Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Franklin Center Commons: roof's on
I did not get around to posting this picture from our walk Saturday morning but the roof is now on the condominium building located down behind the store fronts along Main St.
King Street - sidewalk detour reasons gone
When King Street was re-done, the sidewalk took a turn to go around two stately trees.
Alas, the trees are no longer.
The sidewalk however, still makes the curve around what used to be.
Audit report due at Town Council
The Town Council agenda package for Wednesday's meeting is now available for download here (PDF).
Pages 5 through 54 cover the audit report for the fiscal year ending 6/30/07.
Yes, it took a while to prepare the report. This was Frank Falvey's point during his recent citizens comment.
Read the report, go to the meeting prepared with one or two questions.
Ask them. Yes, you can do it.
Do it for me. Unfortunately, I won't be there.
If you need a question or two, let me know (via comment or email).
Pages 5 through 54 cover the audit report for the fiscal year ending 6/30/07.
Yes, it took a while to prepare the report. This was Frank Falvey's point during his recent citizens comment.
Read the report, go to the meeting prepared with one or two questions.
Ask them. Yes, you can do it.
Do it for me. Unfortunately, I won't be there.
If you need a question or two, let me know (via comment or email).
Meetup.com
Continuing our series on understanding Web 2.0 tools, the good folks at Common Craft have a new video this time produced specifically for Meetup.com.
What's Meetup? from Meetup HQ on Vimeo.
FYI - there are 6 groups within 5 miles of Franklin and 29 groups within 10 miles. Quite a variety with room for more.
Enjoy!
What's Meetup? from Meetup HQ on Vimeo.
FYI - there are 6 groups within 5 miles of Franklin and 29 groups within 10 miles. Quite a variety with room for more.
Enjoy!
Monday, June 16, 2008
"there's a virtual certainty that's going to happen"
GHS
FRANKLIN —
A newly appointed long-range financial planning committee hopes to sit down with Arlington officials for guidance on long-term financial planning, since both towns have faced similar fiscal challenges.
Town Council agreed to create the committee last month, giving it a broad mission to produce a three- to five-year financial plan for the town, and voted to allow council Chairman Christopher Feeley to appoint its members.
Town Council unanimously agreed to Feeley's appointments to the nine-member committee on June 4: residents Douglas Hardesty and Gwynne Wilschek; Finance Committee Chairman Jim Roche and member Rebecca Cameron; School Committee members Roberta Trahan and Matt Kelly; Council Vice Chairwoman Deborah Bartlett and Councilors Shannon Zollo and Stephen Whalen.
The new committee picked officers at its first meeting Wednesday night.
"One thing good about (the meeting) is, we got right to work. We elected Jim Roche chairman, and Doug Hardesty vice chairman," said Whalen, noting Hardesty is an auditor with Deloitte & Touche, one of the biggest auditing firms in the country.
Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here
FRANKLIN TOWN COUNCIL - agenda - 6/18/08
Agenda - June 18, 2008 - 7:00 PM
A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
B. ANNOUNCEMENTS
C. PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS
D. CITIZEN COMMENTS
E. APPOINTMENTS – Annual Committee Appointments
F. HEARINGS
G. LICENSE TRANSACTIONS
H. PRESENTATIONS/DISCUSSIONS
Annual Audit Report
NuStyle – Grove Street
Amendments to Town Code Chp 125-Peace & Good Order
I. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS
J. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
1. Resolution 08-46: FY 2008 Capital Budget
2. Resolution 08-47: Authorization to Borrow – Library Repairs
3. Zoning Bylaw Amendment 08-617: Amendment to Chp. 185, Town Code: Water Resource District – 2nd Reading
4. Zoning Bylaw Amendment 08-618: Amendment to Chp. 185, Town Code: Biotechnology Uses – 2nd Reading
5. Zoning Bylaw Amendment 08-619: Amendment to Chp. 185-5: Zoning Map - Biotechnology Use – 2nd Reading
6. Bylaw Amendment 08-624- Amendment to Sewer System Map – 273 Country Way – 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
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Franklin Matters: Intro and Override Reasons
This is the first podcast in a series for Franklin (MA) Matters. In this segment, I review the reasons for the recent override failure, propose some lessons to be learned and possible actions to be taken to prepare Franklin for the future.
This is a public service provided to my fellow Franklin (MA) citizens and voters.
Time: 10 minutes, 43 seconds
MP3 File
Podcast Notes:
Intro
Based upon the traffic analysis, how many readers, how many listeners, I am going to try something different, this podcast will likely to be a weekly format, or at least as frequently as necessary to cover what matters
I will make this available via iTunes, I’ll continue to record as many meetings as I can attend but rather than posting the full meeting, I’ll use segments in this podcast.
The goal of this podcast is to provide a review of what has happened and an outlook as to what is coming up for the week or near future
----------------
Why did the override fail?
By the numbers, 1600 yes votes from last year did not vote yes this year:
500 of them chose to vote no. Just over 1000 stayed home and chose not to vote at all.
What happened to these yes votes?
I think there are a number of reasons.
Apathy is always a factor - "My vote won't make a difference." On a national scale, the individual vote does not count for a whole lot. On the local scale, one vote is ONE vote.
Town priorities - The school budget is always a town matter. The School Department and Superintendent are properly advocates for what they need. The Finance Committee provides some oversight and validation but the ultimate responsibility lies with the Town Council. So while this year (and last) the School Committee brought forth what they needed to maintain the level of education that they were providing, the Town Council chose to follow the beat of their own drummer. Last year the Town planned for the override in advance and included town operations in the override amount. This year, the Town set the schools up on their own and only allowed an override when forced by the School Committee and the presence of growing support within the community. Alas, the support was not enough to carry all the way through.
