate student at the University of New Hampshire, and his daughter, Stacey, 25, of Franklin.
Pirelli started the Robert Ryan Pirelli Scholarship Fund in 2008 and over the years had raised money for college-bound Franklin High School students. His son graduated from the school before going on to study at Northeastern University.
Shawn Pirelli said his father delt with the pain of his brother's death by way of collections and fundraisers held at the Elks Lodge. “For my Dad, it was his way of grieving,” he said. “The Elks have done a lot to support my brother and the troops he served with.”
Read more: http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x764815505/A-Elks-last-wish-Help-the-troops#ixzz26XEkCwFs
Friday, September 14, 2012
Farmers Market - noon to 6:00 PM today!
The Farmers Market is open today on the Town Common from noon to 6:00 PM.
Where in Franklin is the Town Common?
View Larger Map
Harvest Festival - Sep 30, 2012
The Franklin Downtown Partnership will be holding the annual Harvest Festival rain or shine on Sunday, Sep 30, 2012.
Note: as a member of the Downtown Partnership, I won't have a booth for Franklin Matters. Rather, I'll be spending time at the Franklin Food Pantry and helping to spread the word about the work that the Food Pantry does. We are located in the Rockland Trust parking lot and if you visit the kids area during the Festival, be sure to stop by!
Note: as a member of the Downtown Partnership, I won't have a booth for Franklin Matters. Rather, I'll be spending time at the Franklin Food Pantry and helping to spread the word about the work that the Food Pantry does. We are located in the Rockland Trust parking lot and if you visit the kids area during the Festival, be sure to stop by!
Going "Car-Free" September 17-23
This is a real challenge for those in Franklin who work outside of Franklin and other than Boston. At least if you work in Boston, the commuter rail could be a commuter option. If you work in NH or RI, there is not a realistic commuter option other than car pooling with co-workers.
Have you tried getting around Franklin without a car? The GATRA bus is one option. Bicycle and walking may be options for some trips.
What do you think? Could you go car-free?
Sent to you by Steve Sherlock via Google Reader:
via Commonwealth Conversations: Transportation by Klark Jessen on 9/13/12
The Patrick-Murray Administration is encouraging residents who are able to leave their cars in the driveway and try going "car-free" – by bicycling, walking, public transit, carpooling or vanpooling for Massachusetts Car-Free Week, September 17-23. Massachusetts joins over 1,000 cities in 40 countries across the globe in an effort to showcase the community, environmental, and quality of life benefits of reducing the number of vehicles on the road.
For the third year in a row, Massachusetts will be celebrating an entire week of going car-free or "car-light," which includes carpooling or vanpooling instead of driving alone. No other state in the nation has proclaimed a statewide Car-Free Week celebration.
This year, those who take car-free and "car-light" modes of transportation during Car-Free Week and year-round can start earning discounts and incentives from area businesses through the Massachusetts Department of Transportation's rewards program, NuRide, the nation's largest travel rewards program for individuals who take greener trips, and is free for anyone who lives or works in the Commonwealth.
"Car-Free Week is a great time to remind individuals to sign-up for NuRide and be rewarded for their efforts to commute green," said MassDOT Secretary Richard A. Davey. "NuRide is a free program, it is easy to use, and it enables MassDOT to reward travelers for incorporating sustainability into their daily commutes."
Massachusetts Car-Free Week supports GreenDOT, MassDOT's comprehensive environmental responsibility and sustainability initiative launched to support the Global Warming Solutions Act, signed by Governor Deval Patrick in 2008. The Act requires a 25% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions below 1990 levels by 2020, the first step toward a required 80 percent reduction by 2050. The transportation sector generates more than one-third of the total greenhouse gas emissions produced in Massachusetts.
Massachusetts Car-Free Week is a collaboration between the MassDOT, MassRIDES, the statewide travel options program, and MassCommute, the Massachusetts Transportation Management Association. For more information, visit www.mass.gov/massdot/carfree or email Johanna Blue, Johanna.Blue@state.ma.us
Things you can do from here:
- Subscribe to Commonwealth Conversations: Transportation using Google Reader
- Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites
Trader Joe’s now open at Patriot Place
The Franklin Food Pantry is already benefiting from Traders Joe's opening. The Pantry will be picking up some food items every other week that they'll be able to share with Franklin residents.
FOXBOROUGH - Hoping to fill a void in an area without local access to one of its stores, Trader Joe's opened Friday, Sept. 7, at Patriot Place in Foxborough with an eye toward drawing loyal and new customers alike.
Calling the chain a neighborhood grocery store, Trader Joe's Northeast Regional vice president Chris Maguire said the store sells everything from the basics like fruit, vegetables and milk to unique items like ethnic entrees.
Sent to you by Steve Sherlock via Google Reader:
via Wicked Local Franklin News RSS by Paula Vogler/CORRESPONDENT on 9/13/12
FOXBOROUGH - Hoping to fill a void in an area without local access to one of its stores, Trader Joe's opened Friday, Sept. 7, at Patriot Place in Foxborough with an eye toward drawing loyal and new customers alike.
