Finance Committee - Capital Budget Hearing #2 - Jan 15, 2019

The next Finance Committee meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan 15 at 7:00 PM in the Training Room on the 3rd Floor of the Municipal Building.

This will be second of two meetings to review the Capital budget. You may recall that these capital budget hearings are usually held in November/December. The hearings are late this year as the State was late to certify the free cash total for Franklin.

Free cash is neither free nor cash. It is the accounting result of under spending what was authorized for the prior year's budget expenses, and receiving more revenue than had been forecast in the FY 2018 budget. 

Franklin has historically used the free cash amount to build the individual stabilization funds (general, recreation, fire truck, etc.) and to fund the capital needs for the Town departments.

Capital budget presentations are scheduled from

• Schools
• Facilities
• Technology
• Recreation

After hearing all the presentations, the Finance Committee will vote to recommend some or all of these (with or without modifications) to be brought to the Town Council for their review and vote.

The agenda document for the Jan 15 meeting can be found on the Town of Franklin pages

Jan 15
https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/franklinma/files/agendas/2019-01-15_finance_committee_agenda.pdf


My meeting notes from the Jan 8 meeting can be found
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2019/01/finance-committee-capital-budget-part-1.html

The audio recording for the Jan 8 meeting can be found
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2019/01/fm-156-finance-committee-capital-budget.html

The Finance Committee as it begins the Jan 8 meeting at the Senior Center

FM #156 - Finance Committee - Capital Budget Part 1 - Jan 8, 2019 (audio)

This internet radio show or podcast is number 156 in the series for Franklin Matters.

This recording shares the Finance Committee meeting held at the Senior Center on Tuesday, January 8, 2019.

The meeting is the first of two to review the Capital Budget by the Finance Committee. Today’s meeting will review the following agenda:

• Fire
• Police
• Public Works
• Sewer Enterprise
• Water Enterprise

The second meeting, scheduled for Jan 15 will cover the remainder of the capital budget:

• Schools
• Facilities
• Technology
• Recreation

After hearing all the presentations, the Finance Committee will vote to recommend some or all of these (with or without modifications) to be brought to the Town Council for their review and vote.

The complete agenda documents for the Jan 8 and 15 meetings can be found on the Town of Franklin pages as follows:

Jan 8
https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/franklinma/files/agendas/2019-01-08_finance_committee_agenda.pdf

Jan 15
https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/franklinma/files/agendas/2019-01-15_finance_committee_agenda.pdf

The documents for the Capital Budget discussions can be found
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xu_1JUPgKXNH8i9DhDZH7ZkfFk6tyFQp/view?usp=sharing

Note: the document is a single PDF file with 166 pages, so it will take some time to download/open.

The total meeting recording runs just about 2 hours. Without further ado, here is the audio recording.

My notes for the meeting can be found:
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2019/01/finance-committee-capital-budget-part-1.html




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I thank you for listening.

For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/
If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com

The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana" c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.

I hope you enjoy!

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FHS boys hockey, girls hockey, and wrestling all post wins on Saturday

Via HockomockSports we share the results of the FHS sports action on Saturday, Jan 12, 2019

Boys Hockey = Franklin, 5 @ Attleboro, 0 – Final
– Scott Elliott scored a pair of goals and three other Panthers found the back of the net as Franklin skated to a shutout win over Attleboro. Senior Joey Lizotte, senior Zac Falvey, and sophomore Declan Lovett also scored for the Panthers in the win.

Girls Hockey = Franklin, 6 vs. Medway, 3 – Final
– Franklin senior Cassi Ronan scored a hat trick to pace the Panthers to a win over Medway at home on Saturday night. Ronan also had an assist while Regan Paterson and Gianna Cameron scored once. Libby Carter, Katelyn Brown, and Tina Pisano added assists while Gabby Colace made 12 saves to earn the win.

Wrestling = Algonquin Quad (Franklin)
– Franklin picked up three impressive wins at the Algonquin quad, including a dramatic come-from-behind victory. The Panthers beat Framingham (36-29), Algonquin (49-12) and used a last match pin from Drew DiFilippo to secure a 33-28 win over West Springfield. Dominic Sackley went 3-0 for Franklin with three pins.

For the other results around the Hockomock League
https://hockomocksports.com/saturdays-schedule-scoreboard-01-12-19/

FHS Panthers

Finance Committee - Capital Budget Part 1 - Recap of Jan 8, 2019 meeting

Via Twitter I took notes of the Finance Committee meeting on Tuesday, January 8, 2019. This was held at the Senior Center and was recorded. The audio recording will be made available. It will be about 2 hours to cover the meeting completely.

This is the first of two sessions to review and determine the Capital Budget. The Finance Committee will vote to recommend all, part or some modification thereof at the meeting Tuesday, Jan 15 for the Town Council to then decide on.

