Eugene Bolinger, vice president, Weston & Sampson
The presentation document can be found here
Update on Downtown Project - Weston and Sampson
Conversations began in 2002 (or perhaps earlier)
public workshops involved during 2002-2007
grant applications prepared during 2004, 2005
High Priority Project - $5 million
PWED grant - $1 million
public participation process, workshops, presentation, Q&A, input
to work with all entities within the community
Downtown Partnership meeting Thursday morning
The PWED project will be more under the Town control, they will be issuing the contracts vs. the fuller project will have more MA government agency involvement and a longer review period
.
Applied for the 10 million grant, received 5 million, actually getting one million per year and it is all in our account now.
The PWED grant was applied for multiple times and ultimately awarded recently.
All the work, except for the water main is covered by Federal and State grants. The water main was part of our cycle and timed to occur now.
If the utilities were to move underground, that would be funded separately.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Live reporting - Charter Revision Updates
Steve Whalen, Shannon Zollo
categorize at a high level some substantive changes
redline copy of charter provided to Council for review
Charter is the Town's governing document
4-5 major recommendations
Citizens committee had made recommendations, those were considered in this review
1 - appointed Treasurer (elected today)
allow the Administrator to appoint, for efficiency and skills
2 - appoint Constable, Board of Health, Board of Assessor positions (elected today)
there are likely highly qualified individuals who could serve but do not want to run an election campaign in order to serve in these roles.
Q - Mason - Would you include the Town Clerk in the appointed slots or maintain it as an elected position?
A - Zollo - We will make no recommendation on this position, there was discussion but no consensus so with no recommendation for change, it would remain an elected position.
A - Whalen - I approached this by not considering the current people in any position, I would make this an appointed position
3 - We chose not to recommend staggered terms, if the Town is willing to go through the hassle of setting it up, there are benefits to go forward that way. Both Zollo and Whalen feel the same on this item. There is no compelling reason for recommending this.
Clarification - Mason - purpose of this evening is to hear the report recommendation. There will be a public workshop and public hearing on these so all will have a chance to get their say on these matters.
4 - Administrative changes - clean up for more efficiency
allow new Council to have a week between the election and their first meeting
Council should have an ability to re-organize with a term if it had the 2/3 votes to do so
Administrator is currently not allowed to chair subcommittees, should be allowed to do so if appropriate
add recommendation of a temporary Town Administrator to cover for an unexpected absence or to find an appropriate replacement
5 - language to be removed from Charter covering the removal of employees. these items are already superseded by existing bargaining agreements or employee policies
Q - Pfeffer - Were any considerations from the prior report not addressed in this set of recommendations?
Q - Pfeffer - What of the recommendation to change the number of meetings per month?
A - This is a recommendation to meet a minimum of once vs. the requirement today of being required to meet twice.
Nutting - If you'd like to get this on the November ballot, we'd need to move this along.
Mason - let's set the workshop for February, the public hearing in March
Nutting - the home rule charter changes would be submitted to the legislature, they would act upon it and either send it back for revision or approval. The piece that is not included in this document yet is a transition plan, for example, moving to an appointed Treasurer when would the appointment take effect and the election process stop. Hoe rule petitions are pretty routine.
categorize at a high level some substantive changes
redline copy of charter provided to Council for review
Charter is the Town's governing document
4-5 major recommendations
Citizens committee had made recommendations, those were considered in this review
1 - appointed Treasurer (elected today)
allow the Administrator to appoint, for efficiency and skills
2 - appoint Constable, Board of Health, Board of Assessor positions (elected today)
there are likely highly qualified individuals who could serve but do not want to run an election campaign in order to serve in these roles.
Q - Mason - Would you include the Town Clerk in the appointed slots or maintain it as an elected position?
A - Zollo - We will make no recommendation on this position, there was discussion but no consensus so with no recommendation for change, it would remain an elected position.
A - Whalen - I approached this by not considering the current people in any position, I would make this an appointed position
3 - We chose not to recommend staggered terms, if the Town is willing to go through the hassle of setting it up, there are benefits to go forward that way. Both Zollo and Whalen feel the same on this item. There is no compelling reason for recommending this.
Clarification - Mason - purpose of this evening is to hear the report recommendation. There will be a public workshop and public hearing on these so all will have a chance to get their say on these matters.
4 - Administrative changes - clean up for more efficiency
allow new Council to have a week between the election and their first meeting
Council should have an ability to re-organize with a term if it had the 2/3 votes to do so
Administrator is currently not allowed to chair subcommittees, should be allowed to do so if appropriate
add recommendation of a temporary Town Administrator to cover for an unexpected absence or to find an appropriate replacement
5 - language to be removed from Charter covering the removal of employees. these items are already superseded by existing bargaining agreements or employee policies
Q - Pfeffer - Were any considerations from the prior report not addressed in this set of recommendations?
Q - Pfeffer - What of the recommendation to change the number of meetings per month?
