|
| This is an official email from the U.S. Census Bureau. If you have any questions or comments, please contact us (http://www.census.gov/about/contact-us.html). |
Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Census Bureau News Profile America Facts for Features: Halloween - 2019
Franklin Public Schools: Important Dates for Oct-Nov 2019
Important Dates - October - November 2019
Seniors, order your caps and gowns until November 8th via Jostens. Click here to order
Contact Information Changes-If you need to change an email address or phone number in your student's Aspen contact information, click here to send us those changes
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeY4jBgHKcpcfI5bKqPmeCQ7HD800zKcdlQps9XmVDudDTuYw/viewform
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeY4jBgHKcpcfI5bKqPmeCQ7HD800zKcdlQps9XmVDudDTuYw/viewform
________________________________
- Tuesday, November 5th- No School PDD
- Thursday, November 7th-Panther Pride Night for all Franklin 8th graders 5:30PM-7:30 PM in the FHS Gymnasium. Find out what FHS is all about
- Thursday, November 7th Chamber Concert at FHS 7:00 PM in the Auditorium
- Friday, November 8th-Last day for SENIORS to order caps and gowns via JOSTENS. Click here to order
- Monday, November 11th-No School Veteran's Day
- Saturday, November 23rd and Sunday, November 24th-FHS Theater Company presents "Almost Maine". More information coming soon.
- Wednesday, November 27th, Thursday, November 28th, Friday, November 29th - No School, Thanksgiving Break
No School and Half days of school 2019-2020
| Date | Event |
| 10/29/19 | ½ Day of School: Dismissal at 10:55 AM-Parent Conferences |
| 10/30/19 | ½ Day of School: Dismissal at 10:55 AM-Parent Conferences |
| 11/5/19 | No School PDD Day |
| 11/11/19 | No School-Veteran's Day |
| 11/27/19 | No School-Thanksgiving Break |
| 11/28/19 | No School-Thanksgiving Break |
| 11/29/19 | No School-Thanksgiving Break |
| 12/13/19 | ½ Day of School; Dismissal at 10:55 AM -PDD |
| 12/23/19-through 1/1/2020 | Holiday Break, No School |
| 01/17/20 | ½ Day of School; Dismissal at 10:55 AM -PDD |
| 01/20/20 | No School- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day |
| 02/07/20 | ½ Day of School; Dismissal at 10:55 AM -PDD |
| 02/17/20 through 2/21/20 | Winter Break, No School |
| 03/03/20 | No School PDD Day |
| 04/03/20 | ½ Day of School; Dismissal at 10:55 AM -PDD |
| 04/10/20 | No School- Good Friday |
| 04/20/20 through 04/24/20 | Spring Break-No School |
| 05/08/20 | ½ Day of School; Dismissal at 10:55 AM -PDD |
| 05/25/20 | No School- Memorial Day |
| 06/17/20 | Last day of School-IF NO SNOW DAYS |
 |
| Parmenter on a sunny day before the leaves changed |
Lifelong Community Learning is now on Facebook
"We are excited to announce that Lifelong Community Learning now has a Facebook page. Click below to visit and like our new page."https://www.facebook.com/LifelongCommunityLearning/
 |
| Lifelong Community Learning is now on Facebook |
For a listing of all the Town of Franklin social media accounts visit
https://www.franklinma.gov/home/pages/social-media-center
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Live Reporting: ECDC Developmental Summary and Discussion / Action Items
II. Guests/Presentations
A. Recognitions
Cindy Douglas - 5 terms on SchComm, 36 years teaching (and 2 in Brockton)
Diane Feeley - 2 years of service, budget subcommittee, community relations, school wellness, transportation, also ad-hoc on the Superintendent evaluation
Dr Monica Linden - 2 years, policy subcommittee, rep on the School Start Time Advisory Committee, also ad-hoc on the Superintendent evaluation
Denise Schultz - 2 terms, vice char for past term; advocate at State level and MASC, policy committee, newsletter coordinator as part of the community relations, also instrumental in the Legislative Forums the last two years
Gigi Zub - 2 years, community relations subcommittee, expanded presence of SchComm around town at events
Dr Linden award as announced here earlier this week
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2019/10/dr-linden-receives-faculty-for.html
Dr Bergen comments on the honor it has been to work with all the SchComm members, and others within the district. We are bound by open meeting laws and engage in formal public discussions accordingly. As volunteers, it is never about the paycheck but paying it forward, giving it back.
Scofield commenting as well, "do we agree all the time, absolutely not, but we agree to disagree and get on with it."
Zub - it wasn't easy to add to the family schedule, they did understand it and made the family work. They all wished to be here tonight, and schedules just wouldn't permit it. I feel blessed to be part of the all female School Committee. I would also like to thank the public administrative staff. I am so proud of the work that you do.
Glenn Jones, Town Councilor, thanking the committee members for their service, it does mean a lot, id does not get forgotten. The Administration makes us look so good
B. ECDC Developmental Summary
Kelty Kelly, principal of ECDC
thanks to all of you for your commitment and openness, we have had some challenges and to share and be heard meant a lot.
it is a developmental summary, not a report card. The children are 3, 4 and 5. It touches on some subjects as well as social emotional learning as well as socio-motor skills
we are looking to go forward with this, understanding that this is a work in process, assessing after each trimester.
this will go out with a letter to the families, and how to use it.
