The plan for Franklin Center - 2003

The plan for Franklin Center was developed and published in 2003. You can view the presentation document here:

Franklin, MA: Center Plan - 2003

Additional information from the Franklin Dept of Planning and Community Development will be highlighted here over the course of the week to help prepare for the Public Meeting Monday, Jan 10th.

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

Franklin, MA

RIBBON CUTTING AT TEN KEY IN FRANKLIN

The United Regional Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting event at Ten Key Inc., a Franklin-based accounting and bookkeeping firm, on Dec. 21. Owned by Stephanie Robl, Ten Key celebrated its relocation to a new office in the Hayward Mill Complex at 31 Hayward St., unit 2A - Room 205.

Ten Key, Inc. provides financial services, including accounting and bookkeeping, to both individuals as well as small and large businesses. For more information about Ten Key, visit www.tenkeyinc.com.

Members of The United Regional Chamber of Commerce and local officials welcomed Ten Key to its new Franklin office space. Pictured from left to right are: Franklin Town Administrator Jeff Nutting, The United Regional Chamber of Commerce President Jack Lank, Ed McDonough of Executive Coaching, Thomaz DeMoura of Digital Federal Credit Union, Carl Scheinman of Dean Bank, Danielle Grueter of Ten Key, Nancy Quigley of Century 21 Commonwealth, Owner of Ten Key Stephanie Robl, Bob Arena of Personalized Computer Care, Chris Pintarich of Berry Insurance, Allison Delaney of Ten Key, Donna Goulart of William Palumbo Insurance Agency and Faith Macia of Ten Key. Photo courtesy of Jen Osojnicki, Professional Photographer.


Franklin, MA

In the News - Tri-County, toddlers

Franklin member retiring from Tri-County school board

by Brian Benson, Daily News staff

Franklin class designed for toddlers, parents

by Brian Benson/Daily News staff

Franklin, MA

Parking Ban Activation

Section 170-62 Effect of Parking Ban. The parking of any motor vehicle within the layout or right-of-way of any public street or any roadway open to the public is prohibited between the hours of 1:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. while a winter storm parking ban is in effect.

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FM #81 - Second Half 2010 Summary

This internet radio show or podcast is number 81 in the series for Franklin Matters.



MP3 File


In this session, you give me about ten minutes and I'll fill you in on what matters in Franklin as the 2010 calendar year draws to a close. This segment will review the major events that occurred each month from July through December. The notes that go along with this segment will contain links rich with the details.

July

The introduction of the new trash/recycling process
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/03/franklin-ma-trash-collection.html/

Third Thursday occurred on July 15th
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/07/third-thursday-july-15th_16.html/

The Affordable Housing Strategy and Plan was out for review
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/07/affordable-housing-strategy-and_28.html/

The Native Plants of Franklin series by Michelle Clay was introduced
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/07/whats-your-name-summary.html/


August

opened with Bill Glynn of the School Committee holding a “Sit and Chat” on the Town Common
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/08/bill-glynn-sit-and-chat-summary.html/

Town Council meeting on the 4th
Affordable Housing Strategy approved
Economic Development Areas established along Grove St
DelCarte house purchased on Prospect St
The Spanish War Memorial gun was removed
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/08/town-council-080410-notes-from-meeting.html/

School Committee meeting of the 10th covered the District Improvement Plan amongst other items
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/08/school-committee-081010.html/

The Franklin Matters survey on the trash/recycle process results were published
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/08/new-trashrecycle-status-survey.html/

Town Council meeting on the 18th
Underground utilities for downtown were discussed
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/08/town-council-081810.html/

Third Thursday occurred Aug 19th
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/08/third-thursday-august-19th.html/

School Committee meeting on the 24th
Middle School Improvement Plan was reviewed amongst other items
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/08/school-committee-082410.html/

The survey results to pay for the underground utilities were published
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/08/franklin-ma-underground-utilities.html/

The School Committee added a meeting on Aug 31 due to late word on the receipt of additional stimulus funding which they chose to spend part of reserving part for next years budget cycle..


September

Finance Committee and Town Council initially looked at a proposal for funding the design and permitting for repairs of the dams on the DelCarte property
http://franklinmattersweekly.blogspot.com/2010/09/fm-72-week-ending-91210.html/

School Committee on Sep 14th
Elementary school Improvement Plans amongst other items
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/09/school-committee-091410.html/

Town Council meeting of Sep 29, 2010
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/09/town-council-092910.html/

Executive summary for the Traffic Changes
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/09/improvement-project-traffic-changes.html/

Project presentation from May 2010
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/05/downtown-improvement-project-live.html/

Downtown Partnership letter in underground utilities
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/09/franklin-downtown-partnerships-letter.html/



October

Town Council meeting of 10/6/10
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/10/town-council-100610.html/

DelCarte - Town Council discussion
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/10/live-reporting-delcarte-proposal.html/

Where is the DelCarte property?
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/10/where-is-delcarte-property.html/

Photo tour of the DelCarte property in May 2010
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/10/franklin-ma-delcarte-tour.html/

Economic Development Summit fostered by Councilors Jones and Powderly along with the Dept. of Planning and Community Development
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/10/franklin-economic-development-summit.html/