A - This is a recommendation to meet a minimum of once vs. the requirement today of being required to meet twice.
Nutting - If you'd like to get this on the November ballot, we'd need to move this along.
Mason - let's set the workshop for February, the public hearing in March
Nutting - the home rule charter changes would be submitted to the legislature, they would act upon it and either send it back for revision or approval. The piece that is not included in this document yet is a transition plan, for example, moving to an appointed Treasurer when would the appointment take effect and the election process stop. Hoe rule petitions are pretty routine.
Live reporting - Town Council - Jan 20, 2010
Attending: Jones, Whalen, Mason, Pfeffer, McGann, Zollo, Powderly
Missing: Kelly, Vallee
A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - DECEMBER 16, 2009
motion to aprove, passed 7-0
B. ANNOUNCEMENTS - none
C. PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS
Citizenship Awards for Boy Scouts
(List to be added later)
D. CITIZEN COMMENTS - none
E. APPOINTMENTS
G. LICENSE TRANSACTIONS - none
Missing: Kelly, Vallee
A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - DECEMBER 16, 2009
motion to aprove, passed 7-0
B. ANNOUNCEMENTS - none
C. PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS
Citizenship Awards for Boy Scouts
(List to be added later)
D. CITIZEN COMMENTS - none
E. APPOINTMENTS
- Public Land Use Committee (Jeff Livingstone) motion to approve appointment, passed 7-0
- Finance Committee (Christopher Quinn) motion to approve appointment, passed 7-0
G. LICENSE TRANSACTIONS - none
Election Notes
in Franklin, 13,418 of 19,700 registered voters voted, or 68 percenthttp://www.wickedlocal.com/franklin/news/x485625319/Area-voters-went-for-Brown
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x745466847/Local-polls-see-high-volume-today"It has not stopped all day,” said Franklin Town Clerk Deborah Pellegri, who is overseeing all precincts voting at the high school’s gym. Totals so far are “more than our town election and the primary.”
The town reached 5,696 votes as of 1 p.m. Franklin totaled 3,950 votes in the December Primary Election.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/franklin/news/x745467697/Behind-the-scenes-with-Brown
Franklin
Scott Brown (R) - 8,828http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x201791284/Town-by-town-U-S-Senate-election-results
Martha Coakley (D) - 4,470
Joseph Kennedy (I) - 110
Franklin, MA: Kindergarten registration
Hold the dates to register for kindergarten:
All the details on the forms required and how to obtain them to have them filled out before arriving at registration can be found in the flyer here:
Franklin, MA - Kindergarten Registration
Note: email subscribers will need to click through to Franklin Matters to view the document.
Franklin, MA
February 1st, 3rd, and 7th
4:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M.
Horace Mann Middle School – Cafeteria
224 Oak Street, Franklin, MA
All the details on the forms required and how to obtain them to have them filled out before arriving at registration can be found in the flyer here:
Franklin, MA - Kindergarten Registration
Note: email subscribers will need to click through to Franklin Matters to view the document.
Franklin, MA
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Remember to Vote!
Today is the special election to fill the US Senate seat formerly held by Sen Ted Kennedy.
If your household is anything like mine, you have been inundated with mailings and phone calls from both parties. You'll probably be glad the election is over.
So do us all a favor and get out and vote!
Don't pay attention to the polls, the only poll that counts is the one at Franklin High School when you mark your ballot and turn it it to be counted. Your vote does count.
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to call the Town Clerk's office 508-520-4900
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_News/I0151975B
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_Clerk/index
If your household is anything like mine, you have been inundated with mailings and phone calls from both parties. You'll probably be glad the election is over.
So do us all a favor and get out and vote!
Don't pay attention to the polls, the only poll that counts is the one at Franklin High School when you mark your ballot and turn it it to be counted. Your vote does count.
Read the full article in the Milford Daily News hereFranklin Town Clerk Deborah Pellegri said throughout the day Friday, people stood in line at her office for absentee ballots.
"We are very very busy," said Pellegri. "I think turnout will be very good, it's an important position. There's been a lot of publicity and that will draw people in. There's an interest."
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to call the Town Clerk's office 508-520-4900
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_News/I0151975B
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_Clerk/index
SlideShare presentations
Many of the presentations from either the Town Council or School Committee meetings, I post to SlideShare.net in order to help share them with you here on Franklin Matters. I received an email from SlideShare looking back on the account activity I had during 2009.
http://www.slideshare.net/shersteve/franklin-ma-life-long-learning-program-presentation
Other presentations on SlideShare in the order of popularity can be found here
http://www.slideshare.net/shersteve/presentations?order=popular
Thanks to all the presenter for creating and sharing these presentations. I can only take a little bit of credit for posting them here to increase the sharing.
It is always exciting to bring in a new year. Taking a look back, here's a quick summary of your year on SlideShare, in 2009.