The Developmental Summary
https://www.franklinps.net/sites/franklinmaps/files/uploads/_preschool_developmental_summary_final_10-18-19.pdf
III. Discussion/Action Items
A. ECDC Developmental Summary
I recommend approval of the ECDC Developmental Summary as presented.
motion to approve, seconded, passed 7-0
B. Superintendent’s Evaluation – Goals
The Chair recommends approval of the Superintendent’s Goals as detailed.
https://www.franklinps.net/sites/franklinmaps/files/uploads/discussion_actionb_-_supt_eval_goals.pdf
motion to approve, seconded, passed 7-0
C. MASC Delegate
I recommend the committee appoint Anne Bergen as its MASC Delegate at the November MASS/MASC Joint Conference.
motion to approve, seconded, passed 7-0
D. MASC Resolutions
I recommend approval of the following MASC Resolutions as detailed:
Resolution 1: Banning Polystyrene from Schools
Franklin uses plant based trays, hence not applicable
E. Policy First Readings
I recommend moving the following policies to a second reading as discussed:
A. Recognitions
Cindy Douglas - 5 terms on SchComm, 36 years teaching (and 2 in Brockton)
Diane Feeley - 2 years of service, budget subcommittee, community relations, school wellness, transportation, also ad-hoc on the Superintendent evaluation
Dr Monica Linden - 2 years, policy subcommittee, rep on the School Start Time Advisory Committee, also ad-hoc on the Superintendent evaluation
Denise Schultz - 2 terms, vice char for past term; advocate at State level and MASC, policy committee, newsletter coordinator as part of the community relations, also instrumental in the Legislative Forums the last two years
Gigi Zub - 2 years, community relations subcommittee, expanded presence of SchComm around town at events
Dr Linden award as announced here earlier this week
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2019/10/dr-linden-receives-faculty-for.html
Dr Bergen comments on the honor it has been to work with all the SchComm members, and others within the district. We are bound by open meeting laws and engage in formal public discussions accordingly. As volunteers, it is never about the paycheck but paying it forward, giving it back.
Scofield commenting as well, "do we agree all the time, absolutely not, but we agree to disagree and get on with it."
Zub - it wasn't easy to add to the family schedule, they did understand it and made the family work. They all wished to be here tonight, and schedules just wouldn't permit it. I feel blessed to be part of the all female School Committee. I would also like to thank the public administrative staff. I am so proud of the work that you do.
Glenn Jones, Town Councilor, thanking the committee members for their service, it does mean a lot, id does not get forgotten. The Administration makes us look so good
B. ECDC Developmental Summary
Kelty Kelly, principal of ECDC
thanks to all of you for your commitment and openness, we have had some challenges and to share and be heard meant a lot.
it is a developmental summary, not a report card. The children are 3, 4 and 5. It touches on some subjects as well as social emotional learning as well as socio-motor skills
we are looking to go forward with this, understanding that this is a work in process, assessing after each trimester.
this will go out with a letter to the families, and how to use it.
The Developmental Summary
https://www.franklinps.net/sites/franklinmaps/files/uploads/_preschool_developmental_summary_final_10-18-19.pdf
III. Discussion/Action Items
A. ECDC Developmental Summary
I recommend approval of the ECDC Developmental Summary as presented.
motion to approve, seconded, passed 7-0
B. Superintendent’s Evaluation – Goals
The Chair recommends approval of the Superintendent’s Goals as detailed.
https://www.franklinps.net/sites/franklinmaps/files/uploads/discussion_actionb_-_supt_eval_goals.pdf
motion to approve, seconded, passed 7-0
C. MASC Delegate
I recommend the committee appoint Anne Bergen as its MASC Delegate at the November MASS/MASC Joint Conference.
motion to approve, seconded, passed 7-0
D. MASC Resolutions
I recommend approval of the following MASC Resolutions as detailed:
Resolution 1: Banning Polystyrene from Schools
Franklin uses plant based trays, hence not applicable
motion to approve, seconded, passed 7-0
Resolution 2: Pertaining to Educator Diversity and Professional Licensure
motion to approve, seconded, passed 7-0
Resolution 3: School Transportation
motion to approve, seconded, passed 7-0
Resolution 4: Climate Change
motion to approve, seconded, passed 7-0
Resolution 5: Full Funding of Transportation Costs for Students in Foster Care and State Care
motion to approve, seconded, passed 7-0
Resolution 6: Universal Quality Pre-Kindergarten Access in Massachusetts
motion to approve, seconded, passed 7-0
Resolution 7: Poverty and Children
motion to approve, seconded, passed 7-0
Resolution 8: Resolution for Access to Menstrual Supplies
motion to approve, seconded, passed 7-0
Resolution 9: Charter School Reform
motion to approve, seconded, passed 7-0
E. Policy First Readings
I recommend moving the following policies to a second reading as discussed:
- a) KF – Community Use of School Facilities
- b) KF – E1 – Rules and Regulations
- c) KF – E2 – FHS Building Use
- d) KF – E4 – FHS Fee Schedule
mostly clarifications to language, gender neutral, liability insurance, half vs. full day use, penalty schedule for non-payment
Live reporting: Discussion Only Items through to Closing
IV. Discussion Only Items
A. October 1 Enrollment Report
https://www.franklinps.net/sites/franklinmaps/files/uploads/enrollment_statistics_-_10-29-19_sc.pdf
approx 310 at Charter last year, 373 this year with preliminary numbers
V. Information Matters
A. School Committee Sub-Committee Reports
Budget
rough draft of portrait of a graduate and how the budget would align to it
Community Relations
social media panel night at Oct 21
70 folks participated at FHS
follow up info to be sent out (i.e handouts of the night)
Policy
group met, policies for first read tonight. No next meeting set
Joint PCC
looking to equitable experience across the schools
promoting good conversation on what supports the schools mission and what doesn't
Substance Abuse Task Force
SWAC
met this morning, off and running
nutrition organic farm in Natick being used as a model to see what kind of initiative can be started here
looking to expand physical activities before and after school as well as at the end of the year between when sports end and school ends to fill in the gap
VI. New Business
A. To discuss any future agenda items
Nov 12 - organizational meeting
school committee orientation before regular meeting
new chair and vice chair
VII. Consent Agenda
A. Approval of Minutes
I recommend approval of the minutes from your October 15, 2019 School Committee meeting as detailed.
