Live reporting - Public Land Use Committee

Attending: Liz Fester, Mark Anderson, Tim Twardowski

Missing: Jim Estabrook, Ray Willis

Beth Dahlstrom, Town Planner

Brian Taberner, Director, Planning and Community Development

Members of the Franklin Citizens Rail Trail Committee 
Dave Dennison, Allan Sawyer, David Labonte, Karl Svendsen

Ron Clough, DCR


Franklin Rail Trail - part of the Titanic Trail

This presentation was based upon the one prepared by Bill DiSantis and edited by Carl Svendsen for this meeting.

Franklin Rail Trail - Public Land Use Committee

View more presentations from Steve Sherlock.

Wadsworth Village, near Spring Street crossing, a historical site

How the trail would be finished off is somewhat dependent upon the requirements for the funding organization. Hard pack would be desirable.

Bellingham has a subcommittee to their Conservation Committee doing the same thing that the FCRTC is doing.

FCRTC is a grass roots organization coordinating with DCR.

Meeting with the Rotary Club to look for additional funding.

Dan O'Brian, a trail planner on the DCR staff

It is a feasible project. What you need is creation of a management plan. The plan would be two-fold, (1) development of the trail and (2) the on-going maintenance.

If you can avoid the MassHighway process which requires multiple dollars and multiple years. If you go with a fully engineered 12 foot way, that's one thing. If you are agreeable to go with the lesser option, then maybe the Town can provide some assistance.

The Town Planner and others within the Town can help the FCRT Committee

Ultimately looking at a 10 foot paved section with a yellow line down the middle and an adjacent 5 foot section hard pack for horse or jogger traffic.

Look into the ATT easement for an opportunity for sponsorship or opportunity for maintenance that could be leveraged.

Beth Dhalstrom and Dave Labonte to compare dates to find an acceptable meeting time in September to continue this discussion.

Election "Line up card"

Table below shows the positions available for election this November.  Check for the updated version here

The Candidates column initially showed just the incumbents.
Those who have confirmed taking out papers are marked with a * and bold.
New candidates have their name in bold with -new.
The existing position holders who have not yet taken out papers are listed for reference to keep track of the "line up card"

So what does this tell us?
We need more candidates! The only election competition is for the Board of Health position.

Name	# of Openings	Candidates	Term of Office
Board of Assessors	1 Position (For 4 years)	Robert Avakian*	2009 to 2013
Board of Health	1 Position (For 4 years)	Bruce Hunchard* Koren Kanadanian-new	2009 to 2013
Planning Board	2 Position (For 4 years)	Anthony Padula*	2009 to 2013
	* 1Vacant	Joseph Halligan-new	2009 to 2013
Planning Board (Associate)	* 1 vacant position (For 4 Years)		2009 to 2013
Town Council	9 Positions (For 2 Years)	Joseph McGann	2009 to 2011
		Deborah Bartlett
		R. Scott Mason*
		Christopher Feeley
		Judith Pond Pfeffer*
		Thomas Doak - not running again
		Shannon Zollo*
		Robert Vallee*
		Stephen Whalen
		Glenn Jones- new Daniel Ballinger-new
School Committee	7 Positions (For 2 Years)	Cora Armenio	2009 to 2011
		Susan Rohrbach*
		Paula Mullen*
		Edward Cafasso*
		Roberta Trahan
		Matthew Kelly
		Jeffrey Roy*

Did you know that development of the rail trail is an objecitve?

Two public hearings that included mapping activities were held at the Franklin Town Hall on March 13 and 20, 2008. Although no requests were made, translation services and assistance to disabled populations would have been provided to ensure all populations could participate in the OSRP planning process. See Appendix E for minutes of these Public Hearings. Among the thoughts expressed by the Franklin citizen attendees were their desire to acquire chapter 61B land in the north end of town if it becomes available, as well as Mt. St. Mary's Abby and the Schmidt Farm. They felt town-owned land could be used for alternative uses such as low income housing, and the public should be educated on CPA prior to presenting it on a future ballot. Citizens expressed a desire to increase the number of bike paths and trails in town, increase access to the SNETT and State Forest, identify and preserve priority habitats, as well as implement "Smart Development" concepts and initiatives.

Read more from the Open Space and Recreation Plan on the Town web site here (PDF)

Members of the Franklin Citizens Rail Trail Committee will be participating in the Public Land Use Committee meeting Tuesday evening at 6:30 PM in Room 205 in the Municipal Building.

http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_Planning/2008plan

In the News: some candidates, police grant

On the election front:

Franklin candidates starting to take out papers

from The Milford Daily News News RSS by Angel Roy/Daily News staff

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An update on the grant that the Police just received:

Franklin crosswalks to become safer through grant

from The Milford Daily News News RSS by Angel Roy/Daily News staff

Limited - bicycle/skateboard safety helmets available

The Franklin Police Department Safety Division has a limited number of bicycle/skateboard safety helmets available.

Various sizes, no charge, first come first served.

If interested, contact CSO Sergeant Spillane by clicking here.

Franklin Police Department Receives Grant

Franklin Police Department Receives Pedestrian, Bicycle and Moped-Type Safety Enforcement and Equipment Grant Award

Franklin, MA -The Franklin Police Department was awarded $7,490.52 in federal grant funding as part of the 2009-2010 Pedestrian, Bicycle and Moped-Type Safety Enforcement and Equipment Grant Program from the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS). This program provides overtime funds for targeted enforcement of pedestrian, bicycle, and moped laws, equipment, and materials. The EOPSS awarded 16 of these grants totaling $100,000 in federal highway safety fundsJ

"We are pleased to receive these funds to enhance our pedestrian, bicycle and mopedtype enforcement activities in Franklin" said Sgt. Chris Spillane of the Franklin Police Department. "Any loss on our roadways is one too many and this program will help to reduce the instances of pedestrian, bicycle and moped crashes with motor vehicles."

According to the Massachusetts Crash Data System, in 2007 there were 66 pedestrian fatalities and 1,273 non-fatal injuries along with 11 pedalcyclist fatalities and 800 nonfatal injuries on Massachusetts roadways. Additionally, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2007, pedestrians made up 15% of motor vehicle-related fatalities in Massachusetts, compared to the national average of 11 % in
2007. Similarly, in 2007, pedalcyclists made up 2.5% of all motor vehicle-related fatalities in Massachusetts, compared to the national average of 1.7%.

For more information on this program go to wvvw.mass.gov/highwaysafety and click on 2009-2010 Pedestrian, Bicycle and Moped-Type Safety Enforcement and Equipment Grant.

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For additional information you can also contact Sgt. Chris Spillane at 508-528-1212

Town Council - 9/2/09 - Agenda

A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

B. ANNOUNCEMENTS

C. PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS

D. CITIZEN COMMENTS

E. APPOINTMENTS 

• Election Workers 2009-2010
• Finance Committee  (Linda Poole Huempfner)
  

F. HEARINGS       

G. LICENSE TRANSACTIONS

• Change of Manager – Joe’s American Bar & Grill

H. DISCUSSIONS

I. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS

J. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION

1. Resolution 09-57: Dissolution of Franklin Housing Partnership
2. Resolution 09-58: Change of Name, Franklin Commission for Persons with Disabilities      

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