In 2009, you uploaded 29 presentations and got:
- 9197 views
- 317.14 average views per presentation
- 1 favorite
- 1 follower
Life Long Learning - made by Pandora Carlucci at the School Committee meeting on January 27, 2009. You can view that presentation on SlideShare here:Your most popular presentation was:
http://www.slideshare.net/shersteve/franklin-ma-life-long-learning-program-presentation
Other presentations on SlideShare in the order of popularity can be found here
http://www.slideshare.net/shersteve/presentations?order=popular
Thanks to all the presenter for creating and sharing these presentations. I can only take a little bit of credit for posting them here to increase the sharing.
Photos Added
Three photos were added to the 'live reported' posts for the School Committee meeting Tuesday Jan 12th. The photos are also collected here to save you having to go back to see each one separately.
1 - A view of some of the crowd that filled the Council Chambers Tuesday evening:
Live reporting - School Committee Mtg
Those recognized for participating in the war memorial find raising effort:
3 - Sue Streeter and Mark Berthiume presented the grants to the Franklin High School and Annie Sullivan Middle School Best Buddy chapters:
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/01/live-reporting-best-buddies.html
1 - A view of some of the crowd that filled the Council Chambers Tuesday evening:
Live reporting - School Committee Mtg
Those recognized for participating in the war memorial find raising effort:
3 - Sue Streeter and Mark Berthiume presented the grants to the Franklin High School and Annie Sullivan Middle School Best Buddy chapters:
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/01/live-reporting-best-buddies.html
Monday, January 18, 2010
FM #54 - Week ending 1/17/10
This is session #54 in the series for Franklin Matters. Let's take about 10 minutes to keep current with what happened during the week ending Jan 17th 2010.
Time: 14 minutes, 0 seconds
MP3 File
Session notes:
Take about ten minutes to keep current with what matters in Franklin, MA as the week ends January 17, 2010
In this session I’ll cover the School Committee meeting of Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Several items come from this meeting. It attracted the largest attendance to a school committee meeting in a long time. The Council Chambers were standing room only. Better yet, this attendance was not due to some protest or uproar. It was due to the recognition being provided to a number of school groups. The major theme covering these activities I think can be summarized in how pervasive the schools are within the overall Franklin community.
First was recognition of the various student and school personnel who participated in the fund raising for the war memorial dedicated on the Town Common on Memorial Day, 2009.
I won't repeat the names of the individuals here. It is quite a list covering all the schools in town. You can see the school committee meeting notes on Franklin Matters for the details.
Second the presentation of grants to the Best Buddy chapters at Franklin High and Annie Sullivan Middle School. More than $6,000 in grants were awarded to enable these student operated chapters to continue their efforts in the Best Buddies program. If you are not familiar with Best Buddies you can find out more information at the link provided http://www.bestbuddiesmassachusetts.org/
Third was a presentation by the local chapter of teen angels.
Lead by Linda Keohane, the local chapter is currently made up of 17 students in 7th and 8th grade. They are going through some training and working on projects under the auspices of the national wired safety .org
They presented a pledge to raise awareness of cyberbullying. They have also developed a survey to capture data on cyberbullying. The survey will be released to the Franklin middle schools, then to the high school and ultimately made available to other school districts across MA.
Technology advances have been occurring so rapidly, that the proper behavior and etiquette has generally been developed after the fact, that the device or service has become heavily used. This student lead initiative will help to address the cyberbullying practices from a student perspective.
Fourth was a presentation on the World Challenge. This would be a trip for about 15-20 FHS students to Peru. The students would start planning and fund raising now. Preparing for about 17 months for the trip to last a month. It would bring them to Peru for service, educational and recreational opportunities that should last a life time. A video overview of the organization and the trips they conduct from both the teacher and student points of view are available on Franklin Matters. The School Committee did approve that the planning for this trip can continue.
On the regular school committee meeting topic list, a couple of items rose.
The MA assoc of school committees sent some information on developing regulations about vehicles idling on school property. After some discussion, the SC recommended reaching out to the Police Dept for advice on how enforceable this would be before proceeding.
The State and Federal Race to the Top program was discussed. There is potential for a small gain for large pain is the short way to say this. The program would provide some stimulus funds for education but is targeted to poorly performing districts and we are a high performing district. Even if we did spend the time and effort to try and implement, the return would not cover the effort involved. I like the fact that the return on investment (ROI) was considered in this case.
The School Committee provided some guidance to Superintendent Maureen Sabolinski, Asst. Superintendent Sally Winslow and Director of Finance, Miriam Goodman on what the SC would like to see in the 2011 school budget package. The first presentation on the budget is scheduled to occur at the next meeting, Jan 26th.
The School Dept received a visit from the DESE in December. The visit included a fiscal review (not an audit) that was praising the operations of the Business Office.
