Live reporting: Legislation and closing

I. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS
Economic Development Committee did look at the RFP responses for the Pond St facility
one submittal came in late and was disqualified


J. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
1. Resolution 14-84: Approval of Amendment to Solid Waste Disposal Contract
motion to approve, second, passed 5-0

negotiation of tip fee reduction from ~74 to ~64
will allow for avoiding a raise in the trash fees in the future
the other communities need to agree, the big one needed is Worcester
taking advantage of timing with the market

2. Resolution 14-85: Acceptance of Gift – Council on Aging
motion to approve, second, passed 5-0


3. Resolution 14-86: Approval and Adoption of OPEB Trust Agreement
motion to approve, second, passed 5-0

establishment of the trust could allow for a broader range of investment choices with higher return rates
5 members, Town Administrator, Comptroller, School Business Administrator and two citizens appointed by the Council
The Treasurer will invest the funds and report to the trust on the performance

Pfeffer - only one community has funded this (Wellseley)
I fear that the State would some how come along and say they'll fund it in some way and gather up the fund as they exist around the communities

Nutting - I look at that differently, the legislature needs to change the law for the future employees
not only are people living longer but health control costs are going up
this is a benefit that needs to fade into history
the problem is going to get bigger and bigger, this is a step to stem the tide


K. TOWN ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT
Introduce Judy Lezard,

Reminder on the Holiday Stroll Thursday 4:00

Thanks to the DPW and Chairman Vallee for the lights on the Common, additional trees added this year

The "All call for missing persons" was a success, they found the person walking on 495

Budgets being put together by dept heads and we'll get into budget season soon


L. OLD BUSINESS
none

M. NEW BUSINESS
none

N. COUNCIL COMMENTS
Mercer, the lights on the common look fantastic

P. ADJOURN

Live reporting: Franklin TV

G. LICENSE TRANSACTIONS
Back Bay Restaurant Group TR, LLC dba Joe’s American Bar and Grill – Change of Manager
motion to approve, seconded, passed 5-0


H. PRESENTATIONS/DISCUSSIONS
- Cable TV

Ken Norman, Peter Fasciano





You can find out more about Franklin TV on their webpage  http://franklin.tv/

old studio at Depot Plaza was 600 sq ft
the new studio located at 23 Hutchinson St is

added a second ADA ramp to make it more accessible

community room available to other non-profits

kitchen built into the facility is designed for TV so it can broadcast a cooking show for example

small studio and larger studio available

everything produced is now high-definition

fiber connections between the municipal building and Hutchinson St

donated $164,000 to equip the new studio at the High School

operating about $23K per month

2011 did 197 locally produced programs, \last year (2013) there were 423 programs

Franklin TV provides all the resources for technical and production
compared to regular public access charters

everyone has a right to high quality programming

40-50% of the day is devoted to community bulletin board messages

looking to upgrade the Council Chamber to HDTV as well as upgrade the streaming service

construct a new FM radio station (obtained a low band license last year)

WFPR.FM 102.9
coverage in Franklin and A grade coverage for 10 miles around

Nutting:
a public service video is in development to tout Franklin's highlights
negotiate the renewal with Verizon

Fasciano
if they site the tower during the summer, could be online by the Fall 2015

we have an obligation to provide a minimum of 8 hours of local program daily, while broadcasting 24 hours we should exceed the minimum

Norman
if cable subscribers leave Comcast or Verizon, it is a concern for out future funding

Mercer
thanks to you for all you have done to help with the High School

Fasciano
the larger studio is two story, events can be staged that couldn't be done in the 'normal' studios
allows to work in multiple studios

looking forward to working on the kitchen to develop cooking programs

Mass General Hospital has a legacy grant to produce a series, so looking at other sources of revenue that could be using the studio and equipment

the radio station could be a good source of info during future emergency situations

Live reporting: Town Council - Dec 3, 2014

Present: Padu;a, Mercer, Vallee, Pfeffer, Bissanti, Williams
Absent:  Kelly, Feldman


A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
October 1, 2014; October 15, 2014; November 5, 2014; November 19, 2014

B. ANNOUNCEMENTS
This meeting is being recorded by Franklin TV and shown on Comcast channel 11 and Verizon channel 29. This meeting is being recorded by Franklin Matters.

C. PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS
none

D. CITIZEN COMMENTS
none

E. APPOINTMENTS
Council on Aging -

David M. Cargill
motion to approve, seconded, passed 5-0
Lester Quan
motion to approve, seconded, passed 5-0

F. HEARINGS
none

Friends of Franklin Library - Meeting Agenda - Dec 3, 2014

FOFL Meeting Agenda for Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Meeting time: 7PM
Meeting place: Franklin Library, Community Room

• Welcome and introductions

• Public Comments

• Library Director

• Library Board of Directors

• Acceptance of minutes from last (November) meeting

• Treasurer’s report

• Committee updates
o Membership

o Outreach – Facebook/Twitter
 Content for next newsletter
 Web site

o Downtown Partnership
 Holiday Stroll December 4, 4-7PM


• Continuing items

o Update on FoFL offer to buy 20 chairs for the ground floor “quiet room.”

o Scholarship 2015 – subcommittee
 Suggestions for a new essay question

o FoFL Bulletin board content, monthly themes

o Working with other town groups – subcommittee?

o Memorandum of Understanding – subcommittee needed to review BOD version (not yet received)

o By-Laws review and update – subcommittee (need volunteers)

o Creating a read-only “minutes” book to keep on file at the library


• New Items
o Fundraising 2015

o Supporting other town groups
• Downtown Partnership “12 Days of Donating” food for the Franklin Food Pantry (details at http://www.franklindowntownpartnership.org/2014/12/12-days-of-donating-kicks-off-today.html

• The Heather Pierson Quartet will bring their popular Charlie Brown Christmas show to Circle of Friends Coffeehouse in Franklin on Saturday, Dec. 6 at 8 p.m.

• The Franklin pantry is also getting gearing up to distribute Christmas bags, to be handed out on Dec. 17. Instead of turkeys, clients will be given hams, Weiss said.

• Claire Griffin has 50 works of art on display at the Norfolk Public Library for December. There will be an artist’s reception on December 6th from 1 - 3:30 PM.

• “Giving Tree” at Forge Hill YMCA

• Special Election for Town Council on December 16th


o Winter FoFL meetings

o Other

Ben Franklin statue at the Franklin Public Library

MBTA: This weekend: Franklin Line shuttle

Buses replacing all Saturday and Sunday outbound Franklin Line trips between Forge Park and Franklin Stations on December 6-7. Delays of 10-15 minutes may occur.

Due to necessary track work, buses will replace all outbound Franklin Line trains between Forge Park/495 and Franklin/Dean College Stations on Saturday, December 6, 2014, through Sunday, December 7, 2014. 

Regular Franklin Line train service will resume at the start of service on Monday, December 8, 2014. All shuttle bus stops are accessible for persons with disabilities.

Shuttling the following stops:
Franklin
Forge Park / 495

Last updated: Dec 02 2014 11:00 AM

screen grab from DPW Presentation on emergency repairs

The Town of Franklin will take advantage of the scheduled track work to coordinate repairs to the Beaver St connector (sewer line). The work was discussed and approved at the last Town Council meeting.  

The presentation to the Town Council  can be found on the DPW webpage here  http://town.franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_DPW/Town_Council_Presentations/Beaver_St_Culvert_presentation.pdf

Hockomock Field Hockey and Volleyball Awards

Hockomock Sports has announced the Field Hockey and Volleyball players of the year, first team, and other awards.

Franklin is represented on the the Field Hockey team by

Maddie Bressler, 1st team
Emily Jeffries, 2nd team
Samantha Jones, 2nd team
Lisa Cropper, Honorable mention

For the full listing of Field Hockey awards, visit this link
http://www.hockomocksports.com/blog/2014-hockomocksportscom-field-hockey-awards

FHS Panthers

Franklin is represented on the Volleyball team by

Aubrie Kutil, 2nd team 

Dayne McCue, 3rd team

For the full listing of Volleyball awards, visit this link
http://www.hockomocksports.com/blog/2014-hockomocksportscom-volleyball-awards

"12 Days of Donating"

Help the Franklin Downtown Partnership member businesses and the Franklin Food Elves collect goods for the Franklin Food Pantry. The "12 Days of Donating" collection campaign started Monday!

some of the Franklin Food Elves at the Food Pantry

This year's goal is to meet or exceed last year's record-breaking collection totals -- $6,700 and 7,357 pounds of goods! 

Elves will be collecting in neighborhoods for the next two weeks. You can also donate at these participating locations:

• Auerr, Zajac & Associates, LLC, 29 Dean Ave.
• British Beer Company, 280 Franklin Village Dr.
• DCU, 500 West Central St.
• Dean Bank, 21 Main St.
• Dean College, Campus Center
• Drama Kids of Metro West, 19 Dean Ave. (call for drop off schedule)
• Emma’s Quilt Cupboard, 12 Main St.
• Franklin Downtown Partnership Office, 9 East Central St.
• Jane’s Frames, 11 East Central St.
• Keefe Insurance Agency, 51 West Central St.
• Murphy Business, 15 East Central St.
• Pour Richard’s Wine & Spirits, 14 Grove St.
• RE/MAX Executive Realty, 308 West Central St., Suite E
• Yellin & Hyman, P.C., 693 East Central St., Suite 201

Thank you for your support of the Franklin Food Pantry and the Franklin Downtown Partnership

This was shared from the Downtown Partnership page here
http://www.franklindowntownpartnership.org/2014/12/12-days-of-donating-kicks-off-today.html

Letters, Lines, and Lenses

Claire Griffin has 50 works of art on display at the Norfolk Public Library for December. There will be an artist’s reception on December 6th from 1 - 3:30 PM.

