Showing posts with label cultural council. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cultural council. Show all posts

Saturday, August 29, 2026

September opens with a host of meetings and key topics, oh and the State Primary, Sep 1

September arrives Tuesday with the State Primary election taking center stage from 6 AM to 8 PM. A newly announced write-in campaign may delay the results as those write-in ballots require manual counting; so let’s be patient and allow time for the democratic voting process to work and count accurately.


The Cultural Council meets on Monday. Their agenda is rather spartan and by the way, there are still a number of vacancies for this group that administers the cultural grant process locally.


The Agricultural Commission is also scheduled to meet on Monday. A key item on this agenda is planning for the Pumpkin Festival at the Farmers Market Oct 2.


The 250th Anniversary Celebration Communications Subcommittee meets on Tuesday to work on  several items relating to their formal communications (website, press releases, guidelines for social media, etc.)


The Board of Health returns to meet on Wednesday after taking the summer months off. A bunch of health related items are on this agenda.


The Town Council has a full session of work on its agenda for Wednesday. The Police Station Building Committee formally makes their presentation/recommendation, the new Police Chief is up for approval, the Deputy Town Administrator and Administrative Assistant is introduced.


The excess sewer capacity discussion and potential decision is back again (as promised), an overview of town owned buildings is scheduled (to set up for the future police station decision and related decisions on Parmenter, Davis Thayer, etc.). The public session also closes with an Executive Session on “other town property”


The Commission on Disability has its monthly meeting on Thursday at 4:00 PM in advance of the Ad Hoc Charter Committee (6:00) and the ZBA meeting (7:30).


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-1806-fm-weekly-outlook-lookback-combo-08-30-26/

*** Event & Meeting schedule (with agendas) as of Town pages 8/28/26   7:30 PM   ***


Franklin Cultural Council Meeting

Monday, August 31 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_08312026-2476 


Franklin Agricultural Committee Meeting

Monday, August 31 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_08312026-2472 


250th Anniversary Celebration Communications Subcommittee Meeting

Tuesday, September 1 Time: 6:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09012026-2475 


Board of Health Meeting

Wednesday, September 2 Time: 5:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09022026-2480 


Police Station Building Committee Meeting

Wednesday, September 2 Time: 6:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09022026-2481 


Town Council Meeting

Wednesday, September 2 Time: 6:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09022026-2482


Franklin Commission on Disability Meeting

Thursday, September 3 Time: 4:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09032026-2474 


Town Charter Ad Hoc Committee

Thursday, September 3 Time: 6:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09032026-2479 


ZBA Meeting

Thursday, September 3 Time: 7:30 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09032026-2469 


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



Town/ School meetings



All Access programming



Franklin Matters


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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    


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Location: Franklin, MA 02038, USA

Saturday, August 15, 2026

A relatively quiet week ahead, let's enjoy it while it lasts

A less busy meeting week down from 14 meetings to only 5 on the calendar.


Like the humidity that seems to have gone for now, we can enjoy the lack thereof and the less busy week while they last.


The Cultural Council meets on Monday and among other things starts to discuss priorities for the next grant cycle, how would the funding be allocated?


The Design Review Commission is scheduled to meet virtually on Tuesday. Recall the hot item on the calendar was the Depot Plaza proposal which is being withdrawn and resubmitted to better align with the Planning Board timeline.


The Town Council holds their monthly office hours at the Senior Center on Thursday morning. Recall they expanded this option with a session at the Library, Saturday, August 15. They plan to add other locations and days/time of day to try and meet folks.


The 250th Celebration Events subcommittee meets on Thursday. The Horace Mann Legacy Subcommittee has a meeting scheduled for Friday afternoon to allow for participation of as many members of the committee as possible at the Farmers Market table. Stop by and find out what they are planning!


On Wednesday, the monthly Conversation and Q&A I conduct at the Senior Center comes around at 11:00 AM. You can participate in person, or remotely, I provide an update on what has happened the past month and take your questions on what is on your mind.


Also of note: 2 Fallen Hero recognitions are scheduled for 9 AM on the 20th and 22th This approx. 5 minute program will include the placing of a Memorial Wreath for the day, the playing of Taps, a salute from those present, and a reading of whatever history may be available for that veteran.  This is a way of keeping the memory of that veteran alive.


