Franklin Matters

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

"paltry turnout at the polls"

Milford Daily News writes on the Franklin election results:

Turnout proved slow throughout the chilly, sun-splashed day and never picked up. Roughly 2,527 people filed into the polls, a little more than 10 percent of the town’s 22,000 registered voters, according to Town Clerk Deborah Pellegri. That number stands as the lowest recorded at a town election in a decade.

In addition to voting for the council seats, voters weighed in on two ballot referendums.

For the nonbinding question, they rejected the idea of amending the town charter to allow for the election of a mayor, with 1,374 residents voting yes and 936 voting no.

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Franklin Election results - Nov 5, 2013

Town Council results

Padula *	1667
Williams *	1622
Vallee *	1431
Mercer *	1383
Kelly *	1378
Pfeffer *	1347
Bissanti *	1318
Jones *	1249
Feldman *	1041
DelFino	953

Top 9 are elected *

School Committee results

Douglas *	1439
O'Malley *	1410
Trahan *	1387
Jewell *	1213
Rohrbach *	1196
Clement *	1168
Mullen *	1154

All 7 are elected

Constable results

McCahill *	1265
LaRosa	685

Board of Assessors (4 year term)

Feeley *	1343
Ballinger	694

Board of Assessors (2 year term)

Neas

1464

Planning Board results

Padula *	1407
Halligan *	1282
Arora	862

Board of Health

Hunchard *

1583

Ballot Question #1 (Franklin will appoint the next Treasurer)

Yes	1177
No	1118

Ballot Question #2 (Franklin will not explore a Mayor)

Yes	936
No	1374

Remember to vote today - 6:00 AM to 8:00 PM

At the Franklin High School field house, the following positions are up for election.

There are ten candidates for nine Town Council positions

Brett S. Feldman
Glenn F. Jones
Thomas D. Mercer
Andrew M. Bissanti
Judith Pond Pfeffer
Matthew T. Kelly
Stephen T. Williams
Peter E. Padula
Robert R. Vallee
Charles F. Delfino, Jr.

no school today, go and vote!

There are seven candidates for the seven School Committee positions

John S. Jewell PhD
Cynthia J.Douglas
Roberta D. Trahan
Paula T. Mullen
Susan T. Rohrbach
Kevin P. O'Malley
Trevor A. Clement

There are two candidates for the one Board of Assessors position for a four year term

Christopher K. Feeley
Daniel B. Ballinger

There is one candidate for the one Board of Assessors position for a two year term

John H. Neas

There is one candidate for the one Board of Health position for a four year term

Bruce J. Hunchard

There are two candidates for the one Constable position for a two year term

Rancourt LaRosa
Daniel S. McCahill

There are three candidates for the two Planning Board positions for a four year term

Joseph F. Halligan
Anthony D. Padula
Navdeep S. Arora

There are two ballot questions, one to change from elected to appointed the Treasurer/Collector and one non-binding question on exploring a mayor form of government.

Ballot question text: (binding)

Shall the city known as the Town of Franklin approve the charter amendment proposed by the Franklin Town Council in Resolution 13-30 summarized below?

The proposed amendment eliminates the provision for election of the Town Treasurer-Collector and adds a provision for appointment of the Town Treasurer-Collector by the Town Administrator, with input from a selection committee and ratification by the Town Council; the amendment takes effect if and when approved by the voters, except that the incumbent Treasurer-Collector shall serve the remainder of his current term.

Ballot question text: (non-binding)

"Would you be in favor of further amending the Franklin Home Rule Charter to provide for the election of a mayor to govern the city known as the town of Franklin?"

Other information on the Nov 5th election can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/10/franklin-election-2013.html

Voter history for Franklin local elections 2003 - 2011

What kind of turn out will the voters make on Tuesday? If history is any guide, it will be low.

Franklin Election History 2003 - 2011

The elections of 2005, 2009 and this year 2013 are comparable. The elections of 2003, 2007, and 2011 are also comparable. The difference between the two sets is that the Town Clerk and Treasurer/Collector are up for election in the later set (2003, 2007 and 2011) and with their election on the ballot there has shown a growth in voter turn out.

With this this election excluding those positions, it will likely be in the 15-18% range. I would hope it would be more like 2011 given the ballot questions: one binding to change the Treasurer/Collector to an appointed position and one non-binding to consider a mayor. We'll see what happens on Tuesday

The full workbook with the official statistics can be found here
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0wjbnXDBhczbWllZDI1MzA4Sjg/edit?usp=sharing

Franklin Garden Club - "Gardening for a Lifetime"

The Franklin Garden Club is meeting Tuesday, Nov 5th at the St. John's Episcopal Church, Pleasant Street, Franklin, MA at 7:00 p.m. Betty Sanders is will be doing a presentation about Gardening for a Lifetime! Betty is a member of the Landscape Design Council, the Gardening Study Council and a student Flower Show judge. She has designed and built the Master Gardener exhibit at the New England Spring Flower Show and the Boston Flower and Garden Show since 2006 and has lectured at the New England Flower Show.

