Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Voices of Franklin: NDAA - What Would Nelson Mandela Do?

Rich Aucoin included me on this email:

Question: Are your elected officials doing what Nelson Mandela would do on NDAA's indefinite detentions? 
Are they honoring their constitutional Oaths of Office by standing up for equal justice and due process under the law? Or are they violating the sacred trust we placed in them to protect our most basic civil rights? 
Please take two minutes to read PANDA Massachusetts' latest news letter below.

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NDAA: What Would Nelson Mandela Do?

Courage is not the absence of fear; it is inspiring others to move beyond it.
-- Dr. Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela's bold political activism changed the world. His willingness to challenge the unjust policies of his national government reminds us of the bravery and personal sacrifice that gave rise to our own nation. By standing up against unequal justice in South Africa, Mandela set a timeless example for all of modern humanity. But let us remember that the very ideas and actions that made Nelson Mandela a human rights icon also once resulted in the U.S. branding him a terrorist.
That's right, prominent political figures in the United States branded peace negotiator Mandela a "terrorist" for his justice activism. And yet now we are expected to believe that the U.S. government is somehow infallible when it does such branding today. Under the 2012 NDAA, anyone branded a terrorist, including American citizens, can be presumed guilty and imprisoned for life based on accusation alone, deprived even of the kind of sham trial that Mandela was given in Apartheid South Africa.
So it is ironic that over the next week we will be hearing American politicians of every political stripe gushing with pride and praise for Dr. Mandela's resistance to tyranny. It begs the question: how many of these politicians would have defended Mandela's belligerent acts against the state when he was actually committing them? How many would have locked him up and thrown away the key without due process, NDAA-style?
What Would Mandela Do?
Based on what we know of Nelson Mandela's political activism and the terrible price he paid for it, it is easy to know which side he would take on this question of defending equal due process rights vs. allowing indefinite detentions. Our peaceful grassroots movement to lawfully block NDAA detentions thus provides a useful litmus test for determining who in Massachusetts politics truly possesses Mandela's moral convictions  - and who doesn't.
From his career after prison, we know that politician Mandela would not agree with public officials who sit by idly and accept NDAA's injustices; those who claim it is someone else's job to stand up for basic rights, not mine.
So let us see who in Massachusetts politics has taken a stand against NDAA.
Congressman Jim McGovern has been the strongest leader so far. Besides working tirelessly in Congress to end NDAA's indefinite detention provisions, he has also written in support of PANDA's civil rights advocacy to restore due process at the local level. And to their credit, every other member of the Massachusetts delegation has at least voted to repeal NDAA's unconstitutional sections.
At the state level, Representative Ryan Fattman is another elected official standing up for the right of trial by jury. He supports PANDA's pending State House legislation blocking NDAA detentions in the Commonwealth and has urged town leaders in his district to pass local anti-NDAA resolutions.
At the local level, the people of Webster and Oxford have successfully blocked NDAA, blazing the trail for civil rights leaders in other Bay State communities.
Dr. Jill Stein of the Green-Rainbow Party has spoken out against the NDAA, as have numerous organizations, such as the ACLU of Massachusetts, the Worcester Tea Party together with Occupy Worcester, the Libertarian Association of Massachusetts (LAMA), the Massachusetts chapter of Veterans for Peace (VFP), the Bill of Rights Defense Committee (BORDC), American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) and others.
It is time for Massachusetts legislators and local officials to do what Nelson Mandela would do.
Contact your local and state officialsTell them to join the people of Massachusetts in restoring the Right of due process.

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Local Musicians Give Back

LAME-Aid

Milford, MA – There's a handful of local musicians who are looking to make a difference in the local area and they call themselves LAME.  But that's a good thing… you see, LAME stands for for Local Area Music Ensemble.  LAME was conceived after local musicians Lou Miano, Tim Galvin, Eric Milot and Ligor helped Ray Auger and his acoustic partner Justin Redden record their original song Bucket of Beer.  "We decided that this kind of collaboration might be a fun thing to do on a regular basis so we started working on songs that, individually, we never had a chance to finish writing or recording on our own", says Auger.  "It's two fold… making great music with a great group of local musicians while enjoying some social time with friends during the process."

LAME has recently expanded its membership to 15 while recording a special song for the holiday season.  Do They Know It's Christmas, was a charitable effort recorded in 1984 by Band-Aid to help to raise money for relief of the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia.  The song featured a who's who of the music community at the time and can still be heard on the radio during the holidays.  "We thought that this would be a great song to recreate to help draw awareness to folks in need in our local area", explains Jim Ligor.  So LAME's friends were recruited and over the course of 2 months a local version of the song was recorded.  It was decided to sell the single for $5 with all proceeds benefiting the Daily Bread Food Pantry in Milford with services Milford, Hopedale and Medway and over 900 people.  "Music brings people together and opens hearts and ears.  We are hoping that we can do a lot of good with this effort", says Auger.
 
