GATRA - updated schedule

The updated GATRA schedule can be found on the new Franklin web site here (PDF)

"There were several options discussed"

By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff

Milford Daily News

Posted Sep 06, 2008 @ 10:27 PM

---

FRANKLIN —

Laying off 17 teachers this school year following the failed override left Franklin High School with major scheduling headaches, including gaps in 200 students' schedules, said Principal Pamela Gould, a problem which has now been fixed.
Three weeks before school began, she said, attempts to realign everyone's schedule were still not completed and about 200 students had a hole in their schedules - one empty period - because administrators did not have enough courses to put the students in.
The Massachusetts Department of Education essentially banned study halls, said Superintendent Wayne Ogden, so they were not an option.
Heidi Guarino of the DOE said as part of Education Reform 1993, the state requires 990 hours of instruction for secondary schools per year, which leaves no time for study hall. Some districts still have some, but the state frowns upon them and requires them to have some learning going on.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

This was part of the School Committee meeting live reporting on Tuesday 8/26/08

Financial Planning Committee Charter - DRAFT

Draft: For discussion purposes only

Financial plan

• Develop a 3 year budget that reflects a range of feasible economic scenarios and funding choices that may be required o Develop metrics to measure and report the town's financial and operational health

Build trust in the process

• Involve key town committees, department, and others to ensure an inclusive process o Achieve buy-in from a critical mass of town leaders for the current situation and recommended course of action

Education and outreach

• Better understand the views of citizens at large, including conventional wisdom that may not be supported by facts o Educate citizens regarding the town's financial health and financial outlook, including as necessary, the need for future overrides

Recommend one or more courses of action to ensure town finances support the overall goals of the town

Financial Planning Committee Minutes of August 7, 2008

The meeting was called to order at 7:05 pm

Members present: Finance Committee Chair James Roche, Councilors Deborah Bartlett, Shannon Zollo and Steve Whalen. Finance Committee member Rebecca Cameron, School Committee Member Matt Kelley, resident Doug Hardesty. School Committee member Roberta Trahan arrived late.

Also present were Town Administrator Jeff Nutting, and School Superintendent Wayne Ogden.

Not in attendance: Resident Gwynne Wilschek

Chairperson Roche asked the Committee to determine what they should accomplish and set a schedule of meetings. Steve Whalen believed there should be an educational and communication component, a printed document that could be distributed to all residences. A discussion ensued concerning potential forms of communication, education, outreach, etc.

The Committee thought that the Council, School Committee, and Finance Committee should work hard towards agreement with the final report.

Suggestions included a historical prospective, understanding that the budget is subjective, a potential questionnaire at the November election.

The Town Administrator handed out four-year revenue and expense information and a potential list of issues the Committee would need to obtain information on.

The group thought that a three-year projection that included outreach, education and communication was the goal of the Committee.

The Committee scheduled the next meetings for August 21,2008.

The meeting adjourned at 8:15 pm.

Respectfully,

Jeff Nutting

Financial Planning Committee Minutes of July 10, 2008

The meeting was called to order at 7:05 PM
Members present were Deb Bartlett, Matt Kelly, Jim Roche and Rebecca Cameron. Doug Hardesty and Roberta Trahan arrived late.

Nancy Galkowski the Assistant Town Manager from Arlington, MA presented Arlington's approach to successfully passing an override that would meet the town's needs for a five-year period.

She explained that an override had failed and that they have an annual revenue gap of about $2,000,000.

The override was successful but they have learned a few things that they would do differently including not promising an expenditure cap.

The committee also, set the next meeting for August 7, 2008 with the hope of developing a mission, goals and times. They further discussed the challenges of getting information to the public and discussed a handout at the November election along with other media options.

The meeting adjourned at 8:45 PM

Respectfully

Jeff Nutting

Financial Planning Committee Minutes of June 11, 2008

The meeting was called to order by Chairperson pro-tem Deb Bartlett at 8:05 PM

Members present were Deb Bartlett, Matt Kelly, Jim Roche, Rebecca Cameron, Doug Hardesty, Gwynne Wilschek, Shannon Zollo and Steve Whalen.

