Memorial Day weekend, a time for reflection

Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial kick off for summer time. Really a time of reflection to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice for the freedoms we enjoy today. We have all the more reason to reflect given the current administration's challenge to our Constitutional freedoms that are working their way through the courts. 

There is a revised parade route for Franklin this year. The VFW, American Legion, and other veterans organizations have made these changes to hopefully enable more veterans to participate. 

• The parade will start from the Horace Mann middle school complex. A more spacious gathering point for those marching. 

• A slightly shorter route that also avoids the last hill up to the Common. 

• The three stops for recognitions at Dean and the 2 cemeteries will be done before the parade to avoid the stop start and waiting during the parade of previous years.

The parade will begin at 11:00 AM, come out Oak St, to Union, to RT 140, to Emmons, to Main St, and back to the Town Common. You can watch the parade twice from the Common. 

At noon, the recognition ceremony for all veterans who passed during the prior year will be held among the veterans memorials on the Town Common.  Albert Johnson who passed during World War I will also be recognized. His ‘killed in action’ date during the war is not known so this day is fitting for his recognition. The other 44 individuals who have pillars along the Veterans Walkway have known dates and ceremonies are conducted throughout the year on those dates.

With the holiday on Monday, the shorter week contains less town and school meetings. In person voting for the special election for the FY 2026 budget override continues through Friday May 30. All other voting in person will be conducted at the high school on Tuesday June 3.

*** The agendas for the week ahead can be found here: 

from the Town page, as of 8:00 PM Friday, May 23 ***

Massachusetts Strategic Health Group Meeting

Tuesday, May 27 Time: 1:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05272025-1759 

Design Review Meeting (Virtual Mtg)

Tuesday, May 27 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/405?fileID=4909 

Franklin School Committee Meeting

Tuesday, May 27 Time: 7:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05272025-1761 

Franklin School Committee Community Relations Subcommittee Meeting

Thursday, May 29 Time: 4:30 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05292025-1760 

Conservation Commission Meeting

Thursday, May 29 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/407?fileID=4912 

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

The Town Council conducted their 2 public hearings on the FY 2026 budget on Wednesday and Thursday as scheduled. The first night went 4 hours as all the questions and comments raised were answered. The second night saw the brief hearing continued to June 4. The results of the vote June 3 will be known and that will enable the Council to make their votes on the budget either 

• As proposed, if the override passes

• Or with significant cuts, if the override fails

Thursday’s agenda also included some alcohol license approvals.

• A modification to management and ownership of The Shed

• A transfer of licenses between DeVitas and Big Y. After a somewhat contentious discussion, the Council did approve the transfers by a 5-1-3 vote (5 for, 1 against (Cormier-Leger) with 3 absent (Chandler, Pellegri, and Dellorco). Dellorco had been present, left during the public hearing and did not return to the meeting.

Additional info on these meetings can be found with the Franklin.News meeting recaps here

Weds -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/05/town-council-spends-4-hours-reviewing.html 

Thurs -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/05/town-council-expresses-frustration-with.html 

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For all the meetings and cultural events, check out the calendars 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 

Early voting is underway with the Town Council picking up their Budget Hearing duties Weds/Thur

Early voting opened on Friday with a steady stream of folks coming to the Town Clerk's Office to mark their ballot for the Special Election on the override question. Town Clerk Nancy Danello reported 214 voters on the first day.

Early voting continues at the Town Clerk's office during office hours and then on Saturday, May 24 until 3 PM. Registration to vote closes out also in the office that Saturday at 5 PM.

The Town Council gets to their public hearing on the FY 2026 budget. Wednesday night is usually the long night as the major questions are asked of each department. Thursday will be somewhat different in that while questions left unanswered Weds, should be answered Thursday, the multiple votes on the budget will be continued to the Council's June 4 meeting.

With the results from June 3 available, the Town Council June 4 meeting will either approve the budget as proposed or make the significant cuts outlined should the override fail to pass.