B. Transfers
I recommend approval of the budget transfers as detailed.
C. Music Gift
I recommend acceptance of a check for $1,620.00 from various music parents for in-house enrichment at FHS as detailed.
D. FHS Athletics Gift
I recommend acceptance of a check for $954.28 from All American Publishing for Supplemental Supplies as detailed.
E. Cello Donation
I recommend acceptance of the donation of a new Strobel 4/4 Cello (valued at $3,259.99) from Monica & David Mann for supplemental supplies at Annie Sullivan Middle School as detailed.
motion to accept consent agenda items, seconded, passed 7-0
VIII. Payment of Bills Dr. Bergen
IX. Payroll Mrs. Douglas
X. Adjournment
motion to adjourn, seconded, passed 7-0
The agenda and documents released for this meeting can be found on the Schools page
https://www.franklinps.net/district/meeting-packets/pages/october-29-2019-school-committee-packet
A. October 1 Enrollment Report
https://www.franklinps.net/sites/franklinmaps/files/uploads/enrollment_statistics_-_10-29-19_sc.pdf
approx 310 at Charter last year, 373 this year with preliminary numbers
V. Information Matters
A. School Committee Sub-Committee Reports
Budget
rough draft of portrait of a graduate and how the budget would align to it
Community Relations
social media panel night at Oct 21
70 folks participated at FHS
follow up info to be sent out (i.e handouts of the night)
Policy
group met, policies for first read tonight. No next meeting set
Joint PCC
looking to equitable experience across the schools
promoting good conversation on what supports the schools mission and what doesn't
Substance Abuse Task Force
SWAC
met this morning, off and running
nutrition organic farm in Natick being used as a model to see what kind of initiative can be started here
looking to expand physical activities before and after school as well as at the end of the year between when sports end and school ends to fill in the gap
VI. New Business
A. To discuss any future agenda items
Nov 12 - organizational meeting
school committee orientation before regular meeting
new chair and vice chair
VII. Consent Agenda
A. Approval of Minutes
I recommend approval of the minutes from your October 15, 2019 School Committee meeting as detailed.
B. Transfers
I recommend approval of the budget transfers as detailed.
C. Music Gift
I recommend acceptance of a check for $1,620.00 from various music parents for in-house enrichment at FHS as detailed.
D. FHS Athletics Gift
I recommend acceptance of a check for $954.28 from All American Publishing for Supplemental Supplies as detailed.
E. Cello Donation
I recommend acceptance of the donation of a new Strobel 4/4 Cello (valued at $3,259.99) from Monica & David Mann for supplemental supplies at Annie Sullivan Middle School as detailed.
motion to accept consent agenda items, seconded, passed 7-0
VIII. Payment of Bills Dr. Bergen
IX. Payroll Mrs. Douglas
X. Adjournment
motion to adjourn, seconded, passed 7-0
The agenda and documents released for this meeting can be found on the Schools page
https://www.franklinps.net/district/meeting-packets/pages/october-29-2019-school-committee-packet
Live reporting: School Committee - Oct 29, 2019
Present:
Absent:
I. Routine Business
A. Review of Agenda
B. Citizen’s Comments
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2019/10/wfprfm-devoting-next-several-days-to.html
C. FHS Student Representative Comments
D. Superintendent’s Report
recognizing faculty and staff
Food Service Director presented at a recent panel at a conference
"Crazy Reading Ladies" presented at recent conference and were quick busy in collaborative events at the ILA Conf
another avenue for connecting with Schools, a new podcast series, "FPS Voice"
coming soon to your favorite podcast app, intro out already. others to follow
contracted with a demography consultant (McKibben Assoc) on the numbers forecast to 2030, expected completion in Jan 2020
working with Facilities on the scope and sequence for the facilities study
Professional day - Nov 5
Jan Harden returning to talk about inclusion
FHS content specific development
nurses in workshop across district on anxiety, in PM with police on narcotics
Absent:
I. Routine Business
A. Review of Agenda
B. Citizen’s Comments
In the spirit of open communication, “the Committee will hold a public participation segment (also called Citizen’s Comments) about matters not related to an agenda item at the beginning of each regular School Committee meeting. The Committee will listen to, but not respond to any comment made ….Steve Sherlock provides an update on the wfpr.fm broadcast of the candidate info in advance of the election Nov 5
A Committee member may add an agenda item to a future meeting as a result of a citizen comment …. The Committee will hear public comments related to an agenda item when the Chair deems appropriate during the Committee meeting. Topics for discussion during the meeting must be limited to those items listed on the Committee meeting agenda for that evening …. ” - from Policy BEDH
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2019/10/wfprfm-devoting-next-several-days-to.html
C. FHS Student Representative Comments
D. Superintendent’s Report
recognizing faculty and staff
Food Service Director presented at a recent panel at a conference
"Crazy Reading Ladies" presented at recent conference and were quick busy in collaborative events at the ILA Conf
another avenue for connecting with Schools, a new podcast series, "FPS Voice"
coming soon to your favorite podcast app, intro out already. others to follow
contracted with a demography consultant (McKibben Assoc) on the numbers forecast to 2030, expected completion in Jan 2020
working with Facilities on the scope and sequence for the facilities study
Professional day - Nov 5
Jan Harden returning to talk about inclusion
FHS content specific development
nurses in workshop across district on anxiety, in PM with police on narcotics
wfpr.fm devoting the next several days to the Nov 5 Town of Franklin Election Info
Franklin's wfpr.fm or 102.9 on the FM dial has adjusted their normal programming to share the audio recordings of the individual Candidate interviews, the Candidate Forum (Oct 17), and the Candidate Query (Oct 22).