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-1799-fm-weekly-outlook-lookback-combo-08-16-26/

*** Event & Meeting schedule (with agendas) as of Town pages 8/14/26   7:30 PM   ***



Franklin Cultural Council

Monday, August 17 Time: 7:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_08172026-2456 


Design Review Meeting

Tuesday, August 18 Time: 7:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_08182026-2461 


Town Council Monthly Office Hours

Thursday, August 20 Time: 8:30 AM

No agenda for this informal discussion


250th Anniversary Celebration Events Subcommittee Meeting

Thursday, August 20 Time: 7:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_08202026-2462 


ZBA Meeting - No Meeting

Thursday, August 20


Franklin Public Schools Horace Mann Legacy Subcommittee Meeting (Farmers Market)

Friday, August 21 Time: 2:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_08212026-2458 



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


Town/ School meetings

The School Cmte Horace Mann Legacy Subcmte met on Mon Aug 10. The recap & exclusive audio - https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/08/audio-recording-of-horace-mann-legacy.html 


The Planning Board met on Monday, Aug 10. YouTube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2U5X9j_ytEs 


The School Cmte Policy Subcmte met on Tuesday, Aug 11. the recap & exclusive audio is available

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/08/school-cmte-policy-subcommittee-reviews.html


The School Committee met on Tuesday, Aug 11

Recap and video link - https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/08/school-committee-gets-multiple-updates.html 


Town Council met in Executive Session for 4 hours and public meeting for about 10 minutes to vote on the updated contract for the Town Administrator

The recap including audio & video links as well as links to the current and prior contract https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/08/town-council-votes-to-approve-town_01711482811.html 


The Joint Budget Subcmte met on Thursday. The recap and video link -

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/08/joint-budget-subcmte-in-healthy.html 



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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    


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Location: Franklin, MA 02038, USA

Saturday, January 31, 2026

Franklin News in 5 minutes 02/01/2026 (audio)

Yes, it is cold outside. 


Inside, in the warmth of the public meeting places, volunteers will be working with the appropriate Town and School staff planning to deliver services with improvements where possible for life here in Franklin in the short term and longer term.


For example, the Franklin 250 Celebration comes along in 2028 but the planning is starting now. The budget & fundraising subcommittee is scheduled to meet Sunday evening to conduct their work.


The School Committee has added a special meeting to vote on the proposal to realign their health care costs with the Town budget line 910. This will ensure continued focus at the Town level on minimizing health care costs, won’t change the coverage provided, but will enable a better apples to apples comparison for each of the Town Department budgets. Schools were the only department to have to account for these health care costs within their own budget. 


This step continues the efforts the Town started years ago with taking over the custodians, and then facilities, to enable the schools to focus on education as it is their primary mission. However much the Town does to support the Schools it all ends up getting sorted out financially with the reporting to DESE resulting in the per pupil cost and Net School Spending calculations done at the State level to ensure consistent accounting across the 351 Mass communities. 


The Cultural Council and Board of Health are scheduled to meet on Wednesday respectively addressing their arenas.


The Town Council meets on Wednesday to set up goals for their term of office; what they can, should, and might be possible to accomplish this year and next. “They” doesn’t refer to the Council alone. As a policy making body, they approve of the goals and budget accordingly (we hope) but don’t do the detailed work required. That work is done by the many departments and talented personnel across the Town and Schools. 


Another item on their agenda is an attempt to put a closing time on their regular meetings through a revision of their operating rules. Meeting length is generally determined by the items on the agenda. Given an inexperienced Council, meetings generally will take longer as each item is going to be their ‘first’ time around, requiring extra explanation. As their term of office progresses, the cyclical nature of their work could become more evident and hence respectfully more ‘routine’. Until then, it will take time, and forcing a closing time is ‘one’ way to address it. We’ll all see how that works.


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-1646-fm-weekly-outlook-lookback-combo-02-01-26/

*** Meeting schedule and agendas as of Town page 1/30/26, 5:30 PM   ***



250th Anniversary Celebration Budget and Fundraising Subcommittee Meeting

Sunday, February 1 Time: 7:30 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_02012026-2114 


Franklin School Committee- Special Meeting

Tuesday, February 3 Time: 6:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_02032026-2116 

Board of Health Meeting

Wednesday, February 4 Time: 5:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_02042026-2115 


Town Council Meeting

Wednesday, February 4 Time: 6:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_02042026-2120 


Franklin Cultural Council Meeting

Wednesday, February 4 Time: 7:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_02042026-2117 


Bi-County Collaborative Joint Board of Directors & Operating Comm. Mtg. (Walpole)
Thursday, February 5 Time: 9:00 AM

Franklin Commission on Disability

Thursday, February 5 Time: 4:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_02052026-2110 


Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) Meeting  - NO Meeting

Thursday, February 5 Time: 7:30 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_02052026-2112 




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


As a result of the major snow storm last week, schedules were changed. School cancellations happened on Monday and Tuesday. Town meetings on Monday were also canceled.


The School Committee did meet on Tuesday and got their first look at the Superintendent’s Recommended budget for FY 2027. Excluding health care, the schools come in with a 2.5% increase. 


There is a proposal to move the health care costs to the Town budget item, line 910. This step continues the efforts the Town started years ago with taking over the custodians, and facilities, to enable the school to focus on education as it is their primary mission. This will also enable a better apples to apples comparison of the Town Dept budgets. Schools were the only department to have to account for these health care costs within their own budget. 

 

Meeting recap and video -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/01/school-committee-get-preview-of-fy-2027.html 


The Conservation Commission met on Thursday. The Franklin TV video is available for replay -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8r0Lbg2a1M 


On the FHS sports live streaming front


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
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Location: Franklin, MA 02038, USA
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