Betty volunteers at the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, where she helped design the 6,000-square-foot vegetable garden that supplies crops for three area food pantries. For more information, please visit her website, www.Bettyongardening.com
Like the Franklin Garden Club on Facebook

FYSA - Soccer playoff fever continues... Come on out this Tuesday!

The FHS varsity teams are still going strong! Both teams have made it to the quarter-final round of the D1 South Sectional playoffs.

FHS Soccer

Thanks to all of you who have come out to support the players. Having those large crowds at the games really make a difference!!

The FHS Varsity Girls will play Marshfield on Tuesday at 4pm at FHS turf field.

The FHS Varsity Boys will play New Bedford on Tuesday at 6pm at New Bedford.

Please come out and support the girls...give them a great local crowd for an awesome home field advantage!

If you're up for a road trip, the boys would love the support as it's going to be a tough game on the road.

GO PANTHERS!!

Franklin Youth Soccer Association, 256 Cottage Street
, Franklin, MA, 02038
http://franklinyouthsoccer.org, info@franklinyouthsoccer.org, (508) 520-4070

Candidates for Town Council (part 3)

Monday, November 4, 2013

Voices of Franklin: Powderly -> Appoint the Treasurer/Collector Position

Friends and Colleagues

Tomorrow is election day, and I respectfully ask you to VOTE YES on Question 1 to make the Treasurer/Collector position in Franklin an appointed position, not an elected position as it currently stands.

Moving the position to an appointed position does not indicate a loss of faith or trust in the voters. The move recognizes that Franklin has grown to a $100 million+ business, with complex debt management and cash flows, and that an election does not necessarily allow one to properly vet candidates for such a critical position. The process for hiring our next Treasurer/Collector should include interviews, references, requirements for certifications, prior experience, assessment of ability to work with other Franklin departments, at a minimum. Indeed, the likes of General Motors or IBM or Pepsi do not choose their CFO based on a poll of their staff because although their staff may be well-informed and well-intentioned, the dynamics of an election do not automatically mean that a rigorous full review of the candidates takes place.

Please note that our current Treasurer/Collector, Jim Dacey, has lobbied for a change to an Appointed position for years. He has done a phenomenal job for the Town and is the one most qualified to comment on the rigors of the position. Please read his editorial below for his reasoning, and note that last week Milford approved by Town Meeting this same change.

http://www.milforddailynews.com/opinions/letters_to_the_editor/x915438136/Dacey-Make-Franklin-post-appointed

Please support the Treasurer/Collector position as Appointed for the long-term financial health and stability of Franklin.

Thank you.

Tina Powderly

Conversation with Brett Feldman - Town Council Candidate

Brett Feldman is attempting to step up to the Town Council after 8 years with the Finance Committee. Brett will be one of 10 candidates for 9 positions on the Town Council. Aside from the existing Councilors, his experience on the Finance Committee has probably best prepared him for what will be needed to serve on the Town Council.

By the time, Brett and I got together earlier this month, he has already met with Town Administrator Jeff Nutting to review the listing of the topics Jeff had prepared for the candidates to be aware of. There were no surprises on the list. Brett was already familiar with the issues around the funding for the roads, the schedule for the downtown project, and Davis Thayer’s status, to mention just a few.

Brett’s eight years on the Finance Committee has provided him a good knowledge of the overall business of Franklin. He understands the budget process. He has worked with the various department managers and other committees.

Brett is an energy professional with experience working for energy companies. He lives in Franklin with his wife and two children. The oldest of his two children is in elementary school and youngest is about to enter. He is a civic minded volunteer looking to be ‘part of the solution’ for Franklin.

You can also find Brett’s input during the Candidate Forum on Oct 23rd here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/10/live-reporting-candidates-forum-town.html

Election sign collection - 2013

The photos of the election signs that I found around Franklin can be found here
http://www.flickr.com/photos/steve_sherlock/sets/72157637276276744/

If you find a sign for a candidate that I missed please send it to me so I can add it to the collection.

Thanks

"We are hoping that it will be good"

The Milford Daily News writes about the local Franklin election happening on Tuesday, Nov 5th

The ballot includes races for Planning Board, Board of Assessors, constable and Town Council.

Voters are to decide whether to make the treasure/collector position appointed through an amendment to the town’s charter. And they will see a non-biding referendum asking if the town should adopt a mayoral form of government.

Ten candidates, six incumbents and four hopefuls, are vying for the nine available council seats.

Read more: http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x825427347/Election-day-is-Tuesday-in-Franklin#ixzz2jfnSzSy1

The candidate profiles are posted to the Wicked Local Franklin page and summarized here:
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/11/candidates-for-town-council-part-2.html

and here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/11/candidates-for-town-council.html

The Franklin Matters election collection can be found here:
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/10/franklin-election-2013.html

Candidates for Town Council (part 2)

The Milford Daily News is posting their candidate profiles to the Wicked Local webpage.