You can view this attached flyer for the show

Lines, Letters and Lenses

Hockomock League girls soccer awards

Hockomock Sports announces the girls soccer awards as voted on by the coaches of the Hockomock League.

The Best XI:

girls soccer Best XI - 2014 (Hockomock Sports photo)

F - Nicole Chretien, North Attleboro
F - Taylor Cogliano, Franklin
M - Lily Sykes, Foxboro
M - Victoria Stowell, Franklin
M - Francesca Calabraro, Oliver Ames
M - Melissa Bongarzone, Mansfield
D - Hailee Duserick, Canton
D - Nicole Ellin, Franklin
D - Molly Shield, Mansfield
D - Delaney Benton, Oliver Ames
G - Dani Lonati, Franklin

HockomockSports.com 2nd XI

G - Kayla Wentworth, Taunton
D - Lindsey Mastaj, Franklin
D - Hannah Kane, North Attleboro
D - Erin Grimes, Attleboro
M - Kaley Pratt, Milford
M - Alexis Stowell, Franklin
M - Jackie Carchedi, Mansfield
M - Hannah Reiter, Mansfield
M - Hana Caster, North Attleboro
F - Bailey Knous, Franklin
F - Kristen Bortolotti, Foxboro


and Player of the Year, Taylor Cogliano

Taylor Cogliano, Player of the Year (Hockomock Sports photo)

For the full write up and all the girls soccer awards, follow this link
http://www.hockomocksports.com/blog/2014-hockomocksportscom-girls-soccer-awards

SPECIAL TOWN ELECTION - Dec 16

SPECIAL TOWN ELECTION

This election is to fill the vacancy on the Town Council. Even though we have only one candidate running, State Law requires an election be held to elect that position.

DATE: TUESDAY, December 16, 2014
TIME: 6:00a.m. – 8:00p.m.
PLACE: NEW FRANKLIN HIGH SCHOOL ON OAK STREET, ALL PRECINCTS

LAST DAY TO REGISTER TO VOTE: 
November 26, 2014 at 8:00pm at the Town Clerk’s Office, First Floor, 355 East Central Street, Municipal Building. 

Absentee Ballot Information: 
Absentee ballots are available three weeks prior to the election in the Town Clerk’s office. A registered voter who will be unable to vote at the polls on election day due to the following reasons may vote absentee up to 12:00 noon Monday, December 15, 2014.

(1) absence from your city or town during normal polling hours; or
(2) physical disability preventing you from going to the polling place; or
(3) religious belief.

All absentee requests must be made in writing with an original signature (no faxes or e-mails are accepted). If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call Deborah L. Pellegri, Town Clerk, at 508-520-4900.

handicap voter booth

voting booths folded down and ready for storage

For additional information on the election and voting process, you can visit the Town Clerk's page here
http://town.franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_Clerk/index

Blackstone Valley: Mark you calendar for the December coffee hour event

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Coffee with Charlene Event Calendar Check out the event calendar for a more complete, detailed listing of Blackstone Corridor Events: Event Calendar We are glad to include Corridor-related news and events, both on our web site calendar and in our monthly newsletter, Corridor Currents. Send us your stuff! The Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor is a unique cultural landscape of industrial history and immigration in the interconnected system of the Blackstone River watershed.  An energetic nonprofit, the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor, Inc. partners with organizations, local communities and businesses, and residents to insure the long term vitality of the Corridor. Water Powered!

Forward this email Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor | One Depot Square | Woonsocket | RI | 02895

Santa arrives at the Franklin Town Common

For those who may have missed Santa's arrival, or those who want to see it again and again, here it is:

Thanks to Concerts on the Common for putting this together

manger scene

sleigh and raindeer

holiday light

The warm weather melted most of the snow by the time Santa arrived.

Stop by the Library during the Holiday Stroll

Kids can make a holiday ornament at the Franklin Public Library during the Holiday Stroll this Thursday, Dec 4. Stop by between 4:00 PM and 7:00 PM

Make an ornament this Thursday

This was shared from the Franklin Library webpage here
http://franklinpl.blogspot.com/2014/11/holiday-stroll.html

For a complete listing of events for children during December, here is the Library Calendar
http://town.franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_Library/dec2014.pdf

Got a CharlieCard and want to check the expiration date?