It was not too long ago, it seemed like every time you turned around, something or someone was chipping away at the block of trust that citizens had in Franklin's government. The low point probably occurred just before Thanksgiving 2007. The School Committee released information that irregularities in the School budget had been discovered by the Town Comptroller. This appeared to be a "classic release bad news before the holiday move". However, this was not a story to be buried. This was the most serious of several incidents that had residents of Franklin questioning who they could trust. The January 9 2008 Town Council meeting was actually a joint one as the Town Council sat along with the School Committee to hear the auditors present the details of their findings.
Sorry to have brought the bad news back up but I want to put this real good news in the proper perspective. The Town (including the Schools) budget has been audited since then by the Town's regular auditors and the results have come up clean. Policy and procedures have been revised and implemented to improve the financial operations with appropriate checks and balances. The "trust" issue from a budget perspective should have been put to rest.
If someone was still looking for another source to confirm the Town auditor's findings, I think we have one. The School Department was recently the subject of a "fiscal review" by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and received praise for their operations.
The credit for this commendation goes to the work of Miriam Goodman who came into this role specifically to address the problems and create good practices. Kudos to the School Committee for the hiring process that resulted in approval of Miriam for Business Administrator.
Miriam has done great work, she shows integrity in her work and the Town is better off for it.
The full text of the DESE letter can be found on Franklin Matters. Along with the long term financial planning committees' work, this goes a long way to helping to restore trust in our local government.
Looking ahead this week, the Town Council meets on Wednesday, Jan 20th.
The agenda includes a presentation from the architects of the plan to re-do downtown and a report from the subcommittee on the Charter revision.
Both of these topics are critical to Franklin's future. The Charter determines how we govern ourselves to conduct our town business. The Downtown presentation will determine what the downtown will look like.
As a frequent commuter train rider, I am interested in finding out how they will handle traffic coming out of the downtown parking lot when a train arrives especially if there is two way traffic on Main St. It already takes several minutes to get out with one way traffic. Allow a left turn between Dean Bank and Acapulco's Restaurant and I wonder what the effect will be?
There will also be a presentation and vote on a change to the solid waste and recycling rates. You should pay attention to this for a number of reasons;
To recap, the School Committee had some good recognitions, and good educational opportunities to highlight.
The Town Council meeting Weds can help determine our future in real ways.
I strongly suggest that you take an active role and come down to the Council Chamber to observe and take the opportunity to speak up if necessary.
As I close this session this week, let me remind you that
For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.blogspot.com/
If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com
The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana" c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission
I hope you enjoy!
Note: email subscribers will need to click through to the website to listen to the audio version.
Time: 14 minutes, 0 seconds
MP3 File
Session notes:
Take about ten minutes to keep current with what matters in Franklin, MA as the week ends January 17, 2010
In this session I’ll cover the School Committee meeting of Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Several items come from this meeting. It attracted the largest attendance to a school committee meeting in a long time. The Council Chambers were standing room only. Better yet, this attendance was not due to some protest or uproar. It was due to the recognition being provided to a number of school groups. The major theme covering these activities I think can be summarized in how pervasive the schools are within the overall Franklin community.
First was recognition of the various student and school personnel who participated in the fund raising for the war memorial dedicated on the Town Common on Memorial Day, 2009.
I won't repeat the names of the individuals here. It is quite a list covering all the schools in town. You can see the school committee meeting notes on Franklin Matters for the details.
Second the presentation of grants to the Best Buddy chapters at Franklin High and Annie Sullivan Middle School. More than $6,000 in grants were awarded to enable these student operated chapters to continue their efforts in the Best Buddies program. If you are not familiar with Best Buddies you can find out more information at the link provided http://www.bestbuddiesmassachusetts.org/
From the School Committee meeting notes:
They presented a pledge to raise awareness of cyberbullying. They have also developed a survey to capture data on cyberbullying. The survey will be released to the Franklin middle schools, then to the high school and ultimately made available to other school districts across MA.
Technology advances have been occurring so rapidly, that the proper behavior and etiquette has generally been developed after the fact, that the device or service has become heavily used. This student lead initiative will help to address the cyberbullying practices from a student perspective.
Frm the School Committee meeting notes:
Fourth was a presentation on the World Challenge. This would be a trip for about 15-20 FHS students to Peru. The students would start planning and fund raising now. Preparing for about 17 months for the trip to last a month. It would bring them to Peru for service, educational and recreational opportunities that should last a life time. A video overview of the organization and the trips they conduct from both the teacher and student points of view are available on Franklin Matters. The School Committee did approve that the planning for this trip can continue.
World Challenge:
On the regular school committee meeting topic list, a couple of items rose.
The MA assoc of school committees sent some information on developing regulations about vehicles idling on school property. After some discussion, the SC recommended reaching out to the Police Dept for advice on how enforceable this would be before proceeding.
The State and Federal Race to the Top program was discussed. There is potential for a small gain for large pain is the short way to say this. The program would provide some stimulus funds for education but is targeted to poorly performing districts and we are a high performing district. Even if we did spend the time and effort to try and implement, the return would not cover the effort involved. I like the fact that the return on investment (ROI) was considered in this case.