Judith Pond Pfeffer
http://www.wickedlocal.com/franklin/topstories/x915439608/Judith-Pond-Pfeffer-Candidate-for-Town-Council

Andrew Bissanti
http://www.wickedlocal.com/franklin/news/x915439617/Andrew-Bissanti-Candidate-for-Town-Council?rssfeed=true

Glenn Jones
http://www.wickedlocal.com/franklin/news/x915439619/Glenn-Jones-Candidate-for-Town-Council

Matt Kelly
http://www.wickedlocal.com/franklin/news/x915439623/Matthew-Kelly-Candidate-for-Town-Council?rssfeed=true

Peter Padula
http://www.wickedlocal.com/franklin/news/x915439625/Peter-Padula-Candidate-for-Town-Council?rssfeed=true

Stephen Williams
http://www.wickedlocal.com/franklin/news/x915439629/Stephen-Williams-Candidate-for-Town-Council?rssfeed=true

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Conversation with Andrew Bissanti - Town Council Candidate

Andrew Bissanti is up for his second term on the Town Council. His first two years went by quickly. Andy spent the time doing a lot of learning. He expects that he will be more active in this next Council assuming he is re-elected. We sat down recently to discuss the top questions facing Franklin.

Q - Now that the Master Plan has been approved, what do you think will happen to it?
The previous Master Plan sat on a shelf and was referenced from time to time but that was about it. There was a good team that worked on this plan. The skills and abilities in the room were impressive. I am all for this plan, it needs to work for us..The Master Plan was well presented by the team and should be good to work with.

Q - Do you think the Treasurer/Collector should be appointed or elected?
I think it should be appointed. Franklin is a $100 million dollar business. We need the expertise to manage the money properly. There should be a search committee. I expect that there will be some good candidates. If the individual is a Franklin resident, all the better. That should be our #1 option.

Q - What do you think of the non-binding question for mayor? Should we have one?
The first question is what kind of mayor? There are different kinds. We pretty much have the structure today, just change the name from Town Administrator to Mayor and that is one of the possibilities. We need to look at what we want. Where are the strengths, where are the weaknesses?

From this point the conversation turned to related matters. Andy feels there should be a joint session with the Planning Board and Town Council. There needs to be a better understanding of the “Special Permit” criteria. A lot of what has been set up was done years ago. Franklin needs to grow again. How do we do that? We should look at ‘net equity yield’. Andy says he hears of folks saying we can’t have more kids here. Look around you. We have good schools, look at all the youth programs, there are lots of families here. I don’t think it has to be growth without kids. We are a top community to raise a family. We can continue to be that and grow.

Related Links
The 2013 election collection can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/10/franklin-election-2013.html

The 2011 election collection can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2011/08/election-2011-summary.html

The 2009 election collection can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2009/10/2009-election-collection.html

Conversation with Judy Pfeffer - Candidate for Town Council

When Judy Pfeffer and I sat down recently to talk about the election Nov 5th, we realized that the last time we had got together was prior to the election in 2009. My how time does fly? Without letting too much more time go by, we got into a series of questions which Judy answered.

Q - Now that the Master Plan has been approved, what do you think will happen to it?
A - The Master Plan needs an implementation committee to do the work. It took a whole lot of good work by a lot of people to put the Master Plan together. It will take some work to put into action.

Q - Do you think the Treasurer/Collector should be appointed or elected?
A - I had been on the side to have the position appointed. I have changed my mind and it should remain elected. It is the only way to keep the position with a Franklin resident. And with the size of the budget, it really should be managed by someone local. I have long advocated for Franklin residents to be first inline for town positions. Keeping the position elected will do that.

Q - What do you think of the non-binding question for mayor? Should we have one?
A - How will the mayor be set up? It depends. I don’t want to be mayor. Some others might but not me. people need to know that this won’t happen anytime soon. It will take another charter commission to study, make a proposal, go through the approvals and require another vote before we see it.

After these questions, our conversation vered to cover other Franklin topics. Judy thinks the Citizens Committee is shaking things up a bit. Attention needs to be paid to some things where it hasn’t been. The downtown train station got fixed up recently due to their efforts. What will we do with the old municipal building? It needs repair because nobody was paying attention to the building. That should not happen. Judy would like to return to the Town Council to help address these things.

Related Links
The 2013 election collection can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/10/franklin-election-2013.html

The 2011 election collection can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2011/08/election-2011-summary.html

The 2009 election collection can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2009/10/2009-election-collection.html

Franklin, MA: School Committee - Agenda - Nov 6, 2013

WEDNESDAY - November 6, 2013
Municipal Building – Training Room - 7:30 P.M.
This meeting will not be televised

Vision Statement

The Franklin Public Schools will foster within its students the knowledge and skills to find and achieve satisfaction in life as productive global citizens.

AGENDA

"The listing of matters are those reasonably anticipated by the Chair which may be discussed at the meeting. Not all items listed may in fact be discussed and other items not listed may also be brought up for discussion to the extent permitted by law."

ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING

1. Action Items:
a. I recommend acceptance of two checks totaling $1190.00 from the Oak Street PCC for field trips.
b. I recommend acceptance of a check for $472.00 from All American Publishing for FHS.
c. I recommend acceptance of a check for $800.00 from the Parmenter PCC for field trips.
d. I recommend acceptance of $10.00 from MIT for in house enrichment.

2. Adjourn