Franklin Residents: Curbside Pickup Updates at the Franklin Public Library

Curbside Pickup Updates at the Franklin Public Library

Curbside Pickup Updates! Patrons can place holds online or by phone. When placing holds by phone, there is a limit of five holds per call. 

Inter Library Loan is now available! You are able to place holds on items throughout the Minuteman Library Network. Search our catalog at find.minlib.net. 

Once you receive a text or email that your items are ready, visit the Library at the School Street entrance between 10:00 AM and 1:00 PM. Monday through Saturday to pick them up! 

In the event of rain, items will be available under an awning near the door. The Library will still be closed to the public, but staff will be available to answer questions by phone and email 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM Monday through Saturday. Please call us at 508-520-4941.

Starting Monday, July 13, Curbside Pickup hours will be extended to 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Saturday. Additionally, staff will be available by phone 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Saturday.

Franklin Residents: Curbside Pickup Updates at the Franklin Public Library

Town of Franklin: July 2020 E-Newsletter

The Town of Franklin Coronavirus Information Portal (https://www.franklinma.gov/home/pages/coronavirus-information-portal) is available on our homepage and is updated frequently to provide our residents and business owners with the latest information and resources. 

Find Franklin specific data, including Department Updates and Procedures (https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif591/f/uploads/department_protocols_covid_19_13.pdf) under the "Town of Franklin News" (https://www.franklinma.gov/home/pages/town-franklin-news-and-alerts) button. 

We recently added a "Reopening Resources" (https://www.franklinma.gov/home/pages/reopening-resources) button to house information related to Governor Baker's four phase reentry plan.

• Find the full newsletter online at the Town of Franklin page

https://www.franklinma.gov/home/pages/newsletter-portal

Town of Franklin: July 2020 E-Newsletter

In the News: "State officials have estimated delays will be reduced by 91 percent with the preferred design"

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

Want to learn more about the upcoming Mass Pike-Interstate-495 interchange reconstruction?

The state Department of Transportation Thursday morning will post a pre-recorded webinar to present the design for the proposed Mass Pike-Interstate-495 interchange project. The webinar is scheduled to be posted at 9 a.m. The webinar can be found at www.mass.gov/massdot-highway-design-public-hearings.

The project team has completed 25% of the designs, according to the state Department of Transportation’s website.

“The purpose of this hearing webinar is to provide the public with the opportunity to become fully acquainted with the proposed I-495/I-90 Interchange Improvements project,” according to a posting on the DOT’s website. “All views and comments submitted in response to the webinar will be reviewed and considered to the maximum extent possible.”

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20200707/state-dot-will-hold-pre-recorded-webinar-thursday-on-pikei-495-interchange-project

Handout for this webinar
https://www.mass.gov/doc/massdot-hearing-handout-hopkinton-westborough-070920/download
 

pre-recorded webinar to present the design for the proposed Mass Pike-Interstate-495 interchange project

Plastic Bag Prohibition - effective date delayed

In late March, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker banned reusable bags and lifted local bans on plastic bags at grocery stores and pharmacies as part of his administration's steps to limit the spread of the Coronavirus. 

To comply with this order the Town of Franklin is delaying the start of the plastic bag prohibition which was originally slated to go into effect July 1st, 2020. 

The Plastic Bag Prohibition will go into effect when the Governor lifts the ban on reusable bags, once the ban is lifted the Town will send out a notification with a formal start date for the plastic bag prohibition to begin. 


Shared from the Town of Franklin page:
https://www.franklinma.gov/home/news/update-plastic-bag-prohibition

Plastic Bag Prohibition - effective date delayed

Franklin Annual Report 2019: Human Resources Department

From the Franklin Annual Report 2019:

Fiscal Year 2019 was a very busy year for the Human Resources Department. The Town continued to experience our “retirement boom” with the departure of Fire Chief Gary McCarraher, former Deputy Fire Chief Paul Sharpe, and of course, the retirement of our fearless leader, Jeff Nutting, after 18 years as our Town Administrator! The show must go on, even without these valued employees, and we are lucky to have Town Administrator Jamie Hellen and new Fire Chief James McLaughlin and Deputy Chiefs Joseph Barbieri and James Klich stepping up to lead us for the foreseeable future.

The Police Department kept us very busy this year with a few retirements as well as the implementation of a new schedule in the Patrol Division. We are now one of a handful of communities in Massachusetts that offer a (“4&4” schedule. The schedule allows our officers to work four (4) ten (10) hour days and then take four (4) consecutive days off. Although the schedule officially started in FY20, we spent a significant portion of FY19 preparing for this adjustment, including adding additional Patrol Officers to the Police Department. As a result of the new schedule and a few other personnel changes, we hired 7 new Patrol Officers and promoted 2 Officers to Sergeant in just one fiscal year.