The School Committee provided some guidance to Superintendent Maureen Sabolinski, Asst. Superintendent Sally Winslow and Director of Finance, Miriam Goodman on what the SC would like to see in the 2011 school budget package. The first presentation on the budget is scheduled to occur at the next meeting, Jan 26th.
The School Dept received a visit from the DESE in December. The visit included a fiscal review (not an audit) that was praising the operations of the Business Office.
It was not too long ago, it seemed like every time you turned around, something or someone was chipping away at the block of trust that citizens had in Franklin's government. The low point probably occurred just before Thanksgiving 2007. The School Committee released information that irregularities in the School budget had been discovered by the Town Comptroller. This appeared to be a "classic release bad news before the holiday move". However, this was not a story to be buried. This was the most serious of several incidents that had residents of Franklin questioning who they could trust. The January 9 2008 Town Council meeting was actually a joint one as the Town Council sat along with the School Committee to hear the auditors present the details of their findings.
Sorry to have brought the bad news back up but I want to put this real good news in the proper perspective. The Town (including the Schools) budget has been audited since then by the Town's regular auditors and the results have come up clean. Policy and procedures have been revised and implemented to improve the financial operations with appropriate checks and balances. The "trust" issue from a budget perspective should have been put to rest.
If someone was still looking for another source to confirm the Town auditor's findings, I think we have one. The School Department was recently the subject of a "fiscal review" by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and received praise for their operations.
The Franklin Public School has done well in maintaining a comprehensive system of written internal policies and procedures relative to its operations of the School Business office. Implementation of a comprehensive system of internal controls ensures that funds are expended in compliance with state and federal regulations and are used for the intended purposes of the grant.
Franklin Public Schools has a number of best practices being performed. Management and other department personnel should be commended for not holding credit cards in the name of Franklin Public Schools.
Additionally, the school district does not have an administrative petty cash fund, while most districts find this a necessity; Franklin Public Schools has done well in eliminating this potentially risky practice.
The credit for this commendation goes to the work of Miriam Goodman who came into this role specifically to address the problems and create good practices. Kudos to the School Committee for the hiring process that resulted in approval of Miriam for Business Administrator.
Miriam has done great work, she shows integrity in her work and the Town is better off for it.
The full text of the DESE letter can be found on Franklin Matters. Along with the long term financial planning committees' work, this goes a long way to helping to restore trust in our local government.
DESE Letter:
Looking ahead this week, the Town Council meets on Wednesday, Jan 20th.
The agenda includes a presentation from the architects of the plan to re-do downtown and a report from the subcommittee on the Charter revision.
Both of these topics are critical to Franklin's future. The Charter determines how we govern ourselves to conduct our town business. The Downtown presentation will determine what the downtown will look like.
As a frequent commuter train rider, I am interested in finding out how they will handle traffic coming out of the downtown parking lot when a train arrives especially if there is two way traffic on Main St. It already takes several minutes to get out with one way traffic. Allow a left turn between Dean Bank and Acapulco's Restaurant and I wonder what the effect will be?
There will also be a presentation and vote on a change to the solid waste and recycling rates. You should pay attention to this for a number of reasons;
- it affects what you put on the curb
- it will potentially effect your pocketbook or wallet
- it can position the town better off for being green and environmentally conscious
To recap, the School Committee had some good recognitions, and good educational opportunities to highlight.
The Town Council meeting Weds can help determine our future in real ways.
I strongly suggest that you take an active role and come down to the Council Chamber to observe and take the opportunity to speak up if necessary.
As I close this session this week, let me remind you that
- If you like what I am doing, please tell your neighbors
- If you don’t like something, please tell me
For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.blogspot.com/
If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com
The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana" c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission
I hope you enjoy!
Note: email subscribers will need to click through to the website to listen to the audio version.
"I have a dream..."
Martin Luther King's birthday and a national holiday. Time to watch once again "I have a dream".
Vote January 19th!
Note: email subscribers will need to click through to Franklin Matters to view the video.
Vote January 19th!
Note: email subscribers will need to click through to Franklin Matters to view the video.
Town Council - Agenda - 1/20/10
A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - DECEMBER 16, 2009
B. ANNOUNCEMENTS
C. PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS
D. CITIZEN COMMENTS
E. APPOINTMENTS
G. LICENSE TRANSACTIONS
H. PRESENTATIONS/DISCUSSIONS
I. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS
J. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
1. Zoning Bylaw Amendment 10-639: Amendment to Chapter 185-5 Zoning Map: Biotechnology Uses- Referral to Planning Board
2. Zoning Bylaw Amendment 10-640: Amendment to Chapter 185-42: Biotechnology Uses- Referral to Planning Board
3. Bylaw Amendment 10-621: Chapter 82; Appendix A: List of Service Fee Rates, Solid Waste and Recycling Fees - 1st Reading
K. TOWN ADMINISTRATOR'S REPORT
L. OLD BUSINESS
M. NEW BUSINESS
N. COUNCIL COMMENTS
O. EXECUTIVE SESSION - Negotiations, Litigation, Real Property, as May Be Required
P. ADJOURN
Note: the quick look agenda does not include the two presentations (Charter revisions and Downtown Project) that are included in the full agenda and accompanying documents (PDF) on the Town Council. I am assuming that the full package is correct and that the quick look agenda will get updated before the meeting.
