The 2nd "Taste of Franklin" will appear at the Cultural Festival on Saturday, July 30

The "Taste of Franklin" provides an opportunity for several of the restaurants and food establishments to showcase their signature 'taste'. These 'tastes' will be available for a $2 purchase for each item. Other items from the food vendors may be available at their regular price.

The "Taste of Franklin" will be held from 4:00 to 6:00 PM inside and outside THE BLACK BOX in downtown Franklin, MA.
 

The 2nd "Taste of Franklin" will be held on Saturday, July 30 at THE BLACK BOX

THE BLACK BOX

THE BLACK BOX, 15 W Central St, Franklin

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Get the full Cultural Festival brochure to download and print from here
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0wjbnXDBhczZGhDUmdGWm1GNHM/view?usp=sharing

• Get updates on the 2nd Annual Cultural Festival on the webpage

http://www.franklinsculturalfestival.org/

• or follow Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/FranklinCulturalFestival/

• or Twitter  https://twitter.com/artshappenhere

* note the schedule is subject to change

In the News: police looking at DUI, School Committee coffee hours

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:

"The Police Department has placed a emphasis on a type of impaired driving that is often overlooked: drivers under the influence of drugs. 

The department now has three officers who have undergone Drug Recognition Expert training, meant to help police identify when a driver is under the influence of drugs - both illegal and prescription - and what drugs they may have used. 

Detective Joseph MacLean has been a expert since 2003, and helps train officers in the technique. He said, while officers are trained to recognize impaired driving, there are times when additional expertise is necessary, as there is no Breathalyzer equivalent for most drugs."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20160728/franklin-police-step-up-efforts-to-identify-drug-influenced-drivers

Franklin Police, 911 Panther Way

"Coffee hours" encouraging discourse between residents and the School Committee worked well, members said Thursday afternoon when they met to discuss communication with the public. 

The committee has held the series over the past several months, and analyzed the feedback at this week's session. 

Committee member Denise Schultz said participation has been very good."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20160728/franklin-school-committee-forges-closer-ties-with-public

Major Water Ban in effect for the Town of Franklin

Important Information:

Major Water Ban in effect for the Town of Franklin

Please Read and pass along,

As I sit here today writing this post,approximately over "3.5 MILLION" Gallons of water is consumed daily here in Franklin. That is actually down from the almost "6 MILLION" Gallons that was consumed one day earlier this month. We should be averaging only 2.5 million per DAY!!

OK, so what does this all mean...

• Lets play the numbers game:

3.5 Million Gallons at 8.34 pounds/gal = 29,190,00 LBS of water
The USS Missouri battle cruiser weighs in at 90 Million pounds, so every 3 days we match the weight of a battle ship :)

An Olympic size swimming pool holds 660,430 gallons of water.
3,500,000/660,430 = ~5.3 Olympic Size pools a day.

The online price of a standard gallon of water at Walmart in Bellingham is $0.88. 3,500,000 x 0.88 = $3,080,000

Currently the Town of Franklin obtains its drinking water from 12 groundwater supply wells. In addition to the 12 water supply wells, the Town operates 8 booster pump stations, 6 water storage tanks, 2,000+ hydrants, 157 miles of water main and approximately 9,000 water services. The Town of Franklin sanitary sewer system is comprised of 137 miles of sewer pipe, 3,400+ manholes and 23 pump stations.

I was told today that the State has moved from being a "Drought' to being an "Extreme Drought" condition.

• What does that mean?

Well according to the
U.S. Drought Monitor Classification Scheme
http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/aboutus/classificationscheme.aspx

See the chart...

drought severity chart from US Drought Monitor website

We are now officially one level away from the worst possible state we can be in!!

• So why care?

- As water levels diminish our ability to effectively fight fires lowers dramatically. If you haven't noticed even the grass and trees have no water. So, even the slightest spark or ember will ignite them.

- As the water levels diminish our over-all health becomes greatly impacted!

• Am I scaring you?

I hope so...because this is a very serious situation.

Please check out the Town's DWP Water Department webpage for very helpful links and info! 
 http://town.franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_PublicWorks/Water_Conservation/Water_Conservation_Index

Please do your part to conserve!

Thank you!

