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Wednesday, June 4, 2014
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FHS All Night Party - June 6th
The All Night Party Committee would like to welcome parents of new and returning students to a new school year at Franklin High School. Whether your son or daughter is a Freshman, Sophomore or Junior the All Night Party committee needs you now. Your involvement contributes to the support of the present senior class and guarantees the continuation of this tradition for your future seniors.
This tradition was started in 1990 and is a gift to all seniors in celebration of their high school year. The graduates enjoy a fun-filled night that includes games, prizes and best of all the transformation of the high school into a magical place.
It takes the hard work of 400-500 volunteers and the support of the school community and business partnerships to make this event a success.
The party takes place at the high school on graduation night from 11 pm to 5 am. This year’s All Night Party will be on Friday, June 6th.
Please visit the Volunteer Opportunities page to learn more and then go to the sign up to volunteer page to sign up now. Some with commitments as little as 2 hours. http://www.fhsallnightparty.com/
If you have any questions please email:
info@FHSAllNightParty.com
United Regional Young Professionals Organization Holds Summer Social Event at Patriot Place
In the shadow of Gillette Stadium, the United Regional Young Professionals Organization (YPO) invites our members, their guests, as well as an open public invite to professionals in our local community to gather for our last networking event of the season. The event is a summer social to be held on June 18, 2014 at 6 PM at Twenty8, inside (and outside) the Renaissance Boston at Patriot Place Hotel and Spa.
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| Young Professionals Organization |
Instead of catching a pass from Tom Brady, or lining up next to Vince Wilfork, guests can play games with a bit less contact, such as the kanjam, beanbag toss or ladder ball. And instead of waiting in line for refreshments from the concession stands, attendees will enjoy light appetizers with a cash bar featuring craft beers, cocktails, and other refreshments.
If the weather doesn’t cooperate, we’ll bring the fun indoors. There, attendees can play entertaining games like UNO, Skip-Bo, Yahtzee, and more, while enjoying food and drink.
The YPO is pleased to provide this unique opportunity to have fun, relax, and get to know each other, but we do so with a purpose. Money raised from ticket sales, raffle, and donations will benefit the Hockomock Area YMCA located in North Attleboro, Mass.
21+ event. Registration is $5.00 in advance, $10.00 at the door.
For more information, visit http://www.unitedregionalypo.org/events/summersocial/, call 508-488-YPO1 (9761), or e-mail UnitedRegionalYPO@ymail.com.
The United Regional Chamber of Commerce launched the United Regional Young Professionals Organization (YPO) in spring 2010 in direct response to the challenges facing the 16 communities in our region (Attleboro, Bellingham, Blackstone, Foxboro, Franklin, Mansfield, Medway, Medfield, Millis, Norfolk, North Attleboro, Norton, Plainville, Rehoboth, Seekonk and Wrentham, Massachusetts) in attracting and retaining diverse young professionals and to develop the next generation of leadership. The mission of YPO is to engage, connect and empower career-minded young professionals to evolve professionally. Representing diverse backgrounds, perspectives and professions, we are united by our energy, drive and passion within our careers and communities
Kinder Care: Yard Sale - Jun 7
Kinder Care on Pond Street in Franklin is having their annual YARD SALE!!
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| Yard Sale |
It will be from 9-2 this Saturday June 7th! We will be selling a variety of things!!
Hope to see you all there!!
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Live reporting - Dedicated Override for roads
Notes from the first part of the Finance Committee meeting can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2014/06/live-reporting-finance-committee-060314.html
Roads – DPW DirectorBrutus Cantoreggi
Mike Meglio, Town Engineer
*** From Mar 2014, the updated listing of road projects already being planned
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2014/03/live-reporting-dpw-update-road-projects.html
Apparently, tonight is an abbreviated presentation from the March meeting
When road ratings are above 70, the maintenance will work
when below 70, you need to do more
want to get overall average of roads above 80
keeping just above water with repairs at this point
with the override, we could make some headway into the road repairs
some of the work would continue to be coordinated with water main projects
others would be taken care of purely with road repairs
also would be looking to expand the sidewalk network
would still require annual approval by the Council for the plan of work
the Panther Way sidewalk bid came in at $200,000
We have already planned out the water program for the next five year, can tie this with the water and come up with the master plan
what existing capacity do we have that requires design and coordination with in house staff?
a lot of administrative staff work required but the actual work is contracted out
Q - is there an option to put a term on this override?
