Franklin Library: Norfolk County Sheriff's Office

Norfolk County Sheriff's Office

Norfolk County Sheriff's Office

Franklin Public Library - 118 Main Street Franklin MA 02038 - 508.520.4940

Live reporting - closing

K. TOWN ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT
letter from a citizen regarding work by fire and police dept

wishing Jim Roche well, he is stepping down from the FinCom after many years
if anyone is interested, there is an opening, send information to the Town Administrator

Strawberry Stroll - next Thursday

Thanks to Bob Jarvis, all his neighbors will reap the benefits of his hard work
the work redoing the streets around East, West is finished

Work put out to bid came in under bid, avoid Lincoln/Daniels street during the work water line this year and road next year


L. OLD BUSINESS
Pfeffer - status, condition and maintenance of the town buildings
Nutting- all you were sent were closed work orders, we'll be happy to give you the open ones as of a certain date

Vallee - work around Beaver St?
Nutting - trees won't be until the fall, we'll do the guard rail when the paving guy will be here
we got them to admit that they actually own the property, whether he has actually gone there yet is open
Roy - now that we know he knows and acknowledges ownership, we'll continue to follow up
Nutting - CSX owns the property, not MBTA

Vallee - what is up with the depot?
Nutting- the roof is out to bid, the bids are back, processing the paperwork will take time. they'll do something one at a time

M. NEW BUSINESS
Kelly - could we get Brutus in with what he has done and what his plans are?
Nutting - there are no plans, it will remain as is, until DEP decides. We can do a presentation

Vallee - what is the status of the street near the town common?
Nutting - it is on the schedule for the HPP project along main st, it really needs to be re-done totally

Vallee - tress on the common, we could cut a few more that shouldn't be there
Nutting - I'd suggest putting a subcommmittee together with the Tree warden and the outside study

Jones - there was supposed to be an annual review of the trees

N. COUNCIL COMMENTS
Roy - thank you for acknowledging Brittany tonight, one of 3 out of 600,000
She leaves for Australia on the 10th and she'll find out the 20th

Jones- thanks to everyone who came out to the Planning Board and tonight

Pfeffer - there has been a lot of buzz and discussion about the flag pole, it was rotten and replaced
it is wooden and still functioning,

Powderly - there is a lot of work here and I'd like to recognize those efforts. Thanks to Jim for all his efforts, I worked on the FinCom and learned a lot from him. He will  be missed

Kelly - it is sad that the fireworks were canceled, it is sad that while the question as asked in Mar, they didn't find out until May that it was canceled. We need to do better

Mercer - building committee walk through of the new high school, Monday night at 6:00
State Treasurer visit at 6/20 at 4:00 Pm

P. ADJOURN
motion to adjourn, passed

Live reporting - legislation continued (medical marijuana zoning)

ADULT ENTERTAINMENT:
20.Zoning Bylaw Amendment 13-706: Changes to Chapter 185-5. Zoning Map, Adult Use Overlay District – 2nd Reading
notion to waive reading, motion to move amendment, passed 9-0 via roll call

21.Zoning Bylaw Amendment 13-707: Changes to Chapter 185-47. Adult Entertainment Establishment Districts – 2nd Reading
notion to waive reading, motion to move amendment, passed 9-0 via roll call


MEDICAL MARIJUANA:
22.Zoning Bylaw Amendment 13-708: Changes to Chapter 185-3. Definitions – 2nd Reading
notion to waive reading, motion to move amendment, passed 9-0 via roll call

23.Zoning Bylaw Amendment 13-709: Changes to Chapter 185-4. Districts Enumerated – 2nd Reading
notion to waive reading, motion to move amendment, passed 9-0 via roll call

24.Zoning Bylaw Amendment 13-710: Changes to Chapter 185-5. Zoning Map, Medical Marijuana Use Overlay District – 2nd Reading
notion to waive reading, motion to move amendment, passed 9-0 via roll call

25.Zoning Amendment 13-711: Changes to Chapter 185-7. Compliance Required – 2nd Reading
notion to waive reading, motion to move amendment, passed 9-0 via roll call