Do They Know It's Christmas? by LAME-Aid can be purchased online on WMRC's Steals and Deals Marketplace at www.wmrcdailynews.com, at the WMRC Studios, Rubber Chicken Comics in Bellingham and other local businesses.  For more details about CD locations, LAME, LAME-Aid and Do They Know It's Christmas visit LAME's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/milfordlame.

Tax rate hearing set for Town Council meeting

The Milford Daily News reports on the tax rate hearing scheduled for the Town Council meeting Wednesday evening at 7:00 PM.
Councilors must decide whether to keep a single tax rate, adopt a split rate or shift a portion of the tax levy from residential to commercial, among other things. As of now, residential properties share about 79 percent of the levy, leaving commercial and industrial properties with 20 percent, according to a memo sent to the council from the Board of Assessors. 
The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the second floor council chambers at the Municipal Building, 355 East Central St. Before the council votes, director of assessing Kevin Doyle is expected to brief councilors on the status of residential and commercial values. 
The single tax rate for fiscal year 2013 was $14.34, up from $13.73 in fiscal year 2012. The increase reflected a slight drop in the average value of residential properties, as well as passage of a Proposition 2½ debt-exclusion tax override to help fund the new Franklin High School, expected to open in the fall of 2014.

Read more: http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x915451414/Franklin-Town-Council-to-set-fiscal-year-2014-tax-rates-Wednesday#ixzz2nA6ZomVk

You can find the full package of documents released for the meeting here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/12/franklin-ma-town-council-agenda-dec-11.html

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Live reporting: Finance Committee - Dec 10, 2103

Present:  Quinn, Dowd, Fleming, Smith, Dufour, Huempfner
Absent:  Dewsnap, (TBD)

Jeff Nutting, Susan Gagner, Jim Dacey

(Sheet to be added later)
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/12/franklin-fiscal-policy-draft-update.html

Discussion of proposed update to Fiscal Policies
initially reviewed at join budget subcommittee, recommendation for each group to review make their suggestions and then bring them together for a final review and approval by all groups (Town Council, School Committee and Finance Committee)

review of water sewer fees and infrastructure upgrades regularly, should be able to maintain a minimum rate increase at current levels to maintain upgrades. Would need an increase to cover the Charles River sewer plant upgrade, that started as an estimate of $20M and is closer to $30M

juggling the finances to keep within the rate set and still funding the infrastructure upgrades; assuming current plans, we would only need a rate increase possibly in 4-5 years

Tie water and sewer mains with street reconstruction to maximize dollars; other alternative would be find $1.5M to fund the street repairs needed each and every year

trash is $70 less than several years ago, due to the introduction of the bins (totters) and increase in recycle over trash.

snow and ice built up to a 5 year rolling average, currently at $900,000.

OPEB will take about later as there is an OPEB report in the package

Discussion on putting some into a swing fund to help cover for the snow/ice requirements rather than taking from the free cash

Storm water - EPA has not put out the regulations yet, several year overdue currently. Will have financial implications for us when it does happen

Consider a Building Repair and Maintenance account to replace the Senior Center Stabilization account when they meets its needs. Things do break and will need to be repaired. Jefferson carpet replaced recently through the capital budget.

The house was just demolished to provide the additional space for parking at the Senior Center

Roll over the Fire Truck and Turf Fields funds when they fulfill their initial purpose
make interest on them currently and avoid paying interest on a bond, also looks

Public works account being built up to hold for repair of Lincoln St bridge, coordinate with Medway

This is not just for the staff, FinCom and others, this is also for the citizens to see that our house is in order, how we do our business without always pulling out our credit card

Road funding is a state wide problem, most communities get funding from Chapter 90 which is the gas tax funds. The Legislature authorized and the Governor released less. So there is no real dependable source. Not many other communities grew as fast as we did in the recent years (80s-90s) so they have been able to budget over time

crack seal, chip seal, overlap and then finally rebuild the road is part of the maintenance plan

Per Jeff the only real option is a dedicated override but no one wants to hear that. The dedicated override couldn't be re-directed. This would provide a stable source to really get to the water/sewer and roads all together

After Weds with a new tax rate we can figure out the cost implications of the $1M or $1.5M

table of calculation on the % of debt of the general fund revenues
also sheet on "Projected Debt service Schedule"
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/12/franklin-debt-service.html

interesting sheet on school building capacity
elementary ok, losing students, able to remove modulars, high school will be at capacity when the new school opens
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/12/franklin-schools-capacity-summary.html

Norfolk County Retirement System
Sheet with calculations for the communities that are part of this including Franklin
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/12/franklins-portion-of-norfolk-county.html

