Upcoming Events in Franklin, MA Area: FRI 12/25/15 - THU 12/31/15

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

MONDAY 12/28/15
7:30pm   Let’s Laugh Today: Laughter Yoga at FUSF

THURSDAY 12/31/15
10:30am   New Year’s Eve Party at Franklin Public Library

For all the Town of Franklin Public Meetings click HERE. The meetings will resume on Januray 4th, 2016.

For event details click HERE.

*If you have any suggestions or events for the calendar, please email Renata@BetterLivingRE.com

Annual Report - 2015: Town Council

"On behalf of the Franklin Town Council, it is my pleasure to submit our annual report for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2015.

The Town Council remains busy and committed to serving the best interest of all the citizens of our community. I am proud to report on several matters including the opening of our New High School. Congratulations to the High School Building Committee and all of our citizens that made the project a true success. It will serve our students for generations to come. 

Other projects that were completed include the reconstruction of Lincoln and Daniels Streets, water main replacement on several roads, and the sidewalk on Panther Way.

We appointed committees to complete the second floor of the senior center and to make improvements to our historic library.

We dedicated a playground at Fletcher Field funded by the Commonwealth. We purchased and demolished a house at 92 Wachusett Street to expand parking for Fletcher Field, and bought 19 acres of land off of Lincoln Street to provide recreation opportunities and access to the Charles River.

The downtown project is finally underway and we sold the old municipal building at 150 Emmons Street for commercial development. We included in the sale a small green space and for a statue of Horace Mann a Franklin native and considered to be one of the founders of public education in America.

We supported the citizens group for solar energy as well as the group looking to establish a cultural district in Franklin.

In closing, we will continue to work for you, the Citizen, and the Community we all share. You can be assured that you have dedicated, competent, and professional individuals working and volunteering their time on your behalf.

Again we thank our Town Administrator, Jeff Nutting, for his dedication to the Town of Franklin through good times and tough times, and all of the Town employees who help to make this community a great place to live and work.

On behalf of my fellow councilors, Andrew Bissanti, Robert Dellorco, Brett Feldman, Matthew Kelly, Thomas Mercer, Peter Padula, Judith Pfeffer, Robert Vallee, and Stephen Williams, I want to thank you for the opportunity you have given us to serve this great community.

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Vallee
Chairman, Franklin Town Council"

The Fletcher Field tot lot as mentioned was dedicated  in Dec 2014

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"Prior to November 1 of each year, the Town Clerk shall cause to be prepared and made available to the inhabitants of the Town an annual report for the preceding fiscal year which shall include: the annual Town budget, the reports of all Town officers, the records of all Town Council bylaw amendments and resolutions, an abstract of births, marriages and deaths, and the wages, salaries, or other compensation of all Town employees." [Added 5-2-2012 by Bylaw Amendment 12-681]

http://ecode360.com/10432729?highlight=annual%20report,reports,annual,report#10432729

Shared from the full and complete PDF version of the Town of Franklin Annual Report for 2015
http://town.franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_Clerk/annual/2015report.pdf

Additional info on the tot lot can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2014/12/fletcher-field-tot-lot-video.html

Additional info on each of the Town Council meetings reported on can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/p/meeting-notes.html

Annual Report - 2105: Town Administrator

"It continues to be my honor to serve the Town Council and the citizens of Franklin.

Under the leadership of the Town Council over the years we continue to try and improve the quality of life for our residents while maintaining a balanced budget, fiscal prudence and a look towards the future. Fiscal year 15 showed no signs of letting up on improving our community.

So, what have we done this year?

The list of improvements in FY 15 are many including the new High School, road and water main improvements, purchase of open space, adding a playground at Fletcher Field, a sidewalk on Panther Way, selling the old municipal building for commercial development, making zoning changes in accordance with the Master Plan, seeing the downtown project get underway, funding the design of sidewalks for Pleasant and Chestnut Streets, working to spruce up the Rail Road stations, and reducing the trash fee.

Since the Town Administrators Office assumed the duties of the Passport Office things are hopping, you can now get your passport here with an appointment on Monday or Wednesday and Friday.

