Saturday, March 7, 2026

Marching forward to Spring day by day (audio)

Daylight is continuing to expand each day, now daylight savings has returned, and we have a full week of meetings for the Town of Franklin, MA.


School Committee negotiations are scheduled for Executive sessions on Monday. The Planning board has their regular meeting also on Monday.


The communications subcommittee for the Franklin 250 Celebration, the School Committee and Friends of Franklin Library all have scheduled sessions for Tuesday. The Friends is deliberately more of a social event than a meeting to attract potential members to find out more about what they do and consider joining.


The Norfolk County Commissioners hold a public hearing on Wednesday for their budget. The shared document shows a $2M deficit with no narrative on alternatives for balancing so that in and of itself is an incentive to participate to find out what’s up on the County front.


The Finance Committee gets to review the Town fiscal policies as well as take a deep dive into the grant process and what opportunities those have presented on Wednesday. The Cultural Council is also scheduled for a meeting that night with the recent Wreath of Franklin results and planning for the next one.


The Municipal Housing Affordable Trust is scheduled to meet Thursday afternoon. The agenda will likely be posted Monday for this session. The Conservation Commission has a full and verified set of items on their agenda for Thursday evening.


The Cultural District Committee gets updates on World Cup planning & MetroWest Boston Visitors Bureau annual meeting among the several items on the agenda also for Thursday evening.


For all the meetings and cultural events, check out the calendar at Franklin.news where each day, that day's events are posted on the top of the page, the TV and radio schedules are on the bottom, and all the other goodness falls in-between.


Audio link - 
https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1683-fm-weekly-outlook-lookback-combo-03-08-26/



*** Meeting schedule and agendas as of Town page 3/6/26, 7:30 PM   ***



Franklin School Committee Negotiations Sub Committee Meeting

Monday, March 9 Time: 4:30 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_03092026-2162 


Planning Board Meeting

Monday, March 9 Time: 7:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_03092026-2171 


250th Franklin Anniversary Communications Subcommittee Meeting

Tuesday, March 10 Time: 5:30 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_03102026-2121 


Franklin School Committee Meeting

Tuesday, March 10 Time: 6:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_03102026-2175 


Friends of the Franklin Public Library Meeting

Tuesday, March 10 Time: 6:00 PM - 7:45 PM

Social event, no agenda posted


Norfolk County Commissioners Public Hearing Notice

Wednesday, March 11 Time: 1:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_03112026-2159


Public view budget for Norfolk County - https://cms5.revize.com/revize/norfolkcountyma/FY27%20BUDGET%20PUBLIC%20VIEWING%20COPY%203%205%2026.pdf?t=202603060812320&t=202603060812320 


Finance Committee Meeting

Wednesday, March 11 Time: 6:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_03112026-2176


Franklin Cultural Council Meeting

Wednesday, March 11 Time: 7:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_03112026-2167


Municipal Affordable Housing Trust Meeting

Thursday, March 12 Time: 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM

No agenda posted at this time


Conservation Commission Meeting

Thursday, March 12 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/571?fileID=8589


Cultural District Committee Meeting

Thursday, March 12 Time: 7:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_03122026-2170



*** Looking back at the week that was ***


To recap the Franklin TV. Franklin Public Radio meetings broadcast


On the High School front


On the All Access front


On the Public Radio/podcast front



For all the meetings and cultural events, check out the calendar at Franklin.news where each day, that day's events are posted on the top of the page, the TV and radio schedules are on the bottom, and all the other goodness falls in-between.


Town calendar -> https://www.franklinma.gov/Calendar.aspx      

Community calendar -> https://bit.ly/FranklinCommunityCalendar     


Subscribe for the daily dose of information -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/welcome.html      


Subscribe for the weekly dose of information -> https://www.franklinmattersweekly.org/p/subscribe-for-email.html  


Saturday, February 28, 2026

Happy Birthday Town of Franklin !!! 248 years young (audio)

Happy birthday, Town of Franklin! Yes, March 2, 1778 was the day Franklin was officially recognized by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.


Stop by the Historical Museum on Sunday, March 1 for a piece of cake and to view the movie from the 200th anniversary celebration.


Plans for the 250th Anniversary in 2028 are underway by that Committee. One of their subcommittees meets Sunday, and the full committee is scheduled for a special session on Tuesday to authorize the deposit for a gala to be held at Lake Pearl on November 3, 2028. 


The first measles case has appeared in MA and there might be something of a discussion touching on that at the regular monthly meeting of the Board of Health on Wednesday. 


The Town Council picks up the goals discussion again this week. Whether they will decide on goals, or defer to a future meeting, remains to be seen? The Council will need to decide on the funding recommendation to replace Engine 3 as put forward by the Town and Fire Dept. and approved by the Finance Committee. This is time sensitive, so if they don't resolve, we lose an opportunity to replace for multiple years.


The Council also gets to find out about parking meter revenue from the downtown lots as well as approve a subcommittee they requested to look at potential charter changes. Potential charter changes have come up in discussion and gone over the years and usually overtaken by other priorities. 


This Council apparently would rather attempt to tackle charter changes than to try and fix the more serious issue of the strategic budget gaps we have including important work that can’t be done because resources are lacking (i.e. the Town Administrator's office).


A helpful reminder to those frustrated by lack of this or that related to the aftermath of the blizzard. 


  • Ancient proverb: "If you choose not to find joy in the snow, you will have less joy, but the same amount of snow" 


We should be grateful for 4 days moving about town that the South Coastal communities of MA didn’t have. 3 days of school for our kids that those same communities didn’t have. And while trash pickup wasn’t perfect in the blizzard aftermath, most did get picked up. Let’s be grateful for what we do have. 


For all the meetings and cultural events, check out the calendar at Franklin.news where each day, that day's events are posted on the top of the page, the TV and radio schedules are on the bottom, and all the other goodness falls in-between.


Audio link - 
https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1678-fm-weekly-outlook-lookback-combo-03-01-26/



*** Meeting schedule and agendas as of Town page 2/27/26, 6:00 PM   ***


250th Anniversary Celebration Budget and Fundraising Subcommittee Meeting

Sunday, March 1 Time: 7:30 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_03012026-2160 


Library Board of Directors Regular Meeting

Monday, March 2 Time: 7:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_03022026-2157 


Recreation Department Meeting

Monday, March 2 Time: 7:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_03022026-2158 


250th Anniversary Celebration Committee Special Meeting

Tuesday, March 3 Time: 7:30 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_03032026-2165 


Board of Health Meeting

Wednesday, March 4 Time: 5:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_03042026-2164 


Town Council Meeting

Wednesday, March 4 Time: 6:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_03042026-2166 


Franklin Commission on Disabilities Meeting

Thursday, March 5 Time: 4:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_03052026-2163 


Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) Meeting

Thursday, March 5 Time: 7:30 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_03052026-2146 


Franklin School Committee - Policy Subcommittee Meeting
Friday, March 6 Time: 8:15 AM

*** Looking back at the week that was ***


For Franklin TV meeting broadcasts:




For FHS live streaming:


For All Access programing:


From Franklin Matters/ Franklin Public Radio



For all the meetings and cultural events, check out the calendar at Franklin.news where each day, that day's events are posted on the top of the page, the TV and radio schedules are on the bottom, and all the other goodness falls in-between.


Town calendar -> https://www.franklinma.gov/Calendar.aspx      

Community calendar -> https://bit.ly/FranklinCommunityCalendar     


Subscribe for the daily dose of information -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/welcome.html      


Subscribe for the weekly dose of information -> https://www.franklinmattersweekly.org/p/subscribe-for-email.html