Mis-information - The hearsay, mis-information and inaccuracies were prevalent in the community discussions. Trying to get the proper information out to the folks was like swimming against the riptide. The Milford Daily News closed out anonymous comments the day after the vote but the damage was done. The constant naysayers were abusive and out in force. Heaven forbid, you try to get a word in edgewise. The key point on this is the difference between a capital expense and an operational expense. Clearly, the majority of Franklin voters don't understand or appreciate the difference.
I believe the Franklin voters who did not cast their ballots will come to regret their decision. The days of Franklin being selected in Top 10 or Top 100 are over. Digging out of this hole will be the hardest thing to do.
The task of the Five Year Plan Committee will be immense. We, the voters, will have a chance of getting a decent plan. There are two "normal, everyday citizens" on the committee along with the elected and appointed officials. We will have to monitor the committee to ensure that they are open and doing something productive. We can not let the Town Council let this opportunity sit idle again.
Additional reasons can be found here
---------------
What can we learn from the failure?
Personally, letting others direct the conversation, reporting the facts, hoping for the best doesn't work.
Action will be required. The level of my own engagement in the town meetings (especially the Town Council) needs to increase.
You, yes you!
Don't sit at home and let the talking heads babble on. Make the effort. Go to the Council Chambers. Show them that there are real live people for whom they should care about what they do. Hold them accountable.
Conversation about what is happening needs to maintain some focus on the real issues. Don't let the agenda hide some items. Ask where is it? Ask what is happening? Ask why?
Together we can come out of the hole. Or separately, we can see our home values decline, or students fall behind, our future dim.
This is our choice.
What choice will you make?
How much does Franklin matter to you?
For additional textual information, please visit Franklin Matters
This podcast has been a public service provided to my fellow Franklin citizens and voters by Steve Sherlock
You can send me an email at shersteve at gmail dot com
------------
The musical intro and closing is from the Podsafe Music Network
Jon Schmidt - Powerful Exhilarating Piano Music
This is a public service provided to my fellow Franklin (MA) citizens and voters.
Time: 10 minutes, 43 seconds
MP3 File
Podcast Notes:
Intro
Based upon the traffic analysis, how many readers, how many listeners, I am going to try something different, this podcast will likely to be a weekly format, or at least as frequently as necessary to cover what matters
I will make this available via iTunes, I’ll continue to record as many meetings as I can attend but rather than posting the full meeting, I’ll use segments in this podcast.
The goal of this podcast is to provide a review of what has happened and an outlook as to what is coming up for the week or near future
----------------
Why did the override fail?
By the numbers, 1600 yes votes from last year did not vote yes this year:
500 of them chose to vote no. Just over 1000 stayed home and chose not to vote at all.
What happened to these yes votes?
I think there are a number of reasons.
Apathy is always a factor - "My vote won't make a difference." On a national scale, the individual vote does not count for a whole lot. On the local scale, one vote is ONE vote.
Town priorities - The school budget is always a town matter. The School Department and Superintendent are properly advocates for what they need. The Finance Committee provides some oversight and validation but the ultimate responsibility lies with the Town Council. So while this year (and last) the School Committee brought forth what they needed to maintain the level of education that they were providing, the Town Council chose to follow the beat of their own drummer. Last year the Town planned for the override in advance and included town operations in the override amount. This year, the Town set the schools up on their own and only allowed an override when forced by the School Committee and the presence of growing support within the community. Alas, the support was not enough to carry all the way through.
Mis-information - The hearsay, mis-information and inaccuracies were prevalent in the community discussions. Trying to get the proper information out to the folks was like swimming against the riptide. The Milford Daily News closed out anonymous comments the day after the vote but the damage was done. The constant naysayers were abusive and out in force. Heaven forbid, you try to get a word in edgewise. The key point on this is the difference between a capital expense and an operational expense. Clearly, the majority of Franklin voters don't understand or appreciate the difference.
I believe the Franklin voters who did not cast their ballots will come to regret their decision. The days of Franklin being selected in Top 10 or Top 100 are over. Digging out of this hole will be the hardest thing to do.
The task of the Five Year Plan Committee will be immense. We, the voters, will have a chance of getting a decent plan. There are two "normal, everyday citizens" on the committee along with the elected and appointed officials. We will have to monitor the committee to ensure that they are open and doing something productive. We can not let the Town Council let this opportunity sit idle again.
Additional reasons can be found here
---------------
What can we learn from the failure?
Personally, letting others direct the conversation, reporting the facts, hoping for the best doesn't work.
Action will be required. The level of my own engagement in the town meetings (especially the Town Council) needs to increase.
You, yes you!
Don't sit at home and let the talking heads babble on. Make the effort. Go to the Council Chambers. Show them that there are real live people for whom they should care about what they do. Hold them accountable.
Conversation about what is happening needs to maintain some focus on the real issues. Don't let the agenda hide some items. Ask where is it? Ask what is happening? Ask why?
Together we can come out of the hole. Or separately, we can see our home values decline, or students fall behind, our future dim.
This is our choice.
What choice will you make?
How much does Franklin matter to you?
For additional textual information, please visit Franklin Matters
This podcast has been a public service provided to my fellow Franklin citizens and voters by Steve Sherlock
You can send me an email at shersteve at gmail dot com
------------
The musical intro and closing is from the Podsafe Music Network
Jon Schmidt - Powerful Exhilarating Piano Music
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