The packet of documents is a large one, 166 pages in PDF format. The link is provided here.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xu_1JUPgKXNH8i9DhDZH7ZkfFk6tyFQp/view?usp=sharing

You can also find the tweets by searching for the hashtag #fincom0108
https://twitter.com/search?src=typd&q=%23fincom0108 (Note: the search results don't provide the tweets in chronological order. I did that.)

Live reporting: Finance committee gets underway at Senior Center. #FINCOM0108 . Yes, I could have been at the School committee meeting but respectfully I want to "follow the money"

Live reporting: Finance committee gets underway at Senior Center. #FINCOM0108 . Yes, I could have been at the School committee meeting but respectfully I want to "follow the money"

— Steve Sherlock (@FranklinMatters) January 9, 2019

#fincom0108 2 new deputy chiefs in attendance tonight for the fire dept as part of their learning process

#fincom0108 2 new deputy chiefs in attendance tonight for the fire dept as part of their learning process

— Steve Sherlock (@FranklinMatters) January 9, 2019

Overview of the free cash amount, almost the largest ever. Don't count on it repeating. Some amounts are set aside for snow/ice, etc we have $2+M left to work with for capital budget. Exact amounts to be provided later #fincom0108

Overview of the free cash amount, almost the largest ever. Don't count on it repeating. Some amounts are set aside for snow/ice, etc we have $2+M left to work with for capital budget. Exact amounts to be provided later #fincom0108

— Steve Sherlock (@FranklinMatters) January 9, 2019

Fincom scene at the Senior center for tonight's meeting #fincom0108

Fincom scene at the Senior center for tonight's meeting #fincom0108 pic.twitter.com/AfFvXWH64N

— Steve Sherlock (@FranklinMatters) January 9, 2019

Chief McCarragher bemoans fire dept planning coming in with smallest request in a year with the most free cash available #fincom0108 advocates for video technology to help the medics in servicing a patient, four total, one per vehicle

Chief McCarragher bemoans fire dept planning coming in with smallest request in a year with the most free cash available #fincom0108 advocates for video technology to help the medics in servicing a patient, four total, one per vehicle

— Steve Sherlock (@FranklinMatters) January 9, 2019

Uniform request also due to instances where servicing special situations and cleaning them before going to next call and possibly carrying the potential contamination with them. Regulation by OSHA coming for 1st time in MA #fincom0108

Uniform request also due to instances where servicing special situations and cleaning them before going to next call and possibly carrying the potential contamination with them. Regulation by OSHA coming for 1st time in MA #fincom0108

— Steve Sherlock (@FranklinMatters) January 9, 2019

A combi tool, it cuts and spreads. Haven't been asking for similar as much of the equipment has come in with the new vehicle rotation. We need this before the next vehicle comes in 2023. #fincom0108

A combi tool, it cuts and spreads. Haven't been asking for similar as much of the equipment has come in with the new vehicle rotation. We need this before the next vehicle comes in 2023. #fincom0108

— Steve Sherlock (@FranklinMatters) January 9, 2019

Examination of how to best resolve the radio 'dead spot' out along Lincoln and Populatic Sts. Didnt matter too much to us with few calls, call volume there is increasing, hence the risk #fincom0108

Examination of how to best resolve the radio 'dead spot' out along Lincoln and Populatic Sts. Didnt matter too much to us with few calls, call volume there is increasing, hence the risk #fincom0108

— Steve Sherlock (@FranklinMatters) January 9, 2019

Fire fighters health needs to be addressed, they statistically get some cancers at significantly higher % than normal folks, some fire retardant materials contain cancer causing agents #fincom0108

Fire fighters health needs to be addressed, they statistically get some cancers at significantly higher % than normal folks, some fire retardant materials contain cancer causing agents #fincom0108

— Steve Sherlock (@FranklinMatters) January 9, 2019

Chief Lynch up next to explain his capital request, 3 cars and 1 motorcycle requested this year. Kevlar has 5 yr warranty so some of these are scheduled for replacement on 5 year plan, replacing some at a time #fincom0108

Chief Lynch up next to explain his capital request, 3 cars and 1 motorcycle requested this year. Kevlar has 5 yr warranty so some of these are scheduled for replacement on 5 year plan, replacing some at a time #fincom0108

— Steve Sherlock (@FranklinMatters) January 9, 2019

Radios to be purchased over 3 yr period replacing 1/3 at a time. Some of the older units would be redeploy ed to the schools for use in emergency situations. Radar sign boards wearing and heavily used, one to be purchased. #fincom0108

