Three Voices of Franklin: Vote Yes for the Community Preservation Act

We urge residents to vote for Franklin’s future by voting Yes for the Community Preservation Act in the upcoming election!

This is our chance to fund Franklin’s special needs that too often go ignored or postponed, such as protecting open space for water supply protection and farms, parks, new playgrounds or improving current recreation, preserving the Brick School and the South Meeting House, and creating new community housing.

Our local CPA contributions will allow Franklin to receive a distribution from the state CPA fund. This state distribution comes from the fees paid on transactions at the Registry of Deeds. Those fees were raised in 2019, which mean that the state contribution is secured for the future. This year the state match is estimated to be more than 20% for the 176 cities and towns which have already voted CPA. Franklin would begin to receive a share of that pool in 2022 if CPA is approved.

This question asks us to approve a CPA surcharge of 2% on our property tax. Residential properties would get an automatic $100,000 exemption, and exemptions would be offered to low-income families and moderate-income seniors.

The average homeowner in Franklin would pay about $105 a year... or about $2 a week... less than one cup of coffee, let alone a latte! Far less than a year’s gym membership and less each week than a train ticket to Boston, parking in the MBTA lots or a new pencil case for a kindergarten student.

The funds raised by the CPA stay in Franklin in a dedicated fund for eligible projects. A five to nine-person committee will evaluate proposals annually and the final section will be made by the Town Council.

It’s estimated that the funds raised through CPA would be more than $1 Million a year and the fund would grow to allow Franklin to invest in many of the “wish list” goals for historic buildings, open space, parks and recreation, and much needed community housing for seniors and families – all projects that are often set aside for “someday.”

Well, if we pass CPA, we can make that “someday” possible. If each family gives a little, we all will get much more in return. Please look for the Community Preservation Act at the bottom of the ballot and vote “Yes”!

For more information, sign up at CPA4Franklin@gmail.com.

Monique Doyle 

Susan Speers
Roberta Trahan 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WTBRSlvC_HpcNpBg22mKyLDYhtpkF-S6/view?usp=sharing

 

Three Voices of Franklin: Yes for the Community Preservation Act

Warren Reynolds: "Demand Far Outstrips Supply In Franklin, MA Real Estate"

Realtor Warren Reynolds has a short video on the real estate market in Franklin. The amount of homes for sale has dropped sharply. The number of homes sold this year is also lower (as a result) than previous years.

"Looking at the year-to-date home sales figures for Franklin, MA as of mid-September, you’d be justified in thinking that the local real estate market is having a very bad year.

Single family home sales in Franklin, Massachusetts have fallen off a cliff so far in 2020. Sales volume is down 24% compared to 2019. The number of homes sold year-to-date is just about at the lows of the 2009 – 2011 Great Recession."

Continue reading Warren's article, to view the charts he mentions in the video

https://02038.com/2020/09/demand-far-outstrips-supply-in-franklin-ma-real-estate/

The video link =   https://youtu.be/LZRmnzjN0HM

Housing is a key factor of life here in Franklin. The demographic study by the School Dept forecast declining enrollment and that was based upon annual home sales of 275. You hear Warren say we have only 167 year to date. We are not in the range to maintain our population, never mind try and grow the population.

The Davis Thayer Facility study resumes this week (Weds, Sep 30). We should be able to find out the latest on the population and facility analysis.

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/09/facilities-analysis-sub-committee.html

 

FHS PCC Meeting - Oct 5

FHS PCC (@FHS_PCC) tweeted at 4:34 PM on Sun, Sep 27, 2020:

Mark your calendars! October 5th 7 PM will be our first PCC Meeting of the year! 

Link for the meeting invite - https://t.co/Zq1ZyX15bV and link for parent question form https://t.co/NDBXVRgCNp 

Shared from Twitter https://t.co/oBJrhJAdrV

FHS PCC Meeting - Oct 5

Register O’Donnell Discusses How to Record a Land Document

Norfolk County Register of Deeds William P. O’Donnell today reminded residents that even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Registry process to record land documents is designed to make it as easy and seamless as possible. “Whether the document in question is a deed, mortgage, homestead, mortgage discharge or any other type of land document, Registry staff have been trained to record the documents in as expeditious and accurate a manner as possible,” noted O’Donnell.

Register O’Donnell further noted, “As the depository of over 8 million land documents, there are certain basic steps that need to be followed when submitting a land document for recording. First and foremost, the document needs to be associated with one of the twenty-eight communities comprising Norfolk County. In addition, the document must be an original; we will not record photo copies or documents submitted via fax. Please note in many cases, land documents require signatures be notarized before they are recorded.” 

“It should also be noted that the Registry does not draft land documents. The Registry of Deeds is in the business of recording land documents only. If an individual is unsure if a drafted land document, particularly a deed, is in proper order, it may be prudent to have a lawyer familiar with real estate law review the document for its accuracy. A simple mistake on a deed for example could lead to a major problem.”  

