Thursday, March 14, 2019

2 FHS music students to perform with All Eastern Honors Ensembles

The 2019 All-Eastern Honors Ensembles to Perform at The David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Pittsburgh, PA April 4-7, 2019, Pittsburgh PA

More than 780 of the most musically talented high school students in the Eastern region of the United States have been selected to perform in the 2019 All-Eastern Honors Ensembles.

Selected to perform in the All-Eastern Honors from Orchestra and Band are the following students from Franklin High School in Franklin, MA.
  • Lauren Dennett - Tenor Saxophone
  • Brinda Venkataraman - Violin

With assistance from their music teachers, Mrs. Diane Plouffe and Mrs.Leighanne Rudsit, these exceptional students will prepare remarkably challenging music that they will perform under the leadership of prominent conductors in this biennial event. Students will spend three days rehearsing with one of five conductors during the Eastern Division Conference of The National Association for Music Education to be held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in preparation for performances on April 7, 2019.

The All-Eastern Honors Ensembles, consisting of concert band, symphony orchestra, mixed chorus, treble chorus, and jazz ensemble, are organized by members of The National Association for Music Education. The concert band and symphony orchestra will each have approximately one hundred fifty instrumentalists, the jazz ensemble will have eighteen instrumentalists, the treble chorus will have one hundred twenty vocalists, and the mixed chorus will have approximately three hundred twenty vocalists. Student participation from each state is determined by a percentage of the total Eastern Division membership.

Each of the state music educators associations in the Eastern Division (CT, DC, DE, MA, MD, ME, NH, NJ, NY, RI, PA, VT, Europe) oversee the selection process in their state during the fall of the year before the event and compile ranked lists of recommended juniors and seniors for consideration. The method used to compile the lists varies from state to state, although all recommended students must have been selected to participate in their home all-state festivals.

The committee builds the ensembles from the state presidents' ranked lists, trying to mimic the state population percentages in each group.

The 2019 All-Eastern Honors Ensembles (all except for Jazz, which will perform on Saturday evening, April 6) will perform for an audience of thousands on Sunday, April 7, 2019, in the Spirit of Pittsburgh Ballroom at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Pittsburgh, PA. For program and ticket information please visit www.pmea.org.


Lauren Dennett - Tenor Saxophone; Brinda Venkataraman - Violin
Lauren Dennett - Tenor Saxophone; Brinda Venkataraman - Violin

Franklin SEPAC: Franklin Fire Department Community Day - Mar 23

Franklin Fire Department Community Day

This is an event for those with special needs to become more comfortable with our first responders.

Special appearances by Ben Franklin, therapy dog and newest member of the Franklin PD and Sparky the Fire Dog!

When: Saturday, March 23 from 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Where: 40 West Central Street, Fire Dept HQs

Space is limited, please RSVP to Franklin SEPAC at franklinsepac@gmail.com.

Franklin SEPAC: Franklin Fire Department Community Day - Mar 23
Franklin SEPAC: Franklin Fire Department Community Day - Mar 23

Franklin Art Association April 3, 2019 Meeting

The Franklin Art Association will meet on Wednesday, April 3, 2019 from 6:30 to 9:00 PM at the Franklin Senior Center, 10 Daniel McCahill Street in Franklin.

Refreshments and social time will begin at 6:30 PM, followed by a short business meeting and a watercolor demonstration by Joyce McJilton Dwyer, an artist with thirty years' experience working in watercolors and drawings.

FAA meetings are held the first Wednesday of every month, September through May, and are free and open to the public. For more information log on to www.franklinart.org

Franklin Art Association April 3, 2019 Meeting
Franklin Art Association April 3, 2019 Meeting

"69 percent of the weekend pass sales are in zones 6 through 8"

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

"A possible silver lining to the commuter train fare hikes approved this week is that travelers will continue paying $10 for unlimited weekend trips, as the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has made the $10 weekend commuter rail fare permanent. 
The MBTA’s Fiscal and Management Control Board on Monday approved an average 6 percent fare hike that will see the cost of Worcester riders’ tickets increasing from $11.50 to $12.25 as of July 1. The fare hikes will raise around $29 million annually, according to the MBTA. An amendment at the vote Monday puts off another fare hike for three years. 
The $10 weekend special fare was piloted last summer with the goal of increasing commuter rail ridership and revenue on the weekends, when trains have additional capacity. It offers $10 tickets for unlimited weekend travel from the first scheduled Saturday trip through the last scheduled Sunday trip and began June 3."
Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20190313/mbta-to-leave-price-of-weekend-pass-at-10

MBTA gets fare hike approved for commuter rail and subway
MBTA gets fare hike approved for commuter rail and subway

FREE funding workshops at Community Arts Advocacy Day - Mar 30, 2019




FREE funding workshops at Community Arts Advocacy Day - Mar 30, 2019

Register now for Community Arts Advocacy Day 2019!