A motion was made by Deb Bartlett and second by Steve Whalen to elected Jim Roche Chair. No other nominations were enter. The vote was 8-0.

Jim Roche asked for nominations for Vice Chair. Steve Whalen moved and Deb Bartlett second that Doug Hardesty for vice chair. No other nominations were entered. The vote was 8-0.

Jim Roche asked for nominations for Clerk. Steve Whalen moved and Deb Bartlett seconded that Gwynne Wilschek be clerk. No other nominations were entered. The vote was 8-0.

A discussion ensued about asking if someone from the Town of Arlington could attend the next meeting to outline their approach to a long-term override. It was also discussed about gathering information about the history of the budget, stabilization fund, fiscal policies, hold public hearings, and making a list of barriers to success of making government more effective and more efficient.

The Town Administrator stated he would work on the above mentioned requests. The meeting adjourned at 9:00pm

Respectfully

Jeff Nutting

In the News - GATRA schedule change, fund raisers for youth

By Staff reports

Milford Daily News

Posted Sep 05, 2008 @ 04:55 PM

---

BELLINGHAM —

Beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 6, GATRA will begin its new, expanded bus service, bringing riders to the movies and shops at the Bellingham Shopping Center and Barnes & Noble plaza off Rte. 495. The new route also includes a few stops to pick up high school and middle school students (who walk to the high school) at Franklin High School, 218 Oak St., before and after school. The bus will stop at Franklin High at 7:09 a.m., 2:10 p.m., and 3:08 p.m.

For more information about the new GATRA service, please see the Sunday edition of the Daily News on Sept. 7.

Yes, the service change starts today but you get to find out about the new schedule tomorrow. Go figure that one out!

----------------------

By Staff reports

Milford Daily News

Posted Sep 05, 2008 @ 04:48 PM

---

ASHLAND —

The Franklin Music Boosters is holding a car wash, $5/car, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday with a raindate of Sunday at the Pizzeria Uno's in Bellingham, through Franklin public schools' "Dough Rai$ers" fundraising program. Pizzera Uno is sponsoring the car wash and dining coupon program - giving proceeds directly to the Franklin Music Boosters.

Pizzeria Uno Chicago Grill is located at 205 Hartford Ave, Bellingham. Click here for coupons http://franklinmusic.org/floridatrip2009/Uno%20Tickets.pdf

Also on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Franklin High School Boys Ice Hockey team will hold its can/bottle fundraiser at the Franklin High School parking lot at 218 Oak St. The fundraiser benefits the FHS Boys Ice Hockey Team.

So what does Ashland have to do with these fundraisers? Another one to figure out!

Ben Franklin questions

Morning question, what good shall I do this day?



Evening question, what good have I done this day?

>From "Benjamin Franklin: The Autobiography and Other Writings"

Mobile post sent by shersteve using Utterz.  Replies.

Financial Planning Committee 9/4/08

• Live reporting - wrap up
• live reporting - process continued
• Live reporting - process discussion
• Live reporting - Financial Planning Committee meet...

Financial Planning Committee - my summary

recycle electronics at Gillette Stadium

On Saturday, Sept. 13, Sony Electronics Inc. and Waste Management Recycle America are planning some interceptions of their own with a recycling event to collect old electronic devices and keep them from the waste stream.

The drive-through event, which will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the stadium, is part of Sony's Take Back Recycling program, which provides free recycling for its products.

On Saturday, however, all brands of electronics will be accepted, including everything from cell phones, computers and monitors, to televisions, radios, DVD and MP3 players, pagers, personal digital assistants and other devices.

"It's all brands of household electronics," said Wes Muir, director of corporate communications for Waste Management.

The event does not include white goods, microwaves, power tools, or the like, he said.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

Updated with a picture and description of the logistic marvel the recycling event here

"Somebody with the energy and enthusiasm"

By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff

GHS

Posted Sep 04, 2008 @ 11:26 PM

Last update Sep 05, 2008 @ 12:48 AM

---

FRANKLIN —

In the wake of sizable layoffs, program cuts, increased fees and, most recently, Superintendent Wayne Ogden's resignation announcement, the school community must remember its pursuit of greatness, School Committee Chairman Jeffrey Roy said.