As a result of the retirements and other movement within the Fire Department, we appointed a new Chief, 2 Deputy Chiefs, 3 Captains, 2 Lieutenants and 5 new Firefighter/Paramedics in FY19 (and the first week of FY20 since Chief McLaughlin started on July 8, 2019).

Between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2019, the Town also hired a Conservation Agent, an Archivist, an Administrative Assistant in the Town Administrator’s Office, a Clerk the Treasurer’s Office, a Clerk in the DPW, 2 Assistant Youth Services Librarians, 2 Library Assistants, a Town Electrician, 3 Custodians, and 2 Heavy Motor Equipment Operators at the Department of Public Works, and part-time employees in Recreation and the Senior Center. Like in years past, we hired about 30 students to work full-time at the DPW and in Facilities for the summer. These employees were instrumental in getting our schools and school grounds ready for the 2019-2020 school year.

As in years past, Jeff Nutting, Jamie Hellen and I worked closely with the Finance and HR teams from the Franklin

Public Schools and the Insurance Advisory Committee to try to contain the cost of health insurance. We currently provide health insurance to approximately 1200 employees and retirees from both the Town and Schools on our plan. Even a small increase in health insurance premiums can have a huge impact on the total budget.

For the second year in a row, the Town offered a qualified high deductible health insurance plan through Harvard Pilgrim Health Care to our active employees. If an employee moved from the traditional HMO to the high deductible HMO plan, they could save money on the monthly premium in exchange for a slightly higher deductible. This plan change saved the Town money, so we shared some of the savings with the employees by depositing money into each employee’s Health Savings Accounts (HSA). During the open enrollment period, we had 21 additional employees join the High Deductible Plan, bringing our numbers up to about 40 Town employees. These employees saved the Town an additional $19,000. This figure does not include the savings realized by people who joined the plan in FY18 or the additional savings achieved by the School Department. We have received very positive feedback from employees who have joined the high deductible plan and hope that we can continue to experience these savings in future years.

We worked closely with the Human Resources Department for Franklin Public Schools to offer a “Benefits Fair” during our open enrollment period in April. We invited representatives from Harvard Pilgrim and our other insurance vendors to set up tables to provide benefit information to our employees. We had a great turnout and employees were very pleased to have the opportunity to gather additional information and ask questions.

It was a very busy and challenging year, but HR Administrator Sandy Golebiewski and I both enjoyed it. It is very exciting to be part of the hiring team and it has been a pleasure getting to know our new employees and welcoming them to the Town. We look forward to another year of serving the employees and retirees of the Town of Franklin.

Respectfully submitted,

Karen M. Bratt
Human Resources Director


Download your copy of the Annual Report
https://www.franklinma.gov/town-clerk/files/town-franklin-annual-report-2019

Visit the Human Resources Dept online  https://www.franklinma.gov/human-resources

Franklin Annual Report 2019: Human Resources Department

Reminder: We’re Virtual - Kids’ Corner Cooking Camp – Grades 4-7

Registration is open for Virtual Kids’ Corner Cooking Camp – Grades 4-7. Classes will run from Saturday, July 18 through Saturday, August 22. 

Participation is open to individuals in Franklin and the surrounding region towns.
Originally an after-school and summer camp program, Kids’ Corner Cooking Camp with Sandhya Jain, has shifted its current program to entirely online using Google Meet. These interactive Kids’ Corner cooking classes are set up to show kids (Grades 4-7) how to prepare fun offerings for their family. 

The weekly, one-hour lessons are educational, entertaining, and designed to empower students in the process. And the recipes are healthy and delicious.
For more information, go to www.FranklinLifelongLearning.com and click on Lifelong Community Learning. Or call Lifelong Community Learning at 508-613-1483.

ABOUT US: Lifelong Community Learning is a program of the Franklin Public Schools Lifelong Learning Institute, dedicated to providing diverse and enriched education and experiences for all area residents and children – a resource for all ages.

We’re Virtual - Kids’ Corner Cooking Camp – Grades 4-7

"Talking the Blues" - Reflecting on Black Lives Matter

Todd Monjar and Jim Derick discuss their thoughts surrounding the killing of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement


You can listen to this show on Franklin Public Radio, wfpr.fm anywhere via your browser or at 102.9 on the local Franklin FM radio dial.

Thursday = 11:00a/2:00p/8:00pm Talkin’ the Blues – Jim Derick
Exploring the music of the great Blues tradition

Saturday = 5:00p Talkin’ the Blues – Jim Derick
Exploring the music of the great Blues tradition


Audio link = https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-ma4tu-e0105e