Major Water Ban in effect for the Town of Franklin

Important Information:

Major Water Ban in effect for the Town of Franklin

Please Read and pass along,

As I sit here today writing this post,approximately over "3.5 MILLION" Gallons of water is consumed daily here in Franklin. That is actually down from the almost "6 MILLION" Gallons that was consumed one day earlier this month. We should be averaging only 2.5 million per DAY!!

OK, so what does this all mean...

• Lets play the numbers game:

3.5 Million Gallons at 8.34 pounds/gal = 29,190,00 LBS of water
The USS Missouri battle cruiser weighs in at 90 Million pounds, so every 3 days we match the weight of a battle ship :)

An Olympic size swimming pool holds 660,430 gallons of water.
3,500,000/660,430 = ~5.3 Olympic Size pools a day.

The online price of a standard gallon of water at Walmart in Bellingham is $0.88. 3,500,000 x 0.88 = $3,080,000

Currently the Town of Franklin obtains its drinking water from 12 groundwater supply wells. In addition to the 12 water supply wells, the Town operates 8 booster pump stations, 6 water storage tanks, 2,000+ hydrants, 157 miles of water main and approximately 9,000 water services. The Town of Franklin sanitary sewer system is comprised of 137 miles of sewer pipe, 3,400+ manholes and 23 pump stations.

I was told today that the State has moved from being a "Drought' to being an "Extreme Drought" condition.

• What does that mean?

Well according to the
U.S. Drought Monitor Classification Scheme
http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/aboutus/classificationscheme.aspx

See the chart...

drought severity chart from US Drought Monitor website

We are now officially one level away from the worst possible state we can be in!!

• So why care?

- As water levels diminish our ability to effectively fight fires lowers dramatically. If you haven't noticed even the grass and trees have no water. So, even the slightest spark or ember will ignite them.

- As the water levels diminish our over-all health becomes greatly impacted!

• Am I scaring you?

I hope so...because this is a very serious situation.

Please check out the Town's DWP Water Department webpage for very helpful links and info! 
 http://town.franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_PublicWorks/Water_Conservation/Water_Conservation_Index

Please do your part to conserve!

Thank you!

Glenn Jones
Franklin Town Council

Today's schedule for the Franklin Cultural Festival - Thursday, July 28

Location – Historical Museum – 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM

• The Fiddling Thomsons
• Historical artifacts
• Selling Hotdogs and Hoodsies ($1 each)

Franklin Historical Museum

Location – Franklin Town Common – By the Statue - 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM

• Laughter Yoga – Bill and Linda Hamaker

Location – Franklin Town Common – 8:00 PM to 9:30 PM

• Shakespeare on the Common – at the Gazebo

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Get the full Cultural Festival brochure to download and print from here
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0wjbnXDBhczZGhDUmdGWm1GNHM/view?usp=sharing

• Get updates on the 2nd Annual Cultural Festival on the webpage

http://www.franklinsculturalfestival.org/

• or follow Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/FranklinCulturalFestival/

• or Twitter  https://twitter.com/artshappenhere

* note the schedule is subject to change

Downtown Changes - Revitalize Downtown

From Eileen Mason, Franklin Realtor and community advocate:

I was at the Franklin Downtown Partnership meetings years ago when the decision was made to improve the economic environment and bring our downtown back to life. This was no small task but a major plan for improvements requested, was funded by a State Grant written by our Director of Town Planning at the time, Carol Harper.

The major concern for businesses was that 75% or more of the traffic on the one way setup went down main street just to continue onto Rte 140. It has been a high volume, high speed and weaving raceway. So now all that traffic stays on Rte 140, reducing the volume and speed of traffic on Main St. Making it safer for all.

The fire station was another major consideration. The ability to take a left out of the station takes critical minutes off of response times. We should all be happy about no more unnecessary delays to emergencies.

The third major concern was to improve the safety of walking on Main St, where weaving through lanes and not paying attention to pedestrians is significantly reduced or eliminated.

Lastly, but most importantly was to improve the economic climate in downtown by attracting development and reinvestment in our community.

Get to know who is owning/operating these businesses.

It's a big change and controversy was expected, but now the streets work like all the other streets in the community and surrounding towns. Out of towners won't have an issue with the changes because now the traffic flow is normal.

There are many that will have comments and opinions which is fine.