Our recent survey of area arts and cultural organizations revealed that funding is the number one issue the creative community is facing, so we've added two brand new funding workshops to this year's program. Register now!

Action & IMPACT: Community Arts Advocacy Day 2019 is a multi-town event bringing arts & cultural organizations together with legislators for advocacy and education.


Workshops:
  • The "How To's" of Arts Advocacy, with MA Representative Jeff Roy
  • Fundraising Strategies for Small Shops
  • Getting to the HeART of Public Art
  • Funding through Sponsorships & Grants
  • Shoestring Marketing for Arts Organizations
  • Thinking Out of the Box for Opportunity
Agenda: 
8:00 - 9:00          Registration, Breakfast & Networking
8:30 - 9:00          Meet and mingle with legislators
9:00 - 9:15           Welcome Address by Senate President Karen E. Spilka
9:15 - 10:00         Legislative panel: The Value of Arts, Creativity & Culture in the Commonwealth with Senate President Spilka, Senator Rausch, Rep. Roy & Rep. Murray
10:00 - 10:15       Community Stories: Impact of the Arts, Arts Funding and Cultural Initiatives
10:25 - 11:25        Educational Workshop Session 1
11:35 - 12:15         Creative Break to Advocate … grassroots advocacy activities
12:15 - 1:15           Lunch
1:25 - 2:25            Educational Workshop Session 2
2:25 - 2:30           Wrap Up
Register Now
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/action-impact-community-arts-advocacy-day-2019-tickets-55811106522
Taste of ArtWeek on April 27

Save the Date
for Taste of ArtWeek on April 27...our big kick-off for ArtWeek (April 26 - May 5). Taste of ArtWeek will be a huge festival on the Frankin Town Common with food trucks, a beer & wine garden, free live dance and musical performances, a craft fair, and a fine art exhibition! April 27 from 4-8 PM with a rain date of April 28. Hope to see you there!

Copyright © 2019 Franklin Cultural Council, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
355 East Central Street, Franklin, MA 02038
Questions? Contact FCC Chair Stacey David at franklinculturalcouncil02038 [at] gmail.com

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Wednesday, March 13, 2019

Live reporting - Closing


Town Administrators report
response on mail box reimbursement

Future agenda items
none

Council Comments

Casey - shout out to FHS girls basketball team

Dellorco - shout out to the winter sports teams

Kelly - Memorial Day parade coming

motion to adjourn, second, passed 7-0

Live reporting: Legislation for Action


9. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS
a. Capital Budget Subcommittee
b. Budget Subcommittee
c. Economic Development Subcommittee
10. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
10a. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
Resolution 19-21: Acceptance of Gift to the Franklin Fire Department from the Singleton Family Foundation (Motion to Approve Resolution 19-21 - Majority Vote (5))

motion to approve, seconded, passed 7-0
10b. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
Resolution 19-22: Appropriation of Cable Funds (Motion to Approve Resolution 19-22 - Majority Vote (5))

quarterly process of allocation from the Town to Franklin TV for the cable fees - per DOR requirement

motion to approve, seconded, passed 7-0

10c. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
Resolution 19-23: Authority for Town Administrator to Settle Pending Litigation Against Town and Payment Appropriation (Motion to Approve Resolution 19-23 - Majority Vote (5))

to deal with a solar farm bankruptcy, vote required of Town Council in any claim amount exceeding 5,000 (in this case the settlement is $27,000)

motion to approve, seconded, passed 7-0

10d. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
Resolution 19-24: Norfolk Aggie Supplemental Appropriation FY19 (Motion to Approve Resolution 19-24 - Majority Vote (5))

estimate funded, 2 additional students appeared and not the amount is increased

motion to approve, seconded, passed 7-0

10e. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
Zoning Bylaw Amendment 19-829: District Enumerated-Creation of Mixed Business Innovation Zoning District-2nd Reading (Motion to Adopt Zoning Bylaw Amendment 19-829 - Two Thirds Majority Vote (5))

final reading of this proposal, next four items related to this item

attempting to change the existing zoning and eliminate some of the 'dirty' uses; citizen who owns the two properties questioned last time had not responded to reach out attempts until stepping up during the meeting.

motion to approve, seconded, passed 7-0 (via roll call (Padula, Pellegri absent))

10f. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
Zoning Bylaw Amendment 19-830: Use Regulations- Mixed Business Innovation Zoning District- 2nd Reading (Motion to Adopt Zoning Bylaw Amendment 19-830 - Two Thirds Majority Vote (5))

motion to approve, seconded, passed 7-0 (via roll call (Padula, Pellegri absent))

