Saturday, April 4, 2009

big day Monday, Cafe Dolce opens in downtown Franklin

Yes, I can't wait.

I plan on being there for the opening to take pictures and seek reactions. If you stop down, please say hi.


Note: unless things change, it should be opening about 9:00 - 9:30 AM.

A rose is a rose is a wage increase

Gertrude Stein would roll over if she heard that a wage freeze is not really a wage freeze. Yes, Gertrude is the one who wrote the oft quoted lines:
"Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose"
There are at least four key terms that we should all be aware of and agree on how they are to be used; freeze, increase, step, lane.

Freeze as I want to use it is defined as "a halt of a regular operation"

Step is the increase associated with moving from one salary step to another, usually associated with years of service.

Lane is the increase associated with moving from one classification on a step to another.

Increase is an amount more in one period than in the comparable period.

For example, the salary table may look like this for one year.

Step Bachelor B +15 B+36/M
1 38,010 39,501 41,759
2 39,935 41,813 44,071
3 42,688 44,130 46,387

Someone would get hired with a bachelors degree and start on Step 1 for their first year.

In year 2, they would move to Step 2. (Step as defined above results in an increase from 38,010 to 39,935.)

If they completed 15 credits towards their next degree, in Year 3 they could make a Lane change and move to the B+15 column. So instead of earning 42,688 with a Step change, they would earn 44,130 with a Lane change.

The entire salary table would change from one year to the next based upon contract negotiation. If the union was successful in negotiating a 2.5% increase, then each number in the table would be increased by 2.5% for the next year. The second year table would look like this:

Step Bachelor B +15 B+36/M
1 38,960 40,489 42,803
2 40,933 42,858 45,173
3 43,755 45,233 47,547

Calculate the difference between Bachelor Step 1 in the first table (38,010) and the second table (38,960) the difference is 950 or 2.499% which rounds to 2.5%.

Why do this?
Well according to the information I have received, the wage freezes announced by the town only include the increase from year to year, they do not include the step or lane changes.

So if this is true, don't be too surprised when the budget comes out and the total salary lines are actually higher than last year.

Where did the wage freeze go?

No wonder Shakespeare said "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet"

"exploring all options"

GHS
Posted Apr 03, 2009 @ 08:56 PM

FRANKLIN —

Superintendent of Schools Wayne Ogden was one of two finalists for a superintendent job in Windsor, Vt., but turned down the opportunity earlier this week.

Ogden, whose resignation from Franklin schools goes into effect June 30, had lived there years ago, he said, and was recruited to apply for superintendent of Windsor Southeast Supervisory Union by an old friend who works for the district.

Read the full story in the Milford Daily News here


"roads that need reconstruction"

Milford Daily News
Posted Apr 03, 2009 @ 08:57 PM

Rep. James E. Vallee, D-Franklin, ended the week with some good news for Franklin and Medway: both towns will get a nice chunk of money for road repairs, despite the massive state deficit.

Franklin will receive just under $700,000 in Chapter 90 road repair grants, and Medway is slated to receive $307,000, Vallee said.

Though Franklin's allotment is about the same as last year, Vallee said, "the real silver lining is (just) that, because last year was a good year."

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here


Friday, April 3, 2009

Plan and revise

Long range planning efforts
Don’t do much good if you
Don’t keep the plan up to date


What is a sherku?


Note: I learned from the focus group meeting to review the current long range plan that there have been similar efforts before but by the third year of the five year plan, they were out dated and dropped, hence no confidence in the plan. Of course, a plan needs to be revisited regularly!

This was originally posted at quiet poet as part of my effort to celebrate National Poetry Month by creating a daily sherku.

5 Fun, Interesting, and Educational Things on Twitter

Sent to you by Steve Sherlock via Google Reader:

via Free Technology for Teachers by rbyrnetech@hotmail.com (Mr. Byrne) on 4/2/09
This is now the fifth day of posting my five favorite Twitter finds of the day and I've now decided on a format these posts. In each post in the "5 Fun, Interesting, and Educational Things on Twitter" series I will try to share a tip for improving and building your Twitter network.

A simple thing that can help you build your Twitter network is to occasionally retweet something that you find interesting or useful. In your retweet include the original tweeter's name. The person who's tweet you retweet will appreciate it, it helps that person get noticed, and in turn that person may reciprocate down the road. Even if the other person doesn't reciprocate, it's still a good thing to do as it shows others that you're willing to contibute to a learning network.

