Franklin MAtters Weekly: Clocks change, State Election Tuesday, and a full slate for meetings this week

The clocks should have fallen back an hour to give us more daylight as winter approaches. No further forecast on winter from here, it is hard enough reporting on what happens in Town, never mind trying to forecast what could happen on the ever changing weather front.

The Planning Board meeting on Monday continues the Depot Plaza proposal discussion. The developer has rendering for the building height relative to the others on Main St. The agenda doc also includes some citizen proposals for consideration by the Planning Board.

The State election is Tuesday, Nov 3. Polls open at 6 AM and close at 8 PM. There are 9 ballot questions so being prepared is a great thing to do to speed your way through the process. Be patient as others may not have been as prepared.

As there is nothing Franklin specific on the ballot to be decided by the outcome of the vote, Franklin Matters will be covering the School Committee meetings. When the Town Clerk releases the unofficial totals, we will post those as soon as possible.

The School Committee Policy subcommittee meets on Tuesday. Up for consideration are a set of changes resulting from further review of the Freedom to Read legislation passed during the summer to bring other references inline with that change. Also a continuation of the fiscal policy work already underway.

The full School Committee also meets on Tuesday, on their agenda is an update from the SAFE Coalition, the Horace Mann Legacy, and Franklin 250 Anniversary Celebration.

The Board of Health is scheduled for their monthly meeting on Wednesday at 5 PM.

The Town Council meets at 6 PM with the key discussion item being a presentation by the Police Dept on their use of the Flock cameras. Legislation is prepared should the Council consider a vote to remove them. There is also an executive session on 2 police contracts with a return to open meeting for their app (assuming it works out that way).

The Commission on Disability is scheduled for their monthly meeting at 4 PM at the Senior Center.

The Conservation Commission has canceled their normal session this week. This continues the trend of meeting cancellations across the Planning Board, Design Review, and ZBA as proposals for new developments have dried up.

There is a meeting for the Finance Committee on the Town calendar but it is likely to be cleaned up. The published set of meetings for the year listed nothing for November, and their October session confirmed their next meeting as December 9.

The Franklin Fire Dept closes out the week with their annual Open House on Saturday from 10 AM to 2 PM.

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.

*** Event & Meeting schedule (with agendas) as of Town pages 10/30/26 5:00 PM ***

Planning Board Meeting

Monday, November 2 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_11022026-2589

Franklin School Committee Policy Subcommittee Meeting

Tuesday, November 3 Time: 6:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_11032026-2592

Franklin School Committee Meeting

Tuesday, November 3 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_11032026-2591

Board of Health Meeting

Wednesday, November 4 Time: 5:00 PM