In between the longer programs, short audio "public service announcements" or PSA's use some of the candidate audio comments on getting the voters out for Nov 5 with a reminder to vote and to consider voting via absentee ballot.
Listen here: http://radio.citrus3.com:8418/;stream.mp3
The radio program schedule is set up as follows:
Wed 9 AM - Get Voters To Vote 31m00s
Wed 10 AM - FM_#178_Candidate_Query_2019 Part 1 59m20s
Wed 11 AM - FM_#178_Candidate_Query_2019 Part 2 50m38s
Thu 9 AM - FM_#176_Candidate_Forum_2019 59m54s
Thu 10 AM - FM_#178_CandIntv_RDellorco_2019 18m36s
Thu 11 AM - FM_#177_CandIntv_TCormerLedger_2019 15m59s
Fri 9 AM - Frank Presents - Election 2019_CandIntv_ABissanti_2019 27m28s
Fri 10 AM - FM_#176_Candidate_Forum_2019 59m54s
Fri 11 AM - FM_#173_CandIntv - MHamblen_2019 26m00s
All programs also repeat on Saturday to 9 AM - 5 PM and Sunday 9 AM - 5 PM
Info on the Get Voters to Vote can be found
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2019/10/insights-on-what-do-we-do-to-get-out.html
Info on the Candidate Query can be found
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2019/10/franklin-in-focus-candidate-query-oct.html
Info on the Candidate Forum can be found
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2019/10/franklin-candidate-forum-biennial.html
Additional info can be found at the Election Collection
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2019/07/franklin-election-collection-2019.html
In between the longer programs, short audio "public service announcements" or PSA's use some of the candidate audio comments on getting the voters out for Nov 5 with a reminder to vote and to consider voting via absentee ballot.
 |
| Franklin's wfpr.fm or 102.9 on the FM |
Listen here: http://radio.citrus3.com:8418/;stream.mp3
The radio program schedule is set up as follows:
Wed 9 AM - Get Voters To Vote 31m00s
Wed 10 AM - FM_#178_Candidate_Query_2019 Part 1 59m20s
Wed 11 AM - FM_#178_Candidate_Query_2019 Part 2 50m38s
Thu 9 AM - FM_#176_Candidate_Forum_2019 59m54s
Thu 10 AM - FM_#178_CandIntv_RDellorco_2019 18m36s
Thu 11 AM - FM_#177_CandIntv_TCormerLedger_2019 15m59s
Fri 9 AM - Frank Presents - Election 2019_CandIntv_ABissanti_2019 27m28s
Fri 10 AM - FM_#176_Candidate_Forum_2019 59m54s
Fri 11 AM - FM_#173_CandIntv - MHamblen_2019 26m00s
- 9 AM repeats at Noon and 6 PM
- 10 AM repeats at 1 PM and 7 PM
- 11 AM repeats at 2 PM and 8 PM
All programs also repeat on Saturday to 9 AM - 5 PM and Sunday 9 AM - 5 PM
Info on the Get Voters to Vote can be found
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2019/10/insights-on-what-do-we-do-to-get-out.html
Info on the Candidate Query can be found
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2019/10/franklin-in-focus-candidate-query-oct.html
Info on the Candidate Forum can be found
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2019/10/franklin-candidate-forum-biennial.html
Additional info can be found at the Election Collection
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2019/07/franklin-election-collection-2019.html
Franklin Candidate Interview: Matt Kelly
I sat with Matt Kelly recently to discuss the following questions regarding his candidacy for the Franklin Town Council.
Some of you will recognize the questions as these were collected from the survey we shared in August. While many submitted questions were similar, I tried to select 6 for each Town Council and School Committee candidate that would help to present them to you all, my fellow voters.
As I have shared in prior years, the candidates do get to review the output before it is published but I retain final editing rights. Interviews with candidates are not an exercise I take lightly; it matters greatly to our community to get accurate information from our candidates to enable voters to make an informed decision to run our government.
For the following FM presents the question. MK represents Matt's response.
MK = It's a great question. I think that anybody who is going to be on the Town Council in particular, should have a lengthy volunteer background. I started with being the president of the Red Brick School Association. Moved on from there to volunteering on the School Committee. I am also a member and past president of the Franklin Rotary Club.
Everyone should have an opportunity to volunteer. It's very easy for people to say and I can say the same thing. I've been on the Downtown Partnership. I've been part of the Chamber of Commerce. Oh, great. You've been part of that. We all pay to be part of that. But what are you really doing to make an active difference in your community is the question that should be asked?
For me, it was really the Red Brick School and the Franklin Rotary Club, because those are both groups that give back to our community. I think any candidate that is coming forward today that doesn't have a record of volunteering in the past should be something that's looked at. Why are you here today? Are you here for your business? Are you here for your own personal gain or something else at the end of the day? You should have a lengthy volunteer record. Those are just some of the things I’ve done in Franklin which keeps me in touch with the needs of our community.