A - not the way the legislation has been structured. Now the Council could not vote any money for the roads and that would kill the program.
Q - is this amount enough?
A - the facts are, we could use more money? What can the citizens afford? How much can we work with in capacity? Time down the road, the citizens could come back for more.
This is based upon today's dollars for hot top and chip seal. This could cost more as it goes, it is based upon the oil pricing
The sidewalk needs to go down to Miller St... Pleasant St; Washington St, Beaver St have been identified as needing sidewalks but none of them are cheap... do you need to curb and handle drainage? It depends upon the conditions and area
You might not educate your kids, go to the library, or call the police/fire but you do drive down the roads
The good thing about November is you'll get a good turnout as it is a State election
The text of the override question can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2014/06/resolution-14-45-dedicated-override-to.html
VOTE: Proposition 2 ½ Override
motion to approve, seconded, passed 7-0
Related posts
From Aug 2013, the initial proposal
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/08/live-reporting-dpw-proposal-on-road.html
The presentation document from the Aug meeting
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_DPW/General_Pages/2013%20Roadway%20Presentation.pdf
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Closing
DelCarte ribbon cutting at 5:00 PM on Weds Jun 4th
program is short, so should be held unless there is a real down pour
FinCom done until the Fall time frame...
Final walk through of FHS Jun 21
Grand Opening in Sep
demolition of the old building during the summer
start Capital Plan again in Sep, fiscal forecast due in Jan
Sculpture Park opening June/July
Panther Way sidewalk should be starting in couple of week
Waiting on State for when the downtown will start
Lincoln St will start when school is out
Summer (East Central to King) late summer timeline
Senior Center 2nd floor possibly in the Fall
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2014/06/live-reporting-finance-committee-060314.html
Roads – DPW Director
Mike Meglio, Town Engineer
*** From Mar 2014, the updated listing of road projects already being planned
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2014/03/live-reporting-dpw-update-road-projects.html
Apparently, tonight is an abbreviated presentation from the March meeting
When road ratings are above 70, the maintenance will work
when below 70, you need to do more
want to get overall average of roads above 80
keeping just above water with repairs at this point
with the override, we could make some headway into the road repairs
some of the work would continue to be coordinated with water main projects
others would be taken care of purely with road repairs
also would be looking to expand the sidewalk network
would still require annual approval by the Council for the plan of work
the Panther Way sidewalk bid came in at $200,000
We have already planned out the water program for the next five year, can tie this with the water and come up with the master plan
what existing capacity do we have that requires design and coordination with in house staff?
a lot of administrative staff work required but the actual work is contracted out
Q - is there an option to put a term on this override?
A - not the way the legislation has been structured. Now the Council could not vote any money for the roads and that would kill the program.
Q - is this amount enough?
A - the facts are, we could use more money? What can the citizens afford? How much can we work with in capacity? Time down the road, the citizens could come back for more.
This is based upon today's dollars for hot top and chip seal. This could cost more as it goes, it is based upon the oil pricing
The sidewalk needs to go down to Miller St... Pleasant St; Washington St, Beaver St have been identified as needing sidewalks but none of them are cheap... do you need to curb and handle drainage? It depends upon the conditions and area
You might not educate your kids, go to the library, or call the police/fire but you do drive down the roads
The good thing about November is you'll get a good turnout as it is a State election
The text of the override question can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2014/06/resolution-14-45-dedicated-override-to.html
VOTE: Proposition 2 ½ Override
motion to approve, seconded, passed 7-0
Related posts
From Aug 2013, the initial proposal
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/08/live-reporting-dpw-proposal-on-road.html
The presentation document from the Aug meeting
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_DPW/General_Pages/2013%20Roadway%20Presentation.pdf
-------------
Closing
DelCarte ribbon cutting at 5:00 PM on Weds Jun 4th
program is short, so should be held unless there is a real down pour
FinCom done until the Fall time frame...
