"2023 D1 New England Champions!!!
Insanely proud of these athletes. What a great way to end the season!!!!
💙🤍💙" https://t.co/ygBM2IU4Gz
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| Franklin High School Cheerleading take 1st place in New England |
"I would like to extend our deepest gratitude to the companies, community groups, families, and individuals who donated," said Register of Deeds William P. O'Donnell. "It was my pleasure to deliver these items to Food Pantries in Norfolk County and to help those with hardships during the winter season. "
There are more than 33 food pantries in Norfolk County, and each of these organizations relies in part on food donations from the local community.
"Community donations are really a big help and give us a good deal of variety that we wouldn't otherwise have," said Rich Bielecki Operations Manager for the Marge Crispin Center.
Household food insecurity in Massachusetts is between 16 and 18%. At the height of the coronavirus pandemic, the number peaked at 19.6% of households being food insecure.
"With the rising cost of food, housing, and utilities taking their toll on struggling families and seniors on fixed income, we have seen a marked increase in the need for food," said Pamela Denholm, Executive Director for South Shore Food Bank.
According to the United States Bureau of Labor and Statistics, home food prices rose 12.7% while wages only grew 5.1%, netting more than a 7.6% deficit at the grocery store.
"Many Norfolk County residents face both long-term and temporary hardships, including children, families, and individuals, and may be helped by a donation that you could provide," said Register O'Donnell.
Children are especially vulnerable to food insecurity. Recent trends indicate that food insecurity among households with children in Massachusetts is increasing, with rates ranging between 19 and 22% as of early January 2023.
Register O'Donnell concluded, "Hunger does not stop after the holidays fade into the past; it is a persistent issue affecting many of our neighbors. I urge residents to consider dropping off food supplies at their local pantries across Norfolk County. Pantries are requesting canned goods, breakfast cereals, pasta, sauces, toiletries, and paper products. Dropping off a food donation at a local pantry can make a world of difference in helping a family in need," noted Register O'Donnell.
To see a list of Norfolk County food pantries, visit the Registry of Deeds website: https://www.norfolkdeeds.org/support/faqs/where-are-the-norfolk-county-food-pantry-locations-142
To learn more about these and other Registry of Deeds events and initiatives, "like" us on Facebook at facebook.com/norfolkdeeds. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @norfolkdeeds.
The Norfolk County Registry of Deeds, located at 649 High St., Dedham, is the principal office for real property in Norfolk County. The Registry is a resource for homeowners, title examiners, mortgage lenders, municipalities, and others with a need for secure, accurate, and accessible land record information. All land record research information can be found on the Registry's website, www.norfolkdeeds.org. Residents in need of assistance can contact the Registry of Deeds Customer Service Center at (781) 461-6101 or email us at registerodonnell@norfolkdeeds.org.
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| Register O'Donnell Discusses Food Insecurity, Urges Community Support for Local Food Pantries |
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| Learn how to build and use a labyrinth in your backyard - March 26 |
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| Hi Franklinites! You probably read, watch or listen to the news every day, and chances are you often do so online. How do you know whether news sources are credible? How do you know what to trust?
You can find more information and register for the series here. |
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"Every day, more than 10,000 Americans turn 65, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services.By 2030, the US Census Bureau says, 70 million Americans will be 65 years old or older. Historically, homeowners in that age group have sold their single-family home and moved into a smaller place, often in the Sun Belt, but experts say that’s not happening.Baby boomers are booming, but they’re just not going to hit the residential real estate market the way some experts thought they would, according to Selma Hepp, chief economist for CoreLogic, a property data analytics firm....“Across the region, approximately 45 percent of large units are occupied by an over-fifty-five household. Nearly 15 percent of large units — 114,000 homes — are occupied by an over-seventy household. While many of these seniors are staying in large homes because they want to, others may be interested in moving but have few other options in their community. As noted above, there are relatively few one- and two-bedroom units in many towns.”
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| Surprise: "we haven’t built enough housing to keep up with demand" |
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| Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) |
Winning Ways with the MIAA: Jim Quatromoni is the basketball tournament director. @MIAA033 https://t.co/kuKGyNlB9d via @YouTube
Winning Ways with the MIAA: Basketball State Finals Ep4 https://t.co/fZXg2LaQkr via @YouTube.
Here are our interviews with the @CHSBoston girl's basketball team and the girls team of @WRHSGoBlue.
1. Accessory Dwelling Units legislation
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| Economic Development Subcommittee Meeting - March 22, 2023 |
FM #958 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 958 in the series.
This session of the radio show shares the Town Council meeting held in Council Chambers on Wednesday, March 15, 2023. All 9 members of the Council were present in the Council Chambers.
