Peter Yarrow concert rescheduled to March 28

From the Circle of Friends Coffeehouse:

Due to the storm the

PETER YARROW

concert has been rescheduled to March 28

Peter Yarrow

Note: If you haven't been to the Circle of Friends for a concert, you are missing a real opportunity. The hall is accoustically great for the music. The deserts are all 'diet friendly' (they are soo good, they can't count against calories) (not really, but as home made goods, they are delicious!)

For other concerts on the Circle of Friends Coffeehouse schedule check here
http://circlefolk.org/sched.html

Gas pains in Massachusetts- The Climate Minute Podcast

In this week's edition of the Climate Minute podcast, they focus on what is happening in MA

The town of Wilmington rejects the pipeline. 

A couple of heavyweights opine that Governor Baker should focus on wind.It turns out that gas pipelines in Boston are really, really leaky! 

But a company wants to put yet another one in West Roxbury near a quarry. What could go wrong? Go to the rally on Sunday.

Mass Climate Action Network

You can listen to it here or click through to the MCAN page and listen there

Upcoming Events in Franklin, MA Area: FRI 1/23/15 - THU 1/29/15

FRI 1/23   4-6pm   Open House at Franklin Children’s School
FRI 1/23   6:30pm   Art Night Uncorked at Franklin Art Center
FRI 1/23   7-10pm   Middle School Winter Dance for 5th-8th graders at Tri-County HS
FRI 1/23   8-9:50pm   Frozen Friday DJ Public Skate at Pirelli Arena

SAT 1/24   8am-12pm   Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser for BFCCPS
SAT 1/24   11am   FSPA Auditions for the Music Man (ages 8 and up)
SAT 1/24   3-5pm   Survivor Tails Adoption Event at Happy Tails Doggy Day Care

SUN 1/25   2-5pm   Franklin & Bellingham Rail Trail Committee Fundraiser at Pour Richard’s
SUN 1/25   3:30pm   LiveARTS Concert: Kevin Owen, French horn with Asako Shibata, piano

MON 1/26   5:30-7:30pm   Community Walking: FREE Walk Track at FHS

TUE 1/27   5:30-7:30pm   Community Walking: FREE Walk Halls at FHS
TUE 1/27   6:30-8pm   Ken Gloss: Value of old and rare books, Franklin Public Library

WED 1/28   12pm-6pm   Workshop Wednesday at The Cake Bar: Hearts Cupcake
WED 1/28   3:30pm   iStories at the Franklin Public Library
WED 1/28   5:30-7:30pm   Community Walking: FREE Walk Track at Franklin High School

THU 1/29   1pm   Pre-School Open House at Franklin YMCA
THU 1/29   5:30-7:30pm   Community Walking: FREE Walk Track at Franklin High School
THU 1/29   6:30pm   Genealogy Club - First Meeting - Join the Club! at the Franklin Public Library
 
For all the Town of Franklin Public Meetings click HERE.

For event details click HERE.

*If you have any suggestions or events for the calendar, please email Renata@BetterLivingRE.com

150 Emmons St sold, Pond St parcel re-zoned

One building sold, another parcel moving along the sale process, more money was added to the Legal budget and Franklin agreed to join with Bellingham and Hopedale in a community building grant application.

Emmons St

After so much to do in the Town Council meeting around the proposal for the 150 Emmons St building, the actual pair of resolutions to make the land available and then to authorize the sale agreement were conducted with little fanfare and no audience participation. There was a substantial audience but they were awaiting the next action item, the re-zoning of the Pond St property.

Attorney Cornetta representing the purchaser was present and left the meeting after both resolutions passed by 8-0 votes with one Councilor recusing himself (Kelly). Members of the Franklin Downtown Partnership, which had lobbied extensively against a drive through, especially if it were to be food service related were not present.

The deal to complete the sale of the property will take approx. four months to complete. In the meantime, Franklin will be looking to relocate the Recreation Dept which is the primary occupant of the current facility. 