5 year forecast
same story as before the town does not have sufficient tax revenues to support the needs
20% decrease in staff, years with pay increases frozen, excess reserves used up, dramatic changes in health insurance plans, along with one override to get to where we are


conservative in revenue estimates, always have a balanced budget, it is the law

"levers pulled in the past will be fewer in the future"

in 1990 Franklin taxpayers paid 70% of the school budget, today they pay 50%
Chapter 70 has picked up the remainder but that calculation has been changing

this is in draft, to be finalized in January

State aid tends to be a little better in election years than non election years

expenses won't drive the budget, they don't go up too much in the grand scheme of things; we are a personnel driven budget, employees and benefits

only two budgets with heavy expenses; facilities and DPW

the grant for the fire fighters goes through Nov 2014 so an addition of 8 months for the 4 folks is added here


OPEB Report came in three days ago
sense that we need to create a trust fund, what does it mean to us and funding
started working on a trust document which the Council would need to approve
we are $2M short of funding OPEB every year. Now since we need that money for our operations, you can see why we have an OPEB problem

add a $100,000 every year, what would that look like
it is too easy for public employees to get retiree health insurance
there will need to be some legislation to address that but it has been the way for many years
it is not sustainable

the health care carriers want the whole pool, if you split the pool, the rates go up
funding the enterprise accounts obligations is easy, it comes from those accounts, getting coverage for the others is the issue

his estimates on health insurance, he thinks it will trend down
our workforce tends to be older, and therefore be more expensive

future retirees instead of paying 68/32 split what would it look like for a 50/50 split

average pension was $22,000 across the Norfolk County or $29,000 for a disability
not a lot of money to live on, not a staggering amount of money

average community pays 75/25, we are paying less at 68/32

Wellesley has their obligation covered by a dedicated override, Arlington has been saving for awhile, so there are a few like that but most of the communities are like we are, in a sinking ship

CT doesn't fund this for their employees, for example


Old business
none

New Business
Police, Fire, DPW, Schools, Facilities, Town Technology, and Library have submitted their capital wish lists
the meetings will take place in late Jan, early Feb to start the capital process


motion to adjourn, passed

Franklin, MA: School Committee - Agenda - December 10, 2013

The meeting is scheduled to be conducted in the Municipal Building, 3rd floor Training Room at 7:00 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."




1. Routine Business
Review of Agenda
Minutes: I recommend approval of the minutes from the November 19, 2013 School Committee Meeting.
Payment of Bills Mr. Clement
Payroll Mrs. Douglas

2. Action Items
a. I recommend approval of the budget transfers as detailed.
b. I recommend acceptance of a check for $86.38 from Ohiopyle Prints, Inc. for in-house enrichment at FHS.
c. I recommend acceptance of a check for $1800.00 from the Franklin Music Boosters for in-house enrichment at FHS.
d. I recommend acceptance of a Sony Xperia Tablet that was won in a contest for Horace Mann Middle School.
e. I recommend approval of the request of Brad Sidwell for the Wrestling Team to travel to New Fairfield, CT from Jan. 31, 2014 through Feb. 1, 2014 for a competition.
f. I recommend approval of the request of Brad Sidwell for the Wrestling Team to travel to Johnston, RI on January 18, 2014 for a competition.
g. I recommend approval of the request of Brad Sidwell for the Wrestling Team to travel to Bennington, VT from Jan. 10 through Jan. 11, 2014 for a competition.
h. I recommend acceptance of a check for $1181.20 from Parmenter PCC for enrichment and field trips.

3. School Committee Training
a. Roles / Responsibilities of School Committee Members – Attorneys Michelle McNulty and Paige Tobin
b. Subcommittee Goal Setting

4. Adjourn

Food Elves closing out the "Twelve Days of Giving" this week

The Franklin Food Elves is partnering once again with the Franklin Downtown Partnership to support the Franklin Food Pantry.  Please stop by one of the participating businesses with your donations and help the Food Elves reach their goal.  You can also drop off checks to the pantry by December 14th.

Erin Lynch, in Santa hat with Franklin Food Elves
Erin Lynch, in Santa hat, with Franklin Food Elves

The enterprising and energetic Franklin Food Elves have been busy canvassing neighborhoods all around Franklin collecting goods during the “12 Days of Donating” campaign to benefit the Franklin Food Pantry. From December 1 to December 12, citizens can donate items in their own neighborhoods or at local participating businesses to help neighbors in need.

The Food Elves is a charitable community service group made up of more than 60 students ranging from elementary through high school. For the past two years they have joined forces with the Franklin Downtown Partnership to operate the “12 Days of Donating” campaign with great success. This year the Food Elves aim to beat last year’s record-breaking collection drive by raising more than $5,700 and 4,200 pounds of goods.