Glenn Jones
Franklin Town Council

Today's schedule for the Franklin Cultural Festival - Thursday, July 28

Location – Historical Museum – 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM

• The Fiddling Thomsons
• Historical artifacts
• Selling Hotdogs and Hoodsies ($1 each)

Franklin Historical Museum

Location – Franklin Town Common – By the Statue - 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM

• Laughter Yoga – Bill and Linda Hamaker

Location – Franklin Town Common – 8:00 PM to 9:30 PM

• Shakespeare on the Common – at the Gazebo

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Get the full Cultural Festival brochure to download and print from here
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0wjbnXDBhczZGhDUmdGWm1GNHM/view?usp=sharing

• Get updates on the 2nd Annual Cultural Festival on the webpage

http://www.franklinsculturalfestival.org/

• or follow Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/FranklinCulturalFestival/

• or Twitter  https://twitter.com/artshappenhere

* note the schedule is subject to change

Downtown Changes - Revitalize Downtown

From Eileen Mason, Franklin Realtor and community advocate:

I was at the Franklin Downtown Partnership meetings years ago when the decision was made to improve the economic environment and bring our downtown back to life. This was no small task but a major plan for improvements requested, was funded by a State Grant written by our Director of Town Planning at the time, Carol Harper.

The major concern for businesses was that 75% or more of the traffic on the one way setup went down main street just to continue onto Rte 140. It has been a high volume, high speed and weaving raceway. So now all that traffic stays on Rte 140, reducing the volume and speed of traffic on Main St. Making it safer for all.

The fire station was another major consideration. The ability to take a left out of the station takes critical minutes off of response times. We should all be happy about no more unnecessary delays to emergencies.

The third major concern was to improve the safety of walking on Main St, where weaving through lanes and not paying attention to pedestrians is significantly reduced or eliminated.

Lastly, but most importantly was to improve the economic climate in downtown by attracting development and reinvestment in our community.

Get to know who is owning/operating these businesses.

It's a big change and controversy was expected, but now the streets work like all the other streets in the community and surrounding towns. Out of towners won't have an issue with the changes because now the traffic flow is normal.

There are many that will have comments and opinions which is fine.

For me, I drove down Main St from the Town Common and parked right in front of the business that I wanted to go to. No triangle and lights to go around. That was so easy and took much less time.

I'm very proud of all the hard work this team has done over the years to make this vital economic and logistics change for our town. There are some very dedicated town administration people who have been on this project for years and yes, it was a successful start to the change. GOOD JOB! Improving the timing of the lights is in process. Be patient. 

If we all just follow the rules of the road, all will be well in Franklin. Stay on your side of the road, stop at stop signs and lights. The finish work is still going on, so please keep an open mind.

New construction is in process to bring even more businesses to downtown. Let's all help to support them and have a thriving downtown area.

So we didn't set out to change to two way traffic. We set out to revitalize our downtown. This change was needed to accomplish several goals and hopefully will be a lasting improvement for all.

This was shared from her Facebook posting to the "All About Franklin" group

new traffic flow in downtown Franklin

David A Bernstein to appear in Art Show at Patriot Place

Franklin artist David A Bernstein will showcase his work in an art show at Patriot Place Friday, July 29 through Sunday, July 31.

In the News: neighbors concerned about development, 2-way traffic arrives

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:

"Neighbors have expressed their concerns about a potential affordable housing development off Peck and Cottage streets. 

At issue is a multi-unit townhouse-style development - called "Madalene Village" - that is now before the Zoning Board of Appeals. 

Angela Woislaw, one of those opposed to the project, said neighbors are worried about the housing's effect on the environment and flooding. 

"The residents believe that this is a very poorly designed development," she said.

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20160727/franklin-residents-concerned-about-housing-development

sign in neighborhood around proposed development

"At 5 a.m. Tuesday, the proverbial switch was flipped on traffic in downtown Franklin, going from a one-way, counter clockwise motion around the center business block to moving both ways. 

Digital advisories and signs were placed around downtown, along with orange traffic cones, and police officers were posted at key spots, to help direct drivers through the new flow. 

While there were some small hitches, overall, the switch "went very well," Police Chief Thomas Lynch said. 

"The contractor, Walsh Construction and the Mass Department of Transportation/Mass Highway authorized a number of details, so we had plenty of help up there," he said.

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20160727/two-way-traffic-begins-in-downtown-franklin-first-day-went-well