Response to your email from the Franklin Town Council Chairman, Matt Kelly

Thank you for your email and facebook comments. The Town Council actively monitors all town websites, facebook pages and other media sources to insure that we have utilized every avenue to keep our citizens informed. In 2015 when my fellow councils voted me as Chairman of the Franklin Town Council my fellow councilors and I asked Councilor Glenn Jones to act as communications liaison of the council. Councilor Jones along with Assistant Town Administrator Jamie Hellen have been instrumental in more than tripling the amount of communication that is done with the Franklin residents than in any past councils. With that said, we as a council would be the first to seek more ways to communicate with the residents of our community on a regular basis, as well as encourage all citizens to attend our meetings.

Franklin's water supply is made up of multiple shallow wells around our community that have the consistency to pump more than 6 million gallons of water each day to our citizens. Each drop of water is tested, treated if need be and treated prior to reaching our faucet. In doing so Franklin has always been known to have some of the best water in our state. As we all know, water is also a precious resource that must be monitored and carefully protected. Each year our DPW director along with the Town Administrator applies to the state for permitting and expected usage quantities, this is done to insure we never over use our water supply and continue to have wells for years to come. Often along with the permitting comes a standard that Franklin agrees to adhere to. For example our average daily consumption of water during a year is approximately 2.6 million gallons, however in one Sunday during the month of June 2016 Franklin consumed over 4 million gallons of water! When spike such as this happens our DPW Director will immediately issue a water ban to get usage back inline and keep people from abusing our valuable resource.

As summer months and hot days arrive its important that we continue our water ban so that people will again not abuse the system by filling pools, water lawns endlessly, etc. At no time during my 10 years as an elected official have I ever been part of a meeting that Franklin officials or staff were concerned about running out of water. As a side note for many years we also owned the permitting rights to a well in Millis in case of such emergency, we have also never used another communities water for as long as I can recall.

Franklin has approximately / estimated 2,500 lots left to build on before we hit what the planning department would consider us as built-out status. Franklin's water plan and infrastructure has been built to assume these now lots as the come online. As a town, Franklin has also been very lucky to have many of these developers build parks, concession stands, sidewalks, and even donate hundreds of acres back to the town so that it can not be built on in the future.

Growth in any community is tough and the Town Council and Planning Board have continued to toughen the permitting process and standards that are required to build in Franklin. One example is our requirement that all subdivisions have concrete sidewalks and straight granite curbing, this adds hundreds or thousands of dollars to a builders cost and we have seen multiple developers leave Franklin because the cost to build didn't warrant the price of the land or sale of the home.

However, the developments that were mentioned on the Facebook post are most commonly known as 40B developments. The developments are not planned, promoted or approved by the town of Franklin. The developers for these sites can skip the town and go right to the state for approval. Once approved the town can try and stop the development, however due to the state regulations and after these court battles we end up costing our tax payers tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars and the developer is allowed to build anyways. As a side not, if we do say no the state will pull funding from the town leaving us without valuable money for our schools, police and fire. The only way out of this is to achieve 10% or more 40B units in the town of Franklin. As a community we have hit this number before, however the calculations reset at each census. To put is bluntly is is a losing battle for Franklin and many other communities across the commonwealth.

As a council we agree that built in thousand of new homes in our community is not an answer, nor is it what we want. The Franklin Town Council has taken a stance to look at smart growth which will not only promote new homes in areas that can absorb them into our schools suffering from smaller class sizes, but also growth within our industrial and commercial areas that will allow our residents to work and live in the community that they love. As the economy improves as residents we will see more development in our community, I urge you and other members of our community to keep in mind that this is less of a Town Council and Planning Board who are anxious to build on our available lots, however more a result of our growing economy and a community that people are flocking to because of its geographical location, family friendly atmosphere and economic opportunities.

Please feel free to reach out at anytime and as always your welcome attend any of our meetings. I want to personally thank you for emailing me with your concerns as well.