“The people who live and work in Franklin have been so generous that our ’12 Days of Donating’ campaign helped the Food Pantry give out about 17,000 meals to families last winter,” says Cameron Piana, Food Elves co-founder. “This town’s support has been awesome and we hope we can do more this year.”

According to the Food Pantry, about 600 households are registered to use Pantry services. This year’s need will be even greater due to a decrease in SNAP benefits in November. Health and hygiene items are not covered by those benefits and are a particular need

“The Food Elves truly bring out the magic of the holidays,” says Erin Lynch, Food Pantry director of development. “These amazing kids organize and implement one of the biggest drives of the entire year for the pantry. Their ’12 Days of Donating’ campaign provides thousands of pounds of food for those who need it. At the same time it fuels this community with what we all need: inspiration, hope and a shining example of the impact young people can make when they work together.”

Since early December, Food Elves have been notifying their neighbors about the collection campaign, including what items can be collected and the collection dates. Residents simply place bags of goods at their mailboxes on the designated pickup day and the Elves will do the rest. One collection date remains: Saturday, December 14.

In case there’s no Elf in your neighborhood, it is still easy to donate. The Elves have placed bright red collection bins at participating Downtown Partnership member businesses. If the Elves meet their goal of collecting more than 1,200 pounds of goods, each business has pledged to donate $200. You can drop off donations at the Food Pantry, 43 West Central St., and designate them for the “12 Days of Donating” drive.

Bins can be found at these participating locations:
  • Dean Bank, 21 Main St.
  • DCU, 500 West Central St
  • Dean College, Campus Center
  • Emma’s Quilt Cupboard, 12 Main St.
  • Franklin Downtown Partnership Office, 9 East Central St.
  • Jane’s Frames, 11 East Central St.
  • Murphy Business, 15 East Central St.
  • Pour Richard’s Wine & Spirits, 14 Grove St.


This was updated from the posting originally at the Franklin Downtown Partnership website
http://www.franklindowntownpartnership.org/2013/12/12-days-of-donating-going-on-now.html


A Christmas Carol, Times Two! - Thursday, Dec 12


"A Christmas Carol Times Two!", a dramatic reading performance of Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol" combined with traditional 19th century English Christmas carols will happen on Thursday, Dec. 12 at 7PM at the Franklin United Methodist Church, 82 West Central Street in Franklin, Massachusetts.
Al LePage performs "A Christmas Carol"

"Englishman Thomas Hutchinson, Traveling Thespian" portrayed by actor Al LePage, complete with English accent and Victorian-era clothing, will give his dramatic reading performance based on Dickens' very own historic script as a one-man show using only his voice, facial expressions and gestures to create some 18 characters.

Organist and local minister Rev. Dr. Dianne Carpenter will weave organ music between various scenes to set the tone for what's to come and entertain. This is a special benefit performance hosted by the Franklin United Methodist Church with all proceeds to benefit the Franklin Food Pantry.

Admission is $10 per person and the performance is best appreciated by both adults and children 7 years of age and older. Tickets are on sale and can be purchased in advance through BrownPaperTickets.com/, either on-line or by calling their 24/7 toll-free number 1-800-838-3006, and if still available, at the door the day of event. Doors for the performance open at 6:30PM, the fun begins at 6:45PM, and seating is general admission.

Tickets are also available at the Franklin Food Pantry during open hours 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM Tues, Weds and Thursday.

"They have control over only so many dollars"

The Milford Daily News provides the story behind the MPO letter published to the Franklin website and shared here recently.

Town Administrator Jeffrey Nutting said Franklin has benefited from past TIP projects. But recently officials have not seen the same value in the program. 
The communities competing for the funds have to pay the engineering costs associated with the project, which can mean millions of dollars, typically with no guarantee that they will receive any money in the end. 
"The issue that we face now is there are so few dollars available in comparison to the need," Nutting said Friday. "It’s hard for the town to justify paying the engineering costs only to then wait 10 years or 15 years to never get that road approved for construction because of the competition."

Read more: http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x915451163/Franklin-officials-State-transportation-funding-system-needs-to-be-changed#ixzz2n4FuXSRv


You can find the Metrolpolitan Planning Organization (MPO) letter here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/12/metropolitan-planning-organization-mpo.html

Monday, December 9, 2013

Franklin, MA: Finance Committee - Agenda - Dec 10, 2013

The Finance Committee is scheduled to meet Tuesday evening, Dec 10, 2013 at 7:00 PM. The published agenda for this meeting is shown below:



Franklin, MA: Municipal Building
Franklin Municipal Building


You can also find this agenda on the Franklin webpage
http://town.franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_FinanceAgendas/Agenda%202013-12-10

Winter Weather Reminder for the Schools

Superintendent Maureen Sabolinski has updated the winter weather advisory process. This outlines how the decision is made, who is involved, what factors are considered, etc.