MK = My news comes from different sources. I read the paper, the Country Gazette and the Milford Daily News have some interesting pieces. The Local Town pages is a great publication too! Social media is important and especially being part of as many Franklin groups as you can.
I get most of my information between the paper and Facebook groups. I read Franklin Matters, and “All about Franklin” both are huge place to get news. Also, I go to the coffee shops. They are places to get news too!
There are multi-generational groups of people in town and you need to be able to communicate with all of them as a councilor. The Senior Center, the police and the fire department, the list goes on.
For me as a town councilor, I've always said, my door is open. And when I talk about getting news, not only do I go out to get it, but I also ask people to come in and give it. On any given week, I have four to five visitors to my office, whether it's town employees, or citizens, people want to talk to me about what's going on, what they'd like, and what they don't like. Sometimes we agree and sometimes we disagree. But at the end of the day, they know they're going to be heard. My news comes from multiple sources. And it's not just my little circle of friends or a group with a set agenda.
MK = That's a really important question and it should be discussed over the next two years. We have had in the last four elections a conversation about water. Yet every election, nobody wants to talk about it publicly.
Franklin, Massachusetts, is on an aquifer along with the surrounding communities, and we are fortunate to be on a very plentiful aquifer. What we need to educate our citizens about first and foremost, is that we are required to file a water permit with the state. That water permit allows us to pull so much water out of the ground per day.
We have to keep in mind that many residents are upset because they can't water their lawn. The reality is we have a water ban because it's part of our water permit and that's called water conservation.
Right now, I understand people are upset because they can't water their new lawn. I had a new lawn too. I didn't water it and I wasn't happy about that either. You have the option to put a well in and not be taxed on that water usage.
We have to continue to look, especially as a Town Councilor at the future of Franklin. I don't know when that water, or as we call it “straws in the ground” will come up empty. What we have to do is continue to have water conservation.
So, the first part of our conversation we have to have with our citizens is why aren't you allowed to water? Because that's per our water permit. The next conversation is what can we do to sustain water in our aquifer, to maintain our ability for years to come? Once we take care of water conservation, then we can talk about educating folks to keep the water conservation going.
Most people don't realize that we have been able to get massive amounts of additional water out of our system. The state won't let us. Again, that straws in the ground, that's a conversation that has to come up. This is less of a conversation about not having water and more of a conversation of whether or not we need to chat more about conservation and our water permit. Once we have those two items discussed, we can talk about water being here today, tomorrow, next week.
People are mad about not having water for the wrong reason, I think. More importantly, we have to discuss that it is not only our water supply. What people really are missing is the big X factor out there; which is our sewer interceptor that runs from Beaver Street down to Pond Street. We need to be talking about the plan for replacing that. The town got a huge break three years ago under my leadership as chairman; we were able to negotiate with the State through our representatives, and with the MBTA which allowed Franklin to put in a sewage line patch that would have cost us millions, if we had to do it when it failed.
MK = Development is probably one of the key issues for me. Mostly because people misunderstand my job and my position. I take my job very seriously as a Town Councilor. Development is not a priority for me as a Town Councilor. It's not really a priority to me as a real estate agent either. There are over 12,000 homes in our community and very few new developments, I would much prefer no more development but no one can ever promise that.
The reality is the conversation goes back to education. We have to educate our citizens. I hear it time and time again. I agree that we should slow down growth, but how is the question.
I have a plan for that and I plan on introducing that just like I introduced it earlier this term. I hope my fellow councilors agree with me to move it forward this time. That being said we are living with ‘suburban sprawl’. People who bought their house in Newton or Wellesley 40 years ago, their kids cannot afford a house in Newton or Wellesley today. So where are their kids moving to? Franklin, Bellingham and Medway. And why are they moving here? Because we made this an attractive town with great schools, great police, great fire, and a great community.
This is a great town. We have a 4th of July celebration, a Memorial Day parade, and more. They're going to settle out here because they want to live in a great town. Where are they going to move to? A community that is fantastic? Franklin! I think that the conversation is a couple of topics that we need to first educate and then talk about how we're going to solve the issue. The question is, how do we slow it down? The first thing is, we need to slow growth down to a rate that keeps us above our 40B housing number, most people don't realize that. I would charge our planning department to first and foremost, do a study which they can do, that can determine the rate at which housing can grow to keep us over the 40B limit based on based growth numbers. It is not going to cost our citizens anything for the Planning Dept to tell us.
Once we have what the growth number is and that we need to do each year in order to stay above our 40B limits we can start to make our plan. Let's say that growth is building seventy five homes per year, then we would have what we need to stay above our 40B.
Next if we want to slow down, we have to make housing more expensive to build in Franklin. I'm not talking about housing prices, I'm talking about making them more expensive to build and construct.
My plan which I introduced in 2018, again in 2019, and I will introduce it again in 2020. In the past I gave this information in meetings at the EDC level and in other committees, I will now make it public. Every home that's built after 2021 should have sprinklers installed (Interior sprinklers) that will slow growth and make it much harder for us to continue the growth of single families. The second thing I would do is I would set up zones where it would take more land area to build a new home. Right now, our downtown has seen an influx of building. The question now is no longer the influx of residential apartments to the downtown. The question is how are we going to provide support for them with downtown infrastructure.