26.Zoning Bylaw Amendment 13-712: Changes to Chapter 185-49. Medical Marijuana Use Overlay District – 2nd Reading
notion to waive reading, motion to move amendment, passed 9-0 via roll call

Live reporting - Legislation continued (anaerobic digestion dies a quick death)

IMPERVIOUS SURFACES:
14.Zoning Bylaw Amendment 13-702: Changes to Chapter 185, Section 36. Impervious Surfaces – 1st Reading
motion to waive reading, motion to move to second reading
both passed 9-0

15.Zoning Bylaw Amendment 13-703: Changes to Chapter 185, Section 40. Water Resource District – 1st Reading
motion to waive reading, motion to move to second reading
both passed 9-0

16.Zoning Bylaw Amendment 13-716: Changes to Chapter 185, Section 3. Definitions – 1st Reading
motion to waive reading, motion to move to second reading
both passed 9-0

17.Zoning Bylaw Amendment 13-717: Changes to Chapter 185, Attachment 9, Schedule of Lot, Area, Frontage, Yard and Height Requirements – 1st Reading
motion to waive reading, motion to move to second reading
both passed 9-0



POND STREET CHANGE OF ZONING:
18.Zoning Bylaw Amendment 13-714: Changes to Chapter 185-3. Definitions – 1st Reading
motion to table, not debatable, passed 9-0

19.Zoning Bylaw Amendment 13-715: Changes to Chapter 185-7. Compliance Required – 1st Reading
motion to table, not debatable, passed 9-0

Live reporting - Legislation

J. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
1. Resolution 13-38: Acceptance of Grant of Right of Access Over Land at 828 West Central Street
motion to approve, seconded, passed 9-0

2. Resolution 13-39: Appropriation: Appraiser for Downtown HPP Project and Compensation for Permanent and Temporary Easements
motion to approve, seconded, passed 9-0

background provided at Finance Committee meeting Tues 6/4/13
150 total easements required, 75% have been achieved, some permanent easements around Dean and other areas, but we haven't gotten them back

I. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS 
Citizens committee meeting next week
means approx $1.4M, about $500K more than last year


3. Resolution 13-40: Appropriation: 37 Beaver Street
motion to approve, seconded, passed 9-0

also as reviewed during FinCom meeting 6/4/13
property next to the Senior Center, available for purchase from bank, property is empty, to purchase and demolish the property, would come back later to do the work to expand the parking lot


4. Resolution 13-41: Appropriation: Fire Department Salaries
motion to approve, seconded, passed 9-0

also as reviewed during FinCom meeting 6/4/13
to cover overtime at the Fire Dept due to injuries and training, up to almost a full compliment during June


5. Resolution 13-42: Appropriation: Capital FY 2013
motion to approve, seconded, passed 9-0

also as reviewed during FinCom meeting 6/4/13
part 2 of the capital budget

6. Resolution 13-43: Appropriation: Other Post-Employment Benefits Stabilization Fund
motion to approve, seconded, passed 9-0 via roll call

also as reviewed during FinCom meeting 6/4/13
requires a 2/3 vote to put funds into the stabilization fund as well as a 2/3 vote to take the funds out
essentially an accounting move to increase return on investment while it is being saved

7. Resolution 13-44: Appropriation: Senior Center Capital Improvement
motion to approve, seconded, passed 9-0 via roll call

also as reviewed during FinCom meeting 6/4/13
essentially an accounting move to increase return on investment while it is being saved
Roy - I have been a frequent visitor to the Senior Center, it is heavily used
Jones - I think this is a great thing to do for the seniors

8. Resolution 13-45: Appropriation: Fire Truck Stabilization Fund
motion to approve, seconded, passed 9-0 via roll call

also as reviewed during FinCom meeting 6/4/13
continues putting money aside for replacement of a fire truck and maintain the truck rotation process

9. Resolution 13-46: Appropriation: Athletic Fields Capital Improvement Stabilization Fund
motion to approve, seconded, passed 9-0 via roll call

also as reviewed during FinCom meeting 6/4/13
to put money aside to eventually replace the turf fields at Beaver St and the high school