You can also find this on the Franklin Public Schools website here
http://franklindistrict.vt-s.net/Pages/FranklinDistrict_News/01C2FD2F-000F8513.0/WEATHER.pdf



DelCarte Playground - December update

A walk around the new playground being set up at DelCarte Open Space along Pleasant St here in Franklin, MA.





Photos from the prior visit (includes links to prior DelCarte posts as well)
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/11/delcarte-playground-construction.html


In the News: solar farm, Santa Foundation


Abbey sisters, politicians celebrate solar farm

The sisters of Mount St. Mary’s Abbey hosted a public celebration and ribbon-cutting for their latest green energy effort – an 8.6-megawatt solar farm off Upper Union Street. The abbey already has a 130-foot-tall wind turbine and a geothermal system underneath its chapel. As a result of their efforts, the sisters were awarded the Energy Leadership Award by the Mass Energy Consumer Alliance in October.

Franklin non-profit Christmas gift provider in need of donations

For the 28th consecutive year, Franklin small businessman Bob Sullivan shut down his own business to open up a Santa’s workshop that plans to bring the joy of Christmas to about 800 local families in need.


Sunday, December 8, 2013

FRANKLIN PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT: Update on Weather for Monday - Dec 9th


A message from FRANKLIN PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT
 
Hello 
The first snow of the season has been predicted for late this evening into tomorrow. We anticipate school opening as scheduled. We have been in contact with DPW and they will be treating roads and parking lots when the precipitation begins.  
As this is the first snow please drive slowly and allow extra time to drop your child/ children off at school. HS age drivers often have less experience driving in these conditions so please consider driving them to school. If they must drive please encourage them to leave some extra time and to drive slower. 
If the weather report changes and we need to delay school we will send out a Connect Ed message. Additionally we will post any change in schedule on our web site and announce to the media outlets. 
Please be reminded that all parents/guardians may keep children at home if  you choose to. If you elect this option please call the school to let them know about your decision. 
Stay safe. 
Thank You,
Maureen Sabolinski


This e-mail has been sent to you by FRANKLIN PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT. To maximize their communication with you, you may be receiving this e-mail in addition to a phone call with the same message. If you wish to discontinue this service, please inform FRANKLIN PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT either IN PERSON, by US MAIL, or by TELEPHONE at 508-613-1777.

Franklin, MA: Town Council - Agenda - Dec 11, 2013

A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

B. ANNOUNCEMENTS
This meeting is being recorded by Franklin TV and shown on Comcast channel 11 and Verizon channel 29. This meeting may also be recorded by Franklin Matters.

C. PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS

D. CITIZEN COMMENTS

E. APPOINTMENTS

F. HEARINGS
Tax Classification Hearing – 7:10 PM

G. LICENSE TRANSACTIONS
2014 Annual Alcoholic Beverages Licenses Renewals

H. PRESENTATIONS/DISCUSSIONS
Guidelines and Criteria for Penalizing Alcoholic Beverage License holder Violations

I. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS

J. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
1. Resolution 13-85: Classification Tax Allocation – Residential Factor
2. Resolution 13-86: Classification Tax Allocation – Open Space Exemption
3. Resolution 13-87: Classification Tax Allocation – Small Business Exemption
4. Resolution 13-88: Classification Tax Allocation – Residential Property Exemption
5. Resolution 13-89: 2014 Schedule of Town Council Meetings
6. Resolution 13-90: Legal Notices
7. Zoning Bylaw Amendment 13-726: Amendment to Chapter 185, Attachment 9, Schedule of Lot, Area,
Frontage Yard and Height Requirements – Referral to Planning Board

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


The full set of documents for the agenda as published can be found here
http://town.franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_CouncilAgendas/2013/1231113.pdf

Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Letter

This letter was posted to the "News" section of the Franklin home page. It is unsigned and lacking a description as to who or what group authored it.

MPO seems to be the acronym for Metropolitan Planing Organization. MassDOT has 13 MPOs to cover the state according to the map located here. It appears that Franklin is part of the Boston Region MPO which would explain why getting assistance and funding from the MPO is difficult.

A Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) is a transportation policy-making organization made up of representatives from local government and transportation authorities. Federal legislation passed in the early 1970s required the formation of an MPO for any urbanized area with a population greater than 50,000. MPOs were created to ensure that existing and future expenditures for transportation projects and programs were based on a continuing, cooperative and comprehensive (3-C) planning process. Federal funding for transportation project and programs are channeled through this process. 
As transportation policy-making entities, MPOs have five core functions. 
  1. Create a fair and impartial setting for effective regional decision making in the metropolitan area.
  2. Evaluate transportation alternatives and needs through appropriate studies and activities as detailed in the MPOs Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP)
  3. Maintain a Long-Range Transportation Plan (RTP). Develop a 20-year transportation planning document which identifies existing infrastructure conditions, projects future transportation needs and provides a plan or program to attain the stated goals and visions.
  4. Develop a Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). Develop a program based on the long range plan and designed to serve the MPO’s goals using spending, and other financial tools.
  5. Involve the public. Involve the general public and all significantly affected sub-groups in the four essential functions listed above.