Radios to be purchased over 3 yr period replacing 1/3 at a time. Some of the older units would be redeploy ed to the schools for use in emergency situations. Radar sign boards wearing and heavily used, one to be purchased. #fincom0108

— Steve Sherlock (@FranklinMatters) January 9, 2019

$50k for Town common, authorized several years ago, banners, etc would be taken from this fund. Street acceptances take time and money doing the research required to resolve street ownership issues #fincom0108

$50k for Town common, authorized several years ago, banners, etc would be taken from this fund. Street acceptances take time and money doing the research required to resolve street ownership issues #fincom0108

— Steve Sherlock (@FranklinMatters) January 9, 2019

Storm water management study at $85k needs to be ready when the regs are finally coming due. Franklin has been proactive in storm water management but the liability is likely over $60M. The study would develop some options on how to plan and pay for it #fincom0108

Storm water management study at $85k needs to be ready when the regs are finally coming due. Franklin has been proactive in storm water management but the liability is likely over $60M. The study would develop some options on how to plan and pay for it #fincom0108

— Steve Sherlock (@FranklinMatters) January 9, 2019

Equipment replacement needs, utility truck, etc. Mini escavator cost effective. #fincom0108 street sweeper life cycle? Not just years, but it is all about use. When it picks up the street sand it is corrosive and that eats the truck

Equipment replacement needs, utility truck, etc. Mini escavator cost effective. #fincom0108 street sweeper life cycle? Not just years, but it is all about use. When it picks up the street sand it is corrosive and that eats the truck

— Steve Sherlock (@FranklinMatters) January 9, 2019

Water enterprise fund, cash flow comes from rate payers. Policy of leaving $1M in fund for contingency. 90% of the meters have been replaced, will keep the balance will be replaced by in house staff rather than contractor. #fincom0108

Water enterprise fund, cash flow comes from rate payers. Policy of leaving $1M in fund for contingency. 90% of the meters have been replaced, will keep the balance will be replaced by in house staff rather than contractor. #fincom0108

— Steve Sherlock (@FranklinMatters) January 9, 2019

Backhoe needs to be replaced, originally from 1989. Mini escavator not good for water line work, reach is too short, wouldn't hold walls enough. #fincom0108 5 year plan of water line replacement and road rebuilds, pavement management plan part of process.

Backhoe needs to be replaced, originally from 1989. Mini escavator not good for water line work, reach is too short, wouldn't hold walls enough. #fincom0108 5 year plan of water line replacement and road rebuilds, pavement management plan part of process.

— Steve Sherlock (@FranklinMatters) January 9, 2019

Vacuum truck up for replacement. Used to clean sewer lines, essential to every day operations. Recently was out of service and needed to call in a contractor with a vehicle #fincom0108

Vacuum truck up for replacement. Used to clean sewer lines, essential to every day operations. Recently was out of service and needed to call in a contractor with a vehicle #fincom0108

— Steve Sherlock (@FranklinMatters) January 9, 2019

Town has more pump stations than most communities as when the growth occurred there was no master plan, some of the existing stations could have been avoided. #fincom0108 pump station design needs to include optimal pumping rather than leaking

Town has more pump stations than most communities as when the growth occurred there was no master plan, some of the existing stations could have been avoided. #fincom0108 pump station design needs to include optimal pumping rather than leaking

— Steve Sherlock (@FranklinMatters) January 9, 2019

Already costed to save interest of approx $4M over 20 term due to low interest rate low secured. Only other major items seen is the Beaver St connector. Over 108 yrs old, carries 90% over our flow to the plant, don't want to calculate what it would cost to replace #fincom0108

Already costed to save interest of approx $4M over 20 term due to low interest rate low secured. Only other major items seen is the Beaver St connector. Over 108 yrs old, carries 90% over our flow to the plant, don't want to calculate what it would cost to replace #fincom0108

— Steve Sherlock (@FranklinMatters) January 9, 2019

Water presentation includes the map displayed by Jeff Nutting with commentary by Brutus Cantoreggi

Water presentation includes the map displayed by Jeff Nutting with commentary by Brutus Cantoreggi #fincom0108 pic.twitter.com/QqXrXc7iA1

— Steve Sherlock (@FranklinMatters) January 9, 2019

former Thompson Press site a good example of public private cooperation on the storm water solution, developer wrote $700k check for town, grant from state to help run off from Dean Ave through the property #fincom0108

former Thompson Press site a good example of public private cooperation on the storm water solution, developer wrote $700k check for town, grant from state to help run off from Dean Ave through the property #fincom0108

— Steve Sherlock (@FranklinMatters) January 9, 2019

Health care 2nd largest piece of the town budget after schools, 8 to 10 % of 116M #fincom0108

Health care 2nd largest piece of the town budget after schools, 8 to 10 % of 116M #fincom0108

— Steve Sherlock (@FranklinMatters) January 9, 2019

OPEB estimated at $74M liability, detailed report going to Town Council Weds evening (in meeting agenda packet) #fincom0108 the system needs to be changed, it can't stay this way.

