In the News - vandal, car thiefs, DCU

Cops say kids trespassing at site

By Michelle Laczkoski/Daily News staff

Police arrested two teenage boys Wednesday night after a passerby saw them trespassing on a construction site on Summer Street. The boys, ages 16 and 14, were arrested just before 9 p.m. Both face charges of trespassing, disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace, Deputy Chief Stephan Semerjian said.

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Rash of car break-ins prompts warning

By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff

Responding to several dozen reported car break-ins recently, including 11 Wednesday night, Deputy Police Chief Stephan H. Semerjian is warning residents to lock their cars and secure valuables like GPS devices and laptop computers. Downtown residents have been reporting the break-ins for the past five weeks, Semerjian said.

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DCU expands

By Aaron Wasserman/Daily News staff

Digital Federal Credit Union expects to open in Franklin later this month, its first branch in the Milford area and Norfolk County. Tim Garner, the credit union's vice president of marketing and strategic planning, said this week the company has been scouting several locations along Interstate 495 for new branches and this is the first to materialize. It has been working on the project for nearly two years.

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"it's an investment in our town"

By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff

GHS

Posted Jul 30, 2008 @ 11:10 PM

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FRANKLIN —

Property owners could be charged an annual fee of about $40 under a stormwater management plan proposed by the Department of Public Works.

DPW Director Brutus Cantoreggi said the fee would raise about $500,000, which could be used to pay for infrastructure repairs and retrofits, additional catch-basin cleaning, street sweeping and maintenance of stormwater facilities to comply with federal mandates.

Establishing a stormwater utility would provide a stable source of dedicated funding, assist with making long-term improvements, and give a more equitable apportionment from different land uses than the tax base does, he said.

Another goal in the stormwater management plan is to keep water in Franklin, rather than letting it flow into the Charles River, Cantoreggi said.

However, there is a hitch to the proposed plan: It may not be legal.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

Listen to my recap of the 3 things you should know from the Town Council meeting 7/23/08

Beaver St: Construction and detour

By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff

GHS

Posted Jul 30, 2008 @ 10:00 AM

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FRANKLIN —

The town will temporarily close a section of Beaver Street starting Aug. 25 in order to replace Mine Brook's deteriorating twin culverts, said Town Engineer William Yadisernia.

"It's a big deal," though a relatively inexpensive job, Yadisernia said, noting that diverting the water is no easy task.

Beaver Pond will stay open while the contractor, Aldore Tetreault & Sons Inc., of Medway reconstructs the culverts, he said.

Beaver Street will be closed from West Central Street to Grove Street during that period, but the pond, recreational facilities, and Beaver Street Recycling Center can be accessed through Grove Street, Yadisernia said.

Drivers can access Master Drive from West Central Street, he said.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here.

Listen to the full DPW update from the 7/23/08 Town Council meeting here.

Center Commons makes progress

In case you haven't peaked through to see what is going on with the Center Commons development behind E Central St, these pix from Saturday shows significant progress from last time I peaked.

"The building showcases Franklin artifacts"

By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff
GHS
Posted Jul 29, 2008 @ 10:00 AM
FRANKLIN —

Renovations should begin in late summer on the new home of the Horace Mann Museum, but will not be completed until next spring, officials say. The museum has been housed in a Washington Street church donated to the town in 1972 by Franklin Federated Church and is being relocated to the old senior center which will be revamped.

Four firms have responded to the town's Request for Proposals to make improvements to the future history museum at 80 West Central Street (Rte. 140), Town Administrator Jeffrey D. Nutting said.

Franklin has $400,000 budgeted for the improvements, most of which will
be interior, he said.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

Sunrise 7/29/08

sunrise franklin station 7/29/08

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"The price was really wrong"

By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff

GHS

Posted Jul 28, 2008 @ 10:00 AM

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FRANKLIN —

America's first public library is getting a makeover.

At its July 9 meeting, Town Council authorized the borrowing of $350,000 to remodel and make "extraordinary repairs" to the leaking library, located at 118 Main St.

The renovations will include landscaping, paving and other site improvements, which should be completed by year's end, said Town Administrator Jeffrey D. Nutting.

"I'm hopeful we can finish during this construction season," he said.

The town received seven bids, with $292,000 as the low bid and $700,000 as the highest bid, he said. The $350,000 bond assumes the town will proceed with the low bidder while leaving funds available for unexpected issues that may arise during the project, Nutting said.

Franklin has the option of paying for the repairs with money from the sale of the former Four Corners School, he said.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here.