More about the MPO and process can be found on this MassDOT page
http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/planning/Main/PlanningProcess/RegionalPlanning.aspx



ECDC Open House - Jan 13th


The F.X.O’Regan Early Childhood Development Center located at 224 Oak Street Franklin, Ma, will have an Open House on January 13th and January 21st from 3:30pm-4:30pm. This will be for new parents who are considering sending their child/children to the preschool in the fall of 2014. Please check our website (www.franklin.k12.ma.us) for more program information and if you have any questions, call 508-541-8166 ext. 2938

FX O'Regan Early Childhood Development Center

The application can be found here
http://town.franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_News/01C2B3B5-000F8513.1/NEW%20APPLICATIONS.pdf

"We had time to kill"

Milford Daily News reports on the blood drive at the Franklin Public Library on Saturday.
At the Franklin Public Library, Mike Green was also donating blood to the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in honor of his sister, Meredith, a 2008 graduate of Franklin High School who was diagnosed with cancer in January of 2012. 
With his sister in remission as of July of last year, Green said he hopes people realize the need to give blood, especially since his sister required transfusions when she was hospitalized. 
"It’s just a good thing to do," he said. "People don’t realize the need for blood."

Read more: http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x915450921/Blood-drives-help-children-cancer-patients-in-Milford-Franklin#ixzz2mt0Cy9It


Saturday, December 7, 2013

Hockomock Area YMCA: Holiday Gift Drive

holiday gift drive
Attached is an invitation to participate in the YMCA's annual giving tree program.  Sharing gifts with families in need this holiday season exemplifies the caring of our community, our staff, and our YMCA members.  On Christmas morning last year, 705 gifts found their way to the homes of 118 Y families, for which we were truly thankful to all involved.  That meant together we brightened the lives of 357 children, women, and men in our community. 
Thank you in advance for your consideration in printing the attached release to help make the holidays much brighter for those families with tags remaining on our lobby trees. 


Scholarship Fund in memory of Colleen Ritzer

From the Essex County Community Foundation website:
To carry on the legacy of our beautiful daughter and sister Colleen and her passion for teaching, we have established the Colleen Ritzer Memorial Scholarship Fund. This scholarship will be awarded to students who are pursuing a degree in education so they can continue her legacy of making a difference in a student's life. 
Colleen Ritzer
The Colleen Ritzer Memorial Scholarship Fund is managed by Essex County Community Foundation. If you have any questions regarding your online donation, please contact Kathy (978) 777-8876 or k.moriconi@eccf.org. If you prefer to make a donation by mail you can make a check payable to: 
ECCF/Colleen Ritzer Fund and mail to: 
Essex County Community Foundation
175 Andover Street
Danvers, MA 01923

You can donate online via this link
https://secure.etransfer.com/ecomm/donation/donation1.cfm?d2org=EssexCCF&d2tool=ColleenRitzerMemorialFund


Who was Colleen Ritzer? An Assumption College graduate and teacher at Danvers High School.
http://www.massteacher.org/News/archive/2013/ms_ritzer_scholarship_fund.aspx


"the regulations tighten the town’s rules on smoking in public places"

The Milford Daily News reports on the public hearing being set up for Jan 7th to review proposed new tobacco regulations for Franklin.
The Board of Health will hold a public hearing next month on whether to pass comprehensive new tobacco regulations. 
The three-member board scheduled the hearing for its Jan. 7 meeting, set to begin at 10 a.m. at the Municipal Building, 355 East Central St. Health Director David McKearney wrote the proposed regulations. 
If passed, the controls would reshape how the town handles tobacco sales, raising the legal age to purchase tobacco products to 19 and establishing a tobacco and nicotine delivery products permit, administered by the board. Currently the town does not have a local tobacco permit for businesses, which still must acquire a license from the state Department of Revenue in order to sell cigarettes and other tobacco products.

Read more: http://www.milforddailynews.com/blog/healthconscious/x915450461/Franklin-Public-hearing-set-for-new-tobacco-regulations#ixzz2mnGuTbfg

Franklin Elks - BPOE 2136

The membership and association clubs such as the American Legion and Elks would also be included in the new regulations to ban smoking within their facilities.

I would hope that there would also be a hearing scheduled for some evening as any of the voters/residents who work during normal business hours are disenfranchised by this particular time of day for the 'public hearing.'


