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
*** Looking back at the week that was ***
For Franklin TV meeting broadcasts:
The School committee met via remote only on Tuesday. They formally approved their FY 2027 budget proposal with a 2.5% increase over prior year. The recap and video link is available via Franklin.News https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/02/school-committee-approves-fy-2027.html
The Finance Committee met on Wednesday to review and approve funding options for the Engine 3 replacement . The recap and video link is available via Franklin.News https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/02/finance-committee-approves-funding.html
The Conservation Commission met on Thursday. The Franklin TV video is available on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWSq6V_2iZA
For FHS live streaming:
Boys basketball on Weds vs. Lowell https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xamybg7phjo
Girls basketball on Thursday vs Arlington https://www.youtube.com/live/m3bvo8AS7Pw?&t=1592
The FHS Concert Hour on Thursday https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-USQsFy9hc
For All Access programing:
The newest Aging Boldfully episode is available https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8zhy3wuZ3c
From Franklin Matters/ Franklin Public Radio
Town Council Quarterbacking with Max Morrongiello https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3CWzcPK1nw
Town Council Quarterbacking with Ted Cormier-Leger https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jzsml1PYrak
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