B. ANNOUNCEMENTS
C. PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS
D. CITIZEN COMMENTS
E. APPOINTMENTS
- Public Land Use Committee (Jeff Livingstone)
- Finance Committee (Christopher Quinn)
G. LICENSE TRANSACTIONS
H. PRESENTATIONS/DISCUSSIONS
- Report on Charter Revisions
- Update on Downtown Project - Weston and Sampson
I. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS
J. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
1. Zoning Bylaw Amendment 10-639: Amendment to Chapter 185-5 Zoning Map: Biotechnology Uses- Referral to Planning Board
2. Zoning Bylaw Amendment 10-640: Amendment to Chapter 185-42: Biotechnology Uses- Referral to Planning Board
3. Bylaw Amendment 10-621: Chapter 82; Appendix A: List of Service Fee Rates, Solid Waste and Recycling Fees - 1st Reading
K. TOWN ADMINISTRATOR'S REPORT
L. OLD BUSINESS
M. NEW BUSINESS
N. COUNCIL COMMENTS
O. EXECUTIVE SESSION - Negotiations, Litigation, Real Property, as May Be Required
P. ADJOURN
Note: the quick look agenda does not include the two presentations (Charter revisions and Downtown Project) that are included in the full agenda and accompanying documents (PDF) on the Town Council. I am assuming that the full package is correct and that the quick look agenda will get updated before the meeting.
Franklin, MA: Municipal Housing Trust Announcement
The Franklin Municipal Housing Trust Announces
HOME OWNERSHIP OPPORTUNITY PROGRAM
DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE GRANTS
The Franklin Municipal Affordable Housing Trust is making available $480,000 to be paid in grants to income and asset qualified 1st time home buyers.
Click on the link below for information on this new affordable housing program.
Sponsored by the Municipal Affordable Housing Trust
Trustees:
MaryAnn Bertone
Robert Gagnon
Maxine Kinhart
Jeff Nutting
Judith Pond Pfeffer
Susan Speers
Christopher Vericker
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Franklin, MA: Department of Public Works (part 1)
The Department of Public Works (DPW) provides a wide range of services to the residents of
Franklin. It is organized into eight (8) divisions:
1. Administration
2. Engineering
3. Highway (including Highway Maintenance and Construction, Central Motors, Snow
and Ice Control)
4. Park and Grounds (Parks; School Grounds Maintenance and Forestry/Insect Control)
5. Water (including ground water withdrawals, water treatment and distribution)
6. Sewer
7. Solid Waste and Recycling (including the operation of the Beaver St. Station)
8. Street Lighting
ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION
The major functions of the Administrative Division include developing capital projects, long range planning, intergovernmental relations and compliance, grant writing, processing various private construction permits, drain layer licenses, DPW- purchasing, budgeting, accounting and payroll, and water/sewer/trash billing, sprinkler/hydrant billing and cross connection billing.
Capital Projects
The Administrative Division in conjunction with Engineering and the operating divisions develop major capital projects.
Design, permitting, bidding of I-495 Exit 16 Interchange has been completed.
Construction at this sight will commence fall 2009.
An extensive interview process was held and the engineering firm, Weston and Sampson was selected to work with the Town for the improved design of the Downtown area. Options and ideas are being considered to make the “Triangle” area more pedestrian and business friendly. Considerations include providing two-way traffic on route 140 again, underground utilities, period lighting, planters, sidewalk and cross brickwork, curbing and parking improvements and an improved transition with Dean College. The Town is still waiting for Funds to be released for this project. It is anticipated that “Survey work” will commence in fall 2009. Design work continued on Pleasant and Lincoln Streets, and survey work was undertaken on Grove Street.
The DPW continues to initiate, forecast, design, plan, fund and permit long-range projects with construction phased in over the next three to four years. Progress on specific capital construction projects is outlined in the respective Divisions’ portion of this report.
It is important to note, that many of these projects are preformed “in-house” without “bidding out” complete projects to “outside contractors”. To plan, design, permit, and construct these projects “in-house” is a very arduous and requires a lot of coordination and cooperation between each DPW Division and other Municipal Departments. By doing many of these projects this way, the Public Works Department is able to save substantial amounts of money that can be used on other capital improvement projects.
Operational
The DPW was slightly re-organized last year. With the Public Works being tasked with the additional responsibility of maintaining all outside areas of school buildings and associated fields, a “Park and Grounds” division was created in D.P.W. All though no new employees were hired, it was felt to improve and standardize conditions of Town properties, one division and manager should be responsible. The new Park and Grounds Division is responsible for the outside maintenance of all Town of Franklin buildings whether a School, the Town Municipal Building, water stations, parks, etc.