Another important point to note is that there are various fees set by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts associated with the recording of land documents at the Registry. Recording fees vary depending on the specific land document type. The Registry’s website, www.norfolkdeeds.org has a fee schedule that can be consulted for specific recording fee amounts. The Registry accepts checks made out to the Norfolk County Registry of Deeds. The Registry also accepts cash payment.   

“Once you have a land document ready for recording and know the fee and type of payment,” stated O’Donnell, “you can then choose how to actually get the document delivered to the Norfolk County Registry of Deeds. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Registry of Deeds building is currently closed to all members of the general public and real estate professionals alike. The options to get an original document and payment to the Registry of Deeds for recording are via regular mail, Federal Express, or placing the document and payment in a drop-off box located just outside the main entrance to our building located at 649 High Street, Dedham, MA.”

’Donnell concluded by stating, “Our trained recording staff is more than happy to record your land documents. Land documents are recorded in an expeditious manner once they arrive here at the Registry. It should also be noted that institutional users such as lending institutions and law firms have the additional option to submit documents electronically via our two e-file vendors, Simplifile and ePN. Finally, if you have any questions about land documents in general, please call our Customer Service Center at 781-461-6101, Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:30AM-4:30PM.” 

To learn more about these and other Registry of Deeds events and initiatives like us at facebook.com/NorfolkDeeds or follow us on twitter.com/NorfolkDeeds and instagram.com/NorfolkDeeds.

The Norfolk County Registry of Deeds is located at 649 High Street in Dedham.  The Registry is a resource for homeowners, title examiners, mortgage lenders, municipalities and others with a need for secure, accurate, accessible land record information.  All land record research information can be found on the Registry’s website www.norfolkdeeds.org.  Residents in need of assistance can contact the Registry of Deeds Customer Service Center via telephone at (781) 461-6101, or email us at registerodonnell@norfolkdeeds.org.

 

Register O’Donnell Discusses How to Record a Land Document

"Here’s How the Pandemic Finally Ends"

From Elizabeth Ralph, deputy editor at Politico Magazine, top experts look into the future:

"The microscopic bundles of RNA, wrapped in spiky proteins, latch on to human cells, hijack them, use them as factories to replicate, and then leave them for dead. It’s a biological blitzkrieg—an invasion so swift and unexpected that the germs are free to jump from host to host with little interference.

Fast forward to the future. Now, when the prickly enemies invade the lungs, they slip past the human cells, unable to take hold. They’re marked for destruction, soon to be surrounded and eliminated. Though some escape through the airways, they confront the same defenses in their next target—if, that is, they can get anywhere near the human cells. There are so few people left to infect that the germs have nowhere to replicate, nowhere to survive.

This is the end of the coronavirus pandemic. And this is how it could happen in the United States: By November 2021, most Americans have received two doses of a vaccine that, while not gloriously effective, fights the disease in more cases than not. Meanwhile, Americans continue to wear masks and avoid large gatherings, and the Covid-19 numbers drop steadily after a series of surges earlier in the year. Eventually, as more and more Americans develop immunity through exposure and vaccination, and as treatments become more effective, Covid-19 recedes into the swarm of ordinary illnesses Americans get every winter.

“It will take two things to bring this virus under control: hygienic measures and a vaccine. And you can’t have one without the other,” says Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center and an attending physician in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia."

Continue reading the article online  https://t.co/Jm2dTKEAfv

"Here’s How the Pandemic Finally Ends"

What if COVID deaths were in your neighborhood?

What if all COVID-19 deaths in the United States had happened in your neighborhood?

Find out what would happen if your neighborhood was the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States.

Compelling visual interactive:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/national/coronavirus-deaths-neighborhood/?itid=hp_dontmiss

What if COVID deaths were in your neighborhood?

Franklin Cultural Council: Halloween House Decorating Contest

The Franklin Cultural Council (FCC) is pleased to announce its first annual Halloween House Decorating Contest.

Let your imagination and creativity come alive as you bring the spirit of Halloween to your front yard! 

Make this fall one that you and your family will never forget!  

 

Beginning October 22, Franklin homeowners can design an outdoor display to transform their front lawns to a landscape of ghouls, ghosts and goblins; fantasy-filled scenes of magic; or a monument to the macabre.  

 

Halloween House Decorating Contest

All residences in Franklin are eligible to participate. There is no fee to enter, but to be part of the contest, interested households will need to go online and complete the registration form at bit.ly/FCC-Halloween by October 16.  Late entries may not be considered.

Judging will take place after dark on Friday, October 30th by FCC members  First, second and third place winners will be announced on the Franklin Cultural Council’s Facebook page. 

Gather family or friends and use your artistic flair to create a front yard for all of Franklin to enjoy!  Additional details can be found on the FCC web page.  https://www.franklinma.gov/cultural-council

 

Franklin Cultural Council: Halloween House Decorating Contest