Quick recap:
Not to be missed by all the hubbub around the 40b housing issue, the Police Dept swore in 4 new officers. While ‘new’ to the Town they are effectively backfilling existing budgeted positions. These are not ‘new positions’. There is turnover within the department not unlike other departments are seeing, they at least are fortunate to be able to find qualified candidates to provide the backfill
The Police Dept also presented a proposal to install 2 license reading cameras to enable a 30 review of traffic to see who is coming off i495 into Franklin. The system and the local police departments that maintained a ‘watch list’ that can also alert the Police to the presence of nefarious folks (folks with existing warrants for arrest) entering town. The project is funded by unspecified internal Dept sources as a pilot. The timeline for install remains TBD, there was promised additional info and communication to the community about the nature of the cameras, what they do and don’t do
Appointments to the Master Plan Update Committee were presented and unanimously approved
The Council did unanimously approve an additional 2% COLA for Norfolk County retirees
The Council did approve a sewer map addition for 160 Grove St by a 8-1 vote (Chandler no, he had voted no the first time around too)
The 121 Grove St 40b proposal
The Franklin, MA Town Council whiffs on an easy layup to bring more housing and "Affordable" housing to Franklin. At the Council meeting on Wednesday, March 15, the Council voted 4-5 to support a "friendly 40b" proposal. The proposal needed 6 votes to pass, it was 4 yes (Frongillo, Sheridan, Hamblen, Mercer) and 5 No (Cormier-Leger, Chandler, Pellegri, Jones, Dellorco).
Why did they blow this 'easy layup'? Ask them to explain, the short summary I have is they misunderstand the ‘friendly 40b process”.
From the ‘friendly 40b’ process memo:
“Because Franklin is above the 10% affordable housing threshold, it can permit so-called "Friendly 40B" projects to build mixed-income housing.
Unlike traditional 40B projects, this allows municipalities to remain in control of most aspects of project design and construction. A "Friendly 40B" project is a project that has local support because of the contribution it can make to the community's need for more diverse housing options, and the contributions the developer agrees to make to local needs (infrastructure, public safety, land protection, etc.).”
Bottomline the proposal will likely go forward as a regular 40b. The developer could have chosen to do so but they chose the ‘friendly route’ and the Council vote nixed that.
1 - the 'friendly 40b' process - one claimed to have been lied to (as to what the ‘friendly 40b’ process was) when this vote was their one chance to have a say in the matter and what they said with the negative vote was "we don't want to work with developers to bring in affordable housing"
2 - they denied the opportunity to continue to work with the developer to iron out some of the issues as it went through the process. Now they have conceded all the issues to the Zoning Board of Appeals. Yes, the ZBA always had the final say, the Council never would, but this was their one chance to ensure they (and the Town departments) had a thoughtful chance to provide input and they failed. What department will willingly work with this developer when the Council has said “No”
3 - the property has been turning in approx. $13K revenue to the Town, the proposal would have generated about $800K. Yes, a $790K increase in revenue for a vote (and they failed). The budget cycle is a challenge to cover the $5.7M deficit, and they kicked away a significant potential increase to Town revenues (No, not this year but beginning is some future year and there after)
4 - the property is zoned industrial and given the topology (a bunch of wetlands, which are still being worked out with the Conservation Commission) wouldn't not actually be used for industrial development. Or it would have in the years prior. Here was a residential use that would increase revenues without additionally burdening services and they failed to pass it. (Future discussion item should be a review of such areas zoned as commercial/industrial where it is ‘known’ to have an issue to prevent their actual use as such. Akin to the lot line clean up underway, let’s review inappropriately zoned plots especially where they are undeveloped)
5 - there is a big difference between "Affordable" (note Capital "A") defined at Federal and State levels and what is actually "affordable" (lowercase "a") . Locally we have no control over that. We do need housing, we do need "Affordable" units and while this would have brought "Affordable" units, the council failed
6 - the persistent error in ‘claiming the Town has insufficient water’ due to the annual DEP permit which requires water conservation measures. Yes, there have also been a few years with real “water bans” but those were the results of the Fisher St pump station fire (July 2019) and the ‘drought status’ issued by the State DEP. Each time, usually every year, when the DPW comes to provide their water update, they do outline how we are well prepared to handle current and future growth. We have enough water yet some folks continue to believe otherwise (Facebook keyboard warriors win again)
The meeting runs about 3 and 39 minutes. Let’s listen to the Town Council meeting on March 15, 2023. Audio file -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-958-franklin-ma-town-council-mtg-03-15-23
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Details on the proposal from the agenda are found here:
b. Discussion & Project Presentation: 121 Grove Street, a “Friendly 40B” - Fairfield
i. Legislation for Action #9a
1. Staff Memo (https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/uploads/8b._1_-_memo_-_121_grove_street_a_friendly_40b2.pdf ) ,
Chapter 40B PowerPoint Presentation (https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/uploads/friendly_40b_presentation-pp_only.pdf ) ;
Friendly 40B process (https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/uploads/2a._-_friendly_40b_process.pdf )
& State Median Income Qualifications (https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/uploads/2b._-_median_income_qualifications.pdf )
2. Proposed 121 Grove Street Application (
& 121 Grove Street Site Plan (https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/uploads/2d._-_121_grove_st._site_plan.pdf )
3. Planning Board comment letter (https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/uploads/2e._-_planning_board_letter.pdf )
& Conservation Commission comment letter (https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/uploads/2f._conservation_commission_letter.pdf )
YouTube Video link -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGx3TPCumWw
My notes on the full meeting are in one PDF file.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1klC-QiovRvigrLwu1W-KYGot97x-CjkG/view?usp=drivesdk
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We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) or 102.9 on the Franklin area radio dial.
This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help.
How can you help?
If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors
If you don't like something here, please let me know
Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.
For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/ or www.franklin.news/
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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You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"
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| positioning of the buildings around the anticipated wetlands enables this developer to make a workable product |
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| Franklin TV: Sproing! - It started last week. It’s official this week |
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| Franklin DECA Chapter wins big at the Massachusetts State Career Development Conference |