Grant Writing
The Town received a $130K grant for Storm Water Improvements and a $5K grant for recycling programs. Much of the credit for the Town’s success in obtaining highway funding and other grants goes to the Town’s legislative delegation, including Rep. Jim Vallee, Sen. Scott Brown, Sen. Karen Spilka and Congressmen James McGovern.
Permits and Long Range Planning
The Town successfully was able to mitigate a Water Management Act Permit with Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (D.E.P.) that covers “Permitted” water use. This permit governs how much water the Town can use annually. D.E.P. had proposed radical changes without recognizing all the work and monies that the Town has spent in the past to improve the infrastructure of the distribution system. The State has also failed to recognize the significant past and future growth of the Town and the conservation efforts of all the residents of the Town of Franklin particularly during the summer months. The Town of Franklin submitted a more realistic permit plan and was able to negotiate a solution that recognized the Town of Franklin as a leader in water conservation that meets the future growth needs of Franklin. The Town of Franklin continues to take a lead and work with other area Towns to insure that the region’s water supplies are protected.
The Town of Franklin continues to follow and implement the new “Phase II” Storm Water Permits as required by the E.P.A. Phase II required the Town to highly regulate and monitor storm water throughout the Town. The Department will continue to refine and improve adopted regulation to continue to improve the Storm Water in Franklin.
Long range planning is critical in the area of Public Works and must be accomplished consistently in order to ensure that the Town’s water, sewer and roads can support the needs of our residents. The Town’s Master Plan, the 1993 Water Distribution System Study, Sewer System Evaluation Study and the Sewer System Master Plan studies are important sources of planning information, which are utilized to support this planning effort. In October 2001, Tata & Howard of Westborough completed the distribution system update to the 1993 Water Master Plan. This identified approximately $40M in water system needs. The ‘20/20’ plan allows the Town to address the most critical of these needs.
Even though the Town of Franklin presently has a long-term trash disposal contract with Wheelabrator Corporation in Millbury The DPW continues to “look outside the box” to improve town wide recycling and collection procedures. The Town is in the process of negotiating a new long-term trash-hauling contract with various contractors. All options are being considered for collection, including “pay as you throw”, single stream, automation and any combination of them. We continue to work with the School Department and the Recycling Committee to reduce the amount of tonnage into the “Waste Stream” and increase recycling.
The DPW continues to work with both D.E.P. and the Massachusetts Department of Recreation and Conservation to facilitate the final closing and capping of the Beaver Street Landfill Site.
Hails and Farewells
The Department was fortunate to add the following people to its staff last year: Mr. Carlos Rebelo as the new Park and Grounds Superintendent, Mr. Alan Tetreault to the Highway Department. Mr. Robert Costanza, Mr. John Bedoya, Ms. Ann Durham and Mr. Philip Vondras transferred from the School department into the new Parks Division. Ms. Valerie Carrachino joined the office staff.
With gains, there are always losses. The greatest loss of the Department was the retirement of Mr. Phillip Brunelli as the Superintendent of Highway Department. Phil had a long career with the Department and moved up the ranks to “Superintendent”. Above all, Phil was a great “Snow Boss”. During the winter months, the roads in Franklin were always safest and best around with Phil running the snow program. Ms. Denise Zambrowski, the Town’s Environmental Affairs Coordinator, left for job opportunity in the “Private Sector”. Ms. Yvonne Tran was laid off as a result of budget cuts.
Thanks
As the Director, I as always owe many thanks to my staff that make this whole department work and serve all residents in a timely manner. Everyone is committed to providing extraordinary service to the Town in the most cost-effective manner possible. The Town Engineer Mr. William Yadisernia, Office Manager Mrs. Paula Lombardi, Deputy Director of Operations Mr. Anthony Mucciarone, Water and Sewer Superintendent Mr. Alfred Boone, Highway Superintendent Mr. Kenneth Gormley, Park and Grounds Superintendent Carlos Rebelo, G.I.S. Coordinator Mr. James Esterbrook and Engineering Aid Mr. Warren Groth are all dedicated professionals that put in so much extra time and effort to make this Department a success. The Town and I are very fortunate to have such talented individuals to work with. I would also like to thank Linda Feeley, Paula Juarez, Sandy Wedge, Faith Flaherty and Valerie Carrachino who support the Administration Division. These individuals respond quickly and with courtesy to hundreds of requests for assistance and information throughout the year.
I would especially like to thank the “Crew” and the mechanics that work out of the D.P.W. garage. These are the ladies and gentlemen that are not always seen but provide the day-to-day services that are taken for granted. They pump, treat and deliver safe drinking water, they care for parks and ball fields, and they maintain the roadways, repair and sustain not only Public Work’s vehicles but also all Town owned vehicles and handle all our wastes. They are always available, day and night, working long hours to assist in any emergency situation whether it is snow removal, water breaks, sewer backups, wind/electric storms, flooding, etc. They are all extremely professional and dedicated to their jobs; I cannot thank them enough.