With the new apartments we need to stop focusing on residential housing and get more people downtown, figure out how we're going to get the businesses to take advantage of that, and how we're going to get new lively businesses downtown. We already have some great businesses there but we need more. We have a hairstylist, a manicure place that's been there for years, we have even seen some new restaurants down there, but we need to make it even bigger. We need to make downtown a destination, so people want to walk there.
There needs to be continued pressure on our state representatives to put a parking garage at the downtown MBTA station. There needs to be a continued pressure for building owners downtown to make new space affordable with long term tenants, and to be able to increase the current businesses. Next our citizens have said they do not want anymore apartments? We need to make multifamily zone housing by special permit, this is the only way to design the housing we would want.
Then we work out in a radius from our town center to increase zoning. By the time you get out to Washington St, they should be 2 acre lots. Sheldonville did this and it worked for them years ago. We need to start working on these items, the solution isn't hard, it's a hard conversation to have. There are a lot of people in town, and many moving parts.
That's why we need a Residential Housing Development Subcommittee. We have an Economic Development Subcommittee for commercial, why not something for Residential? A housing development subcommittee should be able to look at what's going on in town and review the plan. It could be a made up of citizens and members of the ZBA, Planning Board, and the Town Council. It's our town’s future, people want growth to slow down, we need to plan for it. You're not going to stop the traffic. No matter what you do, it's a good economy and everybody has two cars, some even have three or more. We just need to focus on how we better control that.
MK = So I'm on the budget subcommittee and I'm probably one of the more vocal people on the budget subcommittee. I know I didn't make any friends with the School Committee when I told them that I didn't necessarily agree with their budget. Councilor Mercer and I are the only two that were on the School Committee prior to being on the Town Council. I wish there was a prerequisite so that everybody would have to do that because I think you learn a lot.
Looking at the budget, I don't think we're ready for an override yet and there's a number of factors for this. I don't see that the budget has all the fluff cut out of it and I don't see any clear projection of numbers. I agree, that our administration is telling the truth when they say that it's getting tight, but I also understand that a lot of people out there are getting tight on their budgets too. We need to look at what our plan is, is it a reduction in our budget, and an override? Who knows right now and now isn’t the time to ask our citizens either. We have to consider what this going to do to our senior population. That has increased tremendously for people in our town. People on fixed incomes, we need to look at what it will do to them as well. There needs to be a conversation with our town’s people before you start talking override.
That's the business side of it. The human aspect is that times are too good for people to believe that we need an override. We're adding firefighters, adding police officers and there's no visible pain. You might see that we need more DPW workers or your road isn't getting done fast enough, but people don't want to vote for things until there's pain, number one. Number two, when the people complain that they're going off to pay for high school parking, then town council comes running to their rescue and says, “oh, no, we're going to give you that money in the budget.” It's not the time for an override. We should be able to say to our citizens, we can't find any money before we say override.
The reality is, I am going to be very, very stingy when it comes to saying we need an override because I'm going to pay for it just like you are.
MK = Well, I think if I'm a voter, I think it's an easy decision. I'm investing in our town. I am a resident. I'm a business owner, which means I care about the economics of our town. I'm a father of two and a husband of a wife who is a fourth generation Franklin person.
I came here in 1993 before the big development, so to speak. I fell in love with this town and Franklin is my home. More importantly, why you should vote for me is because I have the experience. I'm not afraid to go out on my own and say how I feel. I have done a tremendous amount of work for our town when it comes to our ambulance, police and fire department vehicle funds. I established funds to save for them and make sure we weren't just buying them like we were in years past.
I have longevity which plays a role in this. I know people might say we want somebody new. Remembering that we did something 10 years ago is really important because there's a reason why we did it 10 years ago. I have a multiple business in the town, and I'm invested in our community. I bring a unique opportunity to the town. I have my doors open to my office every day. My first meeting with the Town Council when I was elected, I sat and said, I'm going to have office hours. That doesn't mean you can't stop in to see me every day. Every day since I have opened my doors to our public to allow them to come in and see me. I'm not going to say I respond to everybody because sometimes an e-mail doesn’t get through. I feel awful about that, but I respond to people.
When I was chairman, I updated them on our storm activities constantly. I take my position as Town Councilor very seriously. I take it not as a job as in I'm going to work, but as a duty to give back to our community and that's why I think people should vote for me. I'm committed to our community, I've shown that commitment in the past, and I will continue to show that moving forward. And whenever the people of Franklin need me, I'm here.
Find the election and candidate information gathered in one place on the Election Collection
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2019/07/franklin-election-collection-2019.html
Some of you will recognize the questions as these were collected from the survey we shared in August. While many submitted questions were similar, I tried to select 6 for each Town Council and School Committee candidate that would help to present them to you all, my fellow voters.
As I have shared in prior years, the candidates do get to review the output before it is published but I retain final editing rights. Interviews with candidates are not an exercise I take lightly; it matters greatly to our community to get accurate information from our candidates to enable voters to make an informed decision to run our government.
For the following FM presents the question. MK represents Matt's response.
FM = There are and have been many opportunities to volunteer within the community, the various groups. Have you taken advantage of any of these? In which ones and why did you do so?
MK = It's a great question. I think that anybody who is going to be on the Town Council in particular, should have a lengthy volunteer background. I started with being the president of the Red Brick School Association. Moved on from there to volunteering on the School Committee. I am also a member and past president of the Franklin Rotary Club.
Everyone should have an opportunity to volunteer. It's very easy for people to say and I can say the same thing. I've been on the Downtown Partnership. I've been part of the Chamber of Commerce. Oh, great. You've been part of that. We all pay to be part of that. But what are you really doing to make an active difference in your community is the question that should be asked?
