Summertime, the living is easy as we ease into the 4th of July weekend

We can put “Summertime, and the living is easy”  on repeat as we ease into the long 4th of July weekend.

Less than a handful of meetings this week. The Agricultural Committee and Planning Board meets on Monday. The Municipal Affordable Housing Trust meets on Tuesday. 

While the Board of Health has a meeting scheduled for their normal first Wednesday of the month, there is no agenda posted and it may not occur. Prior meeting discussion was around whether there was a need to meet during the summer. Nothing was pressing at the time.

The 4th of July Celebration opens on Wednesday and runs through Sunday on the Town Common. Carnival rides open daily with a wrist band or ride package available. Live music is scheduled each day with the 5th Annual Mike Crandall Blues Festival on Saturday. Fireworks close out Saturday night at 10 PM from Franklin High School.

The Franklin Democratic Committee, the Rod and Gun Club, and the 4th Coalition will operate food booths during the event. Supporting these organizations are a win-win; food or refreshments for you and the family, and you help the group.

You can check out the 4th of July Coalition page for their full schedule. The Coalition is community supported so your donation can help support this event.

Each day's schedule will also be shared via the Franklin.news daily newsletter. 

*** Meeting schedule and agendas as of Town page 6/27/25, 8:00 PM

Franklin Agricultural Committee

Monday, June 30 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/Agricultural-Commission-13/?#_06302025-1797 

Planning Board Meeting

Monday, June 30 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_06302025-1798 

Municipal Affordable Housing Trust Meeting

Tuesday, July 1 Time: 2:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/437?fileID=5188 

BOARD OF HEALTH MEETINGS

Wednesday, July 2 Time: 5:00 PM

no agenda at this time (not likely meeting)

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

A short week of meetings this past week.

The School Committee policy subcommittee met virtually on Tuesday at 6 PM to preview the fee discussion and decision before the full meeting at 7 PM. 

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/06/franklin-school-cmte-policy-subcmte-mtg.html

The full School Committee meeting met at 7 PM with 5 members participating for this virtual session. Franklin TV did not broadcast this session as it was virtual only. The audio for both the Policy subcommittee and full meeting is available at Franklin.news. 

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/06/school-committee-meets-virtually.html 

The Conservation Commission met on Thursday. Franklin TV video is available for replay on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glunYy20aWs 

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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