Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Live reporting - Health program update K-5

Guests and Presentations
c. K-5 Health Program
Kristen Cerce, Michele Kingsland Smith

Kristen has taken on the leadership role for health and physical ed this year

incorporating aspects of the following programs into the overall health curriculum
HEAT - Healthy Eating and Active Time from Tufts Univ.
Bullying curriculum

"Bone of the week"
difference between strength and cardio-vascular training
allergies and asthma
substance abuse and prevention
mental health, incorporated into many of the units (e.g. dealing with stress)

90/10 health/physical
next year to be 50/50

development time being provided to complete the curriculum

Franklin, MA

Live reporting - Harry Potter re-write

2. Guests/Presentations
b. Harry Potter Re-write – Davis Thayer
Debbie Taylor (Teacher) and students Katie Sumner and Reilly Deforge



Franklin, MA


Live reporting - FHS Girl's Soccer Team

2. Guests/Presentations
a. FHS Girls Soccer Team


Coach Tom Geysen, School Committee Chairman Jeff Roy, and members of the team


Franklin, MA

Live reporting - School Committee Meeting

Present: Douglas, Cafasso, Rohrbach, Mullen, Roy, Trahan, Glynn
Absent: none

1. Routine Business
Citizen’s Comments - none
Review of Agenda - no adjustments
Minutes: I recommend approval of the minutes from the open and executive sessions of the December 14, 2010 School Committee Meeting. motion to approve, passed 7-0
1. Payment of Bills Mr. Glynn  motion to approve, passed 7-0
2. Payroll Mrs. Douglas
3. FHS Student Representatives
4. Correspondence
- Budget to Actual



Franklin, MA

Solid Waste pick up snow delay

An email from Recycling News arrived this afternoon to announce:


Due to the anticipation of large snowfall, curbside trash and recycling will be delayed one day.  Please remember to make sure carts are placed in a stable location so they do not tip over or hit by snow removal equipment.  Cart lids must be closed for pickup and any additional trash placed in orange overflow bags available at the PW office.


Bulk burnable items (i.e. sofa or chair) must be called in today by 3 pm and placed for collection by Thursday at 7:00 AM.  They will be picked up on Thursday or Friday.

You can subscribe to receive your own news here:
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/subscriber-news

"Construction is expected to last about four months"

"We are looking for your input so we can finish up and get this out to bid," Taberner told about 15 people who attended the meeting.
The work, to be paid for through a $1 million state public works grant, is expected to include the parking lot, Emmons Street between Main Street and Hillside Road, Dean Avenue between Main and Ray streets, Ray Street and Depot Street, Taberner said.
Taberner still has to talk with a few nearby property owners, and public works crews must finish surveying the existing drainage system with cameras before bids are sought, he said.
Curbing and sidewalks will be more clearly defined, delineating between pedestrian and vehicle space, said William Paille, a project manager with Weston & Sampson, a consulting firm that is working on the downtown revitalization efforts.
You can read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

This project covers the following area:


The detail on the upper parking lot. This is not the MBTA parking lot, although some spaces can be used monthly by commuters.


This photo depicts the benches, etc to be used in the area


Additional information can be found on the Planning and Community Development web page.
 
Franklin, MA

In the News - animal shelter


Teen's fundraiser a hallmark for animal shelter



Franklin, MA

Monday, January 10, 2011

Food and non-food needs

The current food and non-food needs of the Franklin Food Pantry can be viewed in the document below:

Franklin Food Pantry - JanFeb 2011 Needs

These items can be left at the Food Pantry during their open hours (Tue - Fri, 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM). If the items won't freeze in the cold, they can also be left in the large wooden box on the porch.


Franklin, MA


Bullukian Oil in the snow

Saturday morning, it was still lightly snowing when Dolores and I went for our walk.


Bullukian Oil  was quiet in the snow.


Franklin, MA


Verizon Cable License Amendment - public comment period

The cable license between Franklin and Verizon is being amended to bring the revenue into agreement with the current revenue from Comcast. Actually a reduction from 5% to 4.8% of gross revenues would come to Franklin.

The comment period begins 14 days after the notification (12/16/10), hence 12/30/10 and runs for 21 days (hence Jan 20th).

Franklin Amendment Verizon Cable License


Related post from the Town Council meeting on Nov 17th discussing the possible public access channel operation
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/11/live-reporting-cable-update.html


Franklin, MA

In the News - registration, garage proposal


Franklin's F.X. O'Regan ECDC accepting applications




Franklin schools to hold kindergarten registration




Franklin garage proposal may get new life



Franklin, MA

Sunday, January 9, 2011

FM #82 - Week Ending 1/8/11

Let's take about ten minutes to find out what matters in Franklin, MA as this week comes to a close. There are three important meetings in the coming week. We go over the highlights for each of them.

Time: 10 minutes, 0 seconds



MP3 File

Show Notes:

This internet radio show or podcast is number 82 in the series for Franklin Matters.

In this session, let's take about ten minutes and I'll fill you in on what matters in Franklin as 2011 opens and the Fiscal Year 2012 budget season begins in earnest.


The Finance Committee was canceled this week. The first meeting they have for 2011 will be Feb 8th.

