Franklin MAtters Weekly

Saturday, August 8, 2026

Middle of August and the summer might be already over (audio)

For the summer Town and School meetings, the relatively quiet short list of meeting weeks are behind us now. We are faced with a week chock full of sessions. Yup, from 4 meetings last week to 13 this week.

On Monday, the Franklin Housing Authority starts off with a session at 4:30 at Central Park Terrace.

Franklin Public School Horace Mann Legacy Subcommittee meeting at 7 PM has State Rep Jeff Roy scheduled for a visit to get an update on the work of the committee. The Planning Board also meets at the same time (this session is broadcast). Note that the Depot Plaza development proposal was withdrawn and resubmitted so that item will be on the August 24th agenda.

Closing out Monday, the 250th Anniversary Committee meets virtually to continue their planning.

On Tuesday, the Franklin School Committee Policy Subcommittee meets at 6 PM to get into a bunch of potential policies for review & revision.

At 7 PM, the Franklin School Committee meets. Among the standard agenda items is the approval of the submission to the Town Annual Report, and a 2nd reading on the restraint policy reviewed at a prior meeting.

On Wednesday, the Charles River Pollution Control meets at 3:30. The Tri-County School Committee Nomination Committee is scheduled to meet at 5:15 to confirm an appointment to an open seat on the Committee.

The Town Council meets at 6 PM mostly in Executive Session negotiating the Town Administrator's contract and then in public session to vote on such an agreement.

On Thursday, the Municipal Housing Trust and Conservation Commission have regular sessions scheduled. The Joint Budget Subcommittee is also scheduled to meet either for a short session in Chambers, or a ‘normal’ session in the 3rd floor conference room. Stay tuned for an update on this.

On Saturday, the Town Council added an “Office Hours” session at the library beginning at 10 AM.

The complete agenda for each of these meetings are listed below.

For all the meetings and cultural events, check out 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-1794-fm-weekly-outlook-lookback-combo-08-09-26/

*** Event & Meeting schedule (with agendas) as of Town pages 8/07/26 7:30 PM ***

Franklin Housing Authority Meeting

Monday, August 10 Time: 4:30 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_08102026-2437

Franklin Public School Horace Mann Legacy Sub Committee Meeting

Monday, August 10 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_08042026-2436

Planning Board Meeting

Monday, August 10 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_08102026-2438

250th Anniversary Celebration Committee Meeting

Monday, August 10 Time: 7:30 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_08102026-2439

Franklin School Committee Policy Subcommittee Meeting

Tuesday, August 11 Time: 6:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_08112026-2442

Franklin School Committee Meeting

Tuesday, August 11 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_08112026-2448

Charles River Pollution Control Meeting

Wednesday, August 12 Time: 3:30 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_08122026-2435

Tri-County School Committee Nomination Committee Meeting

Wednesday, August 12 Time: 5:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_08122026-2446

Town Council Meeting

Wednesday, August 12 Time: 6:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_08122026-2444

Municipal Affordable Housing Trust Meeting

Thursday, August 13 Time: 2:00 PM

No agenda available at this time, usually released by Tuesday

Joint Budget Subcommittee Meeting

Thursday, August 13 Time: 6:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_08132026-2445

Conservation Commission Meeting

Thursday, August 13 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/632?fileID=9984

Town Council Open Office Hours

Saturday, August 15 Time: 10:00 AM

No agenda for this open discussion session

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

Town/ School meetings

The Economic Development Subcmte met on Tuesday, Aug 4. The recap and TV link can be found https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/08/econommic-development-covers-variety-of.html

The Zoning Board of Appeals met on Thursday, Aug 6. Franklin TV video can be found on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex5AJ_0B8Ik

The Commission on Disability met on Thursday at the Senior Center. The recap and audio of this meeting can be found https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/08/audio-recording-available-for.html

All Access Programming

A new Once Upon a Town episode on the Ray Block can be viewed on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmvrPrdW3qM

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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, August 1, 2026

Another short list of meetings yet development projects are a key topic

Yet another short set of meetings on the schedule for this week, August 2 through August 8, 2026.

The Economic Development Subcommittee meeting on Tuesday reviews a plan for a Downtown study to be done with UMass Boston students along with a proposal for a revision to the Friendly 40b policy.

The Commission on Disability meets on Thursday at the Senior Center discusses multiple topics including consideration for adding a virtual option to the meetings to improve accessibility.

The Charter School Board meets to among other things set objects & goals for the Executive Director as well as the Board.

Finally, the Zoning Board of Appeals gets to take up the proposal for the 39 unit condo development on Washington St.

The complete agenda for each of these meetings are listed below.