Matt Kelly
Chairman
Franklin Town Council

The full Facebook thread can be found here
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1551606135109407/permalink/1747750368828315/

Franklin Newcomers and Friends Club - Sep 14

The Franklin Newcomers and Friends Club kicks off their 2016/2017 season on Wednesday, September 14th. We invite any resident of Franklin, or a surrounding town that doesn't have a Newcomers Club, to join us at "3" Restaurant, 461 West Central Street, Franklin. 

Complimentary appetizers and beverages are provided and a cash bar is available. We meet upstairs at 7:30 pm on the 2nd Wednesday of the month. We run September through May but hold many other casual events to stay connected throughout the year. 

The club is an opportunity for residents of all ages and situations - not just those new to town - to socialize and learn about our community. Our September meeting is a social gathering so it's a great opportunity to come and make new friends or catch up with old ones. 

For more information visit www.franklinnewcomers.com.

The Franklin Newcomers & Friends Club is a non-profit social and
charitable organization for residents of Franklin

In the News: farms feeling drought, Post 75 Junior League

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

"On Hoffmann Farm in Franklin, even the weeds look thirsty. 

The farm, about 20 acres, completely lost its usual crop of zucchini, summer squash and cucumbers this summer while scrambling to keep the tomatoes and corn alive. 

"They pretty much burnt up and died," owner Nick Hoffmann said. 

The crops that survived are only producing about half the usual yield. What does grow lacks quality."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20160808/farmers-feeling-brunt-of-severe-drought

photo from a ride around Franklin in 2014

"What a ride it was for the Franklin Post 75 Junior American Legion team this season. 

Post 75 dominated in its first two games of the Northeast Regional, earning a berth in the championship game against Methuen Sunday, the same team it lost to in the state title game last month. 

Despite losing 8-0 Sunday, a look back at Franklin's season reveals some noteworthy accomplishments. 

In the 20-game regular season, Post 75 went 16-4 and became the District 6 West Division regular season champions. From there, Franklin went 4-2 in the district playoffs, 4-2 in the state playoffs, and then 2-1 during regional play. Three of Franklin’s postseason losses were to Methuen."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/sports/20160808/franklin-junior-legion-squad-had-season-to-remember

Reminder: Workshops for first-time college students

REMINDER: Almost time for first-time college students to head off to college. Why not attend two workshops being offered free to the public Tuesday, August 9 and Tuesday August 16? 

Counselors, college administrators, current students will provide some useful tips regarding how to deal with some common issues that almost all students face as they begin college:
roommate issues, fitting in, managing time, dealing with the party culture, homesickness, etc.

Parents also need to learn the best ways to support their children on the journey. 

• When do you intervene? 
• How do you deal with your own anxiety?

Parents and students will be invited to two separate breakout sessions.

Franklin High School Lecture Hall - from 6:00 to 7:30.

Sponsored by the Franklin YMCA in collaboration with Dean College, Franklin Public Schools, Community Impact of Milford, New Hope, and Riverside Counseling.

Community entrance to Franklin High School

Franklin, MA: Town Council - Agenda - Aug 10, 2016

A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
– July 13, 2016

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 others.

C. PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS
– Swearing in of Police Officers

D. CITIZEN COMMENTS
– Citizens are welcome to express their views for up to five minutes on a matter that is not on the Agenda. The Council will not engage in a dialogue or comment on a matter raised during Citizen Comments. The Town Council will give remarks appropriate consideration and may ask the Town Administrator to review the matter.

E. APPOINTMENTS

• Board of Registrars

- Jeannette Gianotti
- Christine Manns
- Helen Reebenacker

• Election Workers

- Listing not available (broken link)