All this is accomplished with hard working volunteers and a great staff of employees in all departments We continually provide high quality services and the lowest possible cost to the tax payer.

As I look to the future there are many challenges but if history is any lesson, the strong leadership of the Town Council and great staff will respond to every challenge.

I want to make note of the retirement of my Secretary, Dianne Blanchard. She was an exceptional employee, dedicated to serving the citizens of Franklin. I wish her well in her retirement.

As always, I want to thank the employees of the Town of Franklin. It is my pleasure to come to work every day with such dedicated and hard working people who do their best for the citizens of Franklin.

Jeff Nutting

It is my pleasure to submit my annual report for your review, and please feel free to write, e-mail, or stop by with any questions, concerns, or comments.


Respectfully submitted,

Jeff Nutting
Town Administrator"

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"Prior to November 1 of each year, the Town Clerk shall cause to be prepared and made available to the inhabitants of the Town an annual report for the preceding fiscal year which shall include: the annual Town budget, the reports of all Town officers, the records of all Town Council bylaw amendments and resolutions, an abstract of births, marriages and deaths, and the wages, salaries, or other compensation of all Town employees." [Added 5-2-2012 by Bylaw Amendment 12-681]

http://ecode360.com/10432729?highlight=annual%20report,reports,annual,report#10432729

Shared from the full and complete PDF version of the Town of Franklin Annual Report for 2015
http://town.franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_Clerk/annual/2015report.pdf

Additional information from the Town Administrator can be found on his webpage
http://town.franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_Admin/index

Senior Center: A new edition of 'The Franklin Connection' is available

A new edition of The Franklin Connection has been published on the Town of Franklin web site.

Click the link below to read the latest edition.

http://town.franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_Senior/Jan16connection.pdf

Franklin Senior Center

In the News: firefighters contract approved, deputy administrator starts in January

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin

"The Town Council approved, at a meeting earlier this month, an agreement with the Franklin Permanent Firefighters Association that will run through 2018. 

The council, at its Dec. 16 meeting, approved a memorandum of agreement with the union by an 8-0 vote, with one abstention.

The agreement calls for across-the-board salary increases of 2 percent in 2015, 2016 and 2017, with 1 percent of emergency medical technician's bonuses changing to base salaries in 2016, 2017 and 2018. 

Town Administrator Jeffrey Nutting said the change in wages was consistent with what other fire unions were seeing. He said other than the salaries, the biggest language change involved the elimination of forced overtime on the holidays."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20151224/franklin-and-firefighters-reach-agreement

"The coming year will see the restoration of the deputy town administrator position in Franklin, as the town has hired Jamie Hellen to fill the role. 

Hellen, who currently serves as the operations assistant to Hopkinton's town manager, said Thursday that he is very excited to serve Franklin. 

"I've already gotten phone calls from residents... it sounds like they really like living there," he said. 

He has served in his present position for the past three years. Previously, he worked at the Metropolitan Area Planning Council and the Legislature before that."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20151225/franklin-deputy-town-administrator-eager-to-start

Dog park gates missing; committee to form

The actions are related to the Franklin dog park but the attempt to start the committee was underway before the gates were reported missing.

The dog park at Dacey Field is missing its gates. Someone apparently took them in the week before Christmas. The gates missing status prompted a conversation on a Facebook group and ad hoc action to create a barrier in place of the gates. The gates will be replaced by the DPW.

Dacey Field dog park

Haley is looking to start a Franklin Dog Park Committee. 

My name is Haley and I am starting up the Franklin Dog Park committee, I was wondering if you would be able to help me promote it by posting about it? 

The first meeting is January 13, 7:00 PM at the New England Chapel - any and all are welcome. If you have any questions or are thinking about attending yourself, my email is franklin.dogpark@gmail.com

Merry Christmas Franklin!

This will be the only post today. If there is other news that is share worthy, it can wait until Saturday. 

What matters today is spending time with family and friends!

Merry Christmas Franklin!

Note: With the holidays falling on Friday, the weekly calendar will be posted on Saturday December 26, 2015 and again next week on Saturday, Jan 2, 2016.