Audio link - https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1790-fm-weekly-outlook-lookback-combo-08-02-26/

*** Event & Meeting schedule (with agendas) as of Town pages 7/31/26 8:30 PM ***

Economic Development Subcommittee Meeting

Tuesday, August 4 Time: 6:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_08042026-2434

Franklin Commission on Disability Meeting

Thursday, August 6 Time: 4:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_08062026-2427

Benjamin Franklin Classical Charter Public School Meeting

Thursday, August 6 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_08062026-2431

ZBA Meeting

Thursday, August 6 Time: 7:30 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_08062026-2429

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

Town/ School meetings

The only meeting broadcast this week was the Conservation Commission session on Thursday - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXCJw2kre3Y

The Planning & Community Development shared the Zoom copy of the Design Review session held July 21 which introduced the Depot Plaza project. The video is available

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/07/design-review-commission-meeting-july.html

All Access Programming

Frank Falvey interviewed Norfolk County District Attorney candidate Bob Jubenville https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bg8KlpKhxl0

There is a new episode of the Aging Agenda https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXTYChTbE-c

A new episode of Aging Boldfully

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFLTNIpNsWw

Jason Poulos, candidate for the MA 4th District was interviewed for Franklin Matters

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/07/jason-poulos-explains-his-stand-on-key.html

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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, July 25, 2026

Only 2 meetings this coming week gives time to discuss the new topics raised last week

This week has the shortest list of meetings this year, only 3 on the calendar with one of them canceled.

This would be a good time to get into some of the topics that arose this week that should be further discussed.

Tuesday’s Design Review Commission got a presentation on the proposal for redevelopment of the Depot Plaza. The owner/developer is asking for 2 variances: 1 for 4 stories and 1 for a reduction in the parking requirements.

Objections have already been raised against the 4 stories and around the parking, generally from the same folks who advocated for the street scape project (which changed the look and feel of downtown) but didn’t bring in the additional economic development it hoped for. The developer has expressed willingness to work to adjust the proposal. However, the 4th story is what makes the project financially doable. Maybe it is time to change the approach.

Wednesday’s marathon Town Council session also raised a couple of items for discussion, first up, the potential sale of some of Franklin’s excess sewer capacity. THere is a discussion around how much is excess and what the pricing should be, but there is excess, and if the sewer rate payers can get dollars back, that is a good & neighborly thing to do. More to come in September on this topic.

The 300 Fisher St superfund site is under remediation by the EPA. They are conducting the remediation with Federal funds as the current property owner is not the business that created the mess. The EPA is looking for community input on the potential reuse of the site in order to determine the next steps in remediation. Stay tuned for that opportunity reportedly coming in a couple of months.

One other topic (the audit result) should also help to put to rest the recurring comment around mismanagement of Town finances. There are always going to be differences in priorities, but the Town (yet again) is confirmed as financially in good shape. The AAA rating is a good thing.

So what kind of Town do we want to be? Do we want good revenues to meet the service demands of the community? Our revenue options are limited so the discussion needs to happen.

Audio link - https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1783-fm-weekly-outlook-lookback-combo-07-26-26/

*** Event & Meeting schedule (with agendas) as of Town pages 7/24/26 6:00 PM ***

Franklin Agricultural Committee Meeting

Monday, July 27 Time: 7:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_07272026-2425

Planning Board Meeting - Cancelled

Monday, July 27 Time: 7:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_07272026-2415

Conservation Commission Meeting

Thursday, July 30 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/620?fileID=9803

—-----------

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

The light meeting week that was, resulted in 2 broadcasts

Town/ School meetings

Town Council meeting TV link and recap -

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/07/franklin-town-council-votes-to-extend.html

Economic Development Subcmte TV link and recap -

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/07/economic-development-subcommittee.html

All Access Programming

Porchfest 2026 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wlre--9Cq9Y

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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, July 18, 2026

Design Review meeting scheduled to provide an initial view of the proposal to replace the Depot Plaza building

No matter the summer weather, some Town business continues. One of the busier weeks comes around this week beginning July 19 and running through July 25.

The Design Review Commission looks at signs for a new “Fresh Monkee” food oriented business which will apparently bring “Truly Healthy Shakes” according to the sign up for review.

More importantly, the Design Review also gives us an initial view of the proposal to replace the Depot Plaza building. The site plan and architectural renderings of the proposal can be found as links in the agenda document.

The Town Council has a potpourri of items on this only meeting of the month of July. Some alcohol license transactions, street acceptance, some more committee appointments, etc.

The Board of Assessors meet briefly on Thursday (at 5:30 PM) and then join the Economic Development Subcmte (at 6:00 PM)for a discussion on “new growth”; the process and how it is calculated. This should be an informative session. Check the agenda for the supporting documents released for this meeting.

Friday closes out the week with the Farmers Market and entertainment provided by Concerts on the Common.

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-1779-fm-weekly-outlook-lookback-combo-07-19-26/

*** Event & Meeting schedule (with agendas) as of Town pages 7/17/26, 9:00 PM ***

Housing Authority

Tuesday, July 21 Time: 4:30 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_07212026-2418

Design Review Meeting

Tuesday, July 21 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_07212026-2419

Council on Aging Board Meeting - No Meeting

Wednesday, July 22 Time: 11:00 AM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_07222026-2397

Charles River Pollution Control District