Jane's Frames Events - Holiday Stroll - Dec4

Holiday Stroll Downtown Franklin Dec 4, 2014, 4pm - 7 pm Dear Steve, Stop in to Jane's Frames during the   Holiday Stroll Thursday, 4- 8 pm Meet Ann Williams of Pour Richards Wine & Spirits while you enjoy some sampling from her line, stick around to listen to Jamie Barrett performing from 6pm-7pm.       See the new line of Gifts and Home Decor, including Puzzles, Jewelry, Greeting Cards, Handmade Table Runners, unique clocks, Original Artwork and more.        Check out the Special Pricing on prints as we offer some fantastic deals beginning at $2.00!!      We are looking forward to seeing you! Sincerely, Jane Curran Jane's Frames

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

In the News: Holiday Stroll, funding OPEB

A Holiday Stroll will kick off Thursday evening at Dean College with carolers providing the festive background music for a tree-lighting ceremony. 

The ceremony starts at 4 p.m. on the Dean College campus, 99 Main St., with the historic Dean Hall serving as the backdrop. The stroll then moves into the downtown, where more than 30 local businesses will provide entertainment, food and shopping until 7 p.m. for the hundreds of revelers expected to attend the Franklin Downtown Partnership annual event. 

“The Holiday Stroll is a unique event that we feel really showcases our businesses," said organizer Gregg Chalk. "Our merchants stay open late and invite everyone inside. It’s a great opportunity to discover new businesses and have one-on-one conversations with business owners."

Continue reading the article in the Milford Daily News here (subscription maybe required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/article/20141204/NEWS/141208603/1994/NEWS

In recent years, Franklin and towns throughout the state have made it a mandate to put away more money for other post-employment benefits, also known as OPEB, which consists mostly of retiree health insurance. 

Franklin has an $89 million unfunded liability that is continuing to grow. To date, town officials have saved about $1.2 million in a stabilization account, but the creation of a trust would give them more options to invest the money in hopes of shrinking the liability. 

"If you establish a trust, you are allowed by law to invest in a much broader way, including equities," said Town Administrator Jeffrey Nutting. "This is happening across the commonwealth." 

The trust will be made up of five members, including Nutting and two residents appointed by the council.

Continue reading the article in the Milford Daily News here (subscription maybe required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/article/20141204/NEWS/141208523/1994/NEWS

Live reporting: Legislation and closing

I. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS
Economic Development Committee did look at the RFP responses for the Pond St facility
one submittal came in late and was disqualified


J. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
1. Resolution 14-84: Approval of Amendment to Solid Waste Disposal Contract
motion to approve, second, passed 5-0

negotiation of tip fee reduction from ~74 to ~64
will allow for avoiding a raise in the trash fees in the future
the other communities need to agree, the big one needed is Worcester
taking advantage of timing with the market

2. Resolution 14-85: Acceptance of Gift – Council on Aging
motion to approve, second, passed 5-0


3. Resolution 14-86: Approval and Adoption of OPEB Trust Agreement
motion to approve, second, passed 5-0

establishment of the trust could allow for a broader range of investment choices with higher return rates
5 members, Town Administrator, Comptroller, School Business Administrator and two citizens appointed by the Council
The Treasurer will invest the funds and report to the trust on the performance

Pfeffer - only one community has funded this (Wellseley)
I fear that the State would some how come along and say they'll fund it in some way and gather up the fund as they exist around the communities

Nutting - I look at that differently, the legislature needs to change the law for the future employees
not only are people living longer but health control costs are going up
this is a benefit that needs to fade into history
the problem is going to get bigger and bigger, this is a step to stem the tide


K. TOWN ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT
Introduce Judy Lezard,

Reminder on the Holiday Stroll Thursday 4:00

Thanks to the DPW and Chairman Vallee for the lights on the Common, additional trees added this year

The "All call for missing persons" was a success, they found the person walking on 495

Budgets being put together by dept heads and we'll get into budget season soon


L. OLD BUSINESS
none

M. NEW BUSINESS
none

N. COUNCIL COMMENTS
Mercer, the lights on the common look fantastic

P. ADJOURN

Live reporting: Franklin TV

G. LICENSE TRANSACTIONS
Back Bay Restaurant Group TR, LLC dba Joe’s American Bar and Grill – Change of Manager
motion to approve, seconded, passed 5-0


H. PRESENTATIONS/DISCUSSIONS
- Cable TV

Ken Norman, Peter Fasciano





You can find out more about Franklin TV on their webpage  http://franklin.tv/

old studio at Depot Plaza was 600 sq ft
the new studio located at 23 Hutchinson St is

added a second ADA ramp to make it more accessible

community room available to other non-profits

kitchen built into the facility is designed for TV so it can broadcast a cooking show for example

small studio and larger studio available

everything produced is now high-definition

fiber connections between the municipal building and Hutchinson St

donated $164,000 to equip the new studio at the High School

operating about $23K per month

2011 did 197 locally produced programs, \last year (2013) there were 423 programs