10g. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
Zoning Bylaw Amendment 19-831: Mixed Business Innovation Zone Dimensional Regulations- 2nd Reading (Motion to Adopt Zoning Bylaw Amendment 19-831 to a 2nd Reading- Two Thirds Majority Vote (5))

motion to approve, seconded, passed 7-0 (via roll call (Padula, Pellegri absent))

10h. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
Zoning Bylaw Amendment 19-832: Changes to §185-20. Signs, Mixed Business Innovation Zoning District- 2nd Reading (Motion to Adopt Zoning Bylaw Amendment 19-832 to a 2nd Reading- Two Thirds Majority Vote (5))

motion to approve, seconded, passed 7-0 (via roll call (Padula, Pellegri absent))

10i. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
Zoning Bylaw Amendment 19-833: Zoning Map Changes from Industrial to Mixed Business Innovation on Area on or near Fisher and Hayward Streets -2nd Reading (Motion to Adopt Zoning Bylaw Amendment 19-833 - Two Thirds Majority Vote (5))

motion to approve, seconded, passed 7-0 (via roll call (Padula, Pellegri absent))
10j. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
Zoning Bylaw Amendment 19-834: Changes to Sign District Overlay Map, Mixed Business Innovation Zoning District -2nd Reading (Motion to Adopt Zoning Bylaw Amendment 19-834 - Two Thirds Majority Vote (5))

motion to approve, seconded, passed 7-0 (via roll call (Padula, Pellegri absent))

10k. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
Bylaw Amendment 19-836: Amendment to the Town Code to Add New Chapter 108 Library Board of Directors- 2nd Reading (Motion to Adopt Bylaw Amendment 19-836 - Majority Roll Call Vote (5))

this codifies what is the the charter change, effectively now only 5 members (per the charter) where there has been in the prior resolution 6; otherwise the items are the same as had been operational

motion to approve, seconded, passed 7-0 (via roll call (Padula, Pellegri absent))

10l. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
Zoning Bylaw Amendment 19-837: Zoning Map Changes from General Residential V to Single Family Residential IV, an area on or near West Central Street- Referral to the Planning Board (Motion to Refer Zoning Bylaw Amendment 19-837 to the Planning Board- Majority Vote (5))

Joel D'Errico with story on the proposal for the property
Attny Cerel alerted the Council that there is a suit against the Planning Board and they should be cautious in their response to Mr D'Errico

Mr Marguerite speaks in favor of the R5, he has a deal with Mr D'Errico


motion to approve, seconded, passes 4-3 (simple majority due to the presence of 7)
Hamblen, n
Dellorco, n
Kelly, n

Casey, Jones, Mercer, Earls all yes





Live reporting: FY 2020 Budget Fiscal Forecast


6. HEARINGS
None
7. LICENSE TRANSACTIONS
None
8. PRESENTATIONS/DISCUSSIONS
FY 2020 Budget Fiscal Forecast
Town would be soon facing a structural budget deficit, and now we are facing the facts, a multi-year problem facing us

we are soon facing and need to have a dialog with the community on our future. The Town Administrator's memo is available on the Town web page, and copies here tonight

increased demands at all levels, fixed costs that all businesses face
pension burden for next 10-12 years but until then a problem
we don't control our own destiny, increased demand and increased cost
charter school also affects us this year as the funding formula is adjusted and as they increase, we see a decrease in compensation
98 Franklin students chosen in the charter school lottery
state aid expected to decline about a million dollars
State has not faced the issue of fairness in the formula

State aid was cut by 3.5 million after we passed the override in 2007, and that amount has not ever recovered

we are not the only community looking for more educational aid

we are about $2M short for a level service budget
for FY 2021 it will be worse, if you want an ambulance and police, you need to provide some funding, you see some effects and it could only get worse
it will be at least double ($4M in FY 2021)

do you like the services? do you want to protect the services you have?

We can scrap by on the Town side with some road funding
FY 2021 is really where the challenge will be

Senior Center is running on a budget of $200K
The Library is seeing increased demand for services in the new building and that needs funding

No one calls to say leave my road a little covered with snow, and they shouldn't
where do they want our departments to be
record breaking call volume each year for Police/Fire

snow plow drivers are an issue in meeting and hiring what we need as costs are rising. We have looked at economies of scale and no one has done more than we have

overall we are in a good economic climate, maybe not every family sees it, and that is understood

Dr Ahern, recaps the budget development this year, and over the past several years - programs built in-house to avoid out of district tuition, also have used revolving fund and they are not available this time around

enrollment is has been going down, but that is not the only factor of demand. Reduced lunches have increased over the past years; mental health concerns that are arriving and going untreated that we need to deal with

the school day is the school day and more pressures are creating problems as seen with the comments on recess mentioned earlier

all a midst a world that is rapidly changing with technology
need to focus on the whole child, their Social emotional health and well being

schools are being seen as broader than schools also as social services delivery
supporting 88 students with weekend backpack meals in coordination with Franklin Food Pantry

highly competitive complex, i.e. families do have choices with private schools and charter school. We need to remain competitive