For me, it was really the Red Brick School and the Franklin Rotary Club, because those are both groups that give back to our community. I think any candidate that is coming forward today that doesn't have a record of volunteering in the past should be something that's looked at. Why are you here today? Are you here for your business? Are you here for your own personal gain or something else at the end of the day? You should have a lengthy volunteer record. Those are just some of the things I’ve done in Franklin which keeps me in touch with the needs of our community.
FM = Where do you get your news about Franklin?
MK = My news comes from different sources. I read the paper, the Country Gazette and the Milford Daily News have some interesting pieces. The Local Town pages is a great publication too! Social media is important and especially being part of as many Franklin groups as you can.
I get most of my information between the paper and Facebook groups. I read Franklin Matters, and “All about Franklin” both are huge place to get news. Also, I go to the coffee shops. They are places to get news too!
There are multi-generational groups of people in town and you need to be able to communicate with all of them as a councilor. The Senior Center, the police and the fire department, the list goes on.
For me as a town councilor, I've always said, my door is open. And when I talk about getting news, not only do I go out to get it, but I also ask people to come in and give it. On any given week, I have four to five visitors to my office, whether it's town employees, or citizens, people want to talk to me about what's going on, what they'd like, and what they don't like. Sometimes we agree and sometimes we disagree. But at the end of the day, they know they're going to be heard. My news comes from multiple sources. And it's not just my little circle of friends or a group with a set agenda.
FM = For all those running for Town Council: We are in a constant water shortage. We are adding to our population and increasing out need for water. Given that all those who live in Franklin draw their water from the same aquifer, do you support a ban on using water for what I will call cosmetic use (lawn watering) during water shortages, even for those with a private well? If not, why not, considering that those with private wells are still dangerously affecting our water level for uses other than vanity? Or put simply: Do you support the private use of wells for lawn irrigation at times when the town's aquifer is dangerously low for use by the community for essential use in homes and fire prevention?
MK = That's a really important question and it should be discussed over the next two years. We have had in the last four elections a conversation about water. Yet every election, nobody wants to talk about it publicly.
Franklin, Massachusetts, is on an aquifer along with the surrounding communities, and we are fortunate to be on a very plentiful aquifer. What we need to educate our citizens about first and foremost, is that we are required to file a water permit with the state. That water permit allows us to pull so much water out of the ground per day.
We have to keep in mind that many residents are upset because they can't water their lawn. The reality is we have a water ban because it's part of our water permit and that's called water conservation.
Right now, I understand people are upset because they can't water their new lawn. I had a new lawn too. I didn't water it and I wasn't happy about that either. You have the option to put a well in and not be taxed on that water usage.
We have to continue to look, especially as a Town Councilor at the future of Franklin. I don't know when that water, or as we call it “straws in the ground” will come up empty. What we have to do is continue to have water conservation.
So, the first part of our conversation we have to have with our citizens is why aren't you allowed to water? Because that's per our water permit. The next conversation is what can we do to sustain water in our aquifer, to maintain our ability for years to come? Once we take care of water conservation, then we can talk about educating folks to keep the water conservation going.
Most people don't realize that we have been able to get massive amounts of additional water out of our system. The state won't let us. Again, that straws in the ground, that's a conversation that has to come up. This is less of a conversation about not having water and more of a conversation of whether or not we need to chat more about conservation and our water permit. Once we have those two items discussed, we can talk about water being here today, tomorrow, next week.
People are mad about not having water for the wrong reason, I think. More importantly, we have to discuss that it is not only our water supply. What people really are missing is the big X factor out there; which is our sewer interceptor that runs from Beaver Street down to Pond Street. We need to be talking about the plan for replacing that. The town got a huge break three years ago under my leadership as chairman; we were able to negotiate with the State through our representatives, and with the MBTA which allowed Franklin to put in a sewage line patch that would have cost us millions, if we had to do it when it failed.
FM = What degree of development do you feel is appropriate for Franklin and how would you balance the need for affordable housing with the need to avoid congestion, some of which we already have?
MK = Development is probably one of the key issues for me. Mostly because people misunderstand my job and my position. I take my job very seriously as a Town Councilor. Development is not a priority for me as a Town Councilor. It's not really a priority to me as a real estate agent either. There are over 12,000 homes in our community and very few new developments, I would much prefer no more development but no one can ever promise that.
The reality is the conversation goes back to education. We have to educate our citizens. I hear it time and time again. I agree that we should slow down growth, but how is the question.
I have a plan for that and I plan on introducing that just like I introduced it earlier this term. I hope my fellow councilors agree with me to move it forward this time. That being said we are living with ‘suburban sprawl’. People who bought their house in Newton or Wellesley 40 years ago, their kids cannot afford a house in Newton or Wellesley today. So where are their kids moving to? Franklin, Bellingham and Medway. And why are they moving here? Because we made this an attractive town with great schools, great police, great fire, and a great community.
This is a great town. We have a 4th of July celebration, a Memorial Day parade, and more. They're going to settle out here because they want to live in a great town. Where are they going to move to? A community that is fantastic? Franklin! I think that the conversation is a couple of topics that we need to first educate and then talk about how we're going to solve the issue. The question is, how do we slow it down? The first thing is, we need to slow growth down to a rate that keeps us above our 40B housing number, most people don't realize that. I would charge our planning department to first and foremost, do a study which they can do, that can determine the rate at which housing can grow to keep us over the 40B limit based on based growth numbers. It is not going to cost our citizens anything for the Planning Dept to tell us.