Here are 5 fun, interesting, and educational things I found on Twitter today.
1. Internet Safety Videos for Teens from @nycrican2
2. Find Your Teachmate from @angelamaiers
3. What 4th Graders Know About Money from @HaydenTompkins
4. Global Best Practices in Financial Education from @chollingsworth
5. Connectivism Education Ning from @Darcy1968

Things you can do from here:

"the stings would be forthcoming"

GateHouse News Service
Posted Apr 03, 2009 @ 12:23 AM

FRANKLIN —

With the Franklin Mobil owner taking full responsibility for one of his clerks selling to a minor in a police sting, he accepted a license suspension today.

A clerk at the store at 660 West Central St. (Rte. 140) sold a six-pack of Bud Lite to a 20-year-old without asking for identification during an undercover compliance check on March 13, said Lt. Thomas Lynch.

George Julakis, of Ouzo Corp., said he watched a videotape of the transaction, and there was nothing to appeal.

He reprimanded the clerk by suspending him for a day without pay, which helped demonstrate to other employees the seriousness of selling to minors, Julakis told the council.

"It never should have happened, and it will never happen again," he said.

read the full article in the Milford Daily News here.

Read all that occurred during the Town Council meeting on Wednesday here


"people are really hungry for information and facts"

GHS
Posted Apr 03, 2009 @ 12:36 AM

FRANKLIN —

A focus group of 10 residents last night called a report on municipal finances produced by the long-range fiscal planning unbiased, "scary," and an "eye-opener."

Fiscal Planning Committee members invited a cross-section of the public to give feedback on their report to ensure it is accessible, relevant, and provided all the elements residents want examined. The group included several seniors, a teacher, a small-business owner, and parents.

They all said they found the report informative, and told committee Vice Chairman Doug Hardesty, who ran the meeting, that the report made them want to go out and clear up some misconceptions among friends and others who believe the town is spending its money unwisely.

People need to read the report to get a true picture, the group told Hardesty.

"It's very eye-opening," said Eric Polito, who owns EcoSystems Pest Management in Franklin and Hanover.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here


Thursday, April 2, 2009

Focus Group Collection

Part 1- Financial Planning Committee - Focus group - Part ...

Part 2 - Financial Planning Committee - Focus Group - Part ...

Insights -Inside the Focus Groups

Financial Planning Committee 4/2/09

FYI - Tonight's meeting will not be covered by my "live reporting". This session is specifically for a focus group to provide some feedback on the report. I have been asked by the committee to take notes and record the conversation. Not all the committee members will be present. My notes and the recording will enable them to review what transpired during the session.

I will publish my notes when I send them to the committee so that you will all be able to review what happened. The publishing will be delayed and not "live reported" so that I can concentrate on taking good notes. I don't want to be distracted by publishing at the same time.

"community that comes together with the fundamental objective of agreeing with itself"

.. As you may know, there is a conductor of staggering talent who has been hailed as the next Leonard Bernstein. His name is Gustavo Dudamel and he has toured the United States and Europe with the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra to ecstatic reviews. He joins the Los Angeles Philharmonic as their Music Director in the fall. Here’s what matters to us today: this young conductor has a passion for music education because he knows its true power to alter the course of young lives. He was brought up in Venezuela in the extraordinary music education system that I mentioned earlier called El Sistema.

Imagine what can be accomplished if we support the arts, engage ‘at risk’ youth and help them succeed in school and in their lives. For ‘underserved’ families, indeed for all families, participation in music and the arts can help people reclaim and achieve the American Dream.

From the TED Blog

And the performance:






Enjoy!

"the committee has raised more than half"

GHS
Posted Apr 01, 2009 @ 10:16 PM

FRANKLIN —

For the past six weeks, three Franklin High School seniors have spent their lunchtime walking from table to table with a poster board showing Franklin's fallen soldiers, and a big bucket to collect cash to build a monument to honor them.

Thanks to their efforts, and a whole bunch of quarters and dollar bills from their peers, the trio has collected $700 to put toward a new veterans monument honoring fallen heroes from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, said Veterans Agent Robert Fahey, who is chairman of the Monument Committee.

"It restores your faith in the American youth. The spirit of patriotism at Franklin High is alive and well - it absolutely is," said Fahey, a World War II veteran.

Read the article in the Milford Daily News here

"We are doing the best we can"

GHS
Posted Apr 01, 2009 @ 11:42 PM

FRANKLIN —

With two members absent, Town Council postponed a decision on spending $1 million in free cash on capital projects, though councilors expressed support for the plan.

Council Vice Chairwoman Deborah Bartlett asked Town Administrator Jeffrey Nutting whether the council could use the money on something else, and what would happen if it did so.