• Zoning Board of Appeals - Associate

- Ian Luke


F. HEARINGS

G. LICENSE TRANSACTIONS

H. PRESENTATIONS/DISCUSSIONS

1. Police Chief Update
2. Resolution 16-51: Endorsement of 2016 Open Space and Recreation Plan

I. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS

J. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
1. Resolution 16-51: Endorsement of 2016 Open Space and Recreation Plan
2. Zoning Bylaw Amendment: 16-762: Amendment to Chapter 185, Section 31 Site Plan and Design Review- 2nd Reading (Motion to adopt Zoning Bylaw Amendment 16-762 – Roll Call Vote – 2/3 Vote – (6))
3. Zoning Bylaw Amendment 16-764R: Amendment to Chapter 185, Section 31, Site Plan and Design Review- 2nd Reading (Motion to adopt Bylaw Amendment 16-764R - Roll Call Vote 2/3 Vote (6))
4. Bylaw Amendment 16-765: Amendment to Chapter 170, Vehicles and Traffic, Article III, Traffic Signs, Signals, Markings and Zones, §170-10 Authority of Highway Foreman and §170-12 Interference Prohibited, Violations and Penalties. – 2nd Reading ( Motion to adopt Bylaw Amendment 16-765 – Roll Call Vote – Majority Vote of Full Council (5))
5. Bylaw Amendment 16-766: Amendment to Chapter 170, Vehicles and Traffic, at Article IV, Stopping, Standing and Parking, §170-15 Parking Prohibitions and Limitations and §170—17 “Resident Only” Parking – 2nd Reading (Motion to adopt Bylaw Amendment 16-766 – Roll Call Vote – Majority Vote of the Full Council (5))
6. Bylaw Amendment 16-767: Amendment to Chapter 170, Vehicles and Traffic at Article V, Parking Meter Zones, §170-19 Establishment and §170-20 Additional Regulations; Violations and Penalties – 2nd Reading (Motion to adopt Bylaw Amendment 16-767 – Roll Call Vote – Majority Vote of the Full Council (5))

K. TOWN ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT

L. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS

M. COUNCIL COMMENTS

N. EXECUTIVE SESSION

O. ADJOURN

along the white blaze trail in Franklin Town Forest (off Summer St)

• The documents released with this agenda can be found on the Town of Franklin webpage (PDF)
  Note: both the PDF link and the embedded doc below contains links to the specific documents support each agenda item. In my use of the doc, the links work except for the election workers (which is a duplicate of the Board of Registrars appointments).
  

http://town.franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_CouncilAgendas/2016%20Complete/August%2010,%202016%20Agenda.pdf

• or here

Absentee ballots are now available

Absentee Ballot Information: 

Absentee ballots are now available in the Town Clerk’s office. A registered voter who will be unable to vote at the polls on election day due to the following reasons may vote absentee up to 12:00 noon Wednesday, September 7, 2016. 

(1) absence from your city or town during normal polling hours; or 

(2) physical disability preventing you from going to the polling place; or 

(3) religious belief.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call The Town Clerk’s office at (508)520-4900 or email tburr@franklin.ma.us

election booths at FHS will be ready for the State Primary on Thursday, Sep 8, 2016

This was shared from the Town of Franklin webpage
http://franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_News/02499CE0-000F8513


Additional info on the State Primary, Thursday, Sep 8, 2016
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2016/08/state-primary-election-sep-8-last-day.html

"the fight against phosphorus is ongoing"

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

"Water bodies such as the Charles and ponds in MetroWest and the Milford area may have problems with proliferation of a variety of plants, including Eurasian water milfoil, algae, phragmites and white water lilies, said Alexandra Ash, the association's director of communications and events. 

Ash said Franklin has taken many steps to create green infrastructure such as rain gardens that help stormwater filter into the ground rather than run off into the river. 

Ash said officials try to treat stormwater naturally, mimicking what nature does.
Franklin DPW Director Brutus Cantoreggi said the town, among other steps, tries to reduce the amount of roads and sidewalks that are impervious to water by decreasing road widths and eliminating sidewalks where they are not needed. 

Franklin pulls its drinking water from the ground, so it is important to direct as much water into the ground as possible, he said."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20160807/region-dirty-water-getting-cleaner

rain garden doing what it is supposed to, catch the rain and let the ground soak it in

The article also mentions the Rain Garden Tour being held on Aug 17th with registration required by Aug 10th
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2016/08/rain-garden-tour-register-by-aug-10.html