Once we have what the growth number is and that we need to do each year in order to stay above our 40B limits we can start to make our plan. Let's say that growth is building seventy five homes per year, then we would have what we need to stay above our 40B.
Next if we want to slow down, we have to make housing more expensive to build in Franklin. I'm not talking about housing prices, I'm talking about making them more expensive to build and construct.
My plan which I introduced in 2018, again in 2019, and I will introduce it again in 2020. In the past I gave this information in meetings at the EDC level and in other committees, I will now make it public. Every home that's built after 2021 should have sprinklers installed (Interior sprinklers) that will slow growth and make it much harder for us to continue the growth of single families. The second thing I would do is I would set up zones where it would take more land area to build a new home. Right now, our downtown has seen an influx of building. The question now is no longer the influx of residential apartments to the downtown. The question is how are we going to provide support for them with downtown infrastructure.
With the new apartments we need to stop focusing on residential housing and get more people downtown, figure out how we're going to get the businesses to take advantage of that, and how we're going to get new lively businesses downtown. We already have some great businesses there but we need more. We have a hairstylist, a manicure place that's been there for years, we have even seen some new restaurants down there, but we need to make it even bigger. We need to make downtown a destination, so people want to walk there.
There needs to be continued pressure on our state representatives to put a parking garage at the downtown MBTA station. There needs to be a continued pressure for building owners downtown to make new space affordable with long term tenants, and to be able to increase the current businesses. Next our citizens have said they do not want anymore apartments? We need to make multifamily zone housing by special permit, this is the only way to design the housing we would want.
Then we work out in a radius from our town center to increase zoning. By the time you get out to Washington St, they should be 2 acre lots. Sheldonville did this and it worked for them years ago. We need to start working on these items, the solution isn't hard, it's a hard conversation to have. There are a lot of people in town, and many moving parts.
That's why we need a Residential Housing Development Subcommittee. We have an Economic Development Subcommittee for commercial, why not something for Residential? A housing development subcommittee should be able to look at what's going on in town and review the plan. It could be a made up of citizens and members of the ZBA, Planning Board, and the Town Council. It's our town’s future, people want growth to slow down, we need to plan for it. You're not going to stop the traffic. No matter what you do, it's a good economy and everybody has two cars, some even have three or more. We just need to focus on how we better control that.
FM = The Town Administrator has suggested that Franklin needs to pass an override measure. What actions will you take to support the passage of this measure?
MK = So I'm on the budget subcommittee and I'm probably one of the more vocal people on the budget subcommittee. I know I didn't make any friends with the School Committee when I told them that I didn't necessarily agree with their budget. Councilor Mercer and I are the only two that were on the School Committee prior to being on the Town Council. I wish there was a prerequisite so that everybody would have to do that because I think you learn a lot.
Looking at the budget, I don't think we're ready for an override yet and there's a number of factors for this. I don't see that the budget has all the fluff cut out of it and I don't see any clear projection of numbers. I agree, that our administration is telling the truth when they say that it's getting tight, but I also understand that a lot of people out there are getting tight on their budgets too. We need to look at what our plan is, is it a reduction in our budget, and an override? Who knows right now and now isn’t the time to ask our citizens either. We have to consider what this going to do to our senior population. That has increased tremendously for people in our town. People on fixed incomes, we need to look at what it will do to them as well. There needs to be a conversation with our town’s people before you start talking override.
That's the business side of it. The human aspect is that times are too good for people to believe that we need an override. We're adding firefighters, adding police officers and there's no visible pain. You might see that we need more DPW workers or your road isn't getting done fast enough, but people don't want to vote for things until there's pain, number one. Number two, when the people complain that they're going off to pay for high school parking, then town council comes running to their rescue and says, “oh, no, we're going to give you that money in the budget.” It's not the time for an override. We should be able to say to our citizens, we can't find any money before we say override.
The reality is, I am going to be very, very stingy when it comes to saying we need an override because I'm going to pay for it just like you are.
FM = What do you say to the voter who asks: Why should I vote for you?
MK = Well, I think if I'm a voter, I think it's an easy decision. I'm investing in our town. I am a resident. I'm a business owner, which means I care about the economics of our town. I'm a father of two and a husband of a wife who is a fourth generation Franklin person.
I came here in 1993 before the big development, so to speak. I fell in love with this town and Franklin is my home. More importantly, why you should vote for me is because I have the experience. I'm not afraid to go out on my own and say how I feel. I have done a tremendous amount of work for our town when it comes to our ambulance, police and fire department vehicle funds. I established funds to save for them and make sure we weren't just buying them like we were in years past.
I have longevity which plays a role in this. I know people might say we want somebody new. Remembering that we did something 10 years ago is really important because there's a reason why we did it 10 years ago. I have a multiple business in the town, and I'm invested in our community. I bring a unique opportunity to the town. I have my doors open to my office every day. My first meeting with the Town Council when I was elected, I sat and said, I'm going to have office hours. That doesn't mean you can't stop in to see me every day. Every day since I have opened my doors to our public to allow them to come in and see me. I'm not going to say I respond to everybody because sometimes an e-mail doesn’t get through. I feel awful about that, but I respond to people.
When I was chairman, I updated them on our storm activities constantly. I take my position as Town Councilor very seriously. I take it not as a job as in I'm going to work, but as a duty to give back to our community and that's why I think people should vote for me. I'm committed to our community, I've shown that commitment in the past, and I will continue to show that moving forward. And whenever the people of Franklin need me, I'm here.
Find the election and candidate information gathered in one place on the Election Collection
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2019/07/franklin-election-collection-2019.html
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)