Calling the chain a neighborhood grocery store, Trader Joe's Northeast Regional vice president Chris Maguire said the store sells everything from the basics like fruit, vegetables and milk to unique items like ethnic entrees.
Things you can do from here:
- Subscribe to Wicked Local Franklin News RSS using Google Reader
- Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Anti-Bullying Training
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MassBudget: New Census Data - Rising Insurance Coverage
New Census Bureau data once again show that Massachusetts leads the nation in health insurance coverage, with roughly 19 of every 20 residents insured. Nationwide, the rate of uninsured people dropped to slightly below 16 percent, the first decline in several years. The decrease appears to be due to a number of factors, including: 1) growth in Medicaid enrollment and, 2) implementation of a federal health reform provision that allows young adults to be covered by a parent's health plan up to age 26. Massachusetts included a similar but slightly narrower version of this provision in its 2006 health reform law.
Also included in the Census data was information about income and poverty nationwide.
The data released today provide a useful overview of poverty, income, and health coverage on the national level, but next Thursday (9/20) the Census Bureau will release more reliable state-level data as part of the American Community Survey. At that time, MassBudget will provide fuller analysis of poverty, income, and health coverage in Massachusetts.
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T.O.P.S (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) - Sep 15
Would you please put this event in Franklin Matters in time -- Sept. 15th. The organization is T.O.P.S. (Take Off Pounds Sensibly)? Thank you. Faith Flaherty, TOPS Leader
T.O.P.S. Inspiration Workshop
Inspire each person to manage their nutrition and life in ways that will help each person. T.O.P.S. is a support group that aims to promote health and well-being nutritionally. T.O.P.S. mission is to support our members as they take off and keep off pounds sensibly.
When: Saturday, September 15, 2012Where: Franklin Senior CenterTime: 8:30 AM registration 9:00 - 12:00 programCost: Free
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
"It drives what we do"
The School Committee meeting Tuesday evening is partially covered in this article in the Milford Daily News. The District Improvement Plan was presented (as detailed) but there were other items on the agenda.
I did have the opportunity to work on the Strategic Planning Committee when the current vision and mission statements were developed. To see this latest iteration of the district plan build upon what was started then is heartening. The evolution of the planning process itself is good to see. No longer are we viewing multi-year plans, the plan will focus on a year at a time. Certain themes will carry from one year to another but they'll be able to re-focus to address the latest issues within that theme.
That the MCAS scores reflect only 20% of what goes on in the schools was one of the key reasons for this change in the planning approach.
On the Parmenter modular units:
Essentially as these are the last of the leased units, the Town is dependent upon the contractor to remove them. Work was underway on Tuesday. They removed the cooling units from the roof of the modulars. They are scheduled to be removed from Parmenter by Friday. These delays will not be see in the removal of the other modular units as those are owned by Franklin and the DPW will control that schedule.
While there are population shifts from school to school, the district does not have a committee looking at redistricting until after the modular units are removed and the work on renovating Davis Thayer is complete. Both of these items will clarify the picture on what space is available and where the population exists within Franklin.
Read more: http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x1803414278/Franklin-schools-improvement-plan-focuses-on-achievement-rather-than-test-scores#ixzz26FJRUcJx
For reporting on the complete agenda of Tuesday's School Committee meeting, you can find the link here:
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2012/09/school-committee-091112.html
I did have the opportunity to work on the Strategic Planning Committee when the current vision and mission statements were developed. To see this latest iteration of the district plan build upon what was started then is heartening. The evolution of the planning process itself is good to see. No longer are we viewing multi-year plans, the plan will focus on a year at a time. Certain themes will carry from one year to another but they'll be able to re-focus to address the latest issues within that theme.
That the MCAS scores reflect only 20% of what goes on in the schools was one of the key reasons for this change in the planning approach.
"We wanted to take a step back," said Superintendent Maureen Sabolinski. "In the past, it has been really about our MCAS data; we decided to take a global perspective. We decided to look at a wide range of data … to articulate where we are going as a district."
Part of this ideological shift stems from school officials wanting to spur success in all subjects, in math classes as much as art classes, as opposed to only those covered by the exam itself.
Broadly, the core values in the plan include fostering the right academic climate, nurturing civic leadership and accepting more feedback from the community.
On the Parmenter modular units:
Essentially as these are the last of the leased units, the Town is dependent upon the contractor to remove them. Work was underway on Tuesday. They removed the cooling units from the roof of the modulars. They are scheduled to be removed from Parmenter by Friday. These delays will not be see in the removal of the other modular units as those are owned by Franklin and the DPW will control that schedule.
While there are population shifts from school to school, the district does not have a committee looking at redistricting until after the modular units are removed and the work on renovating Davis Thayer is complete. Both of these items will clarify the picture on what space is available and where the population exists within Franklin.
Read more: http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x1803414278/Franklin-schools-improvement-plan-focuses-on-achievement-rather-than-test-scores#ixzz26FJRUcJx
For reporting on the complete agenda of Tuesday's School Committee meeting, you can find the link here:
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2012/09/school-committee-091112.html
School Committee - 09/11/12
The collection of reporting from the School Committee meeting held Tuesday, Sep 11 can be found here
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