Snow Removal Bylaws

Uses of Streets, Chapter 155-20
No person shall plow, push, deposit, throw or pile snow or ice into or across any public street, sidewalk or property nor direct nor cause the same to be done unless in the employ of the Town.

This bylaw is important and necessary to ensure safe roads and sidewalks. It also helps the DPW to reduce its cost of snow and ice operations.

Violators may be fined up to $300 for each day such violation continues.


No All Night Parking, Chapter 170-7
It shall be unlawful for the driver of any vehicle, other than one acting in an emergency, to park said vehicle on any street between the hours of 1:00 AM and 5:00 AM of any day between November 15th and April 15th.
 

It shall be unlawful for the driver of any vehicle, other than one acting in an emergency, to park said vehicle on any street during a snow storm in a way that obstructs snow removal equipment.

Parking on Sidewalks
Parking on sidewalks is illegal at all times and prevents the clearing of snow and ice.

This can be found on the Town website along with the following Frequently Asked Questions:

Q. Can I push snow from my property onto the sidewalk.
A. NO. A Town bylaw restricts this act. Additionally, such action may bring liability if an accident should occur. This also increases the town’s costs for snow operations.

Q. Do some streets receive priority during a snow storm?
A. YES. Major roadways and hills are a top priority.

Q. Does the Town really need a parking ban?
A. YES. Snowplowing and removal are difficult; parked cars on the roadways not only increase the number of hazards, but also the time it takes to remove the snow.

Q. Do sidewalks receive the same priority as streets?
A. NO. The roads are always plowed first. Only certain sidewalks are plowed when the storm has ended.

Q. Why is snow pushed into my driveway?
A. The situation is unavoidable. The plows remove the snow from curb to curb for maximum clearance of the roadway. This provides for maximum drainage and public safety.

Q. Will trash and recyclables be collected during a snow storm?
A. YES. Trash should be placed so it does not hinder the street plows or sidewalk plows.

Q. Who determines the opening, closing or delayed opening of school during snow and ice storms?
A. The school superintendent.

Intimacy, control and learning environments

Some food for thought

from TED Talks, Stefana Broadbent: How the Internet enables intimacy



Intimacy? Control? Learning environment?

Note: for email subscribers, you will need to clock through to the website to view the video

"There is no limit on changes in the tax rates"

It is tax rate season. Franklin's property tax rate was set last week and Boston's tax rate was set this week. There was a good write up on Boston's tax rate situation especially given the mishandling in the Boston Globe story. I thought this paragraph was succinct:

Proposition 2 1/2 limits the overall annual levy increase in a community to 2.5 percent plus taxes on any new development. There is no limit on changes in the tax rates, which are simply adjusted up or down, depending on what has happened with assessed values, in order to arrive at the total levy target from residential and commercial properties that city budget writers have drawn-up.

You can read the full article by Michael Jonas in Commonwealth Unbound here

Sustainable Farming event rescheduled

Metacomet Land Trust has re-scheduled its program on Sustainable Farming due to the after effects of Wednesday's snow storm...

Please join us Wednesday, December 16th, at the Mendon Senior Center, 62 Providence Street, Mendon for this program with Carolyn and Rob Nicholson of Sweetwilliam Farm (Upton). Rob and Carolyn will discuss Sustainable Farming in our region.

Come hear the perspective of a practicing farmer when Rob and Caroline present our Annual Meeting program. We'll also discuss the important connection our land preservation efforts have to supporting agriculture in the region.

Metacomet's short annual meeting will begin at 6:30, followed by the program with Carolyn and Rob at 7:00. Please stay for refreshments and conversation after the program.

This program is free; a small donation is requested at the door.

In the News - choice of Nutcracker productions

Franklin has dueling 'Nutcracker' ballets

from The Milford Daily News Homepage RSS by Heather McCarron/Daily News staff

Town Council Goal Setting - 12/09/09

The Town Council met on Wednesday evening for a "Goal setting session". Councilors Whalen and Zollo arrived late as the meeting started earlier than normal at 6:00 PM. Councilor Vallee left about 7:00 PM. The remaining Councilors went into Executive Session approx. 7:45 PM not to return to open meeting.

I chose not to live blog the meeting as I wasn't sure how long it would be. I took my notes the old fashioned way.

Briefly, it wasn't as much a goal setting session as it was a getting up to speed session for the new council. A review of standard policies and procedures was covered to set the stage for an effective operation as the Council would handle business going forward.

The key take-aways for me were:

The Council will bring forward and approve the existing fiscal policies that had guided the prior councils. These determine the operating guidelines for how much the stabilization fund should be, how much long term debt we should service from the operating budget, etc. A copy of the policy document will be provided later.

Councilors Whalen and Zollo will bring forward the prior subcommittee work on the the Charter revisions for presentation and discussion with the full Council.

The Planning and Community Development Dept will be bringing forward a number of by-law change proposals. The proposal on signs will likely be of interest to many. The Franklin Downtown Planning group received a preview of it and had a good discussion on the proposal.

The plans for the downtown renovation will be coming to the Council in the next 90-120 days. A decision on whether to put the utilities underground will need to be incorporated into the overall project plan. The Council decision will be (1) to put them underground (2) how to fund the work associated with the utilities (existing grants can not be used so it would either be debt or cash).

Much of the discussion was on the overall financial picture for the town. Currently, the Town has a revenue problem (insufficient tax base and over-reliance on State revenue) but even in good times the Town has an expense problem with health and pension benefits in particular rising at a 10-15% rate and the tax levy limited to 2.5%. The draft capital plan was reviewed including how the town will have room in their debt structure beginning 2011 to take on projects up to a total of $6 million (and finance them via debt).

Ashley Studley from The Milford Daily News reported on the meeting:

Franklin eyes expensive projects

from The Milford Daily News Homepage RSS by Ashley Studley/Daily News staff

Panther Pride 2009

This video was shown during the School Committee meeting of October 27, 2009 and available during the Panther Pride night to provide an overview to the current 8th grade class.


Panther Pride 2009 from Franklin High School on Vimeo.

Enjoy!

Note: email subscribers will need to click through to the Franklin Matters site to view the video.