Nutting said departments would fall behind in repairing or replacing old and unsafe equipment, and the backlog of needed items would grow.

For example, he said, emergency workers need reliable defibrillators - one of the items on the capital plan - to save lives, and the School Department needs to replace two 9-year-old vans to safely transport students with special needs.

Read the article in the Milford Daily News here


Town Council Mtg Smry 04/01/09

The summary of the posts live reported from the Town Council meeting on April 1 are as follows:

350 on October 24th!

This is an invitation to help build a movement--to take one day and use it to stop the climate crisis.

On October 24, we will stand together as one planet and call for a fair global climate treaty. United by a common call to action, we'll make it clear: the world needs an international plan that meets the latest science and gets us back to safety.

This movement has just begun, and it needs your help.

Here's the plan: we're asking you, and people in every country on earth, to organize an action in your community on October 24.

http://www.350.org/oct24

There are no limits here--imagine bike rides, rallies, concerts, hikes, festivals, tree-plantings, protests, and more. Imagine your action linking up with thousands of others around the globe. Imagine the world waking up.

If we can pull it off, we'll send a powerful message on October 24: the world needs the climate solutions that science and justice demand.

It's often said that the only thing preventing us from tackling the climate crisis quickly and equitably is a lack of political will. Well, the only thing that can create that political will is a unified global movement--and no one is going to build that movement for us. It's up to regular people all over the world. That's you.

So register an event in your community for October 24, and then enlist the help of your friends. Get together with your co-workers or your local environmental group or human rights campaign, your church or synagogue or mosque or temple; enlist bike riders and local farmers and young people. All over the planet we'll start to organize ourselves.

With your help, there will be an event at every iconic place on the planet on October 24-from America's Great Lakes to Australia's Great Barrier Reef--and also in all the places that matter to you in your daily lives: a beach or park or village green or town hall.

If there was ever a time for you to get involved, it's right now.

There are two reasons this year is so crucial.

The first reason is that the science of climate change is getting darker by the day. The Arctic is melting away with astonishing speed, decades ahead of schedule. Everything on the planet seems to be melting or burning, rising or parched.

And we now now have a number to express our peril: 350.

NASA's James Hansen and a team of other scientists recently published a series of papers showing that we need to cut the amount of carbon in the atmosphere from its current 387 parts per million to below 350 if we wish to "maintain a planet similar to that on which civilization developed."

No one knew that number a year ago-but now it's clear that 350 might well be the most important number for the future of the planet, a north star to guide our efforts as we remake the world. If we can swiftly get the planet on track to get back below 350, we can still avert the worst effects of climate change.

The second reason 2009 is so important is that the political opportunity to influence our governments has never been greater. The world's leaders will meet in Copenhagen this December to craft a new global treaty on cutting carbon emissions.

If that meeting were held now, it would produce a treaty would be woefully inadequate. In fact, it would lock us into a future where we'd never get back to 350 parts per million-where the rise of the sea would accelerate, where rainfall patterns would start to shift and deserts to grow. A future where first the poorest people, and then all of us, and then all the people that come after us, would find the only planet we have damaged and degraded.

October 24 comes six weeks before those crucial UN meetings in Copenhagen. If we all do our job, every nation will know the question they'll be asked when they put forth a plan: will this get the planet back on the path below 350?

This will only work with the help of a global movement-and it's starting to bubble up everywhere. Farmers in Cameroon, students in China, even World Cup skiers have already helped spread the word about 350. Churches have rung their bells 350 times; Buddhist monks have formed a huge 350 with their bodies against the backdrop of Himalayas. 350 translates across every boundary of language and culture. It's clear and direct, cutting through the static and it lays down a firm scientific line.

On October 24, we'll all stand behind 350--a universal symbol of climate safety and of the world we need to create. And at the end of the day, we'll all upload photos from our events to the 350.org website and send these pictures around the world. This cascade of images will drive climate change into the public debate--and hold our leaders accountable to a unified global citizenry.

We need your help-the world is a big place and our team is small. Our crew at 350.org will do everything we can to support you, providing templates for banners and press releases, resources to spread the word, and tools to help you build a strong local climate action group. And our core team is always just a phone call or e-mail away if you need some support.

This is like a final exam for human beings. Can we muster the courage, the commitment, and the creativity to set this earth on a steady course before it's too late? October 24 will be the joyful, powerful day when we prove it's possible.

Please join us and register your local event today.