The School Committee met on Tuesday 10/12

Most of the night was spent on the high school reviewing
The school improvement plan
The senior project
The school discipline process and statistics showing the improvements

Copies of the presentations are posted to Franklin Matters.
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/10/school-committee-101210.html/

Town Council meeting 10/20
a bunch of presentations from the DPW on their operations (water, sewer, and snow/ice storm preparations.)
The Council also completed the public hearing on the underground utilities, determining not to pursue putting them underground due to the expense
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/10/town-council-102010.html/

On the weekend prior to Election Day, November 2 I spent time on the weekly podcast providing information on the ballot questions, in particular the two charter questions
http://franklinmattersweekly.blogspot.com/2010/10/fm-75-charter-changes-vote-nov-2.html/


November

The election of Nov 2 resulted in one of the two charter changes passing. The technical changes passed, the proposal to move the Treasurer/Collector to an appointed position failed.
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/11/charter-question-4-yes-question-5-no.html/

Town Council Nov 3, Senator Richard Ross came to visit and speak with the Council, Jeff Nutting spoke to provide an extensive outlook on the FY 2012 budget
http://franklinmattersweekly.blogspot.com/2010/11/fm-76-fy-2012-budget-outlook.html/

School Committee meeting on Nov 9th
heard the capital budget as well as the DPW presentation on snow storms
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/11/school-committee-110910.html/

School Committee meeting on 11/16 - Mostly about MCAS
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/11/school-committee-111610.html/

Town Council 11/17 - heard about the proposal to form a cable access non-profit to run the cable TV operations on behalf of the Town. The second major item on the agenda was the initial presentation on the proposal for a new zoning district downtown along with a host of changes to bylaws and signs, etc.
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/11/town-council-111710.html/

I took the opportunity to provide feedback to both the SchCom and TC on back-to-back nights encouraging their outreach efforts and also reviewing their attendance records which I have been updating and publishing with each meeting.
http://franklinmattersweekly.blogspot.com/2010/11/fm-77-franklin-ma-mid-term-review.html/

December

Town Council met three times this month
on the 1st to approve funding to continue the water and sewer repairs
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/12/town-council-120110.html/

On the 8th, the tax rate hearing was formally held to set the tax rate for 2011 at $12.95/thousand and keep a single rate
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/12/town-council-120810.html/

I had updated my numbers and analysis on the tax information prior to the hearing
http://franklinmattersweekly.blogspot.com/2010/12/fm-79-slidecast-tax-hearing-info-for-fy.html/

and on the 15th the third and final meeting to renew the liquor licenses for 2011
and hear a revision of the downtown zoning proposal
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/12/town-council-120810.html/

The School Committee met only once, on the 14th
The anti-bullying plan was reviewed and approved
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/12/school-committee-121410.html/

So we bring a close to 2010, this will be the last of the weekly summaries this year. There will be more in 2011.

The year ahead looks to be a challenging one. The budget situation will likely result in an override vote sometime in May or June. The high school renovation project is also on schedule to come before the voters late next year. The Town Council, School Committee and other Franklin elected positions will be up for vote in November. Whether the high school project will make it to the same ballot remains to be seen.

So fasten your seat belt, the information train here at Franklin Matters and Franklin Matters Weekly will continue.

In case you missed the mid-year (Jan to Jun) review, you can find that here
http://franklinmattersweekly.blogspot.com/2010/07/franklin-ma-2010-midyear-review.html/


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This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but I can't do it alone. I can use your help.

How can you help?

If you have an interest in covering the Planning Board and or the Zoning Board of Appeals meetings, please let me know.

As always - If you like this, please tell your friends and neighbors
If you don't like this, please tell me.

Thank you for listening.


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!

"We need some serious money"

"It's a wooded environment and it's nature," said David Labonte, chairman of the Franklin Citizens Rail Trail Committee. "We need to do a little sweat equity in paying for this thing upfront to have something for generations of people of all ages."

But, it could cost $2.8 million to improve and pave the 1.4 miles of trail in Franklin, which needs drainage work, grading and signs. A tunnel must also be designed and built under Prospect Street, Labonte said. Costs could be reduced with volunteer labor.

The path, which goes from Grove Street to Prospect Street before entering Bellingham, is mostly on state Department of Conservation and Recreation land and is open to the public. But many sections are overgrown, filled with ruts and otherwise unsuitable for bicycling, he said. 

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News or visit the Franklin Citizens Rail Trail Committee website here.

Franklin, MA

"Public safety is usually at the top of the list"

In Franklin, the minimal staffing level is 10, which allows the department to staff two rescue engines and two ambulances, McCarraher said. The department has lost three firefighters and three administrative positions in the last several years, and the chief said federal stimulus grant money has allowed it to keep the staffing where it is the last two years.

McCarraher said Franklin's town government has worked hard to spread budget cuts fairly, and knows they are in a difficult position trying to decide where to save money.

"We're in the worst economy of our lives, and there are many competing interests," he said. "They heard the message, and they hired more people (when needed). They understand what's going on, and I think they have a very difficult job."

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News


Franklin, MA