The Town and School Dept have prepared all the info needed to cast an informed vote. If you still have a question, please raise it Wednesday. 

*** The agendas for the week ahead can be found here: as of 7:00 PM Friday, May 16 ***

BOARD OF HEALTH MEETING

Monday, May 19, 2025 9:00 am

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05192025-1743

Library Board of Directors Regular Meeting

Monday, May 19, 2025 7:00 pm

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/Library-Board-of-Directors-20/? 

Franklin Agricultural Committee Agenda

May 19, 2025 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05192025-1734

Recreation Advisory Board Meeting

Monday, May 19, 2025 7:00 pm

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05192025-1750

Norfolk County Regional Emergency Planning Committee

May 20, 2025, 10:30 AM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05202025-1739 

Economic Development Subcommittee Meeting

Wednesday, May 21, 2025, 5:45 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05212025-1754 

Town Council Meeting

Wednesday, May 21, 2025 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05212025-1752 

Town Council Meeting

Thursday, May 22, 2025, 7:00 PM 

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05222025-1753 

Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) Meeting (CANCELED)

Thursday,  May 22, 2025, 7:30 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05222025-1723 

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

Monday saw the Franklin Housing Authority rename the Community Center at Central Park Terrace for the late & long time board member Peter L Brunelli. Recap of the event including video of the exterior unveiling ->

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/05/franklin-housing-authority-renamed.html

The Franklin Housing Authority held its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday. The recap and audio recording (an exclusive) is available here ->

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/05/franklin-housing-authority-meets-in.html

The School Committee met for the first of their regular monthly meetings and heard about the traffic study results, plans for capital funding perhaps later this year. There will be no significant dollars spent to prepare for September, 2025. Any projects would be scoped and funded later this year for Sept 2026. In the meantime, consider having the kiddos ride the bus or expect car queue lengths to double for elementary school drop-offs. Recap & video -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/05/school-committee-gets-update-on-traffic.html

The newest volume of "Franklin First" the updated Town of Franklin newsletter was posted on Friday -> https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/DocumentCenter/View/5671/Newsletter-3 

Share-worthy interviews to be aware of:

• We have a labyrinth in town at the First Universalist Society of Franklin (FUSF). Find out about the recent renovation of it and how to approach waking it. It can be a tool to help deal with all that is going on -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/05/talking-about-labyrinths-with-bobbi.html
• Tuhina Pal, a junior at FHS, wrote a book of poetry to help her navigate life post COVID -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/05/tuhina-pal-talks-about-her-book-they.html

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For all the meetings and cultural events, check out the calendars 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

Wet weekend weather continues ahead of the Town Council meeting and informal Q&A sessions

Another wet weekend to dampen the spirits of the area residents. Wet enough that the Applause Gelato shop has rescheduled their re-opening until April 26 to be timed with the Ladybug Trail Walk which hopefully will bring more Spring-like weather. In the meantime, the moisture is gradually refilling the aquifers so that the State is gradually coming out of drought status so that is good. 

On the Town meeting front, the Town Council meets on Wednesday with a zoning bylaw to permit shared use kitchens, authorization for early voting for the special election June 3, and presentations on the Police Dept Mental Health Clinician work as well as the Town’s Crisis Advocacy Team.

Town and State officials hold their office hours at the Senior Center Thursday morning. Franklin Q&A has 2 sessions this week; at the Library Monday night at 6:30 PM and Wednesday at the Senior Center at 11 AM. All three sessions designated for informal question and answers on Town business.