150 Emmons St - to be a 'gateway' to Franklin

Pond St

On the re-zoning of the Pond St property, members of the neighborhood were much better prepared than for their first exposure to this at the Jan 7th meeting. They spoke at length, in detail, and raised applause on many good points. 

Ultimately, the Council did not agree to a delay on the vote but did amend the resolution to change the 2,000 sq ft requirement to 3,000. This was clearly a compromise on their part to help provide some of the restrictions that the Pond St neighbors were asking for.

Note: As an observer of many of these meetings with public sessions, it was good that the Council apparently suspended their time keeping for each speaker. Given the poor behavior of some of the Council during the Jan 7th meeting where their inappropriate comments were broadcast and recorded, this was a good move.  

For reference the "Visitor's Orientation to Meetings" can be found herehttp://town.franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_Council/visitorsnotice.pdf 

Copies of this document are generally kept on the small table outside the door to the Council Chambers. 

Note: I also found it interesting that the Town Council did not acknowledge or apologize for their individual behavior and comments at the prior meeting. Had they done so, it could have changed the nature of the relationship. 

The Pond St propery discussion now moves to the Economic Development Committee (EDC) meeting scheduled for Wednesday, Jan 28th. It will be held in the 3rd floor training room of the Municipal Bldg beginning at 6:30 PM. With the parcel re-zoned, the RFP can be drafted to include this 'carrot' for potential developers. 

The RFP would come back to the Town Council for their approval before being advertised as available. The RFP usually would advertise for a 2-3 month period. any proposals submitted for it would first be reviewed at an EDC meeting and then brought with a recommendation to the Council for a decision. If a sale was recommended, it would follow similarly to the Emmons St property. 

The parcel would be declared surplus, an authorization for sale would be reached and eventually concluded. At such time, the developer would then begin the development process working with the Planning Board, Conservation Commission, and other bodies to obtain the necessary permits to begin.

Legal budget increased

Another $50,000 was added to the Legal budget. This line item started with about $45,000 was increased by $30,000 earlier this fiscal year. Most of this attributed to the protracted negotiations with the fire fighters union but not totally associated with it.

Community development grant

Franklin approved signing an agreement to join with Bellingham and Hopedale on this communty grant application. As reported from the Jan 7th meeting, Bellingham would be the lead community doing most of the work but Franklin would also benefit. 

What would this do for us? It would provide some grants or low interest loans for homeowners in the specified area (central Franklin) for those (if they met income requirements) to use for home improvements.

The agreement to join the application can be found on page 10 of the Council agenda here: 
http://town.franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_CouncilAgendas/2015%20Complete%20With%20Documents/012115.pdf




My full set of notes reported live during the meeting on Wednesday can be found here

• Live reporting: Closing
• Live reporting: Legislation
• Live reporting: Town Council - Jan 21, 2015

Chad Larivee Fundraiser/Shawn Allen Boston Marathon

Greetings, 

As many of you know, my good friend and tennis buddy's husband, Chad Larivee, had a terrible accident this summer that left him paralyzed from the shoulders down. Chad was a firefighter and is the father of three beautiful children (ages 14, 12, 9). 

After spending nearly a month in the intensive care unit, Chad was transferred to Spaulding Rehab for two months and finally came home in November. The family is adjusting to their new life and they have gotten tremendous support from the firefighter community who retro-fitted their house with ramps, elevator, and an ADA bathroom. However, life is not easy. 

The physical therapy program that Chad and the family has chosen is called Journey Forward and costs $100/hr. It is not covered by insurance. So, my friend and running partner, Shawn Allen, is running this year's Boston Marathon in order to raise funds for Chad's physical therapy. 

Shawn is an ex-marine, who is known for doing a set of pushups in the middle and at the end of his runs. He is no slouch. Last year he ran Boston, his first marathon, in 3:17, just two minutes shy of his Boston qualifying standard. This year he hopes to break 3:15 and, more importantly, raise $50,000 for Chad's treatment. 