Final walk through of FHS Jun 21
Grand Opening in Sep
demolition of the old building during the summer
start Capital Plan again in Sep, fiscal forecast due in Jan
Sculpture Park opening June/July
Panther Way sidewalk should be starting in couple of week
Waiting on State for when the downtown will start
Lincoln St will start when school is out
Summer (East Central to King) late summer timeline
Senior Center 2nd floor possibly in the Fall
Live reporting: Finance Committee - 06/03/14
Present: Dowd, Conley, Smith, Aparo, Dewsnap, Dufour, Heumpher,
Absent: Fleming, Quinn
Call to Order
Citizens Comments
Approval of Minutes
motion to approval minutes of May 5th, seconded approved 7-0
Zoning Board of Appeals Transfer
motion to approve, seconded, approved 7-0
Street Light Account Transfer
motion to approve transfer of $10,000; seconded, approved 7-0
Legal Expenses Transfer
motion to approve transfer $10,000; seconded, approved 7-0
Snow and Ice Budget Transfer
motion to approve transfer $280,000; seconded, approved 7-0
Comptroller Expenses Transfer
motion to approve transfer $1,000; seconded, approved 7-0
Presentations:
Library Addition – Felicia Oti, Library Director
VOTE: Bond Authorization
The presentation copy can also be viewed here
http://town.franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_Library/libpre.pdf
doing increased business with half the staff (see early slide with numbers)
funding this doesn't require an increase in tax rate, can be funded with the debt capacity available
would still be a smaller building than comparable area communities
made $14,000+ to date from books sales year to date, likely to be 20,000 annually
Q - Aparo - what other projects would have been considered?
A - Nutting - we are at 2.9 and unaware of other building structure needs; Senior Center being funded, if 5-6 years down the road we need a school it would not happen for 6M. We do 11 work orders a day on 20 plus buildings. Our buildings are in great shape, roofs will wear out, HVAC will wear out. Money to make big repairs to existing facilities like roofs, and HVAC... would be the most likely expenses
We still have excess debt capacity when we do this project.
Q - Dewsnap - what about Davis Thayer?
A - Nutting - recap of architect review on the options for the renovation, we have removed the portables because the school population has been declining. Maybe cheaper to buy new portables and add them to the schools rather than building a new school.
Q - Dewsnap - do we really add enough space?
A - Nutting - with the building we have, we really don't have much of an option to do a new building given the existing beautiful facility we have... we are going with the expansion because otherwise we are loosing space. It would still be another year before we have real numbers to look at. The OPM and architect will take time, design the facility, cost it, etc... bringing it back before FinCom and Town Council with the real numbers.
Q - Dowd - consideration for additional staffing as required by this?
A - Nutting - we would certainly like more staff but the additional space (bathrooms, public meetings space, and stacks for books) don't require additional staffing by nature. Some minimal increase in maintenance hours for the larger space but not much more than that. We would like to gradually add staff as we have to annually ask for a waiver as we meet the hours and the staffing but not the funding.
Q - Heumpher - question on the renovation and impact on operations?
A - Nutting/Oti - would have parking issues, could work within the space to adjust and continue to operate while the construction is underway. We are fortunate in that we have 3 entrances to the Library so the back one could be shut and we can still operate.
Q - Dufour - any rental opportunity?
A - Nutting- not really, the space rentals are for cost recovery not to make money. The space being added is not really a great amount to add to the overall demand
Resolution for authorization of $1M
motion to approve, seconded, passed 7-0
Notes from the second part of the meeting can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2014/06/live-reporting-dedicated-override-for.html
Absent: Fleming, Quinn
Call to Order
Citizens Comments
Approval of Minutes
motion to approval minutes of May 5th, seconded approved 7-0
Zoning Board of Appeals Transfer
motion to approve, seconded, approved 7-0
motion to approve transfer of $10,000; seconded, approved 7-0
Legal Expenses Transfer
motion to approve transfer $10,000; seconded, approved 7-0
Snow and Ice Budget Transfer
motion to approve transfer $280,000; seconded, approved 7-0
Comptroller Expenses Transfer
motion to approve transfer $1,000; seconded, approved 7-0
Presentations:
Library Addition – Felicia Oti, Library Director
VOTE: Bond Authorization
The presentation copy can also be viewed here
http://town.franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_Library/libpre.pdf
doing increased business with half the staff (see early slide with numbers)
funding this doesn't require an increase in tax rate, can be funded with the debt capacity available
would still be a smaller building than comparable area communities
made $14,000+ to date from books sales year to date, likely to be 20,000 annually
Q - Aparo - what other projects would have been considered?