Friday, December 6, 2013

Weekend events in Franklin


  • The Annual Christmas Fair takes place at St John Episcopal Church on Saturday from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM


  • Bubbles and Bark, wine tasting and special hot dogs to raise money for the Forever Home Rescue New England at Pour Richard's on Saturday from 1:00 Pm to 4:00 PM


What is missing from this list? Is something else happening here in Franklin this weekend?
Please leave a comment to include that item.


Updated 12/6/13 6;00 PM


Saturday, December 7th from 8am-11am,

  • Cub Scout pack 126 will be holding its Annual All You Can Eat Pancake Breakfast with Santa. 

It is being held at The Elks Lodge, 1077 Pond Street , Franklin Ma.
The cost is $6 per person, with children under 3 and Pack 126 scouts in uniform free.
Breakfast includes pancakes, eggs, sausage, orange juice, coffee and tea.
Santa will be available for photos for a cost of $3.
There will be a raffle to win one of our gift baskets, with tickets on sale to benefit the scouts!
Scout popcorn and candy bars will be available for purchase.
Pack 126 will also be hosting a toy drive for local children in need. You may bring to the breakfast a new unwrapped toy if desired.


  • Craft fair open house at Akin Bak Farm from 9:00 - 6:00 PM! Also selling fresh trees and wreaths


Hockomock Football awards recognize Zucco and Tighe

HockomockSports.com continues their fall award announcement with Football. Nick Zucco and Griffin Tighe represent Franklin on the 'Hock 5" for their respective positions. Nick among the quarterbacks and Griffin among the offensive line.


Read the full listing of the football awards here
http://www.hockomocksports.com/1/post/2013/12/hockomocksportscom-2013-football-awards.html


Stories told via postcards

A regular reader shares this bit of info:
"Given the holiday season, we are striving to make more people of your towns aware of the book. Postcard History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, makes a marvelous holiday gift and one that parents and children and other town folks would enjoy reading. The book provides unforgettable memories about each of the communities as well as serves as a reference."
The book tells stories of the towns in Norfolk County including a section on Franklin. The stories are told with post cards from each town. The picture book is a good size so it would not make a 'stocking stuffer' it would be more of a 'coffee table book'.

Part of the interest in this books comes from the story on how it was written. James and Paul Tedesco started writing it after getting the idea from a note on the back of an old postcard. James, the son, died a couple of years into the writing effort and the father Paul completed the book.

You can read the WickedLocal article on this book here
http://www.wickedlocal.com/dover/news/x511637164/Dover-resident-writes-postcard-history-of-Norfolk-County

If you want to order one, you can email Paul Tedesco at postcardbook3@aol.com


Welcome myBigY members to the New BigY.com



We're upgrading our website to bring you more of the features you've been asking for.
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As a member, you know that at Big Y, the customer is Job #1 and we're upgrading our website to bring you more of the features you've been asking for this year.
• clean and bright new design
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©Copyright 2013, Big Y Foods, Inc., 2145 Roosevelt Avenue, Springfield, MA, (413) 784.0600

"We're growing, and that's good news"

The Milford Daily News reports on a slight reduction in the income tax rate coming Jan 1, 2014.
The Massachusetts income tax will drop slightly in the new year — to 5.20 percent from the current 5.25 percent — because of stronger-than-anticipated growth in revenues, state officials said Wednesday. 
The tax rate will automatically drop on Jan. 1, Revenue Commissioner Amy Pitter said. 
In a letter sent Wednesday to Secretary of Administration and Finance Glen Shor, Pitter said revenue growth met a number of thresholds over the past several months required to trigger the automatic reduction. Tax collections in November were 10.6 percent higher than in the same month a year ago. And through the first five months of the fiscal year, total revenue has grown $766 million, or 9.7 percent.
This is estimated to be about $39 for "a married couple filing jointly who own a home, have two children under 12 and $100,000 in income".

Read more: http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/x1275648373/Massachusetts-income-tax-to-be-cut-a-bit-on-Jan-1#ixzz2mgthKTiW

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Holiday Stroll and News from Jane's Frames



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5th Annual Holiday Stroll
Thursday, December 5th  4pm-7pm

(or perhaps we'll be singing a bit longer) 
Dear Steve,

         Join the festivities beginning with Tree Lighting and Carolers at Dean College at 4 p.m. Then head Downtown to Jane's Frames. Come by for some treats and get some unique ideas for your Holiday gift giving. Lucy Gallagher will be offering hand massages as she shares organic skin care products from Neals Yard Remedies from 4-6pm. Also from 4-6 the kiddos are invited to create their own Holiday ornament. At 6pm Jamie Barrett will be entertaining young and old with his talented singing and guitar playing. 