10.Resolution 13-47: Appropriation: Operating Budget Stabilization Fund
motion to approve, seconded, passed 9-0 via roll call

also as reviewed during FinCom meeting 6/4/13
another fiscal planning tool, have $750K there, this would add $250K to bring it to  $1M

11.Resolution 13-48: Appropriation: Other Post-Employment Benefits Stabilization Fund
motion to approve, seconded, passed 9-0 via roll call

also as reviewed during FinCom meeting 6/4/13
in Franklin case, we should be putting away $3M per year to fund this, we only have about $2M income which doesn't cover our operations, this is a good faith effort

Kelly - we could use this elsewhere is something magic happened?
Nutting - wellsely did pass an override to fund their requirements, and yes we could

12.Resolution 13-49: Appropriation: Other Post-Employment Benefits Stabilization Fund
motion to approve, seconded, passed 9-0 via roll call

also as reviewed during FinCom meeting 6/4/13
similar to above already appropriated, just moving it into the fund

PERSONNEL BYLAW:
13.Bylaw Amendment 13-713: Amendment to Chapter 25, Appendix A - Classification Plan and Appendix B-Compensation Plan – 2nd Reading

doesn't affect individual salaries but sets the scale which would be used as needed.

Live reporting - mayor question

H. PRESENTATIONS/DISCUSSIONS
- Form of Non-Binding Ballot Question, re: Adoption of Mayoral Form of Government

discussion on which question is favored

Powderly - have as much detail as necessary. Most cities that have mayor lose other officials, they sit ex-offico on the School Committee and that would change that dynamic. It needs to be thought about.

Dellorco - Wayne changed in 1999, Weymouth recently changed, we could talk to them.

Nutting - there are many forms of government in MA at the local level, if we did we should go via a Charter Commission

Pfeffer - if the answer is no, it simply stops, the question should be as simple as possible

Vallee - it is a very simple question, floating around town for years, let's ask

Roy - I am looking for a little more direction that we are asking of the voters

Bissanti - candidly

Jones - the current form of government has been very progressive and forward thinking, I have an will support asking the citizens what they want

Pfeffer - we haven't always had this form of government, we had selectmen at one point, and a council with 17 members

Kelly - we should keep it simple, it is an important decision for the community to make. And if necessary form the charter commission to do the real work.

Mercer - I'll go on record as the current form of government is the right form of government. It is my concern as well (akin to what (Councilor Roy) was asking. If you are not specific enough, you won't get the true feeling of the town.

Nutting- this is for discussion, you can put it on the agenda for the next election

Carel - only has to be before the Town Clerk 45 days before the election

Live reporting: anaerobic digestion plant presentation

F. HEARINGS - 7:10 PM
the four zoning bylaws for impervious surfaces are being heard together


IMPERVIOUS SURFACES:

• Zoning Bylaw Amendment 13-702: Changes to Chapter 185, Section 36. Impervious Surfaces – Continued from May 15th
• Zoning Bylaw Amendment 13-703: Changes to Chapter 185, Section 40. Water Resource District – Continued from May 15
• Zoning Bylaw Amendment 13-716: Changes to Chapter 185, Section 3. Definitions
• Zoning Bylaw Amendment 13-717: Amendment to Chapter 185, Attachment 9. Schedule of Lot, Area, Frontage, Yard and Height Requirements

no audience comments

hearing closed

POND STREET CHANGE OF ZONING:

• Zoning Bylaw Amendment 13-714: Changes to Chapter 185-3. Definitions
• Zoning Bylaw Amendment 13-715: Changes to Chapter 185-7. Compliance Required.

The presentation was initially posted here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/06/anaerobic-digestion-presentation.html



Income to the town potential of $500K to $1M depending upon the amount of power generated.

State mandate coming for large food waste producers (i.e institutions, schools, etc.) would be targeted

Buffer would be maintained around property to help insulate the neighbors from seeing much if anything. That the land slopes down toward i495 also helps to reduce the building or towers from view from other than i495.

Did have smell issues with initial start-up and those were resolved and not reappearing since then.

50 mile radius for food waste draw in MI, anticipated to be less, likely 35 miles or so due to the density of the area around Franklin.