OPEB estimated at $74M liability, detailed report going to Town Council Weds evening (in meeting agenda packet) #fincom0108 the system needs to be changed, it can't stay this way.

— Steve Sherlock (@FranklinMatters) January 9, 2019

Overview of risk assessment presented to Town Council in December, in good shape, mostly documentation needed to be written, another update due to Council in a couple of months #fincom0108

Overview of risk assessment presented to Town Council in December, in good shape, mostly documentation needed to be written, another update due to Council in a couple of months #fincom0108

— Steve Sherlock (@FranklinMatters) January 9, 2019

Overview of fiscal policies, potential suggested changes some are technical changes, some additional discussion points for example, open space fund can't provide enough to buy land, let's grow the amount to give us more to use #fincom0108

Overview of fiscal policies, potential suggested changes some are technical changes, some additional discussion points for example, open space fund can't provide enough to buy land, let's grow the amount to give us more to use #fincom0108

— Steve Sherlock (@FranklinMatters) January 9, 2019

Consideration for implementation of excise tax on Marijuana. Council has authorized up to 3% #fincom0108 roads and infrastructure additional funds needed for maintenance of the 200 plus miles of roads, sidewalks and parking lots

Consideration for implementation of excise tax on Marijuana. Council has authorized up to 3% #fincom0108 roads and infrastructure additional funds needed for maintenance of the 200 plus miles of roads, sidewalks and parking lots

— Steve Sherlock (@FranklinMatters) January 9, 2019

These are policy not bylaws we can use them as necessary. Bottom line citizens will decide the level of government they want. #fincom0108

These are policy not bylaws we can use them as necessary. Bottom line citizens will decide the level of government they want. #fincom0108

— Steve Sherlock (@FranklinMatters) January 9, 2019

The Finance Committee

The presenter table with Chief McCarragher ready to go

Jeff Nutting holds the map while Brutus Cantoreggi makes his points

Put your Christmas trees out for pickup this week

According to the Fall/Winter Solid Waste Mailer, the Christmas Tree collection days will be during the week of January 14, 2019. 

Your tree will be picked up during the week of January 14 on the day of your normal trash/recycling.

Need a new copy of the solid waste mailer? Get one here:
https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/franklinma/files/uploads/franklin_2018_2019.pdf

When do they pick up my Christmas tree?

"administration’s decision advances a project sought by the natural gas industry"

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

"In a decision blasted by South Shore lawmakers as reckless, irresponsible and dangerous, Gov. Charlie Baker’s administration on Friday approved air quality permits for a natural gas compressor station in Weymouth, with state environmental regulators concluding the Enbridge Energy project conforms with air pollution regulations. 

The project will support natural gas capacity upgrades and the expansion of a gas transmission pipeline system that runs from Mahwah, New Jersey, to Beverly, Massachusetts, for transportation and deliveries on the Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline system. Collectively, it’s referred to as the Atlantic Bridge Project, which includes the siting of the compressor station, and which received federal approval in January 2017. 

“This reckless and irresponsible decision is harmful to the health, safety and well-being of residents of Weymouth and the entire South Shore,” said Rep. James Murphy, D-Weymouth, in a statement released after state energy officials disclosed their decision just before 5 p.m. Friday. 

“Generations of residents living in the Fore River basin have been burdened by industrial pollutants. These industries once supplied much-needed jobs to the area, while simultaneously poisoning the earth, water and air,” added state Rep. Ronald Mariano, D-Quincy. “Now, Enbridge plans to expose current and future generations of Quincy and Weymouth residents to a new source of toxins, all in the name of padding the profits of a multinational energy corporation. With today’s decision, Enbridge is one step closer to succeeding.”

https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20190113/baker-oks-air-permits-for-natural-gas-project

Given the approval provided by Governor Baker, could the Algonquin Pipeline Expansion come back on the table? It was proposed to run through Franklin. It is still shown as part of the Atlantic Bridge Project. Check the green lines on the map shown.

https://www.enbridge.com/projects-and-infrastructure/projects/atlantic-bridge#projectdetails:project-to-date

"The Atlantic Bridge Project is designed to provide additional capacity"

Franklin Library: Classics V Jazz Quintet - Jan 22

The Franklin Public Library will present the Classics V Jazz Quintet in concert on Tuesday, January 22 beginning at 6:30 PM.

Franklin Library: Classics V Jazz Quintet - Jan 22

This was shared from the Town of Franklin page
https://www.franklinma.gov/franklin-public-library/bulletins/classics-v-jazz-quintet