Many are disappointed Ogden is leaving at end of the school year, he said, but district leaders "still have a job to do," he said.

"One person can't make or break a district. We have 1,000 employees in Franklin public schools, and every person is an integral part of that team. It doesn't rise or fall on one person's shoulders.

"A really good leader can leave the team and (still) have a great system in place. I think we have that leader and that team," said Roy.

read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

Financial Planning Committee - my summary

I was quite pleased with the meeting tonight. I was concerned after the no shows from the meeting on 8/21/08. This group still has it's work cut out for them but I think they have the proper approach.

I suggested to them to work through each item, obtain the numbers and the in's and out's of the various options as the department heads come to present. Be careful to not get wrapped into trying to solve the problem. Focus on gathering the information. Once it is all together, then you can look at making some sense of it and starting to tell the story. An hour for each department will not be enough if you try to solve the problem as you go.

Jeff's statement that in MA we have two choices (continue to increase taxes to pay for services, or cut services) is not understood or accepted. There will be a major challenge in painting the picture so that each person can see what the impact is for them. For the school family, for the senior citizen, for the driver on the road being constructed. Each will need to understand the issue of this is what we get for this amount, or this is what you get for that amount.

Live reporting - wrap up

Citizen 1 (name to be provided later) made reference to the Arlington plan, building confidence with the Town, trust. Look at the five year goals. Police, ambulance; I don't notice those.

Stacy Bower: I did like to see more residents here. Can the meetings be televised? People don't know what you are doing.

Jeff: Usually will bump up against the Zoning Board which has the Council Chamber.

Steve: It is a good idea.

Jim: Our game plan is to do some public forums.

Sep 18th next meeting

live reporting - process continued

Jeff: state aid will be very lean next year

Jim: they might also repeal the income tax

Jeff: that would be a disaster and relatively easier to deal with

Doug: if level service would lead us on a trajectory that would endanger us with accreditation

Wayne: we are already on probation for the high school facility, we are notifying them of the teacher cuts which may change that status. The school committee was notified of this.

Jim: come from with a level service budget beginning

Doug: two options, really. one with level service, two what would we propose to cut to maintain the budget within the level allowed.

Jeff: this is the potential menu, one or more of these scenarios will get us to the number

Gwynne: if you cut some number from roads, what does that mean for me. If you could say that the work on Daniels instead of being completed in 2009 would be completed in 2012, that might be more meaningful. That is just an example.

Doug: even loosing 17 teachers tells most folks nothing

Jeff: we had 50 police officers in 2001 and we have 42 today. Did you see that? It is really hard to show that to the average citizens.

Wayne: in 2002 I had 500 teachers, this year we have 430 with 350 more students. This is more easily shown

Rebecca: it would be easier to tell the school story, everyone either has someone in the schools or knows someone with one in the schools. this is a family town

Wayne: only 33% of the households have children in the school system

Doug: it has to be more than numbers on paper, it has to be the "so what does it matter"

Jeff: I have asked the department heads for that, it doesn't need to be much but it needs to be at least a bullet item

Gwynne: are there examples from other towns where there were cuts in police and fire and the crime rate rose, etc.

Deb: I don't know that I need to justify every police or fire person when it is a town problem.

Doug: maybe some standard, in response time for police and fire; accreditation for the schools, etc. and by those standards, the metrics could be shown where Franklin relates. What are the metrics we could use?

Jeff: there is no long term answer, there is either more taxes or less services in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Every once in a while we may skip a year of the Legislature is generous. There is a minimum level of education required by the law. If you want to maintain the minimum, then other services will be cut to maintain the level.

Deb: some solutions may come out of this, that I my hope

Steve: I hope so

Deb: why can't the inventory of the school library books be counted as part of the town library? if it requires major changes, where do we go to start that process.

Shannon Zollo arrived late

Live reporting - process discussion

Present:
Doug Hardesty, Steve Whalen, Rebecca Cameron, Deb Bartlett, Jim Roche, Gwynne Wilschek, Shannon Zollo (late)

Not Present:
Matt Kelly, Roberta Trahan

Adjunct members present:
Jeff Nutting, Wayne Ogden


Discussion on charter for group.