The DEP presentation was not covered in detail as DEP representatives were not present to cover questions. Many communities are looking at the same technology.

What the town is looking to do is to ask the Council for issuance of an RFP to see if there is interest and proceed from there?

There are economic benefits. Issues we see certainly would be with truck traffic coming through the interchange. Other than the general truck traffic, I don't see a real traffic issue.

Compliance with air quality will be EPA and DEP arena

Anthony Dibello, resident, engineer workings for a medical company
I didn't hear about the by-products, I didn't hear about the mitigation for this. I don't want it in my backyard.

Bryan Taberner, while you are producing an RFP you'll be doing additional research to put the protection in place. If you decide to stop the process, you can do so at anytime. Did air quality testing at Edwards Air Force base and the air quality testing and permitting process is intensive.

When things work well they are probably fine, when they don't work well that is a problem

Sandy Rohagen, resident about 3 blocks away
a zoning change would leave us unprotected
Tri-County has 20 buses going in and out of that area, adding trucks to the traffic would not improve the situation
The pre-school right next door would likely go out of business as parents would not want to trust leaving their kids in such a situation.

Selena Cousin, resident on Beech St
had an uncle with the EPA research where the brownfields were and avoided
do the research in this area, with the experts in the field
I am all for the environment and recylcing, I don't think we need to known as the anaerobic power plant
what happens in the case of a fire, in case of an explosion
what will we find years down the road?
The money is not worth the risk

Gail Ward
will be voting tonight?

Nutting
it is a two step process, zoning bylaw requires two votes
if it is positive tonight, then it would come back

permit going for would only allow for processing the food waste

Rob Baylow, echoing sentiment of my neighbors
we can do better than 11 jobs, especially with putting the day care center out of work
what about the smell? can you put that in the RFP?
if the air quality is fine according to the standard, how do you enforce that?

Nutting
There isn't a smell, the negative air pressure keeps out the smell, anaerobic means without 'air'

Rob if the visit to MI was in the winter, maybe the smell would be more noticeable if it was summer
what about the trucks?

Nutting
this was addressed the other night, we can't guarantee it but we can control the quality of the vehicles when they arrive

Tony Padula
I voted not to recommend this, we just changed zoning to make more business in this area, we are already watching more businesses coming into the area. With another 80 trips coming in and out, you're likely to get 4-5 cars through now

do we have a fire dept that can take care of this? can we handle the hazards? we have a day care center, a school? I am on the Planning Board, I think we can do better

Glenn Jones
I have sat through the Planning Board meeting and everything here tonight
I didn;t want having an unattractive commercial business in our backyard
as Chair of the Economic Development Committee, we want to find places and companies to increase revenues. This was proposed as a specific use for this property. It gains revenue for the town/ We are going to be entering into a new age where food waste will be taken out of the landfills, and into something like this. The corner is a tough one, it is a residential neighborhood.
We had been looking forward to getting citizen input for this process.

Taberner - it could be allowed in an industrial zone as a light industrial use
Jones - I think I would move this back to the Economic Development Committee for further review

Bissanti - I grew u playing near the sewer beds, I had no idea this would be coming here. I don't think the money would be right for a sophisticated community like Franklin. I am not totally convinced about air quality. Hydrogen sulfide sounds awfully scary to me. The technology sounds great. We are behind on this development compared to other countries. All the garbage of the Metro areas coming to Franklin. One of the things we would face is the perception of that

Powderly - there are too many unanswered questions in my mind to move forward with this. I support the technology idea but because the property is inconvenient it shouldn't be shoe horned into this space. I am not in favor of this

Mercer - I think there are too many unanswered questions, I would support Councilor Jones efforts to move this back to the EDC

Dellorco - Coming to Franklin would be turn at the silos? No, I don't like the sounds of that.

Roy - there are unanswered questions, my concern is how will we go about getting the answers. My understanding was this vote would get us to the RFP process to explore further. We would visit the question whether we would move forward. I am not in favor of a project of this magnitude. I am in favor of more exploration, whatever advances getting answers to the questions I am in favor.

Kelly - I agree with sending this back to the EDC, I commend Councilor Jones for bringing this forward as we need new sources of revenue.

hearing closed