The Long Range Financial Planning Committee did meet on Wednesday for the first time since August 8, 2010. One of the citizen members (Morrison) was stepping back and a request went out for a replacement. The response was overwhelming in quantity and quality. So much so, that the group was reconstituted and resumed this week as a committee comprised of all citizens. The surprise, if any, was that there was an ex-officio Town Counselor present but no one from the Schools. Should there be? I think yes, and there is one single reason, a big one. With all due respect to the Town side of the budget, the schools account of half of the total budget. You can not leave out any insights into half the budget of any type of serious discussions. This is only the first meeting, they are still organizing, there was talk of having schools represented in some form for future meetings. We'll see what happens.

I was thoroughly impressed with the credentials of the new committee. These will be very good representatives for the citizen or outside view.

My meeting notes can be found here:
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2011/01/live-reporting-long-range-financial.html/

The week ahead has three important meetings.

Monday – the public has an opportunity for input to the smaller of the two downtown projects. Yes, there are two. The Federal grant is $5 million and covers E Central, Main St through to the Old Brick School. The second grant, Public Works Economic Development (PWED) from the state is worth $1 million and covers Emmons Street between Main Street and Hillside Road, Dean Avenue between Main and Ray Streets, Ray Street and Depot Street.

The two projects have separate budgets and separate plans but it does make sense to coordinate the planning and eventual construction work between the two.

Details on the location and time for this meeting are contained in the link attached.
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/12/public-meeting-regarding-pwed-project_30.html/

Tuesday – the School Committee meets for the first time in 2011.

The guest and presentation section has the following items:

  • FHS Girls Soccer Team
  • Harry Potter Re-write – Davis Thayer - Debbie Taylor (Teacher) and students Katie Sumner and Reilly Deforge
  • K-5 Health Program – Kristen Cerce, Michele Kingsland Smith
  • Budget Update - Kindergarten


As I recall, there were two items previously scheduled for the January 25th meeting; kindergarten and the space needs report. Given the kindergarten update has been moved here, I can speculate (which is always dangerous) that kindergarten is no longer 'on the table' from a budget perspective. If you recall the analysis I did with the School Administration last year, moving from full to half day was NOT a cost savings. The Budget Subcommittee would likely have come to that conclusion in their recent meetings as well if that is the case. Again, this is reading between the lines on my part, I could be wrong. We'll find out Tuesday.

The school enrollment projections reinforce my expectation that with the shifts in population within Franklin and the overall decline in student population, we will see a re-districting proposal. Some of the schools are over capacity, others are under. It makes sense to shift the school boundaries to equalize the populations. This should be a collaborative process and not something done 'overnight'. The modular buildings over time can also be de-commissioned rather than replaced. This is also somewhat speculative on my part but I feel comfortable with that direction based upon what the numbers are showing. The details on this we should find out at the School Committee meeting on the 25th.

Either way, both of these items and their budget impact (if any) should be covered during the budget workshop on Saturday the 29th. If you don't have that on your calendar, I would encourage you to make the time for it.

Back to the meeting on the 11th, the School Committee also has a 'community engagement' item in the 'Discussion Only' section. As the parent communication survey was last done in 2005, it appears that the committee will be looking for an update.

School Committee agenda
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2011/01/franklin-ma-school-committee-agenda.html/

Enrollment projections
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2011/01/school-enrollment-projections.html/

2005 Parent Communication survey results
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2011/01/2005-parent-communications-survey.html/


Wednesday – The Town Council meets for the first time this year. Amongst the items on the agenda, two caught my eye. One, Franklin Cafe and Grill is looking for a liquor license for their new operation to open in what was the KFC building at 418 W Central St. Two, there is a joint easement agreement proposed between the Town and the Franklin Center Commons

The Town Council agenda can be found here:
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2011/01/franklin-ma-town-council-agenda-11211.html/

These three meetings get us quickly into 2011, the budget season and important decisions about how this town will look and operate. Please stay informed, please participate, this will be a busy and important year.

In case you missed the end of year 2010 or mid-year (Jan to Jun) review, you can find them here
http://franklinmattersweekly.blogspot.com/2010/12/fm-81-second-half-2010-summary.html/

http://franklinmattersweekly.blogspot.com/2010/07/franklin-ma-2010-midyear-review.html/


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

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!



Franklin, MA: Town Council - Agenda - 1/12/11

A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – December 1, 2010 and December 8, 2010

B. ANNOUNCEMENTS

C. PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS

D. CITIZEN COMMENTS

E. APPOINTMENTS
Franklin Recycling Committee, Amanda Costa

F. HEARINGS

G. LICENSE TRANSACTIONS
Franklin Café & Grill – New All Alcoholic Beverages Restaurant License

H. PRESENTATIONS/DISCUSSIONS

I. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS

J. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
1. Resolution 11-01: Acceptance of Gifts –Fallen Heroes Signs
2. Resolution 11-02: Acceptance of Gifts – Council on Aging
3. Resolution 11-03: Acceptance of Gift – Recreation
4. Resolution 11-04: Acceptance and Grant of Easements: Franklin Center Commons I and Abutting Town-Owned Land

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



Franklin, MA

2005 Parent Communications Survey

The survey on communication preferences for the school community was last conducted in 2005. The results are summarized in this presentation document.

SchCom_2005_SurveyFinal_20050809

Assuming they will be updating this survey, I will be curious to see if and where Franklin Matters places. This site was born in Nov 2007.

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


Franklin, MA

Tri Country Regional Vocational School Committee looking for member

Please send resume or letters of interest to Jeffrey Nutting Town Administrator, 355 East Central Franklin or email jnutting@franklin.ma.us.

If you have any questions, please call 508-520-4949



Franklin, MA