Here is a link to Shawn and Chad's gofundme site if you are compelled to support them. Any donation goes directly to the Larivee family. 

http://www.gofundme.com/k3fp0w

Thanks for any and all you can do to help out Chad and his family. 

Love,
Kathleen

screen grab of Larivee Fund Raising page

MassBudget: FY 2016 Budget Preview

MassBudget    Information.    Participation.  Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center    Democracy. A Preview of the FY 2016 Budget  As the FY 2016 budget season begins, the Commonwealth continues to suffer from the effects of the three billion dollars of income tax cuts enacted over a decade ago. As a result of those tax cuts, the state has been forced to make deep cuts in funding for public higher education, local aid, public health protection, and other core state services. Even with those budget cuts, the state continues to face preliminary budget gaps at the start of each year's budget process. This year that gap is likely to be just over $1 billion - less than the gaps faced during the recent recession, but a serious challenge for budget writers. MassBudget's FY 2016 Budget Preview describes the state's fiscal condition as the budget season begins. To present everyone with a clearer picture of the state's fiscal condition and the choices that get made through the state budget, the state could release more detailed information about the projected FY 2016 costs for maintaining current services--see Opening the Process: Releasing Maintenance Budgets to the Public. While budget writers generally prepare such a document ("a maintenance budget") as the first step of crafting a budget, it is generally not released publicly. Other states do publicly release a maintenance budget. Making this public would improve transparency and allow everyone to understand more accurately the choices we face. That would allow more meaningful participation, by more people across the state, in the important debates about the priorities pursued in our state budget.   The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (MassBudget) produces policy research, analysis, and data-driven recommendations focused on improving the lives of low- and middle-income children and adults, strengthening our state's economy, and enhancing the quality of life in Massachusetts. MASSACHUSETTS BUDGET AND POLICY CENTER 15 COURT SQUARE, SUITE 700 BOSTON, MA 02108

Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center | 15 Court Square | Suite 700 | Boston | MA | 02108

Food Elves Bring in Record Donations

The Franklin Food Elves are pleased to announce that the final donation numbers are in and the “12 Days of Donating” Campaign has collected more than three tons (or 6,400 pounds) of goods and $8,500 for the Franklin Food Pantry.

(L-R) Food Elf Ellie Teixeira, Co-founder Cameron Piana, Food Pantry Executive Director Erin Lynch at the Franklin Food Pantry in December 2014.

More than 90 Food Elves collected from over 30 Franklin neighborhoods, the most volunteers in the history of the Franklin Food Elves. They worked in conjunction with local businesses that set up collection bins at their locations around town.

“We’d like to thank all of residents of Franklin who donated to our campaign this year. We also would like to thank the elves who worked hard to bring the donations in, and the businesses that helped fill the donation bins at their locations,” says Cameron Piana, Food Elves co-founder.

The Franklin Food Elves was co-founded by Melissa and Cameron Piana 9 years ago and has grown each year.  Since the beginning the organization has brought in a total of 10 tons (20,380 pounds) of food donations and over $25,700 for the Franklin Food Pantry.

Local businesses were deeply involved in this year’s campaign. DCU gave a check for $5,000, and 15 other businesses pledged a $200 cash donation and donated time and bin space to the cause.

Those businesses included Auerr, Zajac & Associates, LLC, Berry Insurance, British Beer Company, Dean Bank, Dean College, Drama Kids of Metro West, Emma’s Quilt Cupboard, the Franklin Downtown Partnership, Jane’s Frames, Keefe Insurance Agency, Murphy Business, Printsmart Office Products, Pour Richard’s Wine & Spirits, RE/MAX Executive Realty, and Yellin & Hyman, P.C. 

For more information about the Food Elves and the “12 Days of Donating” campaign, please contact the Food Elves at franklinfoodelves@yahoo.com or visit their Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Franklin-Food-Elves/714439188643292

This was shared from the Franklin Downtown Partnership page

http://www.franklindowntownpartnership.org/2015/01/decembers-12-days-of-donating-totals.html