Onwards,

Bill McKibben - Author and Activist- USA
Vandana Shiva - Physicist, Activist, Author - India
David Suzuki - Scientist, Author, Activist - Canada
Bianca Jagger - Chair of the World Future Council - UK
Tim Flannery - Scientist, Author, Explorer -Australia
Bittu Sahgal - Co-convener, Climate Challenge India - India
Andrew Simmons - Environmental Advocate, St. Vincent & The Grenadines
Christine Loh - Environmental Advocate and Legislator - Hong Kong

This is the full text of the letter received via email from Bill McKibben.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Live reporting - Town Admin report, and closing

Be alert on new law, Jackies Law, permit required for any trench deeper than 3 feet.

Trail head can be down with a grant of $12,000

Councilor Comments

Zollo - Head's up on the Financial Planning Committee report, coming to the Town Council on April 15th. Horace Mann open forum for the town on April 27th. We will look for your input and interaction on the report.

Bartlett - to add to Zollo's comment, watch on the 15th, then come on the 27th armed with any questions.

Feeley - thanks to the unions who have voted to take a wage freeze

Live reporting - Action items

J. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
  1. Resolution 09-06: Appropriation – 2009 Capital Plan (see note below)
  2. Resolution 09-19: Franklin Village Mall, 1000 Franklin Village Drive Acceptance of Covenant with Property Owner Approved 7-0 (the property was originally one parcel, it has technically been split into two, this is to ensure that they still maintain the access road and drainage)
  3. Resolution 09-20: Authorization for Grant of Access Easement over Town-Owned Land Located off Cross Street Approved 7-0 (cleans up the title and access to the property so that Jeff could sign an easement at the closing of the property sale to Walgreens)
  4. Bylaw Amendment 09-630:Amendment to Chapter 37, Town Properties- 2nd Reading (allows Town Administrator to set rules and regulations for the use of Town Buildings) Approved 7-0 (by roll call)
------------------

Capital discussion

Motion to move #1 Capital Plan to the April 15th meeting
Approved 7-0

Q - Bartlett - if we didn't spend this money what would happen?
A - Nutting - if we did not buy these vehicles now, we would need to buy more later. The problems don't go away. We spend between a million and 1.5 million to maintain the town operations. If we don't do it, we will get further behind. It would be a major mistake to not spend this capital budget.

Q - Batlett - what was the total request?
A - Nutting - The Fire Dept had more, the schools had more, some were left aside because of decisions by the Building Committee
A - Sabolinksi - Text books are a priority, some history books go back, other books we need additional copies of, the wifi at the high school would enable to students to bring their own systems in for instructional technology

Q - Vallee - is this for the lawnmower?
A - Nutting - this is for a used bucket truck, the used price is considerably less than the new bucket truck would cost.

Live reporting - budget update

I. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS

Chris Feeley - Budget Subcommittee

Budget update:
  • Revenue estimated to be $225,000 less than current year
  • lots of items in flux
  • hotel/meals tax at State undecided
  • Federal stimulus money to arrive but not sure about any restrictions on it
Started with a 4.9 million dollar hole to file with additional items happening, we are getting closer, may not be as bad as when we started

The projected deficit is now between $500,000 and $3 Million depending upon what happens

Live reporting - Fire Dept Update

H. PRESENTATIONS/DISCUSSIONS –
  • Update – Gary McCarraher, Fire Department
Dual purpose (1) to provide an update of how they operate with technology
Street listing updated and synchronized with Town Clerk and Town surveys, maps

(2) Community outreach is starting, if anyone has information that the Fire Dept should know about, please contact them so the database can be updated.

Q - Why do trucks go out on all calls?
A - 44% of the second calls occur before the first one is complete, instead of coming back to the fire station to get the vehicle, they already have it with them.

As a call comes to the dispatch, the information is printed and grabbed by a fireman on the way to ride out with the truck

Lnger term, they want to install laptops in the trucks so additional information can be accessed on the way to the call or at the call

Drill down details available in the dispatch system. For example, the Hazardous material info provides all the details that used to be contained in large books that were hard to flip through in a hurry.

They are mapping in the flow systems on the hydrants from the DPW.
They have access to site plans for commercial and industrial properties.

Anecdote of a woman who lives on one side of Town, her father lives on the other side. If he has a problem, Lifeline is called, she gets called, the Fire Dept is also on the call list. The information of where the key is located in the system so the Fire Dept can assist her father as soon as they arrive.

The dispatch system is about to be wired into the Enhanced 911 system so the call information will be able to pre-populate the information when the call arrives.

Live reporting - License transactions

G. LICENSE TRANSACTIONS
  • Request for Modification of Hours – 3
No objections to moving the time to serve alcohol beginning at 11:00 AM on Sunday to accommodate Sunday Brunch

Approved 7-0