Proposal on Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Massachusetts for Franklin

TO:                Jamie Hellen, Town Administrator
FROM:         Bryan W. Taberner, AICP, Director
RE:               Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Massachusetts
CC:               Mark G. Cerel, Town Attorney; Christopher Sandini, Finance Director; Kerri Bertone, Collector/Treasurer; Kevin W. Doyle, Director Of Assessing; Amy Love, Town Planner; Chrissy Whelton, Assistant To The Town Administrator
DATE:           JULY 14, 2020

As you know on April 10, 2020 representatives from the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency (MassDevelopment) met with Town of Franklin staff to introduce the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Massachusetts program, and discuss potential benefits to property owners, and requirements of the Town.

PACE is a tax based financing mechanism that enables low-cost, long-term funding for energy improvements, such as energy-efficiency projects and renewable systems, on existing Commercial and Industrial properties in Massachusetts. To finance the improvements, a property owner agrees to a betterment assessment on their property, enabling property owners to undertake more comprehensive energy upgrades with longer payback periods (up to 20 years). At property sale the lien stays with the property and is transferred to subsequent property owners.

MassDevelopment’s PACE Program Manager Wendy Lee O’Malley will be attending the July 22nd Town Council Meeting remotely to outline the PACE program and its benefits, and answer questions. MassDevelopment acts as the Lead Program Administrator for PACE Massachusetts. In order for the community to participate in PACE Massachusetts it must opt-in through passage of a Town Council Resolution.

Attached for review and consideration is Resolution 20-42, a two page PACE Massachusetts flyer, a short presentation, and a couple examples of PACE projects in other communities.

PACE is an economic development tool for Massachusetts communities that help to create a more competitive environment for attracting and retaining businesses through lower energy costs. DPCD highly recommends the Town participate in this new economic development incentive program. I look forward to discussing PACE at the July 22nd Town Council meeting.

The memo and associated documents can be found at the Town of Franklin page
https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif591/f/mai/files/8b._pace_program_presentation_-_massdevelopment.pdf

The full agenda and documents released for the Town Council meeting July 22, 2020   https://www.franklinma.gov/town-council/agenda/july-22-town-council-meeting

Proposal on Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Massachusetts for Franklin

#ThinkBlueFranklin Contest starts - get your camera ready!

The Think Blue Franklin Contest starts today (7/20/20)!

Help us spread awareness about storm water!

Dear Franklin residents,
Today we're announcing the launch of a #ThinkBlueFranklin hashtag and photo contest! Participating is easy! Review the contest categories and take a few pictures. Pick your best and tag the photos on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram with #ThinkBlueFranklin and @townoffranklinma (Instagram), @TOFranklinMA (Twitter), or @OfficialTownofFranklin (Facebook)! Twenty participants will be chosen at random to win $100 Amazon gift cards!
In this contest, residents of Franklin can win by sharing photos that fit the topics below: 

• Storm Drains: We want you to go "Go Drain-Spotting" in your neighborhood or around the community. Take a picture of a storm drain and tag it on social media.
• Walkin' In the Rain: Put on your raincoat, galoshes, and grab the umbrella and take a stroll in the rain. Check out where the water in your neighborhood goes after a storm. Take a picture of you and your family out on the walk and tag it on social media.
• Smart Yard Care: Taking your grass clippings to the local drop off-site? Following the instructions on your lawn fertilizer bag? Take a picture and tag it on social media so we can reward your smart yard choices!
• Scoop the Poop: It's always a good idea to pick up after your pet and toss the waste in the trash. Take your best scoop the poop picture and tag it on social media. 

The hashtag/photo contest runs from Monday, July 20th through Sunday, August 16th, and is open to Franklin residents only. There is no cost for residents to submit photos or win prizes.  Winners will be contacted by August 21st. 

Our #Think Blue Franklin campaign is about encouraging residents to do their part to make Franklin a cleaner and healthier place to live and work. To join in the fun, grab your phone, and snap pictures of you and/or your family doing these simple things to make Franklin's land and waters cleaner!

Ready to get started? You may submit one entry per category (listed above) and each photo you post must include #ThinkBlueFranklin and @townoffranklinma (Instagram), @TOFranklinMA (Twitter), or @OfficialTownofFranklin (Facebook). You may post to either Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, whichever social media site you prefer.

Questions? Visit www.franklinma.gov/stormwater-division, check out our contest website at https://www.thinkbluemassachusetts.org/thinkbluefranklin or contact Anne Marie Tracey by email at traceya@franklinps.net  

Have fun and good luck! 

#ThinkBlueFranklin Contest starts - get your camera ready!