Discussion on the minutes for meetings of June 11, July 10, August 7.
Motion made an approved by unanimous vote to accept minutes.

Discussion on how to gather information on the budget
Jeff is meeting with the Town department head next week to finalize their planning contribution to the discussion. They are developing a model with historical numbers and forecasts based upon known items and capital requirements.

Jim suggested 2 departments per meeting and 1 for the school department

starting with the current budget with additional color explanation with some outlook
A modest increase for me maybe different than someone else would be looking at

The school department took the hit this year that no other Town departments did.

Jeff: need to look at staff assumptions, wage assumptions, student population, High School renovate or replacement, energy assumptions... these type of items need to be looked at

Everyone tends to forget that the schools lost 20 plus positions and the override passed.

The library had a budget several years ago of 900,000. This year they are at 700,000.

Wayne: can provide the information according to the questionnaire Jeff sent to the department heads. I would refer to get a little more guidance to bring the appropriate info to the table.

Steve: I can appreciate that your situation is different and maybe you do need a little more guidance.

Jeff: you need at least a baseline for last year and this year, then the committee can build upon that the assumptions and models to determine what it would look like.

Rebecca: Within 2 1/2, there is very little room.

Jeff: if you stay within the 2 1/2, we need to keep it simple and outline what it would take to stay within.

Rebecca: people don't understand what the details are.

Steve: how do we bridge the gap to get a good discussion when you bring the numbers to the table

Deb: I don't want anyone to bring forth a budget number that would further degrade the level of town services.

Doug: we don't have to make the decision, we need to outline the range of options upon which someone can make a decision

Live reporting - Financial Planning Committee meeting

There will be a quorum tonight

Town Council Mtg Summary - 9/3/08

The summary of reports concerning the Town Council meeting of 9/3/08

• Live reporting - Administrators report, Councilor ...
• Live reporting - Parking study
• Live reporting - presentation on DP&CD
• Live reporting - Zoning bylaw
• Live reporting - rezoning bylaw moved to 2nd Readi...
• Live reporting - Resolutions approved
• Live reporting - Street opening bylaw
• Live reporting - Town Council - 9/3/08

TOWN COUNCIL - Agenda - 9/3/08

Harvest Festival - 9/21/08

Live reporting - Administrators report, Councilor comments

Nutting - provided an update on the real story at the Horace Mann complex, a leak not an explosion caused the problem.

Making steady progress on the Norfolk water issue, hopefully we'll get a check at the cut off date so hopefully all things will end well.

Reviewed cell phone usage, reduced minutes by over 6,000 per month.

Old business:
Doak - web site
Nutting - next meeting

New business:
Bartlett - ridership increase if GATRA makes the accomodations

Councilor Comments:
Whalen - Supt resignation, got a wide variety of responses from the town residents. I worked closely with him over the previous months on the override campaigns. When I read his resignation, I was sympathetic. When you deny that person the resources to pursue their talent and interests, then this is not a surprise. I hope we figure out a way to reverse course.

Mason - On the Supt resignation since it was brought up, basing his resignation on the belief that the citizens have backed away from education is stupid and an insult. I don't know of a Franklin voter who voted no intentionally to give up on education.

Pfeffer - also had some negative comments on the resignation

Live reporting - Parking study

2,088 striped parking spaces available
additional unstriped 2 hour parking spaced

77,8 believe there are problems with parking

There is a perception that there are problems when with a little walk there are available spaces available. Can we increase the spots in specific areas? How else can we help to address the perception?

Rarely are more than 80% of the metered spaces utilized.

Bartlett - is there still discussion amongst the businesses to improve the walking within the downtown?
Taberner - while there was good discussion before, I am not sure that has been a current discussion. There is no consensus on a resolution to parking.

Whalen - There is good news on the availability of spaces. It may just be an awareness campaign that is needed.
Taberner - if the town does go down the road of bricks and mortar we should only go forward with businesses as a partnership to share the expense.