School Committee has been advocating at the State House

shifted to fee for service, athletic fees, transportation fees, etc.

it pains me to say that we would need to have a discussion to review budget cuts when what we have brought forward is insufficient to begin with

Dr Bergen, School Committee Chair; Denise Schultz, Vice Chair School Committee

being as transparent as possible as there is no money to 'find'
to truly understand the demands that are being forced upon the schools
civics curriculum is new, training for it, implementing it will be a challenge
we are part of the community, it isn't schools vs police or fire
what do we want to do, do we want to loose something? or do we want to work together to solve this

Denise - this is the 4th budget I have worked on in my time, we have been working through the requirements, if we make cuts for this budget where it is not where it needs to be, it hurts so much, I feel as I have failed as a school committee member

Nutting - audit update next meeting, fine finance program, risk assessment completed; other than meals tax or hotel tax, we only can raise property taxes; hotel tax may be good as it usually hits those coming from outside Franklin. We have a great team but it in an of itself is not enough

Mercer - people need to know these issues now; we know it is inevitable down the road. It will go to the community as one voice. The FinCom is here, School Committee is here

Jones -as an educator myself, I completely understand the challenges of running the schools; prior overrides were seen as scare tactic; I was fearful that these things were going to be lost. Would it actually benefit us? Now ten years later we are back in the same boat. We need to do this in a positive manner, not about we could loose, this is what we are going to continue to enjoy, we need to invest in this. we need to approach is the educational approach. this is what we really want the community to be.

Nutting - we may be at all time high for excise tax and new housing permits, those revenues would decline; it would be foolish to ask for one year only, it would be better to ask for more than one year if possible

Kelly - if I was sitting home, I see we hired five new police officers and hear the word override, what is going on? We are fortunate to have our Chief of Police and he has made changes, they changed the way they do business and we were able to bring in the five officers with savings to their budget. I don't know that any one knows or feels the pain enough to buy into an override.

I am most upset with the State for their unfunded mandates. I don't believe we push our representation hard enough to get the changes we need. We have gone to the well. I didn't hear SchCom talk about redistricting but that might be an option. We all need to figure this out. I don't know where we go from here. It is a scary situation.

We're going to lose things no matter what, but let's come back with Plan B.

Mercer - "No one is saying there is an override tomorrow, as that is not happening." we need to look at things and come up with a plan to explain what we need to do

Dollorco - we are in the process, we are not along in this process, Boston is facing this as well. to the override, we need to get together. Fire is working on something similar, i don't know where they are at

Mercer - I hope that the community

George Conley - FinCom - shameless plug for examining every line of the budget, many of the meetings have no citizens (Shameless plug in that I do participate as a citizen to record and report for Franklin Matters. It is cool to think  that I am considered part of the 'administration')

Max Moringello - speaking to the avg cost of per pupil expenditure, a difference of 15.7% below the state average

lots of building apartments coming online, when are we going to slow things down, that is causing a problem.

Nutting - one of the dilemmas is that people have property rights and they can build what they want within our zoning guidelines; how are we going to stop growth? it is really not possible. The only constraint is running out of water (but we have capacity)

Twice the town voted against the community preservation act where we could have had the funding to buy land. Controlling growth in our vibrant community is a challenge.

This Council has bought land for the exact purpose you describe. I spend a half hour a day looking at that map. We spend time trying to get land but we don't get many sellers.

Kelly - credit to Jeff, it probably spends an hour or 2. It is suburban sprawl, it is nothing we can do about it. We talk about it all the time, we'd like to do something but there is really little we can do. We are going to grow, that is a given; the real question is how can we raise sufficient funding to continue to provide funding to meet our needs. The community doesn't know how much we bandaid all the the time. We have to find a solution to permanently fix and not bandaid

Jamie - last year we drained 1.5M from the budget stabilization fund and there is nothing left in it, what was there is being used this year.

the budget hearings are starting next week (3/18, 3/19, 3/25, 3/26).
** updated post meeting - hearing schedule changed from 4 to 2 meetings; 3/18 and 3/25

Renewable energy in place, lower rate contracts obtained, there is no fat. Council budget hearings 5/22 -5/24

The town budget page is available, the bond rating, budget histories, documents are there that can help explain what is going on. Some of the work we do is statutory (i.e. mandated)  https://www.franklinma.gov/town-budget

Mercer - I urge the community to come out to the FinCom, Town Council and School Committee meetings to understand the issues.