For me, I drove down Main St from the Town Common and parked right in front of the business that I wanted to go to. No triangle and lights to go around. That was so easy and took much less time.

I'm very proud of all the hard work this team has done over the years to make this vital economic and logistics change for our town. There are some very dedicated town administration people who have been on this project for years and yes, it was a successful start to the change. GOOD JOB! Improving the timing of the lights is in process. Be patient. 

If we all just follow the rules of the road, all will be well in Franklin. Stay on your side of the road, stop at stop signs and lights. The finish work is still going on, so please keep an open mind.

New construction is in process to bring even more businesses to downtown. Let's all help to support them and have a thriving downtown area.

So we didn't set out to change to two way traffic. We set out to revitalize our downtown. This change was needed to accomplish several goals and hopefully will be a lasting improvement for all.

This was shared from her Facebook posting to the "All About Franklin" group

new traffic flow in downtown Franklin

David A Bernstein to appear in Art Show at Patriot Place

Franklin artist David A Bernstein will showcase his work in an art show at Patriot Place Friday, July 29 through Sunday, July 31.

In the News: neighbors concerned about development, 2-way traffic arrives

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:

"Neighbors have expressed their concerns about a potential affordable housing development off Peck and Cottage streets. 

At issue is a multi-unit townhouse-style development - called "Madalene Village" - that is now before the Zoning Board of Appeals. 

Angela Woislaw, one of those opposed to the project, said neighbors are worried about the housing's effect on the environment and flooding. 

"The residents believe that this is a very poorly designed development," she said.

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20160727/franklin-residents-concerned-about-housing-development

sign in neighborhood around proposed development

"At 5 a.m. Tuesday, the proverbial switch was flipped on traffic in downtown Franklin, going from a one-way, counter clockwise motion around the center business block to moving both ways. 

Digital advisories and signs were placed around downtown, along with orange traffic cones, and police officers were posted at key spots, to help direct drivers through the new flow. 

While there were some small hitches, overall, the switch "went very well," Police Chief Thomas Lynch said. 

"The contractor, Walsh Construction and the Mass Department of Transportation/Mass Highway authorized a number of details, so we had plenty of help up there," he said.

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20160727/two-way-traffic-begins-in-downtown-franklin-first-day-went-well

Franklin Cultural Festival opens today at 5:00 PM

at the Franklin Town Common

Assorted art activities sponsored by the Franklin Art Association – 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM

• Sidewalk Chalk Drawing
• Face Painting
• Rich Guardabascio’s Block Printing
• Plein air Painting

Opening ceremony – 5:45 PM

Electric Youth concert – 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM 

Electric Youth 2016

the stage is ready at the Town Common

at THE BLACK BOX

One Act Plays – 8:30 PM to 10:00 PM



****    ****    ****

Get the full Cultural Festival brochure to download and print from here
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0wjbnXDBhczZGhDUmdGWm1GNHM/view?usp=sharing

• Get updates on the 2nd Annual Cultural Festival on the webpage

http://www.franklinsculturalfestival.org/

• or follow Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/FranklinCulturalFestival/

• or Twitter  https://twitter.com/artshappenhere

* note the schedule is subject to change

The Circle of Friends Coffeehouse Schedule for the 2016-17 Season

Next show is September 10th featuring Garnet Rogers with Shawna Caspi View this email in your browser Our 2016-17 schedule is almost complete We have recently added Livingston Taylor and Catie Curtis to the schedule and look forward to seeing many of you this coming season. The Circle of Friends Coffeehouse is a non-profit organization affiliated with Franklin's First Universalist Society. Concerts are presented in a smoke free and alcohol free environment at the Society's handicapped accessible Meetinghouse, 262 Chestnut St. in Franklin, and begin at 8:00 PM; doors open at 7:30 PM. Beverages and gourmet desserts will be available. Please call (508)528-2541 or visit http://www.circlefolk.org/ to purchase tickets or for more information.  Upcoming Shows Sep 10     Garnet Rogers with Shawna Caspi Sep 24     An Evening with Tom Rush Oct 15      Jim Henry and Abbie Gardner (Red Molly) Nov 5       Matt Nakoa, Rachael Kilgour, & Kirsten Maxwell Nov 19     The Kennedys Dec 3       Ellis Paul

Circle of Friends Coffeehouse · First Universalist Society · 262 Chestnut St · Franklin, MA 02038 · USA

Circle of Friends Coffeehouse