*** Meeting schedule for the week of April 14 - April 19 

From the Town of Franklin calendar - as of 04/11/25 8 PM

Norfolk County Advisory Board Meeting Notice

Wednesday, April 16  Time: 6:30 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_04162025-1657 

Town Council Meeting

Wednesday, April 16  Time: 7:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_04162025-1682 

Town Council Office Hours

Thursday, April 17  Time: 8:30 AM

No agenda expected for this informal business hour 

Franklin Housing Authority Meeting

Thursday, April 17  Time: 4:30 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_04172025-1681 

Conservation Commission Meeting

Thursday, April 17  Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/372?fileID=4420 

Council On Aging (COA) Meeting

Friday, April 18  Time: 1:30 PM

no posted agenda at this time

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

The School Committee Policy Subcommittee met on Tuesday to confirm that while Horace was never going away, due to some folks impatience with the process, there may be a Horace Mann Campus proposal for the full School Committee to vote on at their April 29 session. The audio for the meeting is available exclusively from Franklin Matters/Franklin Public Radio  https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/04/school-committee-policy-subcommittee.html 

The full School Committee met also on Tuesday to get detailed updates on the redistricting efforts for the Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC) expansion as well as the elementary schools. The video is available for replay from Franklin TV.  https://www.youtube.com/live/3rgXaYFUtNA?&t=100

The Chalkboard Chat session with School Committee Chair Dave Callaghan recaps both the Policy Subcommittee meeting and the full School Committee session to condense the four hour combined meetings to about 40 minutes

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/04/this-chalkboard-chat-condenses-both.html 

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For all the meetings and cultural events, check out the calendars at Franklin.news   where each day, that day's events on posted on the top of the page

• 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

A quiet week to start this month, however April closes with a flurry of meetings

The combination of the school April break, Easter and the budget cycle results in a relatively quiet week as we start April.  

The School Committee has an executive session this week for negotiations and then meets on the 8th and 29th. The Town Council doesn't meet until the 16th and then meets on the 30th.

The Finance Committee has its set of 3 budget hearings scheduled for April 28, 29 and May 1. If anyone has any questions about the line item details on the FY 2026 budget, these three night are the time to do so. Agendas are not yet posted but prior years indicate General government on one night, schools (Franklin, Tri-County, Norfolk Aggie) on one night and the third night covers public safety (Police, Fire & Dispatch) as well as Public Works both operational and enterprise accounts (water, sewer, solid waste, & storm water). 

Parents with school age children should check out the internet safety training & awareness night scheduled for Thursday, April 3 at FHS. It is a free night with childcare and meals provided. Details in the link -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/03/attnetion-parents-check-out-interent.html

For this week, the meetings and agenda for the scheduled session are included here.

*** For the week of March 31 - April 5

(as of the Town web site on Friday evening, 3/28/25)  ***

Franklin Agricultural Committee Meeting

Monday, March 31st Time: 7:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_03312025-1640 

Franklin School Committee

Tuesday, April 1st Time: 4:00 PM

Contractual Negotiations - Executive Session

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_04012025-1586 

BOARD OF HEALTH MEETINGS

Wednesday, April 2   Time: 5:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_04022025-1656 

Conservation Commission

Thursday, April 3 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/350?fileID=4297 

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

The Planning Board met on Monday and decided not to approve the Autumn Hill Senior Housing proposed for Summer St by a 1 (for) 4 (against) vote. You can view the video replay -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsXZejak9qA

The School Committee met on Tuesday and in a long session started by recognizing the boys basketball team for the State Championship & the cheerleaders for their National Championship. They got a lengthy update on course selections and trends from FHS. They also got a lengthy and valuable update on the middle school schedule as the 3 schools plan to come together as one in September. Recap & video link is available here -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/03/school-committee-recognizes-boys.html

The Zoning Board of Appeals opened the process on the proposed 40b to redevelop the Stobbarts property. Unless the committee decides to act on a "safe harbor" declaration in the next week or so, the plans will continue to be reviewed during the process with the next session scheduled for May 8. The video is available for replay -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1DzpL7GqyE

In addition to the meetings, I had the wonderful opportunity to talk with 3 key members of the Franklin High School Theatre Co. The audio is available here -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/03/listen-to-how-fhstc-performance-of.html

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For all the meetings and cultural events, check out the calendars at Franklin.news where each day, that day's events on posted on the top of the page

• 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