Franklin TV provides all the resources for technical and production
compared to regular public access charters

everyone has a right to high quality programming

40-50% of the day is devoted to community bulletin board messages

looking to upgrade the Council Chamber to HDTV as well as upgrade the streaming service

construct a new FM radio station (obtained a low band license last year)

WFPR.FM 102.9
coverage in Franklin and A grade coverage for 10 miles around

Nutting:
a public service video is in development to tout Franklin's highlights
negotiate the renewal with Verizon

Fasciano
if they site the tower during the summer, could be online by the Fall 2015

we have an obligation to provide a minimum of 8 hours of local program daily, while broadcasting 24 hours we should exceed the minimum

Norman
if cable subscribers leave Comcast or Verizon, it is a concern for out future funding

Mercer
thanks to you for all you have done to help with the High School

Fasciano
the larger studio is two story, events can be staged that couldn't be done in the 'normal' studios
allows to work in multiple studios

looking forward to working on the kitchen to develop cooking programs

Mass General Hospital has a legacy grant to produce a series, so looking at other sources of revenue that could be using the studio and equipment

the radio station could be a good source of info during future emergency situations

Live reporting: Town Council - Dec 3, 2014

Present: Padu;a, Mercer, Vallee, Pfeffer, Bissanti, Williams
Absent:  Kelly, Feldman


A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
October 1, 2014; October 15, 2014; November 5, 2014; November 19, 2014

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

C. PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS
none

D. CITIZEN COMMENTS
none

E. APPOINTMENTS
Council on Aging -

David M. Cargill
motion to approve, seconded, passed 5-0
Lester Quan
motion to approve, seconded, passed 5-0

F. HEARINGS
none

Friends of Franklin Library - Meeting Agenda - Dec 3, 2014

FOFL Meeting Agenda for Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Meeting time: 7PM
Meeting place: Franklin Library, Community Room

• Welcome and introductions

• Public Comments

• Library Director

• Library Board of Directors

• Acceptance of minutes from last (November) meeting

• Treasurer’s report

• Committee updates
o Membership

o Outreach – Facebook/Twitter
 Content for next newsletter
 Web site

o Downtown Partnership
 Holiday Stroll December 4, 4-7PM


• Continuing items

o Update on FoFL offer to buy 20 chairs for the ground floor “quiet room.”

o Scholarship 2015 – subcommittee
 Suggestions for a new essay question

o FoFL Bulletin board content, monthly themes

o Working with other town groups – subcommittee?

o Memorandum of Understanding – subcommittee needed to review BOD version (not yet received)

o By-Laws review and update – subcommittee (need volunteers)

o Creating a read-only “minutes” book to keep on file at the library


• New Items
o Fundraising 2015

o Supporting other town groups
• Downtown Partnership “12 Days of Donating” food for the Franklin Food Pantry (details at http://www.franklindowntownpartnership.org/2014/12/12-days-of-donating-kicks-off-today.html

• The Heather Pierson Quartet will bring their popular Charlie Brown Christmas show to Circle of Friends Coffeehouse in Franklin on Saturday, Dec. 6 at 8 p.m.

• The Franklin pantry is also getting gearing up to distribute Christmas bags, to be handed out on Dec. 17. Instead of turkeys, clients will be given hams, Weiss said.

• Claire Griffin has 50 works of art on display at the Norfolk Public Library for December. There will be an artist’s reception on December 6th from 1 - 3:30 PM.

• “Giving Tree” at Forge Hill YMCA

• Special Election for Town Council on December 16th


o Winter FoFL meetings

o Other

Ben Franklin statue at the Franklin Public Library

MBTA: This weekend: Franklin Line shuttle

Buses replacing all Saturday and Sunday outbound Franklin Line trips between Forge Park and Franklin Stations on December 6-7. Delays of 10-15 minutes may occur.

Due to necessary track work, buses will replace all outbound Franklin Line trains between Forge Park/495 and Franklin/Dean College Stations on Saturday, December 6, 2014, through Sunday, December 7, 2014. 

Regular Franklin Line train service will resume at the start of service on Monday, December 8, 2014. All shuttle bus stops are accessible for persons with disabilities.

Shuttling the following stops:
Franklin
Forge Park / 495

Last updated: Dec 02 2014 11:00 AM

screen grab from DPW Presentation on emergency repairs

The Town of Franklin will take advantage of the scheduled track work to coordinate repairs to the Beaver St connector (sewer line). The work was discussed and approved at the last Town Council meeting.  

The presentation to the Town Council  can be found on the DPW webpage here  http://town.franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_DPW/Town_Council_Presentations/Beaver_St_Culvert_presentation.pdf