It's easy to find out when your #MBTA CharlieCard expires! Check at any fare machine: http://t.co/rEaaQ7qKH3 http://t.co/hbzLEfTE3I
— MBTA (@MBTA) November 30, 2014

Franklin, MA: Town Council - Agenda - Dec 3, 2014

A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
October 1, 2014; October 15, 2014; November 5, 2014; November 19, 2014

B. ANNOUNCEMENTS
This meeting is being recorded by Franklin TV and shown on Comcast channel 11 and Verizon channel 29. This meeting is being recorded by Franklin Matters.

C. PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS

D. CITIZEN COMMENTS

E. APPOINTMENTS
Council on Aging - David M. Cargill, Lester Quan

F. HEARINGS

G. LICENSE TRANSACTIONS
Back Bay Restaurant Group TR, LLC dba Joe’s American Bar and Grill – Change of Manager

H. PRESENTATIONS/DISCUSSIONS - Cable TV

I. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS

J. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
1. Resolution 14-84: Approval of Amendment to Solid Waste Disposal Contract
2. Resolution 14-85: Acceptance of Gift – Council on Aging
3. Resolution 14-86: Approval and Adoption of OPEB Trust Agreement

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 document released for this meeting can be found here:
http://town.franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_CouncilAgendas/2014/120314.pdf

Franklin Municipal Building - site of the Town Council meeting

Community Comes Together-Giving Tree Opportunity Available at the Hockomock Area YMCA Branches this week

The YMCA is a cause for strengthening community, committed every day to youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. Through the generosity of donors to the YMCA’s annual campaign, more than 15,000 local children and families last year benefitted from a Y experience. From child care, teen programs and summer camps, to LIVESTRONG at the Y and member assistance, the Y believes everyone deserves the opportunity to learn, grow and thrive. Currently, the Hockomock Area YMCA has Holiday Giving Trees on display in their lobbies and encourages the public to join the spirit of social responsibility by bringing gifts to homes this Christmas.

Hockomock YMCA

“What do you say to someone who changes a family’s world?” starts a letter received by the Y. One of the families the Hockomock Area YMCA has had the privilege to serve went on to say, “Thank you so much for your consideration in further helping my husband and I give our kids a Christmas. It has been such a struggle for us these past couple of years. Thank you so much for all of your help, and God bless you all.”

Families truly appreciate your assistance, especially at this giving time of year. 

Please consider participating as follows:

Pick up a tag from a giving tree by visiting your local branch at the Hockomock Area YMCA:

Bernon Family Branch (FR) – 45 Forge Hill Road, Franklin, MA 02038
Invensys Foxboro Branch (FX) – 67 Mechanic Street, Foxboro, MA 02035
North Attleboro Branch (NA) – 300 Elmwood St., North Attleboro, MA 02760

Return unwrapped gifts with tag to the YMCA Member Service Desks by Dec. 5th.

For further information, please contact your branch’s Member Service Team: Franklin Branch: 508-528-8708; North Attleboro Branch: 508-695-7001; Invensys Foxboro Branch: 508-543-2523.

About the Hockomock Area YMCA

The Hockomock Area YMCA is a not-for-profit charitable community service organization with facilities in North Attleboro, Foxboro, Franklin, and the Mansfield Arts & Education Center, serving more than 32,000 members from 15 local communities. For more information, visit hockymca.org.

Franklin Chargers - fund raising for National Championships at Disney

From Claire Hansom:

Hi, my daughters Pop Warner Cheer Team have made it through to nationals at Disney in Florida and are fund raising for the trip. 

They are selling calendars with prizes to be win throughout December and also have a go fund me page http://www.gofundme.com/FranklinChargers.  

I was wondering if this is something you could write about in one of your posts to spread the word about our fund raising? I enclose to pictures - 1 of the calendar and one of a letter prepared for business's in the town. 

Many thanks 

A copy of the calendar:

Franklin Chargers - fund raising calendar

A copy of the letter to local businesses

Franklin Chargers - letter to local businesses

For more about the Franklin Chargers visit them on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/franklinchargers

or there webpage here  http://www.franklinchargers.net/

Christmas Tree Lighting - Sunday, Nov 30 - 4:00 PM

THE HOLIDAY FESTIVITIES WILL INCLUDE:
- LIGHTING UP THE TOWN COMMON HOLIDAY LIGHTS AND DISPLAYS! 

REFRESHMENTS AND GOODIES! 

VISIT WITH SANTA AND II JINGLES THE ELF"

Photo from 2011 

In case of inclement weather, holiday festivities will take place across the street in the Ben Franklin Charter School


Additional information contained in the flyer put out by "Concerts on the Common"