Citizen’s Comments
Review of Agenda
Minutes: I recommend approval of the minutes from the March 10, 2009 School
Committee Meeting. motion to approve 6-0, passed, 1 abstention
Payment of Bills Mr. Kelly motion to approve, approved 7-0
Payroll Ms. Armenio
FHS Student Representatives
Correspondence: Letter from Mark Tiede & Melissa McCann
Franklin's library board of directors lauded Town Administrator Jeffrey D. Nutting's proposal to share the town's library director with Medway to help both towns maintain services.
"If the right things happen, it could be good for both towns. Bottom line is, (we're concerned with) what's best for patrons," said Ken Weidemann, who resigned from his chairmanship last night because he will be moving out of town soon.
Weidemann noted that Franklin and Medway's agreement to share recreational resources seems to be working well, and the town should consider other, similar ventures to save services in a precarious economy.
Read the full article about the Franklin Library Board's view of the combination in hte Milford Daily News here
Knowing that he's going to slash the library's budget by "hundreds of thousands of dollars" to preserve essential services, Town Administrator Jeffrey D. Nutting said he is preparing to share Library Director Felicia Oti with Medway.
Nutting cannot say yet precisely how the budget reduction will impact library hours, services or employees, but it will be enough to necessitate combining resources, he said.
For now, Nutting and Medway officials are only discussing sharing Oti's services, splitting her hours between the two towns, he said.
Oti works a total of 35 hours per week in Franklin. If the sharing agreement goes forward, she will spend about 14 of those 35 hours in Medway. Oti's annual salary is about $80,000. Medway would cover about $32,000 of her salary, explained Medway Board of Library Trustees Chairwoman Wendy Rowe.
If Medway employs a part-time director (via Franklin or on their own), they would meet state certification requirements and receive their certification, Nutting said.
"Franklin's fate, with or without sharing the director's time, will be determined by our application for a waiver to the Mass. Library Commission," Nutting said. He said the only way Franklin can meet the Massachusetts Library Commission standard for certification would be to not cut library hours and increase the budget next year.
The waiver request is necessary, he said, because Franklin will not increase the library's budget, and the Franklin library will not be open the minimum 63 hours per week.
Read the full article about the proposed combination of Franklin and Medway's libraries in the Milford Daily News here
It's time to bring the PodCamp concept to Western Mass. We have a thriving community here of some truly amazing people. This is a chance for Western Mass bloggers, business people, artists, and academics, to get together, make connections, and for everyone to learn how social media can enhance their business, cause or organization. This is also a chance to celebrate the cornucopia of Western Mass. culture, a joyous blend of urban and rural; business, artistic and academic; near enough to other large metro areas, but small enough to hear yourself think.
When: Saturday, March 28, 2009
Where: Open Square in Holyoke, Second Floor
(Open Square is the mill building across the street from The Wherehouse. Entrance to parking is from either Lyman Street or Dwight Street. Open Square is located between the first and second level canals, which are bordered by Race St and Front St. The nearest entrance to the stairs and elevator is marked with a very large white "4".)
Rough Schedule:
Looking to set up 3 breakouts for each session time after the Opening Remarks
8:30 to 9:00 - Welcome desk and coffee (?)
9:00 to 9:30 - Opening Remarks: Explanation of Unconference Format.
9:30 to 10:30 - Session 1
Break (1/2 hr.)
11:00 to Noon - Session 2
Noon to 2:00 - Lunch
2:00 to 3:00 - Session 3
Break (1/2 hr)
3:30 to 4:30 Session 4
4:30 to 5:00 Closing Remarks
You can register for PodCamp Western Mass here
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I will be traveling out to Holyoke to run the Welcome Desk, if anyone would like to join drive from Franklin with me, please let me know.