Franklin Recreation: Street hockey program begins

"Night one of our street hockey program. Thanks to our super coach ⁦ @JackGeromini for running another great ⁦ @FranklinRec ⁩ program"

Franklin Recreation: Street hockey program begins

Franklin radar shared via Twitter
https://twitter.com/FranklinRec/status/1285356486122704896?s=09

Other photos of the Fletcher Field courts recently renovated
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/07/fletcher-field-basketball-and-hockey.html

VIRTUAL Veteran's Coffee Social - August 5

VETERANS AUGUST VIRTUAL COFFEE SOCIAL

Wednesday, August 5th at 10:00 AM

Here is the log-in info:
Link to join: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87169235196
Call-in number: 1-929-205-6099
Meeting ID: 871 6923 5196

If you haven't joined us for the last three Zoom Socials, you'll need to download the Zoom app if it's not already on your device.

If you have any questions, please send an email to: veterans@franklinma.gov
Put "Coffee Social" in the subject line.

We'll provide updates and conversation, you'll need to supply your own coffee :-)   We hope to "see" you on August 5th!

VIRTUAL Veteran's Coffee Social - August 5

Franklin Public Library: curbside pickup hours changed slightly

We adjusted the hours slightly, so now Curbside Pickup is available 10:00 AM to 4:30 PM Monday through Saturday!

Franklin Public Library: curbside pickup hours changed slightly

Franklin radar picked up via Twitter
https://twitter.com/FrkPublicLib/status/1285284490475175937?s=09

“Massachusetts has a historic opportunity to lead on this issue"

From CommonWealth Magazine we share an article of interest for Franklin. The article provides a comparison of the police reform legislation currently in process at the State House highlighting the common points and differences between the Senate and House versions.

WITH THE END OF the legislative session fast approaching, the House and Senate are trying to hammer out a bill dealing with police reform. In the wake of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis, there is tremendous momentum to pass a bill, but significant differences are emerging between the two branches. 

The Senate passed its bill last week and the House is scheduled to take up its version on Wednesday. Both measures share common ground. They require fellow officers to intervene in situations of excessive force. They ban chokeholds, the use of tear gas, and most no-knock warrants. The latter became a spotlight issue following the shooting death of Breonna Taylor, a woman who died when Louisville, Kentucky, police executed a no-knock warrant at the wrong address, killing her in her own home.

The two branches also appear to be in general agreement on eliminating the municipal police training committee – a little-known entity within the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security – and replacing it with a new Massachusetts Police Standards and Training Commission with the power to investigate misconduct claims against police officers and decertify those officers found to violate standards. The decisions of the commission would be open to the public and shared with a national database of decertified police officers. 

The House and Senate are not totally on the same page with regard to the commission. They differ on who would serve on the commission and the House bill would require that complaints about police misconduct not include a nondisclosure or non-disparagement agreement unless the complainant requests that provision. That would mean that police officers couldn’t ask their accusers to avoid speaking publicly about their conflicts if settlements are reached.

Continue reading the article online
https://commonwealthmagazine.org/state-government/police-reform-big-momentum-little-time/

In the News: MA House has its own police reform legislation; Marlboro lab to use new testing process

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

"The Massachusetts House released its own police reform bill that includes a police certification process, standardizes training across the state and makes officer discipline records more readily available to the public. 

The House bill unveiled late Sunday comes about a week after the state Senate passed its own police accountability bill that would place limits on the “qualified immunity” shielding officers from civil prosecution and limits the use of force by officers. 

The 129-page bill includes the establishment of a seven-person Massachusetts Police Standards and Training Commission that would serve as the “primary civil enforcement agency” in the state. 

“In keeping with our commitment to debate a bill to address structural inequalities that contribute to and are also a result of racial inequities, this bill creates a new Massachusetts Police Standards and Training Commission that is truly independent and empowered,” Democratic House Speaker Robert DeLeo said in a statement."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20200720/mass-house-reveals-own-police-reform-bill?rssfeed=true

The Boston Globe posted a copy of the proposed House bill. 
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/07/20/metro/read-text-houses-police-reform-bill/?p1=Article_Inline_Text_Link

"By the end of the week, one of Massachusetts’ most prolific COVID-19 testing labs will deploy a newly-approved method designed to allow them to test more samples. 

The announcement from New Jersey-based Quest Diagnostics comes about a week after the company announced “soaring demand” for COVID-19 molecular testing was slowing turnaround time to a week or more for most patients. 

Quest Diagnostics announced Friday that the company’s lab in Marlborough will be one of two facilities to begin pooling specimens for testing in a procedure approved by under an emergency use authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In this procedure, samples are collected individually but combined into a small batch for testing. 

“A negative result for a batch means that all patients in that pool are considered negative (If a positive result occurs for the batch, each specimen is retested individually). The technique is an efficient way to evaluate patients in regions or populations with low rates of disease,” company officials explained in a statement."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20200720/marlborough-lab-to-be-among-first-to-use-new-pooled-testing-method-for-coronavirus?rssfeed=true