Respectfully submitted,
Robert A. Cantoreggi II
Director of Public Works
Paula M. Lombardi
Office Manager
From the 2009 Town of Franklin Annual Report. This is available in a printed version at the Municipal Building or online at the Town website here. Additional departments of the DPW will be reproduced here soon.
You can visit the DPW pages on the Town website here
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_DPW/index
Franklin, MA: Franklin Public Library
Committed to Excellence in Customer Service
Community Vision Statement
Franklin strives to create a welcoming community:
Alive with a sense of neighborhood
Committed to the delivery of the highest quality education and lifelong learning opportunities
With a desire to maintain the welcoming character of a New England town and a vibrant downtown center
Where all residents can find convenient access to strong municipal services and enjoy a sense of security and physical safety
Where the professional and business community can find support and growth
Where residents accept and value their diversity and work collectively to enhance the well being of the community and
The library is regarded as the place for innovation, entertainment and information.
We value:
Customer service excellence
The people we serve, their opinions, capabilities, needs and interests
Freedom of expression and the free flow of ideas
Equitable access to library resources and services
Creative solutions and innovation
Our proud history and rich heritage
Our skilled and knowledgeable staff
Note: This was written in mid-year 2009. The work on the exterior of the library building was completed. Work on the interior will be on the capital funds listing awaiting priority.Building on Solid Accomplishments
Through strategic planning, targeted service delivery, enhanced technology, productive staff and collaborations with other Town departments, the Franklin Public Library has accomplished large and small improvements in both external and internal operations in the past and current fiscal years. This report is sprinkled with a few of the countless positive comments we receive from a very grateful public. Our customers are many and varied in their needs. They comprise the very young, seniors and many in-betweens. Some come in daily to read the newspapers and magazines, while others come for computing, access to the Internet and electronic databases, quiet study, participate in book discussions, instruction, attend programs, place requests or check items from a vast collection of over 99,000 books, audio books, books on CDs, music CDs, DVDs, games and etc. They also appreciate the fact that they can obtain items from other libraries in a timely manner. In FY09 Franklin residents borrowed 4000 items from other libraries. The positive effect on the many that use library resources and services can better be summed in the words of one satisfied customer “I would be orphaned without this Library.”
Work on securing the building envelope is almost complete. The Town’s Facilities Department was very instrumental in this regard. The installation of security cameras and security access points now provides patrons with a greater sense of security. Entrances are welcoming. Interior spaces are warm, inviting and comfortable with many designated quiet spaces and collaboration areas for groups that are not necessary quiet. Many of our customers are very pleased and have enormous praise for the two contrasting yet complementary environments. An environment with accommodation for all: quiet havens and learning spaces for people who just sit and think or do computing, read a book, or magazine, or newspaper, or write. There are areas for active engagement with others such as studying in groups, conversation groups, instruction sessions and much more.
The Friends of the Franklin Library has been instrumental in updating and upgrading the appearance of the Library with classic furnishings and ergonomic workstations. While we wait for phase two of the renovation project, small steps to restore the original splendor of 1904 are underway.
We have replaced the oblong tables in the reference room with round mahogany ones and the tall shelving blocking the view of the murals with much lower shelves. This has changed the feel of the reference room, created more space for the entire magazine/ newspaper section and added to the grandeur of the lobby. Additionally, round tables are more conducive to group study. The Library patrons are genuinely thankful for our vast collections, responsive services and the comfortable surroundings. This description by a patron of the new magazine area by the fireplace reflects the general mood. “I have always appreciated your collection of magazines but this new setting is so relaxed. It makes you want to kick your shoes off and just stay in the library forever”.
Usage
13,416 reference questions were answered by librarians at the Reference and circulation desks. Customers made 213,781 visits to the Library. The Library filled 43,314 Interlibrary Loan request.
Circulation Statistics
The Library continued to experience extraordinary increases in use. Library stats, usually considered a key indicator of success are a fitting tribute to an exceptional and hardworking staff. They paint a glowing picture of our overall performance and point to a thriving, vibrant and relevant public institution. Big jumps in circulation, 12%, were the norm in the last fiscal year. From July – November of 2008, circulation rose again another 21% putting the Library on the top 10 increases in circulation in the State, on the front page of the Boston Globe (January 4th) and also on the front page of the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners newsletter.
From the 2009 Town of Franklin Annual Report. This is available in a printed version at the Municipal Building or online at the Town website here.The Future
Once again, the Library faces an uncertain future. The library staff is committed to maintaining fundamental library services. However, significant cuts of the Library’s budget unravel much of what has been accomplished in the last five years. America’s Star Libraries have one common denominator – secured funding. Dedicated library funding translates into a better collection, more computers, more public programs, and more hours open, all of which contribute to outstanding public library service.
The Library website can be found within the Town website here
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_Library/index
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