         We are collecting for the Franklin Food Pantry beginning on December 1st until December 12th. Please come view the community mural that was created at the Strawberry Festival and Harvest Festival this year. At an event in 2014, there will be an auction for the mural with proceeds going to the Franklin Food Pantry.
Thank you,       
Jane                 
       

 December 5st 
 4:00-7:00pm (ish)

(I expect we'll be celebrating til 8pm)
 

Treats for young and old
 Cookies, Hot Cider,
a relaxing hand massage by Lucy G,
Create your own Holiday Ornament,
Enjoy Live Entertainment by
Jamie Barrett 


Drop off your Donation for the Franklin Food Pantry

Check out the 2013
Red Sox World Series
Panoramic print   



Photo Restoration is our specialty! 
There is still time to get your antique photos restored and framed for that unique Holiday present. We specialize in creating beautifully restored photos printed on high quality artpaper. They will look just like the originals once did! When you frame them using our archival framing methods they will last through many generations.

Your "Name In the Frame" 
Name in the frame
Family name in frame  

Professional   Baseball  Football  Hockey
College Sports, Family Name, Golf, Soccer, Sports pubs
and many other choices
$40. each plus starting at $20 for framing a 14 x 11
   



Jane's Frames | 11 East Central Street | Franklin | MA | 02038

Bubbles ‘n Bark! - Saturday, Dec 7th 1-4 PM

Pour Richard's Wine and Spirits
Pour Richard's Wine and Spirits

Pour Richard’s Announces:

Bubbles ‘n Bark!

Saturday, Dec 7th 1-4 PM

Pour Richard’s 14 Grove Street Franklin, MA

To benefit Forever Home Rescue New England

Forever Home Rescue
Forever Home Rescue has saved over 900 dogs, and placed them in loving homes. Do some holiday shopping, eat delicious hot dogs, and help real live dogs, too! 
Featuring many, many delicious wines, a craft cocktail demonstration by the cocktail wizard Corey Bunnewith AND a special guest appearance of the Snappy Dog ladies, Lisa and Teresa. These are not your average hotdogs! Check out what the Boston Globe says about Snappy Dogs, below: http://www.boston.com/2013/11/04/snappy/AgoE7iI7W9nrTejGEhgh4K/story.html
$10 Suggested Donation. Pour Richard’s will also donate 20% of our profits to Forever Home Rescue


Snappy-Dogs


Hockomock Boys Soccer Awards: Kalil, d'Entermont


Joe Kalil was named to the 1st Team and given an honorable mention as Player of the Year when Hockomock Sports.com released their 2013 Boys Soccer Awards. Jesse d'Entermont was named to the 2nd Team.

Read the full article here
http://www.hockomocksports.com/1/post/2013/12/hockomocksportscom-2013-boys-soccer-awards.html

WMRC 1490 - Station of the Year Award - 2013


“I was absolutely stunned. This is the equivalent of winning the Super Bowl or the World Series back to back, so I was in complete shock when they announced we had won the Station of the Year Award again. I can’t say enough about my staff, our listeners, and all the local partners we’ve developed over the years” said Tom McAuliffe, owner of WMRC-First Class Radio, as he accepted The 2013 Massachusetts Broadcasters Association’s Station of the Year Award. “And to think we also won the Best Use of Digital Media Award for all of our work on the WMRC Local Music Awards. This certainly proves that our Multi-Media efforts over the past few years are resonating with our listeners and community partners. It’s not just radio anymore.” McAuliffe added.

WMRC Station of the Year Award - 2013

"The Station of the Year Award is the one award that every station strives to win. It's the most cherished station award the Massachusetts Broadcasters Association presents”, explained Jordan Walton, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Broadcasters Association. “WMRC truly epitomizes what LOCAL radio, and service to the community is all about, and we're proud to salute them with this honor for the second straight year.”

“The Station of the Year” award, is presented annually by the Massachusetts Broadcasters Association to the most outstanding radio station in the Commonwealth, and is open to all of the more than 180 radio stations.

The “Station of the Year” award is given to the top station in Massachusetts that exemplifies overall excellence in all phases of operation. The judges, members of the Utah Broadcasters Association, cited WMRC had experienced extraordinary growth of audience, client base, and billing, but most importantly, WMRC was providing exceptional service to their listeners, community officials, and local organizations.

To put this award into perspective, the television “Station of the Year” for 2013 was WCVB, Channel 5 Boston, considered by many to be the finest TV station in the United States. You can see the prestige that this award grants WMRC-First Class Radio. This is actually the 5th Station of the Year Award for McAuliffe and WMRC as they won it on three separate occasions back in the 1990’s.

About WMRC
WMRC-First Class Radio 1490AM has been on the air since 1956, making it one of the oldest, continually locally owned and operated radio stations in Massachusetts. Tom McAuliffe II owns and operates the station with his wife Megan. While the station’s signal reaches much farther, WMRC focuses on a 14-town area serving 250,000 people surrounding Milford, MA. WMRC is a Dial Global affiliate and carries both NBC Radio News and complete coverage of the Boston Red Sox, and Boston College Football and Basketball.