A - Nutting - we are at 2.9 and unaware of other building structure needs; Senior Center being funded, if 5-6 years down the road we need a school it would not happen for 6M. We do 11 work orders a day on 20 plus buildings. Our buildings are in great shape, roofs will wear out, HVAC will wear out. Money to make big repairs to existing facilities like roofs, and HVAC... would be the most likely expenses
We still have excess debt capacity when we do this project.
Q - Dewsnap - what about Davis Thayer?
A - Nutting - recap of architect review on the options for the renovation, we have removed the portables because the school population has been declining. Maybe cheaper to buy new portables and add them to the schools rather than building a new school.
Q - Dewsnap - do we really add enough space?
A - Nutting - with the building we have, we really don't have much of an option to do a new building given the existing beautiful facility we have... we are going with the expansion because otherwise we are loosing space. It would still be another year before we have real numbers to look at. The OPM and architect will take time, design the facility, cost it, etc... bringing it back before FinCom and Town Council with the real numbers.
Q - Dowd - consideration for additional staffing as required by this?
A - Nutting - we would certainly like more staff but the additional space (bathrooms, public meetings space, and stacks for books) don't require additional staffing by nature. Some minimal increase in maintenance hours for the larger space but not much more than that. We would like to gradually add staff as we have to annually ask for a waiver as we meet the hours and the staffing but not the funding.
Q - Heumpher - question on the renovation and impact on operations?
A - Nutting/Oti - would have parking issues, could work within the space to adjust and continue to operate while the construction is underway. We are fortunate in that we have 3 entrances to the Library so the back one could be shut and we can still operate.
Q - Dufour - any rental opportunity?
A - Nutting- not really, the space rentals are for cost recovery not to make money. The space being added is not really a great amount to add to the overall demand
Resolution for authorization of $1M
motion to approve, seconded, passed 7-0
Notes from the second part of the meeting can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2014/06/live-reporting-dedicated-override-for.html
Cultural District being proposed for Franklin
On the Town Council agenda Wednesday for discussion before getting to the Library and the dedicated override for the road repairs, Alan Mercer is scheduled for a presentation on the Cultural District proposal being put together for Franklin.
From the Mass Cultural Council homepage:
The evidence is clear: A thriving creative sector is one of our Commonwealth's most powerful economic development assets. In support of this, the MCC’s Cultural Districts Initiative was authorized by an act of the Massachusetts state legislature in 2010, and launched in April 2011.
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| Mass Cultural Council |
The legislation referenced:
SECTION 3. Said chapter 10 is hereby further amended by inserting after section 58 the following section:
M.G.L. Chapter 10, Section 58A. (a) The council shall establish criteria and guidelines for state-designated cultural districts. A cultural district shall be a geographical area of a city or town with a concentration of cultural facilities located within it. Cultural districts shall attract artists and cultural enterprises to a community, encourage business and job development, establish tourist destinations, preserve and reuse historic buildings, enhance property values and foster local cultural development. The council shall assist a city or town if the city or town wishes to develop or foster a cultural district. The council shall develop an application process, with specific guidelines and criteria, for a city or town that wishes to develop or foster a cultural district.
Executive branch agencies, constitutional offices and quasi-governmental agencies shall identify programs and services that support and enhance the development of cultural districts and ensure that those programs and services are accessible to such districts. The council shall consult with the Massachusetts historical commission in developing and establishing criteria and guidelines regarding preservation and reuse of historic buildings.
(b) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, executive branch agencies, constitutional offices and quasi-governmental agencies including, but not limited to, the council and historic preservation programs, shall review and revise regulations and other economic development tools, including the evaluative criteria of such historic preservation programs, in order to support and encourage the development and success of state-designated cultural districts.
Acts of 2010 Chapter 188, Section 70. The Massachusetts cultural council, in cooperation with the executive branch, constitutional offices, quasi-governmental agencies and the joint committee on tourism, arts and cultural development, shall identify state incentives and resources to enhance cultural districts pursuant to section 52A of chapter 10 of the General Laws and shall report its findings and recommendations, if any, together with drafts of legislation necessary to carry those recommendations into effect by filing the same with the clerk of the senate and house of representatives not later than January 1, 2011.
You can find more about the proposal in the agenda document beginning on page 20
http://town.franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_CouncilAgendas/2014/050714.pdf
You can find more about the Mass Cultural Council on their page http://www.massculturalcouncil.org/
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